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                        Starry Paws                        
                    -by EruditeEspeon-                     
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                         Prologue                          
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Prologue
The mother ursa major looked down lovingly at her eight cubs. The cubs were only the size of a puppy, which was tiny compared to their mother, who towered over them, as tall as a five story house. Seven cubs fought to reach their mother, trying to get a place to feed on its mother’s milk. They nipped on each others ears, using all their might to force their way past.
The last cub stumbled after the others eagerly, but being the slowest in the litter, there was no space for the little cup to feed. He was smaller than its other brothers and sisters, and was often left out. He wanted to please its mother, to show her that he could be as good as the rest. However, being a runt, his mother never really payed attention for him. She would just look lovingly at the rest, her eyes brushing past him as if he was invisible.
“Rar!” The little cub cried as he tried to squeeze past his siblings for a drink. His 5th brother gave him glare, and bumped him to the left. The others followed his lead, pushing and shoving him until the poor cub was far away from his mother’s teat, outside the hungry crowd of siblings. The cub could only watch sadly and give a small whine, his stomach growling, hoping there will be some milk left for him.
After the cub’s siblings’ stomachs have been filled, they slowed parted away and went off to play tag with each other. The small cub ran eagerly over to his mother as the last cub had finished his meal. To his surprise, the Ursa major mother stood up, making it impossible for the cub to even have a sip of milk. Being only a small fraction of his mother’s height, the cub was helpless. He gave a small squeak, indicating his hunger, however, his efforts were fruitless.
Ignoring the runt, the mother ursa went to hush the rest of the cubs, nudging them beside her to go to sleep. The cubs slowly began to grow weary and cuddled up next to their mother, leaning on her as if she was a nice soft pillow. The littlest went up to its mother and gave a whine, begging her for his dinner. However, the mother just rolled over, back facing the cub, oblivious to the whining.
The puny cub tried to sneak a drink, creeping up to its mother’s belly, and tried sucking on her nipple. Not only did it not have any milk, it caused the mother to be agitated. Visibly annoyed, the mother gave the little one a menacing growl, its large fangs capable of ripping flesh in one bite showing before going back to sleep. The cub was silenced, his terror of the fangs cutting through his throat far higher than his hunger.
His stomach could not stop bother the cub, and he could not sleep a wink. Giving up, the cub sniffed the air attentively, trying to locate a nearby food source. At first, he could smell nothing. But soon enough, he manage to trace a sweet scent in the air, and he obeyed his raging stomach and ran in the direction of the smell.
The blueberry bush was not that far away, a few metres deeper into the forest from the clearing where the mother ursa and most of her cubs lay, in a deep slumber. Even from the bush, the low rumbling of the Ursa Major and her cubs’ snores could be clearing. The cub’s face lit up as it spotted the plum ripe berries. After experimentally sniffing them to see if they were poisonous, he gobbled them down in less than a minute.
After polishing of the one side of the bush, the cub licked its lips, savouring the sweet taste of berry juice remaining around its mouth, before craving for more. It began to paw and dig at the the bush, trying to reach the berries left deeper in the bush.
As the bear wiggled, trying to take a bite of the remaining berries. The thorns in the bush caught and latched onto the bear like a hook. The sharp thorns dug into the cubs fur, but the cub was so famished that the pain seemed to be numbed, and he carried on digging. All he could focus on was the berry a few centimetres away. By the time the cub managed to take a bite of the nearest berry, his body was covered in cuts.
Realizing that he would be badly cut if he persisted and dug deeper, the cub reluctantly decided to retreat. However, no matter how much he squirmed, the thorns just jabbed deeper into his flesh, stubbornly refusing to let go. The cub let out a panicked cry in pain as he realized he was stuck. Fear coursed through him as his cuts began to throb. Struggling even more, the thorns had no mercy and pieced in deeper, causing blood to seep from the cub’s cuts.
Giving out a high pitched whine, he tried to call to his mother but to no avail. Weak, exhausted and in pain, the cub gave up. Slowly, as the evening came closer, the cub gave in to his fatigue, his eyes fluttering shut and he fell into a deep and restless slumber.
When the harsh night came, the cub woke up to the sound of a long shrill howl, that sent shivers down his spine. The dreaded smell of rotten meat filled his nostrils, and a surge of alarm ran through his veins.Trembling, he peeked out of the bush and saw two glowing green eyes staring intimidatingly back at him. He felt every muscle in his body freeze as the lurking creature lunged forward, mouth wide open, sharp claws extended for its attack.
“The day seems to be coming to an end, it is time to say goodbye my friend,” The zebra looked out of the window of her small hut, where the sun was starting to set over the horizon, and darkness began to loom over the Everfree forest.
“Thanks Zecora. I really needed these remedies for my animals.” The shy Pegasus’ voice was filled with sincere gratitude. She gingerly picked up the bag of mixed herbs and placed in in her saddle bag.
“I eager to help everypony, yes that is true. I hope this is good enough to cure your animals’ flu.” Zecora nodded, as a smile creeped onto her lips. She placed a rolled up piece of paper into Fluttershy’s bag. “ Follow this list, and nothing will go wrong. In a day or two, the poor bunnies won’t be ill for long.”
Fluttershy thanked the herbalist once again, and said her goodbye. However, once she stepped out of the hut, she felt fear grip her. The sun had already set, and the forest looked as spooky as ever. The wind howled, making the leaves on the trees rustle, and Fluttershy could not differentiate whether the sound was caused by a wind, or a dangerous animal lurking nearby.
Maybe I can fly over the forest back home. She thought. Flapping her wings, she hovered up over the forest, looking down the thick canopy of trees below her.
“Oh my......”
Confusion struck her. The sky was dark, and the only source of light she had was the weak light reflected by Luna’s moon, which had begun to rise. All she could see was a faint glimpse of the area ahead of her, while the rest were darkness. She could not tell north from south, or east to west. She had completely lost her bearings.

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                         Chapter 1                         
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Chapter 1
The cub braced itself the worst as the animal readied itself to spring forward and attack the poor measly figure which represented him. The animal took him by surprise and instead of pouncing on him, the timberwolf leaped over the bush, licking its chops as it focused on his initial target. The wolf was not planning to have the stuck little cub for its dinner, his eye was on his delicious siblings, nestling peacefully near the clearing with their mother. The timerwolf snapped its head back and sniffed the air carefully, picking up a scent. The timberwolf’s nose was pointed to the ground, as it edged closer and closer to the blueberry bush the cub was trapped inside. The cub was stricken with fear. Had it pick up his trail?
However, luck seemed to be on the little ursa’s side as he heard the sound of shuffling in the shrubs behind him. The timberwolf raised his head, his ears flattened straight back, ready to attack anyone that came in his way. Seeing the creature that caused the sound, it gave a low growl and nodded to the snoozing ursa cubs.The creatures revealed themselves and walked out of the bush to join the timberwolf, the cub found out that they were two other timberwolves, jaws open, hungry for flesh.
The three wolves stealthily creeped up to the cubs, cautiously watching the mother ursa in case she awoke. They had to be careful, as a fully grown mother ursa can knock out a dozen of their kind in just one swipe of a paw. They circled around the sleeping cubs, drool dribbling from their mouths, imagining the taste of fresh ursa meatfor their next meal.
The little cub wanted to cry out, warn his brothers and sisters, to wake them up so they could flee. But as anxiety gripped his throat, and when his lips moved, no sound came out. He might risk getting himself noticed, and in his position, he would be in the timberwolves’ bellies for sure.
The timberwolves plan did not go as well as they had expected. As soon as one managed to nip a sleeping cub by the skin of the back of his neck, the cub instantly awoke and gave a large yelp. The mother ursa’s eyes snapped open at the sound.
Spotting the timberwolves, she stood up on her hind legs to size the wolves up and gave a low, deep roar, that could be heard from anypony from a fifty metre radius. The timblewolves started to shake as they frantically tried to retreat, with their prized dinner in their mouths. Unfortunately, the mother ursa was too quick. With a massive blow by her paw, she sent the timblewolf flying as she snatched her son free from his jaws. Relief flooded the cub stuck in the bush, as he watched his mother fight the wolves.
The Ursa Major then turned to face the two other trembling timber wolves, whimpering for mercy, The Ursa Major took in a deep breath and gave a ear splitting growl, displaying her enormous razor sharp incisors. This sent the two off on their heels, with their tails tucked under their legs.
The mother seemed to calm down, and quickly herded her cubs together, before kneeling down to let them get on her back. When they were all securely on her back, she started heading deeper into the dark forest. Distressed, she had to find a new place to stay, where it was safer for her cubs.
The cub was horrified. His mother was leaving without him. He tried to struggle out of the thorn’s grip, but to no avail. Calling out a muffled and panicked cry, he tried to inform his mother that he was missing. He was stuck and he needed her to wait.
The mother ursa ears twitched as the cub yelped again. Looking back, she scrutinized her eyes at the bush, trying to see which cub she had forgotten. Upon recognizing the runt, the one which was the weakest and puniest of the litter, she decided that he will have not much use to her. Giving a shake of her head, she gave her barking cub a strict look, turned around and carried on with her journey.
The cub was confused. Didn’t she see him? Why was she still leaving? Somehow in his heart, he knew why. The pain of rejection stabbed him like a knife in his chest, knowing that the odds of him surviving now was low.
The cub could only watch in horror as his family trudged into the darkness of the woods, out of his sight. He shut his eyes, hoping that sleep will numb the fact that now he is abandoned, weak, and helpless. And he waited for his death to arrive.   
Fluttershy hesitantly flew down. She could not fly, for her strap of her saddlebag was becoming loose, and she feared of losing it and the herbs during her flight. She considered retreating back to Zecora’s hut, and staying there for the night until dawn, but remembered that she had sneezing mice and squirrels back in her cottage, eagerly waiting for her to arrive with their long awaited medicine. She could not leave them waiting. Filled with sudden determination and courage, Fluttershy vowed that she would, no matter what, be back at the cottage to tend to her sick animals.
The slightly jagged stones of the stone path poked Fluttershy’s hooves as she trekked into the forest. The only way for her to find her way back home through the pitch back forest was feeling the pebble path underneath her hooves.
Fluttershy gathered up all the courage in her and headed straight on, chanting to herself., “I am brave, I am brave.” She closed her eyes, still afraid of spotting a creature lurking in the forest. The wind howled into Fluttershy’s eyes, taunting her, trying to make her change her mind.
Tweek! Fluttershy’s eyes widened, leaping up almost a metre in the air when she heard the sound. What was that? Under the beam of moonlight shinning down, she looked around, expecting a menticore or cockatrice to leap up and strike. But instead, she saw nothing but bushes and trees.
She lowered her eyes and realised she had only stepped on a fallen twig. A mix of sheepishness and relief overcame her before a thunderous howl turned it to dread. Too petrified to move, she crouched down, throwing her shaky hooves over her head, hoping that she could somehow turn invisible. Fluttershy did not know how long she had been there, frozen by fear, lying low of the grass. Silence ensued after the loud howl, only the faint sound of chirping crickets could be heard.
When she was finally convinced the animal was gone, Fluttershy hastily got onto her hooves, still shaking like a leaf. She continued on walking, trying not to squeak at every shadow she saw.
The forest scared Fluttershy, especially at nights like this, when she was alone, with the only light source being the moonlight, barely illuminating the path in front of her. She had always been afraid of going to the woods at night, and her cousin did not help by telling her the horror story of slendermane when she was a filly. Fluttershy shuddered at the thought of the tall faceless pony lurking in the woods, searching for his next victim.
Fluttershy had never felt so relieved when she saw the street lights from Ponyville in a distance. She sped up and galloped to the direction of her home, before a small pitiful whimper made her stop in her tracks, and look blindly around to find what was making the noise. Fluttershy strained her ears, trying to locate the sound’s source. The whimper was filled with pain, sadness, fear and trauma. The animal must have been wounded, and was crying for help. Fluttershy could not help but feel obliged to find out who was it, and if she could, give it a helping hoof.
Following the direction of the puppy like wails, Fluttershy blindly stumbled onto a bush, which a yelp of agony followed after that.
“Um, Hello?” Fluttershy asked, with genuine concern. She looked around. Clucking her tongue affectionately, with her voice as sweet as sugar, she called out in a sing song voice, “ Come on out little one, I won’t hurt you.”
In response, she heard a weak cry from the bush she had stepped on. “Oh goodness! Are you hurt?”
Pushing apart the brambles and leaves in the bush frantically, Fluttershy peered in. Little did she know that the sight before her was something she was unprepared for.