fLuTtEr
oNe
...
Fluttershy was enjoying the lovely winter morning. The air was still cold and crisp, but was promising to warm up.
With Winter Wrap Up only days away, and everypony was excited and getting prepared.
Even Fluttershy. She was checking the locations of all the animal dens, making sure she would know where to search. Every den was exactly where she remembered them.
"Ah, such a wonderful day." Fluttershy smiled, then noticed something a little odd.
A small creature was crawling about in the snow, shivering with cold. The fur was tangled, and a soft grey in tone. It let out a pathetic little whimper, which brought Fluttershy's full attention.
All winter she had virtually no animals to care for, and all of a sudden, she found one in need, shivering in the snow.
"Oh you poor thing." She gently scooped it into her hooves, wrapping it in her wings. "You must be freezing and hungry."
She smiled, but then let out a startled gasp as the creature stung her in the side, right under her right wing. It fell to the ground, leaving a large stinger with a pulsating sack and bits of bloody internal organs behind.
Fluttershy winced as she felt the sack pump something into her. Poison? She carefully gripped the stinger with her teeth and tugged, but it must have been barbed. It refused to come out.
Not knowing what else to do, she galloped for the clinic, as the stinger was too close to the base of her wing for her to fly.
It only took her minutes to reach her destination. She staggered into the clinic, already feeling the effects of the creature's poison.
"Help... me..." She was burning up as she collapsed to the floor, rolling to her side. She lifted her shaking wing for Nurse Redheart to see, then blacked out.
...
Sounds came to her ears. A voice. No, a pair of voices, talking quietly near her.
Fluttershy cracked en eye open and winced. It was so bright.
"Fluttershy?" It was Rainbow Dash's voice. "Hey, you ok?"
"Too bright..." She shielded her eyes from the lights with a hoof.
"Oh my Darling Fluttershy. You had us all so worried." Rarity stepped into view.
Fluttershy blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes as Dash went and closed the curtain, dimming the room enough for Fluttershy to fully open her eyes.
"Rarity? Dashie?" The yellow mare blinked a few times and tried to sit up, but winced as she felt pain in her side. "Ow..."
Dash gently pushed Fluttershy back down. "Don't try to get up. You've been through surgery and has some poison stuff in you."
"Yes dear. You just need to rest."
"How long?"
Dash and Rarity looked at each other, and the rainbow maned Pegasus nodded.
"Five days."
"Oh... I missed Winter Wrap Up, didn't I?"
"Don't worry about it." Dash smiled. "Twilight managed to take you're not being there into account and had a couple animal caretakers from Canterlot brought in to help out. Took them a while to find all the dens though. Spring was almost were late because of those two."
Fluttershy hung her head. "I'm so sorry."
Rarity nuzzled Fluttershy under the chin. "Why don't you tell us what happened? Dr. Reeds said you had some sort of nasty stinger stuck in your side, just below your wing."
Fluttershy shook her head a little. "I don't remember actually." She frowned. Whatever had happened was a total blank. "I remember checking on the locations of the dens, but then everything goes blank."
"Well, Twilight is examining the stinger. She's almost obsessed with it." Dash frowned. "Excited even, though she's been here every day to just sit and talk to you. We've all taken time to be with you."
Fluttershy blushed a little. "Thank you, but what about my other little animals?"
Rarity place a hoof on her shoulder. "I've been feeding them and cleaning up after them. Don't you worry my dear. Although your little Angel..." She gritted her teeth. "He's... being difficult."
"He must really be worried about me." Fluttershy shifted slightly to get more comfortable, then lifted the blanket to look at the small bandage that covered the sting mark. "Oh dear. I really did get hurt. I wish I could remember."
"Well, the Doc said you were really burning up really bad as they tried to remove the stinger and whatever poison they could."
Rarity frowned a little. "Oddly, they couldn't remove any of the poison that the stinger injected into you. Their anti poison spells simply had no effect."
"Yea, when we heard the news we all rushed here and had to wait while they operated on you." Dash looked at the bandage. "I saw that stinger after when Twilight took it for her investigation. It looked really nasty with barbs and that squashy sack on the end."
"Yes, it reminded me of a bee sting." Rarity added.
"Oh..." Fluttershy hung her head a little. "Then if it was like a bee sting, then whatever stung me must be dead. A bee can only sting once before it dies a little while later."
Dash winced. "Why the heck would a bee sting anything then?"
"I'm a little tired." Fluttershy stated as she yawned. "I'm sure Twilight has books about bees..." She lay back down and closed her eyes. In seconds she was asleep.
Dash sighed softly. "Can you keep an eye on Fluttershy? I'm curious about why a bee would sting anything if it would die after." She trotted from the room, not even waiting for Rarity's response.
Not that Rarity minded. She had a needle and plenty of thread. She had taken to trying her hoof (or in this case, magic) at creating a needlepoint design on some silk.
...
"Hey Twi." Dash walked into the library. "Got any books on bees?"
Twilight looked up from the book she was reading. "Sure, on that shelf under the letter 'bee'." Twilight giggled a little at her pun.
"Very funny." She turned and started scanning the books. "So, find anything out about the stinger?"
"That's the odd part. At first, it was a stinger, but it started to decay rapidly. Now, it's pretty much the same material as paper. The poison sack went from a fleshy sack with muscle and a few very simple internal organs to... well, papery substance as well."
"Paper?"
"Yes, wood fibres." Twilight huffed. "It's like whatever it was made that body out of fine wood fibre. There's no traces of anything else left, and I have nothing else to compare it too."
"Wow. That's freaky. Anyway, Fluttershy woke up for a bit. She doesn't remember anything about what happened, but she seems fine."
"She's awake?" Twilight jumped to her hooves. "Oh, you said she went back to sleep, didn't you?"
Dash nodded and found a book on bees. She tried to pull it from the shelf first with a hoof, then with her teeth.
Twilight sighed and used her magic to pull it out and set it on the table. "I've never seen you read a book before. Or is this for Fluttershy?"
"No, it's for me. I don't get why a bee would sting anything if that would kill the bee." Dash opened the book and sat down, focusing on trying to understand something that made no sense to her.
Twilight opened her mouth, about to explain what Dash was reading up for herself, then stopped. She simply smiled and went back to her own research.
...
Fluttershy was released from the hospital the next day, and was greeted by her friends.
Fluttershy looked like she was doing much better, though she was still being careful about pressing her right wing to her side.
"We should totally have a..."
"No Pinkie." Rarity covered Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Fluttershy needs to rest up a little more."
Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you for the thought Pinkie, but you know I don't like parties."
"Oh, that's ok." Pinkie nuzzled Fluttershy. "How about we just be happy that you're feeling better and will keep feeling better till you feel better than you've ever felt before."
Applejack just chuckled while Rarity and Dash rolled their eyes. Twilight giggled and Pinkie Pie beamed a smile.
Applejack walked up to Fluttershy, a light smile on her face. "Need any help getting home? Is there anything we can bring ya?" She was worried for her friend, but also glad she was being released from the hospital.
"Maybe... if it's alright with you... We can go get something to eat?" She glanced at Nurse Redheart as she trotted past, pushing a cart of hospital food.
"Of course." Rarity smiled. "Where would you like to go?"
"Um... anywhere is fine."
Pinkie bounced happily. "Oh, I know. Let's all go to Sugarcube Corner. It won't be a party, but just us going for something to eat."
There was no arguing about that idea.
...
All eyes were on Fluttershy.
Normally she was such a delicate eater, rarely eating much at any given time.
But as she finished off her second apple pie (the whole thing). fourth apple crumble, third slice of chocolate cake and half a dozen random cupcakes, she finally leaned back and patted her belly.
Dash and Applejack 'had' started their own eating contest, but knew, somehow, they could not compete with how voracious Fluttershy was. The had stopped and just watched in a awe.
Rarity had watched with some horror, and silently praying to Celestia that the pretty little Fluttershy would not start eating like this all the time. She would become fat and... not pretty at all.
"Wow." Pinkie Pie stared in awe. "You really were hungry."
Fluttershy licked the icing off one of her hooves and nodded. "I've never been so hungry before." She smiled softly and let out a tiny burp. "Oh, excuse me." She blushed.
Twilight had never known Fluttershy to eat that much. Heck, she preferred less sugary foods, usually sticking to salads, fresh fruit and vegetables. To see her devour so much sugary delights was... odd.
"Are you feeling better?" Twilight asked, watching Fluttershy for any signs that something was wrong.
Fluttershy nodded a little. "Yes, thank you."
Rarity smiled and walked to the counter. "How much does Fluttershy's order come too?"
Mrs. Cake blinked. She knew of only one other pony who could threaten the safety of baked goods the way Fluttershy had just done. No other pony had ever come close.
"Mrs. Cake?" Rarity waved a hoof in front of the baker's wife's face.
"What? Oh. So sorry Deary. What was that again?"
Rarity glanced at Fluttershy and jingled her bit purse.
"Oh, of course. Let's see. The total comes to twenty bits, minus the best friends of Pinkie Pie discount... ten bits please." She smiled.
Rarity nodded and floated the ten bits too Mrs. Cake, and another ten bits into the tip jar.
"Oh thank you Deary. You are always so generous."
"It's in my nature." Rarity smiled and turned back to her friends. "Shall we step outside and enjoy the day? It is so lovely."
...
It had been a long day indeed. Fluttershy had promised to pay Rarity back for paying for that rather expensive meal. Of course, Rarity would not hear of it, and that was that.
Fluttershy arrived home and entered. She was greeted by a not too happy looking white rabbit.
"Oh Angel. I'm so sorry I got hurt. Did Rarity take good care of you?"
Angel pointed to his now overly decorated hutch.
Fluttershy giggled. "I'll fix that right up for you in the morning. Right now, I bet all of you are so very hungry." She smiled at the few animals that were present.
...
Angel watched as his Pony tended to making the few animals their dinner. She hummed happily to herself as she worked, and nothing looked wrong, like she had not been hurt at all.
But he could see the bandage on her side. He had been so worried when she had not come home, and more-so when Fluttershy's fashionista friend came in and started doing Fluttershy's job.
When food was served, it looked more like a piece of art rather than a meal. The Unicorn had cleaned up the place very quickly with that magic of hers every time she came in.
Not that Angel seemed to care. He pestered her, teased her, and basically made Rarity's life a heck, but the Unicorn Pony simply stuffed him into his hutch and gave him a withering stare.
Nowhere near as frightening as 'The Stare', but effective enough. He behaved himself while she was around but would always leave a mess for her to clean up when she would return the next time.
She punished him by decorating his hutch, making it look like a she-bunny lived there, and enchanting it so the material could not be torn, folded, or removed by the bunny.
But now Fluttershy was back. He happily accepted his dinner of mixed carrots and turnip and watched as she went about feeding the others.
Still... something seemed off, ever so slightly.
Fluttershy looked a little fatter than normal. There was also something off about her scent. It was a little sweeter, and the spring in her step seemed a little happier. Had he knows she had recently consumed a vast amount of sugary baked goods, he would have understood right away (having his own massive sweet tooth concerning carrot cake).
Not knowing that fact, he just felt worried.
"I'm turning in for the night." Fluttershy suddenly spoke, breaking the pleasant humming. "Don't stay up too late Angel." She nuzzled the white rabbit before climbing the stairs to her room.
...
Fluttershy awoke early in the morning, feeling a strange discomfort in her belly.
It felt like something had... moved?" She pulled back her blanket and looked. Her belly was only little bigger than usual, but she had eaten an unusually large meal the day before.
But then she saw it shift slightly, followed by a small pain. It was not in her stomach, but lower, more toward her...
Fluttershy crawled out of bed and headed down the stairs and into the bathroom. There, her hind legs gave out from a sharp pain. She had helped many animals and even a few ponies when it came time to give birth. She recognized the contractions and gritted her teeth.
She was giving birth?
Her soft cry of pain didn't even wake any of the animals in the house.
...
Fluttershy lay there, gasping for breath. She had given birth to... something. She was just so exhausted from the effort.
But she gathered her strength and sat up to look.
It was no foal, that was for sure. Whatever it was was small, about the size of Fluttershy's hoof. It was attached to the afterbirth, covered in sticky blood.
Fluttershy looked at it as it opened a pair of tiny green eyes, the same green as her own. She didn't notice the slight flicker of light from them, but felt a motherly instinct kick in.
After she separated it from the umbilical cord, she began cleaning her 'baby'.
Somehow, she just knew this tiny, helpless life was male, but it most certainly was no pony. She had never seen anything like it. It looked almost like a tiny little kitten, but with tiny little wing nubs. It was covered with pure white fur and let out a strange little sound. Not exactly a kitten's meow, nor like a newborn foal's whinny, but somewhere in between.
Fluttershy watched as it crawled clumsily toward her tit. She smiled and allowed it to suckle, feeling that she was producing milk.
She watched as it suckled away, kneading with those tiny paws. It felt wonderful, this little miracle, her little baby she had brought into the world on her own. She smiled and licked her baby.
...
Fluttershy opened her eyes, seeing she was laying on the bathroom floor. She felt a little stiff, but as she moved to get up, she felt something tiny and warm snuggling up to her belly.
She looked down and saw it. It had not been a dream.
Fluttershy was a mother. But... this creature was no pony. How had she gotten pregnant. She had never been with another pony, mare or stallion.
It confused her, and she had no real answer.
Still, this little life had come from her. She felt she had to care for it. Protect it and raise it.
"My little one. What shall I call you?" She smiled as it slept and purred away. "You are a male... I can't call you a colt because you're not a pony, though..." She could see the pony ears and tail, the tiny Pegasus wings. "You are part pony." She tilted her head. She could not let her baby be without a name.
Then a name flashed into her mind. She had no idea where it came from, and she had no idea why if 'felt' right.
"Blackthorn... Hmm... Whisper Wing 'Blackthorn'." She smiled. She knew, oddly, Blackthorn would not be a very 'Fluttershy' name, so Whisper Wing would be his first name. "Your name is Whisper Wing Blackthorn." She gently kissed her baby, neither knowing or caring where he had come from.
...
Whisper Wing was sleeping in a little blanket filled basket on the table as Fluttershy cleaned up.
There had been quite a bit of blood on the floor on the bathroom, but she felt perfectly fine. Her belly was slender as it normally was, and she was not stretched in any way. But then, her baby was far smaller than any foal.
After finally cleaning everything up, she took a shower. She checked her injury and found there was nothing there. Just a tiny bald patch in her coat where she had been shaved for the operation.
She emerged from the shower after washing and dried off before heading into the kitchen.
Angel was peeking into the basket, a most curious look on his face. He glanced up at Fluttershy.
Fluttershy smiled. "That's my baby. He was born early this morning."
Angle looked, well, shocked. He stared from Fluttershy, then to the baby, then back, and back again.
"His name is Whisper Wing..." She paused at saying the rest, feeling odd about letting anypony, or bunny, know the rest. She decided to keep that name to herself and her baby.
"Let me make breakfast for you Angel." Fluttershy got to work.
...
Fluttershy was happy. She was a mother. Sure, it wasn't a foal (she had always wanted a little colt or filly), but she had given birth to him.
She was laying on a soft blanket on the floor, watching him sleep in his basket. He had fed again from her tit, drinking the milk she was producing.
Fluttershy smiled and got up. She carried her baby upstairs and set him next to her bed. She knew she could hear him if anything went wrong. She headed back down and tended to the cleaning and preparing herself breakfast.
As she was entering the kitchen, there was a knock at the front door.
A slightly annoyed sensation passed through her mind, but only briefly. She answered the door, cracking it open and peeking out.
"Oh, hello Dashie."
"Hey. Rarity and I just stopped by to see how you're doing." Dash nudged the door open wider so Fluttershy could see Rarity.
"Hello Dear." Rarity smiled brightly. "You look much better this morning."
"Oh, thank you so much." She slipped outside, but left the door open. "I am feeling so much better. I slept well." (Oh dear. Should I tell them about my baby? I don't know what to do.)
Dash missed the slight flash of worry on Fluttershy's face. "That's cool. Glad to hear that."
"Indeed." Rarity smiled and floated a basket of carrots and turnips into view. "It will be some time before we see anything from the fields, but I hope you don't mind a little 'leftover' food from my storeroom."
Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you so much, but don't you need it yourself?"
Rarity giggled lightly. "I did overstock a bit, so I don't mind sharing. I saw your own stores were running a little low after all."
Fluttershy had noted that, and had been planning on going shopping. "Thank you." She accepted the basket and took it inside. "I was just making myself breakfast. Would you care to join me?"
Dash pranced a little on the spot. "I'd love too, but I've been itching to practice a new move I had in a dream. I'll catch you later Fluttershy." With that, Dash took too the sky, leaving her rainbow contrail to fly behind her.
Rarity nuzzled Fluttershy. "Something is bothering you, I can see it in your eyes."
Fluttershy didn't want anypony knowing about her baby... not yet, but perhaps one day. So she lied. "I'm just disappointed I wasn't there to wake up all my animal friends."
Rarity sighed. "Why don't you go take a relaxing walk and visit them. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you. Now, I have an order I must finish. A Fashionista's job is never done. Ta-ta." She waved and left.
Fluttershy sighed and headed back inside. She took the basket of produce into the kitchen and smiled as she made breakfast.
...
Up on the bedroom, the tiny creature sat on the windowsill, watching the white Unicorn walk off into the distance. It's glowing, blood red eyes following her fading form like a predator watched its prey.
...
To Be Continued...
