The rain continued to fall. It had been falling for hours now. Most of the ponies in Ponyville were struggling to hear their own voices over the sound of water clashing against their windows.
Fluttershy didn’t mind the rain. In fact, while she was at home, she invited it. The soothing, waterfall-like resonance reminded her that while she could be outside in the dark, soggy, coldness of the night, she was instead lying besides her fireplace, absorbing the comfort of her blanket and hot cocoa.
Her mind was aimlessly wondering about the day’s events. Nothing particularly significant happened, but it was pleasant for Fluttershy to think over a day spent with her friends.
She yawned. It’s getting late. I should probably go to bed, she thought to herself. She lapped up the last few drops of cocoa and stood up stretching, letting the blanket on her back fall to the floor. Trotting into her kitchen, she placed the empty mug on the side and started making her way upstairs
That journey was swiftly interrupted by a banging sound.
Fluttershy spun around to inspect the source of the racket. The first conclusion she drew was that it was somepony knocking on her front door. Who could that be? It’s almost 10 O’clock, she thought.
As she got closer to the door, she began to think of reasons somepony might be banging on her front door in the middle of the night, while it was raining no less. Maybe it’s the mail mare? No, she’d never make deliveries at a time like this. Maybe it’s…Royal guards!? Have I done something wrong!?
Fluttershy hesitantly placed a hoof on the handle and pulled the door open, releasing a flood of noise into the cottage. At first glance, Fluttershy didn’t notice anyone, but after a few seconds of adapting to the darkness she noticed a black figure standing before her.
“U-Um… Hello?” She asked the shadow
“E-E-Excuse me, miss, but could… could I stay here for a little while p-please?” The stranger spoke with a light, almost angelic voice, even with the noticeable croak in her voice. “I don’t have a-anywhere else to turn, and I d-don’t know where I’m going…”
Fluttershy found herself lost in thought. I can’t just have a stranger staying in my house! I don’t know anything about-
Her train of thought was broken by the figure’s coughing fit. It went on for 10 lengthy seconds.
The carer inside Fluttershy inevitably came out. “…Alright. I’ll let you stay for a few days, until you feel better.”
“R-Really?” The voice spoke with hope in her tone.
“Come inside before your cold gets worse.” She widened the opening by pulling the door further back.
The stranger trod into the warm and dry shelter, revealing the very little amount of her not covered by a long, black cloak and hood. Her amethyst coat was dirtied with mud and her hooves were covered in blisters from walking without end for an unknown number of days. She was a little taller than the average mare.
The stranger stood in the centre of the cottage, basking in the uncommon but welcoming warmth that surrounded her. The door slamming behind her failed to knock her out of her pleasant daze, however the sound of Fluttershy’s relaxed voice did.
“Would you like some cocoa?”
“Y-Y-Yes, please.” The cloaked mare responded. She sat down on the furniture and patiently waited for Fluttershy to arrive with her beverage.
While preparing the drink in the kitchen, Fluttershy pondered over the situation that had befallen. I don’t who this pony is, and now she’s staying in my cottage! Oh, I hope this isn’t a bad decision! …I-It’s okay, Fluttershy, you’re not in any danger…At least, I don’t think you are. She seems like a really nice pony…But that would be judging a book by it’s cover and I certainly don’t want t-
“Are you alright, Miss?”
Fluttershy almost jumped out of her skin and almost knocked herself silly against the ceiling. She hesitantly hovered back down to the ground, laughing awkwardly.
“Heh heh… S-Sorry, you startled me.” She said in a defeated tone.
“O-Oh did I? I-I’m sorry…” The stranger almost mirrored her tone.
An awkward silence hung in the air as both mares looked towards the ground sorrily. Fluttershy was the one to break this silence.
“So…your cocoa is ready! D-did you want cream on that?” Fluttershy spoke with evident anxiety in her voice.
“Um…n-no thanks, it’s alright…” The voice was, once again, almost indistinguishable from Fluttershy’s own.
They moved into the main room and sat on Fluttershy’s old but comfortable furniture. For a few minutes, they just sat, neither of them speaking and the only sounds that could be heard were raindrops splattering against the cottage and the occasional sipping of cocoa.
“…I have to th-thank you, Miss-” The stranger started, but then promptly stopped herself. “O-oh, I-I’m sorry, but I never caught y-your name.”
“My name is F-Fluttershy…” She trailed of into nothing by the end of her name.
“Th-that’s a nice name…I-I’m Tera. T-Tera Chirop.”
“T-That’s a nice name too…” Fluttershy spoke with an even softer voice than before. “Um, could I ask you something, Tera?”
“W-What is it?”
“I-It’s just that…you’re still wearing that hood and cloak.” Fluttershy pointed out to the mare.
“…Uh…W-W-What’s so strange a-about that?” Tera seemed to speak with worry and fear in her tone.
“W-Well, I don’t mean to cause offence or anything, but…they’re both still dripping wet.” Fluttershy floated over to the blanket she had been using earlier that night and presented it to Tera. “Y-You could dry yourself off with this…” Fluttershy suggested.
“I-I’ll be f-fine, honest.” Tera appealed.
“Oh, but, you have a cold!” Fluttershy’s motherly caring side was taking hold again. “You won’t get any better without taking those soaking wet-”
“I can’t take them off!” Tera snapped.
Fluttershy flinched back at Tera’s sudden outburst and gave a small whimper. She dropped the blanket in place and stepped back a couple of steps. “I-I… I just… I just wanted to help…”
Tera sat motionless. Her expression was unknown; the dripping hood was still shadowing her face. “I…I know you want to help me…I’m grateful. E-Extremely grateful…but…I can’t let you see me. The real me.”
Fluttershy stood shaking and confused in front of the mysterious mare, who seemed to just stare back with none-existent eyes.
“Th-Then…how can I trust you?” Fluttershy’s voice was barely audible, even to herself, but Tera seemed to hear her clearly.
For a few seconds, Tera was struck silent, but eventually, her reply came. “Can I trust you?”
Fluttershy was visibly taken back by her question. “W-What?”
“Can I trust you, Fluttershy?” Tera repeated. “Can I trust you to not run away or scream or attack me after I do this?”
Fluttershy stood speechless. Part of her wanted to not trust this mare. Part of her wanted to scream and run. Part of her said that this mare was not to be trusted at all.
But not all of her. For some strange, unknown reason, Fluttershy had found a part of herself that trusted this mare. It was only the smallest piece of doubt. The smallest piece of her that doubted this mare was untrustworthy. But, for another unknown reason, she sided with the minority of herself.
“Okay…” She said in a voice barely above a whisper, “I trust you…”
Tera took a deep breath, stood up and faced Fluttershy. An amethyst hoof reached up to her small silver broach and disconnected it from her cloak, which then proceeded to fall majestically to the ground.
What Fluttershy saw in that moment sent her heart pounding and her eyes flaring.
Two sharply-edged bat wings sprang from the sides of her body and fluttered twice. She then flipped her head back, revealing her glimmering emerald, slit pupil eyes and silky, short Mardi Gras mane.
But what stood out most were her teeth. Two lengthy, sharpened stalactites stretched proudly out of Tera’s mouth, coated in shine.
“…I-I know. I’m terrifying, aren’t I?” Tera looked down to the floor in self-shame, expecting the inevitable screaming and assault on her body.
Fluttershy stood in complete shock. Not at the fact she was staring at a pony with razor-sharp fangs. Not even at the fact that this thing was a potential risk to her. She was in shock because of Tera’s eyes.
Fluttershy looked directly into Tera’s watering green orbs. She stared into them, long and hard, trying to find some form of a threat. She could see fear, sorrow, pain, anger, hatred and sadness.
But no threat. Nowhere in her eyes could she see any potential threat. All she saw was a broken mare.
“…No.”
Tera looked up in total disbelief. “W-W-What did you j-just say?”
“You‘re not a monster. Just because you have wings and fangs doesn‘t mean you‘re a monster. In fact, some people might consider that beautiful.” Fluttershy let loose a small, warm-hearted smile, much to Tera’s shock.
For a few moments, the fanged pony froze completely with mouth agape and pupils dilated. After what seemed like hours had passed, Tera did something. Something she hadn’t done in a long time. Her mouth curled up into a semi-happy, semi-sad, quivering smile. Her sparkling eyes begin to trickle drops across her face.
“…Thank you…” She spoke with a voice lower than a whisper, but regardless, Fluttershy heard her as clear as day.
The timid pegasus walked towards Tera with her hooves outstretched. Tera complied by wrapping her hooves around Fluttershy’s back and neck, wrapping them in a tight embrace. They stood motionless for several minutes without saying a word until Tera slid her front hooves back to the ground, breaking the hug. She looked into Fluttershy’s eyes before for a couple of seconds before shying away with bright red cheeks.
Fluttershy didn’t take much notice; she had something else on her mind. “Uh, Tera?”
“Yes, Fluttershy?” Tera replied.
“What happened?”
Tera was slightly confused. “ ‘What happened’? What do you mean by that?”
“What happened to you for you to be wondering out in the pouring rain, all on your own?” Fluttershy added a hint of sorrow to the last part of her question.
Tera looked down at the ground for a short while before lifting her head up to answer.
A young bat-pony was galloping down the cobblestone roads, giggling to herself manically. She completely ignored the shopkeepers and other villagers that greeted her and skipped by them instead. The majority of the village were bat-ponies, while only a few were anything but.
The little filly inevitably crashed into a local villager. “Hey! Tera, watch were you’re running!” The elderly bat-pony exclaimed.
“S-sorry, Mr Nocturne, but I’m kind of in a hurry right now!” was the only thing she could stutter before she ran off again.
She continued to run until she got to the front door of her home, in which she proceeded to slam open. Inside were two middle-aged ponies who looked like they’d just had a heart attack.
“Mother! Farther! I have something wonderful to tell you!” Tera blurted out mindlessly.
Her mother looked down to her with a sweet smile on her face. “What is it dear?”
Tera looked like she was about to explode. “I meet a boy at school today who said I was nice and that means he likes me and I think he’s nice as well and-”
“Calm down, Sweetie.” Her mother placed a hoof onto her shoulder. “It’s really nice that you met a boy who likes you, but sometimes it’s best if you just keep calm and wait.”
“B-but mom! He really does like me!”
“Trust me, Tera. You’re a bit to young to understand love.” Her mother kept the same loving smile on her face.
“…Okay.” Tera looked down, a little bit annoyed.
“Now then, how about we bake some of those cookies you l-”
That sentence was intercepted by a loud crash. Each member of the household raised their ears and ran to the front door. Tera’s parents quickly rushed back to Tera and exclaimed. “Tera, this is important. Take the emergency supplies we store in the back of the house and run far away.”
Tera seemed ultimately petrified by her Father’s sudden warning. “W-what!? What’s going on?!?!”
“Tera, just run. Quickly!” Her mother shouted with a panicked expression.
Tera quickly complied, running for the back door, grabbing a bag of supplies and bursting into a sprint away from the house. She didn’t look back once. All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears and various bangs and crashes in the distance. She ran for miles and miles, until she just collapsed in place.
Tears were streaming from her eyes as fear and confusion forced her brain to overload.
“…And that’s all I remember.” Tera finished with tears freely flowing from her eyes. “I still don’t know what happened that day or why. After that I started travelling from town to town, looking for somewhere to call home… but nobody wants me. They all think I’m a monster just because they’ve never seen a pony with fangs before.” Tera huffed in anger.
Fluttershy had produced tears of her own. She stared at Tera, engrossed in her story, unable to say a word. It took several minutes before one of them was able to say something.
“…Here.”
“I’m sorry?” Tera tilted her head, more than slightly confused by what Fluttershy had just said.
“Here. This is your new home. You’re never going to be disgraced again. You are a pony like everybody else and nobody has the right to put you down. Nobody.”
Tera’s waterworks started up again. This time, she more or less threw herself at Fluttershy, almost suffocating her by how hard she was holding her.
Fluttershy simply held onto Tera, allowing her left shoulder to get absolutely soaked. “It’s going to be okay, Tera. You’re going to be fine here.”
It took around twenty minutes before Tera had the stability to lift her head up and look Fluttershy in the face. “I… I can never thank you enough for what you’ve done, Fluttershy. You have single-handedly changed my life for the better.”
Fluttershy’s cheeks turned red and looked away. “I-It’s nothing, really…”
“It’s everything!” Tera shouted ecstatically, “You’ve taken away all the pain and suffering that befell me, just by trusting me…” Tera’s face had turned as red as a tomato by now.
They gazed into each others eyes for no more than a minute, still holding each other close enough for them to hear each other’s heartbeats. Tera’s heartbeat sped up rapidly.
“You remind me of that boy I met.”
Fluttershy hid behind her mane after that statement made her face burn.
“I… I think I love you, Fluttershy.”
Author's Note
So... This is just something I pumped out last minute for the bat-pony write-off. It's not amazing, but I felt like writing. Thanks for reading!
