"Baby Nightglow!"

The baby pony stirred, stuffing his head under his wing to block out the voice drowning out the birdsongs of the grey, mist-filled dawn.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" someone laughed, nudging him gently but insistently. One bright blue eye peered from under the dark purple feathers. "Aww, Mama . . ."

"C'mon, up!" Sunshine tapped a hoof in mock impatience as her son slowly drew himself to his hooves, stretching and yawning and shaking off a sheen of dew. "Daddy's not up yet," the colt observed, eyeing the larger version of himself still snoring softly in the grass.

"Why don't you see if you can wake him up, honey?" Sunshine suggested. "I'm going to have a word with Azure."

"Okay," Baby Nightglow agreed, wiggling with delight. He began shaking his father vigorously. "DADDY! TIME TO WAKE UP!"

Baby Nightglow had barely managed to convince his father that it was indeed morning when Sunshine galloped back, nearly vibrating with excitement. "You won't believe what's happening! (Nightglow dear, you have grass stuck all over your left flank.) We're going to join with another herd!"

"We are?" Nightglow stared in amazement, rubbing a forehoof across his sleep-filled eyes. "Are you sure?"

"With another herd?" Baby Nightglow added in an awed voice. From the depths of the past he had the hazy recollection--a memory of a memory--of meeting another herd at a river crossing. But they were merely brightly colored shadows dancing in his memory; the only ponies he had ever known were the six in "his" herd. The prospect of meeting more of his kind was . . . dazzling! He swivelled his ears, intent on catching every bit of information.

"Azure got the news from her brother, and you know Tempest doesn't say things unless he's sure. Oh, Nightglow, isn't it wonderful?"

"Other ponies . . . I can hardly believe it!" Nightglow unfurled his wings in pleasure. "Sometimes it seems like we must be the only ones left, just left wandering, alone . . ."

"We're never alone when the Rainbow is near," Sunshine replied, automatically repeating the universal dogma of ponykind. "Or when I'm near . . ." she added, fluttering her eyes and nuzzling her mate.

"When will they get here?" Baby Nightglow broke in. "Are they here now?" He reared, peering around the green meadow as his tiny wings fluttered in a purple flurry.

"They should arrive in a few days," his mother said. "And Azure said she thinks that they have a foal in the herd!"

Baby Nightglow whooped with joy, kicking up his heels. "Another foal!!! Another foal!!!" Flapping his immature wings frantically, he managed an unsteady but elated loop before crashing into the soft meadow grass.

"Careful there, dragon!" laughed Nightglow, but the colt continued prancing with glee. Although his parents romped with him whenever they had a free moment (which wasn't often,) Baby Nightglow had always pined for another baby pony to play with. He wasn't picky; any foal would've done, filly or colt, unicorn or earthling or (best of all) another pegasus, like him. But ponies seldom conceived, and many foals died in childbirth. (And in such cases the mother usually died too; he vaguely remembered Acorn, a pretty grey mare who had died despite the best efforts of the herd unicorns. "I'm so sorry," one of them had told Flicker, Acorn's distraught mate. "There was nothing we could do. The foal was laid wrong . . .")

"Is it a colt or a filly?" he demanded excitedly, focusing on the present once more.

"Wait a few days and you'll find out, little one," laughed Sunshine, nuzzling him. "Now come on, we're going to start moving soon."

Baby Nightglow was sure he'd never be able to wait so long, but managed to forget the enigmatic "new herd" as the ponies fell into a regulated half-trot for the day's journey. Trailing after his parents in a real trot (to correct for his shorter legs,) Baby Nightglow marveled at the precision of the herd's path. Normally they wandered in a gentle zigzag pattern, following the easiest terrain and occasionally even looping back to retread old ground; but with a concrete goal the herd leader, Evergold, could lead them in a straight line. The unfamiliar concept captivated the colt. "If we knew more about the land, we could always go in a straight line when we wanted to get something!" he thought. He excitedly mentioned the idea to his father when the herd paused for a bite of sweet meadow flowers.

"Fine idea, son!" Nightglow grinned. "But there's just one problem . . . how would a pony remember all this?" He swept his neck around, gesturing towards the stretching horizons. "And how could he tell other ponies about it?

"Well . . . well, they could . . . make lines out of . . . um . . . rocks. Yeah! Lines of rocks from place to place . . ."

"And what would happen when the predators figured out that they could get a nice pony meal by waiting by the rocks?"

The baby pony frowned. "Well, they'd have to have lots of unicorns along to help, I guess . . . maybe it isn't such a good idea after all," he added sadly.

Nightglow laughed. "Now, don't give up on it so fast, son. Just mull it over for a while and if you find a problem--why, think of a way to fix it! It's a wonderful idea." He nuzzled Baby Nightglow fondly.

"How does Evergold know where the other ponies are?" Baby Nightglow asked.

"I don't know," the stallion admitted.

"But I do!" Father and son turned toward the pretty teal pony who had just trotted over. Despite being an earthling, and thus lacking ability in magic--and even flight--Azure always seemed to know exactly what was going on. "She caught their scent at one of the pastures a few days ago-- you know how sharp Evei's nose is--so she sent Tempest to scan the area."

"So that's where Temp was," Nightglow exclaimed. "I wondered . . ."

Azure nodded. "And he found them, too. So Evergold met with the other herd leader and they decided to combine the two herds. Safety in numbers, you know."

"Is there really another foal?" Baby Nightglow demanded, his little wings all aflutter with anticipation.

"Mm-hm. I don't know what breed, though . . ."

But Baby Nightglow was already out of hearing, whooping as he rushed to tell his mother that there really WOULD be another baby pony joining the herd.

The elder Nightglow grinned at the antics of his foal. "Any unicorns in the new herd, Azure?" Unicorns were essential to the survival of any herd, able to fend off predators or heal wounds.

"Only two . . . the herd leader, Moonbeam, and one named Glimmer."

"So their leader is a unicorn . . ." Nightglow said thoughtfully. A slight frown creased his brow as he scanned the sunlit field where the herd rested. His gaze settled on the proud-stanced mare startling the minnows with her golden hooves as she took long draughts of cool water--vigilantly raising her head every few minutes as her eyes flicked back and forth alertly.

Azure followed his eyes and said nothing.

"A herd can have but one leader," Nightglow said at last.

"Yes," Azure answered softly. "Yes."

And they stood in silence for a long, long time in the dying sun of late afternoon.

~*~*~*~*~

Baby Nightglow sat up suddenly, waking with a start. In the east the morning sun, still hiding behind the hills, had just begun to stain the feathered clouds with the first rosy shades of dawn, though stars still clung defiantly to the western sky. The other ponies huddled together, sleeping peacefully . . . all except Evergold. Her silhouette was clear against the dew-soaked half-dawn as she gazed intently eastward.

The baby pony, too, turned towards the eastern hills; he blinked as the first dazzle of sunlight leapt over the horizon, dazzling his eyes. But he saw the dawn-dimmed shape gliding over the horizon far, far away--saw it spiraling effortlessly upward and upward, flying not like a swooping swallow, no, nor like a fluttering sparrow, but riding the air with a great sweeping of motionless wings, as the strong-soaring eagle flies . . . only eagles do not have flowing manes which whip in the sunlight . . .

"A pony!" Baby Nightglow breathed, trembling.

But no one he knew . . .

~*~*~*~*~

Shadow awoke with a start. Someone was shouting, disturbing the calls of the morning birds. He rolled to his feet. Ah, the foal. Shouting enthusiastically into the ears of his parents, he observed, watching Nightglow trying to cover his ears with his hooves. Shouting about . . . other ponies? The unicorn turned eastward. So it was true . . .

In a way, he had known there were other ponies, known that they would be combining with another herd. Evergold had said as much, hadn't she? And Tempest as well. But it was one thing to hear about them; it was quite another to watch them thundering over the horizon, strong and proud and free. Before he had known. Now he believed.

He studied the equines with care as they drew nearer, though they occasionally sank out of sight behind a rolling hill, only to leap suddenly into view again, the morning sunlight now dazzling behind them.

It was a small herd; the dramatic entrance couldn't hide that, Shadow thought pragmatically. Only four--no, five--ponies. Granted, two of them were unicorns, but still . . . he couldn't help wondering why Evergold had agreed to the alliance. There would be five more mouths to feed and the earthlings and the pegasus--especially the pegasus--would have to be protected from predators. ("Though it will be nice to meet the unicorn mares," Shadow added mentally.) But unicorns aside, why had Evergold agreed--?

The sixth pony gained the crest of the hill--a tiny pink pegasus whose legs pumped ridiculously as she frantically fluttered her tiny wings, vainly trying to keep up with the adults.

And her tail streamed behind her like a miniature rainbow while her mane cascaded over her neck in a cataract of color.

Shadow's eyes widened.

"That," he said softly, "explains everything."

~*~*~*~*~

Evergold's herd eagerly crowded around the new arrivals with wisps of dust settling around them as they stamped their hooves in greeting. Two pastel earthlings stood beside the herd leader, a soft white unicorn. A second unicorn tossed her head beside a pink pegasus mare. But one by one, every head turned towards the foal.

Tempest and Azure gazed at the pegasus filly in open amazement. Nightglow and Sunshine locked their gazes on the rainbow-haired baby as though her colorful mane had mesmerized them. Baby Nightglow stared.

Deep pink. Sun-gold. Emerald. Summer-sky blue.

What kind of pony was this?

The pink baby seemed unperturbed by the attention, calmly gazing up at the ring of faces surrounding her, then flicking her eyes towards Baby Nightglow. "Who are you?" she asked.

The dark purple foal drew back behind his mother's legs, suddenly shy.

"His name is Baby Nightglow," Sunshine answered with a smile. Nightglow grinned down at the smaller version of himself peering cautiously around one of Sunshine's yellow legs.

"I'm Baby Featherfall," the pink baby announced. "I'm tired," she added with a yawn, turning towards her mother. The pink mare nuzzled her fondly, protectively stretching a wing over her. "Run along and get some sleep, then. I'm sure Baby Nightglow can show you somewhere nice and quiet." The white-maned pegasus exchanged grins with Sunshine as Baby Nightglow drew back in embarrassment. "You'd better follow me," he mumbled at last, scuffing his hooves against the ground.

He quickly turned away from the adults, trotting away without a glance behind to see if the filly was following. But as he reached the rocky bank of the river, he could hear her hooves clattering against the stones. As she lowered her head for a cool drink of water, he cautiously glanced at her from under his fringe of blue forelock.

"Who are the ponies in your herd?" Baby Nightglow said at last.

Baby Featherfall thoughtfully licked a few droplets of water from her muzzle. "Moonbeam leads us. She's a unicorn."

"The white one," Baby Nightglow guessed.

The filly nodded. "Uh huh, and the one staring at that unicorn from your herd is Glimmer."

"That's Shadow," Baby Nightglow replied, gazing towards Glimmer, a silvery-gray unicorn mare who was indeed shyly gazing at handsome black Shadow. "What about those earthlings?"

"Droplet and Lilac," said the other baby.

"And your mother is the pegasus."

It was a statement, not a question, and Baby Featherfall didn't bother to confirm the obvious. Instead she said, "Who leads your herd?"

"Evergold protects us."

"For now," Baby Featherfall answered solemnly.

But the purple colt, suddenly leaping in pursuit of a shimmering dragonfly, didn't hear her.

~*~*~*~*~

After introductions all around, the ponies settled by the river for the night, huddling together for protection and warmth. Sunshine rested her head on Nightglow's back, draping one wing over her mate and one over her child. Baby Featherfall knelt near her mother while Droplet flung herself into the soft grass, overcome with exhaustion. Tempest muttered that if he flew another mile, his wings would probably fall off.

"It was a hard journey," Moonbeam murmured to Evergold; the two stood on a brief hill, overlooking the scene. The white unicorn and the gold earthling watched their charges shifting their legs, and twisting their heads this way and that, trying to find the most comfortable position for sleep. Some, after lying still for a few minutes, returned to their hooves and moved a few feet nearer or farther to the river, complaining of uncomfortable rocks. But after a time, silence fell, and remained. The only activity now was the twitching of the ear or hoof of an occasional dreamer.

Still Moonbeam and Evergold watched. "There is safety in numbers," Moonbeam said at last. "And the raals had just taken the last stallion in my herd. It is good that we met."

"Perhaps." Evergold flicked her gold-spun tail. "But a larger herd draws more predators. More mountain cats, more raal . . . and if the herd does not act as one--"

"It will act as one; it must."

"But they are not one. Not now; not yet. They are not one herd."

"Yes, I see," Moonbeam replied thoughtfully. "Those from your herd sleep in one huddle and those from mine in another . . ."

The stars wheeled above them, slowly, slowly, and a silence surrounded them.

"A herd can have but one leader," Evergold said at last. "Every pony knows it, and we two better than most."

"Yes," Moonbeam said. "So it has always been."

Again, silence.

"There is another hill over there," Moonbeam said, tilting her head until her horn pointed towards it. "It is far enough away that they," she pointed her horn towards the sleepers, "would be unlikely to hear anything--"

"But close enough so we can keep an eye out for danger," Evergold finished, nodding in approval.

Without further comment they set out, shoulder by shoulder.

~*~*~*~*~

Deep in the thralls of sleep, Baby Nightglow dreamt of clashing hooves and blazes of cold white light . . . at last lapsing into a heavy silence.

Not far away, two ponies dipped their heads respectfully.

One turned away from the sleeping herd.

Forever.