Fluttershy heard a crack outside her window. Normally she'd hide in fear and surprise at the sudden noise, but this time felt different. She felt as though somepony was in trouble.
She had just finished setting her bed and was about to go to sleep, but with that noise she felt that urge was gone. Moving to the window she opened it and noticed nothing out of place outside. The flowers were blowing in the cool night breeze and the bats were flying overhead.
And then she saw a pony shape running through the trees. Looking closely she also noticed the timberwolves chasing it. Now most ponies think Fluttershy is a coward and would hide at the first sign of trouble. That was partially true. When somepony or animal was in danger she sets that fear aside in order to help them.
Flying down the stairs she disturbed a couple critters and cranky looking bunny rabbit. But Fluttershy had bigger concerns now than her animals sleep. Hovering in the doorway she looked through the trees hoping to see where the pony and timberwolves had gone.
And then a shriek of pain and terror ripped through the silence and Fluttershy flew at a speed that would make Rainbow Dashes jaw drop. After maneuvering through the tightly spaced trees as fast she could she came upon a clearing where five timberwolves surrounded the base of the tree. One of them was scratching and growling at the hole.
"HELP ME!!!"
The timberwolf was getting closer to the foal trapped inside. Fluttershy felt our unadulterated rage at the beasts that she could feel it radiating off of her like a fire, until finnaly she let it loose on the world.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!!!!"
She could she see and feel the fear the timberwolves were thinking of as they crashed into one another to get away from her. After a few moments she took in a deep breathe to calm herself.
Trotting up to the tree Fluttershy could now hear the pained cries of the foal inside. She then spoke in the most gentle and kind voice she could muster. "Its okay I won't hurt you. Its safe now."
She heard some shuffling before the foal answered. "Are you sure?" He asked in a shy and fearful voice.
Fluttershy nodded. "Don't worry I scared them off. They won't come back to hurt you I promise."
It was a few moments before a foal covered in mud and leaves shuffled out and looked at her gratefully with blue...dragon irises? Fluttershy then noticed a spot on his hindleg where the mud revealed a big bloody gnash.
"Oh, you're hurt! Are you alright?" She asked him the worry clear in her voice.
He was about to answer before he accidentally set his hindleg down and fell forward into Fluttershys outstretched hooves.
He then cried and looked up her with a pained expression. Fluttershy then hugged him close.
"Shhhh. Its okay. I'll take you Nurse Redheart and she'll heal that leg up I no time." She reassured him. "I'm Fluttershy. Who are you?"
The foal looked up at her with fear in his eyes. "I don't know." He told her before crying into her chest fur. Fluttershy then held him tight as she started flying in the direction of Ponyville General Hospital.
Halfway through town she noticed that a lot of ponies were up and were looking at her with a look that said "Why in the name of Celestia would you go and do that?" And then she remembered her scream from earlier.
She started blushing nervously as she flew faster to the hospital hoping to get away from all the stares. The foal in her hooves was just moaning in slight pain from the injury.
When she entered Nurse Redheart was at the receptionists desk and was about to greet her when she noticed the foal in her hooves and the bloodstain on his leg.
She then motioned for Fluttershy to follow her with her hooves to one of the smaller examination rooms. Upon entering Redheart turned to her.
"Fluttershy what happened and who is this foal?" She asked her urgently.
"I don't know. I saw somepony being chased through the woods by timberwolves. After scaring them off I promised I'd help him." She told Redheart.
Redheart nodded. "A timberwolf bite isn't that bad at the most we only have to worry about infection. Other than that I'll just have to sew up the wound and he would be fine after a week or two."
Fluttershy flashed her a grateful smile and nudged the foal in her arms. He looked at her with those teary eyed Dragon irises.
"Listen Nurse Redheart here is going to help you fix up that leg of yours, okay? I'll just wait outside then-" She was cut off when the foal wrapped his hooves around her neck tightly.
"Please don't go." He whispered to her.
Fluttershy looked down at him with shock before smiling. Looking up at Redheart she nodded as well indicating it was okay.
"Alright then. I'll stay here while she helps fix you up okay?"
The foal looked at her before smiling for the first time.
"Thank you."
It was a painful experience for the foal as Redheart applied the medical ointment to the wound. He did his best to hold back the tears, but the pain was seethingingly unbearable to stay still through. But Fluttershy held his hoof with her own offering him words of encouragement. Finnaly after 30 long minutes Nurse Redheart let out a sigh of relief.
"Luckily since you got him here so fast the infection from the bite was quite minor and I was able handle will without any trouble." She told Fluttershy while bandaging his leg together. "He should be okay as long as he doesn't strain it too much. Be sure to replace the bandages at least once every morning."
Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you Nurse Redheart. I'll send you bits later when I'm home." Fluttershy told her a bright smile on her face.
Redheart then turned and spoke to the foal. "What about you little one? Don't you have a home to get back to?"
He then cried into his still muddy hooves. "I don't know if I even have a home."
Fluttershy then went up to him and he latched onto her as tightly as he could. Redheart had a guilty expression on her face.
"I'm sorry I didn't know." She then said to Fluttershy. "What are you going to do?"
Fluttershy felt nervous. She didn't expect to be thrust into this position like this. She didn't want to send him to the orphanage, but what could she do? This colt might have a family somewhere else. She couldn't just send him to the orphanage when they're looking for him. Then a thought occured to her.
"I-I guess I'll t-take care of you." She said to foal. Redheart looked at her quite shocked. She obviously hadn't expected this response the normally shy marre.
The foal then looked up at her his dragon eyes wide with suprise and tears. "You-you will?"
Fluttershy then nodded before the foal held onto her even tighter. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!"
Fluttershy then hugged him back while Redheart looked at her from the sideline. She still looked quite shocked. Probably because she didn't think that Fluttershy would accept and take care of this child.
But what else could she do?
************************************************************************************************************
After leaving the hospital and the foal saying thank you to Redheart they were on their way to Fluttershys cottage. Recieving a few...curious looks. Probably because Fluttershy has a muddy foal sitting on her back.
Soon after arriving back at the cottage they were greeted by a rather ticked looking rabbit.
"Angel what is it?" Fluttershy asked. Angel then started to talk to her by using his paws to describe what he was telling her.
"You...are mad...that I...woke...you up....and would....like me...to go get....you a....treat?" The bunny then nodded happily waiting for her response.
"Oh, I'm sorry Angel, but I have to get this foal cleaned up and set up his room before I do anything else." Fluttershy told her recieving a few angry gestures from the rabbit.
'Gasp!' "Angel! We do not use those words to talk about others. And just for that you won't be getting a treat." Fluttershy told him sternly. The rabbit then hopped away to the kitchen to get himself some carrots.
"Oh, I'm really sorry about Angel. He's a real sweetheart once you get to know him." She said turning to the foal on her back. Only to see him yawning in tiredness.
Fluttershy then smiled at his cute behavior and hovered up the stairs to the bathroom. Placing a towel on the hard tile floor she set the foal down and then he proceded to snuggle into the towel.
Fluttershy looked down at him with love in her eyes at this sweet foal. Turning the water on for the bath and checking to make sure it was just warm enough she turned the nozzle to stop the bath from overflowing.
Turning to the foal she noticed that he was practically sleeping while standing up. Grabbing him gently in her hooves she then placed him in the warm bath which then woke him up a little bit.
"Miss Fluttershy?" He said.
"Hmm?" Fluttershy looked at him questionably.
"Why are you helping me so much?"
Fluttershy scrubbed the mud out of his mane as she searched for an answer. Why did she take in this foal? A child is a big difference from an animal. She should have tried looking for his parents after the hospital, but something inside her said it would be a waste of time. So she settled for a partially true answer.
"Well, I love to help other ponies and animals, but after seeing you get hurt. I just felt as though it was my responsibility to help you. After all, what kind of pony would I be if I just left you at the hospital waiting for your parents to find you?"
He then turned to look at her in the eyes a small smile on his face. "Well you definitely wouldn't be the pony I'm looking at right now, that's for sure." He joked.
Fluttershy giggled at his humor. After a lot of scrubbing on his mane, tail and fur he was finnaly cleaned and she was able to see exactly what he looked like.
He was a bat pony with blue Dragon eyes, a light orange coat, a mane and tail with brown and a dark red mixed in and black under his leathery wings.
"So how do I look?" He asked a nervous look on his face.
Fluttershy then turned and opened a nearby cabinet pulling out a small mirror for him to see himself in. After placing it down he became instantly focused on himself, studying himself like Twilight would when she found something she didn't understand.
Finnaly after a little pacing he sat down happily and looked at Fluttershy with a happy look on his face. "I think...I'd like to be called Flare Breeze." He announced.
Fluttershy smiled down at him. "Of course Flare."
************************************************************************************************************
;r&f&g/j(ยด P.O.V
"hE IS NOt mEanT tO Be HeRE. hE wILL RuIN tHis wORld. He MuSt nOT LiVE."
