>"I'm telling you it was the strangest thing Ruby!"
>The two older mares sat in the living room, chatting over tea
>"And you're sure that there was no one else there Lavender?"
>"Nooo!  No one!  Not a soul!  I saw that poor filly laying there sound asleep and I thought to myself, I said 'Her parents MUST be around here somewhere!  How irresponsible of them to leave this child here!'"
>Ruby nodded and gave several 'mhmms' as she sipped her tea
>"I decided to stay to make sure nothing happened to her, and to give her parents a piece of my mind you know, but no one ever showed up.  I couldn't just leave her there either."
>Lavender looked down at the filly sitting on the rug in front of the couch
>She was rolling a small ball around and giggling excitedly
>"Well, dear, it really is getting late.  I must be heading off."
>Ruby set her empty teacup aside and hopped off the couch
>Lavender opened her mouth to say goodbye but Ruby put a hoof up
>"No, you don't need to ask.  Of course I will help you find her parents, that's what friends are for after all.  Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to the market anyway so I'll ask around for you.  I'll stop by if I hear anything at all."
>"Oh... yes... That would be helpful I suppose...  I mean, thank you Ruby, I appreciate it."
>Lavender walked her friend to the door and wished her a goodnight
>She took some time to clean up from their tea before returning to the living room
>The young filly had slumped forward onto the ball and had started to fall asleep
>"Aaaah, you must be tired after such a long day"
>Lavender cooed, scooping the filly up in her arm
>The filly yawned and smiled up at her
>"Don't you worry, I have a nice warm bed for you.  Yes I do."
>She carried the filly to her bedroom where she had set up a crib next to the bed
>Gently, she set the filly down and tucked her in nice and snug
>"Aaah, who's the cutest bay-beeee"
>Lavender took a deep breath and gently tapped the filly's nose
>"Aaaaaa-boop!"
>The filly burst into a fit of giggles
>"Aaaaaaaaa-boop!"
>More giggles
>"Sweet dreams.  We'll find your parents tomorrow, don't you worry.  Until then I'll take care of you."
>Lavender almost hoped that Ruby and her wouldn't have any success tomorrow
>The filly was too cute
>Maybe she could talk the parents into keeping her as a babysitter
>After reaming them out for leaving the filly unattended of course
>Lavender hopped up into her own bed and curled up under the blankets
 
>A strange noise stirred her from her slumber
>It was a wet squelching sort of sound
>She sat up groggily and glanced over to the crib
>The filly was gone
>Before she had much time to panic she caught some movement in the corner of her eye and turned to face it
>At the very end of the bed was... was something horrific
>She couldn't quite make it out in the darkness but it looked like some sort of creature straight out of her nightmares
>She rubbed her eyes with her hooves and looked again
>The filly sat at the end of her bed
>She looked around the room again, even leaning over to look off the edge of the bed
>There was nothing else there
>"O-oh... it must have been the shadows" she said to herself before turning her attention to the baby
>"And you.  How did you manage to get out of your crib?"
>The filly giggled and held out it's hooves to her
>"We need to get some sleep before tomorrow, we'll play more in the morning"
>Lavender lifted the filly up and set her back in her crib
>The filly began to pout up at her
>"Oh nooo, no, don't cry!  Noo..."
>Thinking quick, Lavender covered her face with her hooves
>"Peek-a-boo!"  She said, revealing her face
>The filly stopped pouting for a moment and just stared at her
>Lavender covered her face again
>"Peek-a-boo!"
>The filly began laughing and started to mimic her
>Lavender covered her face
>The filly covered its face
>"Peek-a-boo!" Lavender uncovered her face
>"Eee-ga-ooo!" The filly uncovered its face
>Lavender covered her face
>The filly covered its face
>"Peek-a-boo!" Lavender uncovered her face
>"Eee-ga-ooo!" The filly removed its face
>Lavender passed out
 
>Lavender woke up sometime later to find herself in her own bed
>For a moment she thought it had just been a dream until she noticed the creature staring down at her
>Half of the filly's face was still there but the other half had devolved into a mass of flesh, eyes, and teeth
>The filly had grown spider-like legs which it was using to crawl across the ceiling with
>It dropped down onto the bed
>Lavender tried to get up and run but found that she had been wrapped tightly in the blankets, like a cocoon
>The creature scuttled over to her
>"N-no!  NO!"
>A tentacle sprouted from the creatures back and started to head towards Lavender
>She began to thrash and struggle desperately to free herself to no avail
>The tentacle inched closer and closer to her before finally pressing gently against her nose
>"Boop" the thing gurgled
 
>"Lavender?  Lavender darling you weren't answering your door so I had to let myself in."
>Ruby marched into the house, checking the kitchen for signs of her friend
>"Lavender, I found out who the filly's parents are.  It's that strange couple that lives off at the edge of the woods.  Lavender?"
>A giggling sound drew Ruby's attention to the living room
>There the young filly sat, playing with the ball again
>Lavender was on the couch
>She had a cup of tea set in her lap and was vacantly staring out the window
>The heavy bags under her eyes made it clear she had not slept very well
>"Lavender?"
>Ruby walked towards her friend, reaching out a hoof to gently nudge her
>Lavender jumped and let out a little shout of surprise
>The teacup was knocked from her lap
>"O-oh!  R-r-ruby!  I d-didn't hear you c-come in." She said, trying to regain her composure
>"Lavender what happened?  You look awful!"
>"I d-didn't sleep w-well last night."  She said dryly, her eyes darting to the filly for a second
>"Oh darling, was she crying all night?  Well there's no need to worry.  She was probably just missing her parents and like I said I know who they are.  You can't go out looking like though, go get ready and I'll look after the baby for you.  Go on."
>Ruby hurried Lavender out of the room
>Ruby returned and sat in front of the filly
>"Oooh, did you keep her up all night?  Poor baby.  Don't you worry, we're taking you home today.  Would the baby like to play a game while we wait?  Hm?  Would the baby like to play a game?"
>The filly giggled
>"What game would you like to play?  Hm?  Do you know peek-a-boo?"
>The filly covered its face