//------------------------------// // Journey of the Stork // Story: Journey of the Stork // by DavidReinold //------------------------------// The indigo sky rushed past the stork's eyes as he gazed off into the darkness. The sun had fallen not one hour prior, and he had a long journey ahead of him. Clamped firmly in his bill was a small bundle containing two tiny fillies. They were sisters, waiting to find their new home. Below his talons, the stork watched as the waves rippled across the moonlight, the moonlight in turn dancing playfully upon its surface. A ray of light crossed the bundle by chance, waking the smaller of the two fillies. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and let out the slightest hint of a yawn as she tilted her head upward. Instantly, her eyes locked upon the silver disk in the sky. A smile broke across her face and her eyes became wide with fascination. A tiny hoof reached out of the folds of the bundle as the little filly tried to catch that beautiful gem in the sky. Her eyes struggled to focus upon the moon, but she was soon distracted by her hoof, unsure what it was or where it had come from. Quietly and calmly, the smaller filly slumped back into the bundle, curled up next to her sister. Before long, the smaller filly began to stir again. Her tiny form wriggled around, causing the bundle to shift from side to side. Soon, her head poked out, and she gazed back up at the moon. Her face was wide with a joyous grin, but soon her eyes turned downwards, and she saw the water shimmering below them. And in that water was... another moon? The smaller filly glanced from one to the other, trying to make sense of this quandary. Noticing the filly's plight, the stork descended carefully to the ocean that rushed below them. He leaned his head down, just barely, for the filly to touch the water. Her tiny hoof made ripples in the surface that shattered the moon's reflection. All the while, the smaller filly's reflection remained intact. She gazed into the water, seeing herself for the first time. Her eyes glimmered a bright hue of teal in the glow of the moonlight. A giggle escaped the filly as she reached out a second hoof to touch her reflection. The surface broke, and the filly watched herself scatter across the enormous mirror below her. Contented, the filly slumped back into the bundle and allowed herself to sleep. In her dreams, she continued to giggle. Slowly and gently, the stork ascended back into the clouds and allowed the two fillies to rest. A small island crossed the horizon, and the stork decided it might be a good idea to take a short rest. He made a quick but careful descent, and his talons made large trenches in the sand. The bundle swayed precariously in his beak as he slowed to a stop and attempted to right himself. He placed the bundle carefully upon the soft beach and allowed himself to catch his breath. From his bag, the stork pulled a bottle of water. He brought the two fillies around, first giving some to the smaller, then to the larger, before refreshing himself and allowing the two fillies to drift back to sleep. The stork leaned back upon the beach, and gazed up at the stars, all of them shimmering in their endlessly intricate patterns. The stork soon felt something warm across his side, and looked down to see the smaller filly curled up next to him, asleep and happy. He reached out his wing and gently stroked her warm, soft coat. She let out another giggle from her tiny filly dreams. What she dreamed of, the stork might never know, but he suspected it had something to do with that moon hanging in the sky. Before long, they took off again. The smaller filly had watched the moon as long as she could stay awake, but eventually rested her head upon the edge of the bundle, her muzzle hanging downwards over the ocean allowing the calm stroke of the breeze and splash of the sea to fill her ears and lull her to sleep. As day began to break, the larger filly stirred slowly. The bundle shifted, and before long a second head escaped the folds and rested upon the edge next to her sister's. The larger filly gazed up at the tip-top of the sun that just barely struggled upwards against the relentless dark of the night sky. The higher it rose, the greater the filly's smile became until soon, it enveloped the sky, turning everything a soft orange and pink. The larger filly nudged her little sister awake eagerly, and pointed a joyous hoof towards the sunrise. The smile on her face was enormous, but the smaller filly could not have been less interested. In fact, she seemed to not care for the sun at all. She let out a grumble of contempt and slinked backward into the bundle, closing her eyes tightly. The larger filly paid no mind, and continued to look out at the beautiful, radiant sunrise. The stork soon reached the mainland, where he slowly dipped lower towards the ground so as to distinguish their destination. The smaller filly remained asleep and completely silent save for her breathing, while the larger filly continued watching the world, now smiling as a forest rushed past beneath the stork's talons. A flock of gulls rose up before them, disturbed from their resting places in the forest. Their forms eclipsed the scarlet sun, causing their feathers to glow a fiery hue. The small filly marveled at them for a moment, before reaching out a hoof and pointing at them. She tilted her head up at the stork and shouted, "Philomeeeeena!" The stork just smiled at the foal's gibberish, and flew on faster into the city. Soon houses were passing below them. The townsponies were still asleep, but he knew they would soon wake. He had to hurry up and find the house. The stork soon spotted the street marked Equestria Avenue, and dove swiftly between the rows upon rows of houses. Their destination was the fourth house in. With a flit, he sped up to it and latched a claw onto the sill of the open window before carefully righting himself and entering the room. An ornately furnished crib was mounted upon the wall of the room, its welcoming blankets a royal shade of lavender. The posts of the crib were capped by purple and gold spires, like that of a castle. The stork gently placed the fillies in the crib, their tiny heads brushing against a paper sun and moon that hung from string and wire over their new resting place. All around them on the blanket, little toy guardsponies and chariots sat, waiting to be played with. The stork stepped away from the crib slowly, and turned aside to admire the parents' effort on the room. It felt like a Kingdom, a wondrous domain for these two fillies to rule over. A closet caught his eye, slightly ajar. He quietly made his way over to it. In the faintest ray of sunlight, six or so small dolls looked back at him. The forefront one was purple, and had a note attached to it reading 'for when they're older'. The stork smiled to himself and closed the door gently. He returned to the window, and with a slight leap, was ready to take flight again. He glanced back at the tiny fillies, asleep in their crib, and whispered. "Good night, my little ponies..." And flew off into the sunrise.