Wilds
Chapter One
It was an especially beautiful day in Ponyville. The birds were chirping, the sky was a rich shade of blue, and all was peaceful in the town. It was an ideal day for Fluttershy. Only, she couldn’t enjoy said beauty due to an incident that happened earlier, forcing her to go into the Everfree Forest in search of her beloved pet bunny named Angel.
By mistake, when she was making Angel’s “extra-special” breakfast, she had used spinach instead of lettuce in his salad. The resulting chaos of an unhappy bunny ensued. It wasn’t Fluttershy’s fault. She had run of lettuce and forgot to get more at the market. The salad was practically identical aside from the minor mishap, and Fluttershy was so sure he wouldn’t notice.
But he had. And, out of anger, Angel had run away into the Everfree Forest, knowing that Fluttershy was terrified of the dark, creepy wilds. Angel had always been like this. A feisty little spirit, and Fluttershy loved him for it. But, it was moments like these that had her quite upset with him.
So, Fluttershy, of course, went into the forest to bring Angel home. She could have asked one of her friends to come with her, and she really did ponder the idea, but it was only a few days away from Gala and everypony was very busy. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity were busy with the cutie mark crusaders, making sure they had magnificent dresses for the Gala. Rainbow more or less was indifferent to the whole “perfect-dress” thing to admit, but Fluttershy still didn’t want to bug her. Pinkie Pie had told them jsut the other day how crazy busy Sugarcube Corner has been recently, and Flutterhsy didnt want to pull Pinkie away from her work. And Twilight, bless her heart, was practically driving herself crazy by trying to organize the entire event. So, Fluttershy was left with no choice.
She had to enter the abyss, alone.
It wasn’t so bad at first. She followed the heavily totted trail, calling out to her beloved furry friend. Only, she hadn’t noticed Angel slip back out of the forest just seconds after she entered. All around were the twisted, dark trees. Barbed wire covered the trail on all sides. And, Fluttershy had every right to become queasy as she continued on her journey.
“Angel!”
“Angel Bunny! I’m so, so sorry about your breakfast! How about we go home and I’ll make it just right?” Fluttershy called out.
No response.
Disheartened, Fluttershy reconsidered her solo journey, and turned around to go back to town and ask Rainbow Dash for her assistance. Only, Fluttershy found herself frozen in place. Right above her, resting on one of the thorny branches of a tree sat a mass. A mass with fully extended wings, a tail, and piercing red orbs as eyes. A deep, primal growl erupted from the beast, and Fluttershy was awestruck that she didn’t pass out right then and there.
A series of wild life survival guides flashed in Fluttershy’s memory.
1.) Appear bigger than the animal
Considering its size, that wasn’t going to happen.
2.) Make loud noises to scare it away.
Nope!
3.) RUN!
That seemed liked the most sensible action to take.
With a small whimper, Fluttershy turned tail and ran. She didn’t have to check behind to her see if it was following. The loud wing beats and roaring behind her were all the hints she needed to know it was coming for her.
Celestia save me!
Her legs seemed to be clumsier than usual. She kept stumbling over patches of thorns and scraping her legs. It was only due to her ducking while stumbling that saved her from the beast’s grasp as it approached.
Another roar could be heard from above. Fluttershy dared herself to look up, and to her horror, another monster was flying above her in pursuit.
Fluttershy knew that she had reached her limit. She never really had a high endurance for running, and her weak form was practically deteriorating from the long distance run. She chanced one look behind her. The beast was practically breathing down her neck. A chill went down her spine.
This was it.
Or, at least she thought it was until she found herself stumbling down a steep slope.
She hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, and found herself rolling her way towards a river embankment. Her form plopped on the ground with a grunt. The black, winged creature was diving down the slope in the direction of her fall, but a broad expanse of branches eluded it from her location, for now.
Slightly dazed from the impact, and from the tiny lacerations littering her body from the briers she was slammed against on the slope, Fluttershy’s mind was working overtime. Something called “survival-mode” kicked in, and she did what she was trained to do when she couldn’t handle a dangerous, wild animal. Make herself invisible.
She rolled herself in mud, ensuring that it clung to her coat ad mane. Once she was sure that her body was fully covered she sought refuge. She had no choice but to take hide in the brier patch since that was the only available source to hide in. Fluttershy was sure that if the monster didn’t find her, the thorns lodged in her pelt would reside their permanently. Yet, despite all of the discomfort and pain she was experiencing, she prayed that said monster hadn’t gotten to Angel. The bunny she had raised from week one, to his present, sassy self. It pained her to think that he could have met such a horrible fate. Had he been captured, it would have been all her fault.
All of Fluttershy’s thoughts were abruptly cut off when the beast made its descent on the clearing. From this new perspective, with the light of the sun’s rays fully reaching the shadows, and illuminating the monster’s figure, Fluttershy felt a new swell of terror fill her. Its head was almost wolf-like, yet its entire body was wrapped in scales. She wanted to categorize it as a dragon, but, she knew that despite all of her fears of dragons, this was much darker, and dangerous. Its tails switched back and forth as it lowered itself to the ground to sniff out her location. It had broad shoulders, yet a lithe lower frame. Its claws left deeply etched scuffs in the mud. But, it was its eyes that freighted her most. They were purely crimson, with no pupils. Never before had Fluttershy seen a creature like this, and should she survive, she would dedicate her life to never seeing one again.
It seemed like she had been sitting there an eternity before the creature seemed to give up on finding her. By now, Fluttershy was beginning to feel the symptoms of a mild concussion due to the impact of her fall, and the tiny stings of thorns covering her form was not making the situation any better.
With a seemingly frustrated growl, the beast spread its massive wings and ascended to the sky. Fluttershy, true to her timid nature, waited a good while before attempting ot escape her refuge. Yet, she was cut off when a series of roars erupted from above.
Petrified, she scrambled even further into the brush. By peeking through the vines, she managed to catch a glimpse of the scene unfolding above.
It seemed that the two monsters were having some sort of altercation. Fluttershy recognized the one that had hunted her from its darker complexion. More than anything, Fluttershy wished that the two would just forget about her and leave, but instead, the two continued to bicker.
The curious thing was that Fluttershy couldn’t understand them. Sure, they weren’t talking pony, but Flutter was an animal whisperer. She knew all roars and growls from bears to Angel’s upset tummy. Yet, the language that the two were roaring was completely untranslatable for her.
Fluttershy was jumbled from her musings by a yelp of pain. She quickly glanced back up to the two, but only one remained. Falling from the sky was the smaller creature, even from quite a distance away; Fluttershy could make out the sight of its detached wing trailing after it. Dread set in. The things that these creatures were capable made her already cloudy vision more nauseous.
A thump echoed across the clearing as the injured monster hit the ground a few meters away. Birds erupted from the tree tops, spooked from the sudden invasion. Despite all the terror that Fluttershy felt as she was being chased, at the moment, all that she felt was sorrow.
With one final roar, the second monster took off across the sky. Away from the crime it had just committed. Finally, Fluttershy was alone, and safe.
That what Fluttershy kept in mind as she raced away from her hiding spot. She was safe, she could go home, and she could get help for her injuries. Everything was going to be OK.
Despite it all, Fluttershy found herself stopping.
She turned back the way she had just come from. Out to the distance where she knew that someone needed her help.
“Oh Celestia, please help me.” She whimpered.
For no reason but pure kindness, Fluttershy began to head towards the beast’s approximate location. Quivering from head to hooves, she ventured on to help.
Author's Note
I'm hoping to update at least one chapter a week. But with school going on and all, well...life happens.
Message me any error, after all this is my first attempt at a Fimfic.
If you like it so far, please let me know in the comments!
Inspiration goes a long way :D
Wilds
Chapter Two
It wasn’t hard to find the injured remains of the creature. The wreckage in the treetops was enough of a clue for Fluttershy to easily find its still form. A few rays of sunlight littered through the broken canopy and illuminated the beast. It lay unmoving, with a steady stream of blood swarming beneath it.
Fluttershy almost mistake it for dead, until she saw the shallow rise and fall of its chest. It was alive; just barely.
The sheer amount of blood pooling around its form only added to her already nauseous state of being. Having patched up countless furry friends before, she thought she could handle whatever sight she would stumble upon, but the severity of this situation was unnerving. Fluttershy didn’t know what she could do to aid the creature. She couldn’t reattach its severed wing because she lacked the medical expertise; yet bringing it back to Ponyville was definitely not an option. Its intimidating figure would not be welcomed at any hospital, let alone the trek Fluttershy would have to make carrying it back in her weekend state.
Suddenly, the creature let out a wheeze. That was enough to send Fluttershy spurring into action.
Cautiously, she approached the black figure. It didn’t show any signs of movement, which was good. At least for Fluttershy it was.
Looking around, she potted just the plant that she needed for a temporary patch up. Growing around the base of a massive oak tree sat a clump of pink Loopa Sprouts. Fluttershy had learned about the plant in one of her many survival guide books. Not that she really needed to worry about trying to survive the wilderness, but it was best to be prepared for just in case. If Fluttershy was anything, it was cautious.
What was so special about Loopa Sprouts was their ability to dry in a hard mold. By chewing them, they become reduced to a pasty state that is able to be applied to injuries. They dry quickly and form a hard mold. Fluttershy picked a hefty supply of the sprouts and turned her attention to the unconscious form behind her.
Gently, she eased what was left of its deformed wing out to see the extent of the injury. From a brief inspection; it appeared that the wing was severed just past the humerus bone. Fluttershy placed a few sprouts into her mouth and began to chew them as she assessed the rest of the creature’s injuries. It appeared to also have a broken foreleg, but the break was clean, which meant it wasn’t a huge concern at the moment. Aside from that and the obvious severed wing, it seemed to be unscathed, which was alarming considering that it fell from at least 100 feet. What kind of monster was she trying to help?
With the paste ready to be applied, she gently rubbed the paste along the detached end of the wing. Layer after layer she applied it until a swell of pinkish-purple mold fully engulfed the base. The bleeding had long since stopped when she applied the second layer, and assuming that because it managed to survive such a fall, Fluttershy thought it would survive the ordeal. But, she had only done a preliminary treatment. Injuries such as these needed antibiotics, stitches, clean bandages, and a cast for the broken foreleg.
Fluttershy would have to head back and get those supplies from her cottage, which she kept in a sturdy supply with all the injuries she nursed back to health with her animals.
Fluttershy knew that anypony else would think she was batty for trying to help this creature. Even her friends wouldn’t approve. She didn’t even approve. But, it was a gut feeling more than anything else. Like it was what she was meant to do.
Just a few yards back, on her way to find the where the creature impacted the ground, she had seen a small cavern. Fluttershy decided to haul the creature to the safety of the cavern to keep it out of potential rain or predators.
However, it wasn’t an easy feat to accomplish. Fluttershy’s vision was already cloudy and jumbled from what she could only assume to be a mild concussion, and her legs were already weakened from the chase before. But somehow, between the five minute breaks she had every few steps; she managed to drag the unconscious beast into the shadows of the cave. By then, Celestia’s sun was at its highest point in the sky, leaving only a few more hours of daylight left. She would have to hurry home to get the supplies if she was going to have time to come back and fully patch up its injuries.
Then, a horrifying thought struck her.
What if she ran into somepony she knew? Like Twilight…Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, or even Rainbow Dash? What would they say if they saw her disheveled appearance?
Most likely, they would want to know what happened. But, looking at the unconscious form behind her, she decided that that would cause more harm than good. Boy, was she in a predicament. Fluttershy was never good and hiding things, and especially not at lying. But, if anypony were to find out about the potential threat that she was actually nurturing back to health, there would most certainly be mass chaos.
Sure, she could just leave the creature there to fend for itself. But, that went against Fluttershy’s nature. Sure, she was timid at times…OK, she was always timid. But, something about the way that everything turned out, Fluttershy just couldn’t shake this feeling of responsibility. Like, she was meant to do this.
With a heavy heart, Fluttershy decided it would be best to keep everything a secret. At least until she found out a way of smoothly exposing everything. Like why she was helping a monster that had just tried to eat her moments ago.
The first obstacle in keeping this secret would be by getting to her cottage and back without anypony noticing her or her minor injuries; that is if a mild concussion could be considered minor. She had to avoid her friends especially, at ALL costs.
Author's Note
I already had Chapter One and Two typed. I was going to wait to publish chapter 2, but I kinda wanted to get this story going. There is a lot to cover.
Anyways, if you like it, let me know. If you see an error, let me know.
-Also, Im not a professional on wings, so if I made a mistake on the wing part just point it out and I'll gladly fix it.
