In the darkness on a mild Summer's eve, there was a slight storm in Ponyville. For the entire duration up to this point, not a single sound apart from the droplets of rain hitting the ground could be heard. Located in the brisk darkness, illuminated slightly by the streetlamps of long history, there was a basket of straw, a type of basket one might perhaps find a foal wrapped inside. This was indeed the case, as a tiny, sleeping pony was covered in a white sheet for a blanket, protected from the rain underneath the landing of the house it was stationed at.
Nearly motionless, the foal was there for about a minute before the door to the house was knocked upon. It was then with impressive speed that the innocent infant was answered to, the door swung open in a slightly irritated feel by a young looking female unicorn with a green coat. Her mane looked as if she was just situated in the rain with the style to it, but on closer examination anypony could see that it was more as if she was never in the rain at all. The cutie mark which was bared on her flank was that of a cup and saucer, both had a look as if they were made of clay, the cup itself included a coloured substance, of what seemed to be of a hot temperature due to the heat lines which were portrayed above it.
At first the answering mare was not pleased facially, her eyes looked as if she had not sleep for the majority of the night, it didn't help that it seemed to her at first that the door was knocked on by troublemakers who had probably moved on quickly with a brisk sprint. The green mare then felt a presence of movement by her hooves, and was surprised to say the least at what was in her direct eyesight. As if feeling the sudden urge to help, the facial expression of the unicorn grew weary for the foal as questions spun round in her head. With a hasty change of pace, the pony levitated the basket gently into the warm indoors of the house, immediately after she closed the door with a thud. The unicorn moved the basket into a soft and comfortable position on top of a few pillows, making sure the creature inside didn't get hurt if it had the strength to wander off from where it is situated. Luckily for now, the foal was in a state of relaxation as it slept without issues.
Sounds of movement could suddenly be heard from upstairs, the loud actions the unicorn took to ensure this foal's safety had awoken another member of the house. The speed at which they were travelling towards the bottom of the house indicated a lack of sleep also for this other pony.
"What in Equestria is going on down here?" Spoke the pony from the stairs, revealing a dark red pegasus with the mane and tail of red and dark purple stripes. They too were a mare, who also had the same lack of energy of the brown-haired unicorn. "Zappy, it's late. What are you doing?" The once annoyed tone of the red pegasus was now one of concern.
"You mean to tell me all this time I was the only one who heard noises outside, just to find this bewildered foal on the landing?" Zappy was now broadcasting a tone of motherliness towards discussions centred around the young stranger from the outside world. With half curiousness and half bewilderment, the red pony walked towards the basket the young unicorn was guarding. Inside was a sleeping blue pegasus colt with a small quiff of dark brown hair, all the rest was being covered by the small blanket covering the creature, who seemed to think it was comfortable judging by the now contemplated look the foal was expressing while asleep. A sudden tiny squeal could be heard from the pegasus' mouth, as Zappy turned to see a look of sheer adorableness on the pony's face: pupils dilated; blushing cheeks and the front-right hoof placed on her face.
"Can we keep it?" A sudden burst of excitement arrived out of the mouth of the red pony.
"I am guessing that is what they're here for, somepony couldn't look after this cute pegasus and so we were picked to look after them." Zappy's tone of urgency was now mixed with serious as she started to lift the foal up, via her horn, to see if there was anything that went with the basket which was of great importance. The pony then paused for a moment, considering something in her brain. "Wait Red, what if we can't raise them? What if we can't cope?" Zappy rhetorically asks to Red in a tone of importance, leaving the red individual in a state of heartbreak.
"No no no no no!" Called out Red with concern. "We can, we can. Trust me. I will just go out and get baby stuff tomorrow morning." Red was extremely excited, to say the least.
"Red," Zappy states calmly, "I mean what if having a foal is just something I am not willing to have at the current moment. Have you thought about that?" By this point the unicorn was in a stance which acted as a sort of high ground between the two ponies in the room, but it showed flaws such as the time she could hold the stance before collapsing into a state of grave uncertainty. Red approached the weak unicorn, hugging her for comfort.
"If that is how you feel, we don't need to keep the critter." A tone of truth was in her voice as she hugged Zappy. The green mare was now considering some more, where would the foal go if they couldn't protect it. The last thing she wants is to make somepony live their younger years being in an orphanage, she should know. A sudden change of tone was displayed in her voice.
"No!" Cried Zappy, almost literally at the brink of tears. Seeing them in this state, Red was taken aback and felt she should bring comfort. "If there is one thing I am not letting that foal live with is the thought of being an orphan, even if that means raising the little colt on our own." Red's face beamed with both pride and happiness and launched her own body into the unicorn in front, collapsing them both onto the carpet on the floor playfully. The two shared a giggle and Zappy pecks Red lightly on the cheek.
"Didn't they come with a name?" Asks Red partially excited. With this, Zappy lifts the foal again, only to find a small note enclosed in the blanket.
"Their name is Ivory." Replies the unicorn in a slightly more playful tone.
"Okay, name sorted. Now just one more problem." Red stated in a now more serious tone. "How many bits is it gonna take to raise this foal?"