There's little more in the wide land of Equestria that I dislike more than cold coffee on a cool, rainy night. Ruffian stallions, of course. Villains as well. Perhaps lime green highlights in royal purple manes? Well, it was one of those nights where I had stayed up rather late. My mane was a bit off, certainly, and perhaps the bags under my eyes had begun to droop a bit more than usual. I tended to let myself go when I was awake, inspired to create a new dress of fashion line. It was my calling, of course.
I looked out of the window from my desk to grin at the steady downpour outside. Rainbow had certainly kept her promise of steady rain. I almost felt sorry for the mare, working the third shift with the weather ponies on such a delightful evening. I had certainly made the most of my day in. A terrible, smutty book by the fire, a teatime visit with Fluttershy, and I took care of a few tailoring jobs I'd received the day before.
But that night had kept me awake. I was inspired when I sat down at my desk, wearing my bath robe and holding a hot cup of coffee in my magic. I could see every detail of what I wanted to sew. Every stitch, every bit of embroidery and every last gemstone I wanted to use, all the way down to the size of each cut! But alas, that momentary spark had left me by the time my grandfather clock tolled eleven. Even my coffee had slowly gone from lukewarm to an off-putting, stale state. I lazily rest my cheek upon a hoof, looking out of the window of my darkened boutique.
Lightning flashed and thunder rang out. I grinned a little as I looked up toward the rain clouds. Perhaps that was Rainbow Dash, trying to amuse herself during her long night? I tugged at the belt to my robe when the early autumn cold brushed against my alabaster coat. I'd have to get Applejack to see what she could do about that draft. She was always offering discounts for me and the girls when it came to handiwork. Perhaps I could commission her to-
My late night thoughts were cut short by a set of steady, heavy scratches, followed by a loud thump upon my porch. I glanced at the clock again, this time nervously. Eleven o' three. Nopony other than the weather ponies were out this late in a storm. I gently made my way to the boutique's front door, each step causing my legs to shake. A thousand possibilities rushed through my fatigued mind. Perhaps it was a thief of some sort. Maybe a changeling of Chrysalis's hive out for revenge. It could be a very creative salespony, I attempted to bring a bit of levity to the situation.
"Eep!" I let out a very unladylike squeak as lightning struck again in the distance. My teeth clenched as my magic seemed to pour out naturally, its grip reaching for a rather gauche vase I purchased on a lark with Pinkie Pie. The poor thing was a mix of dull gemstones and poorly painted grey clay. I didn't know what I was thinking, using it as a weapon of some kind. I approached the door and slowly stood up on my hind legs, supporting my weight with my forehooves pressed on the door.
With a quick look out of the window, I saw something laying on my porch. It was too big to be a pony. I shot back down beneath the window's edge, holding my hooves over my mouth to muffle the next fearful squeak I made. I slowly raised up, peering just over the edge of the door's window. Whatever it was, it was breathing very heavily. And it had something on its back, if I wasn't mistaken. Lightning flashed again, lighting up the entire area for a split second. I gasped as I took in the sight of what was on my porch.
Laying, broken and beaten, was a giant white fox, with perhaps half a dozen stakes of wood in its chest. On its back was a green bag, covered in the outlines of white clouds. I quickly set down the vase in my magic's grip, seeing my horn's aura dissipate entirely. I pulled my saddlebags onto my flanks quickly before I opened the door, looking down at the injured beast using the light of my horn's aura. I quickly locked my boutique before I hesitantly leaned down to set my ear against the poor thing's chest.
Its heartbeat was weak, but steady. I stood up only quickly begin tapping my hooves against the wooden floor before I ran into the rain. It was freezing, as I should have very well expected. Dashing through Ponyville, dressed in my bathrobe and my now soaked designer saddlebags, there was only one destination that I could have aimed for in such a situation. Mud splashed against my hooves and legs as I galloped through town, passing by the dimly lit windows of a few select houses.
Ponyville gave way slowly to the edge of the Everfree, just past the Sweet Apple Acres orchards. There it stood, with a few warm lights still lit within: Fluttershy's cottage. I ran up to the wooden door, quickly and rapidly knocking. I tried my best to retain a reasonable volume of knocks, but desperate times do try a lady's adherence to decorum.
After a loud squeak of surprise from behind the door, it swung open just far enough to let its owner look outside. There, huddled in a group of animals of various sizes, from songbirds and rabbits and cats and a very well behaved bear, the pink-on-yellow pegasus I'd come to call my best friend stood.
"O-Oh! Rarity! What are you doing out this late at night?" Fluttershy inquired, visibly calming from her nervous shaking.
I pushed the door open a bit more with a hoof to speak to her quickly. My face was contorted with fear and worry, my pupils shrunk down from the stress of the situation. "Fluttershy, darling, I need your help immediately. A large animal of some kind is on my doorstep, and I do believe it's terribly hurt!"
A switch flipped within the timid girl in that moment, as it always did when it came to an injured animal. "Rarity, calm down. I need to know what it is, and what you think is wrong with it."
"Ok, darling. Just give me a moment." I stood there in the rain as I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, "It's a fox, approximately one point four three times the size of Big Macintosh, with what appeared to be a mass of tails, numbering at least six, and it has around seven large, sharpened tree branches impaled in its chest."
By the time I'd finished speaking, Fluttershy had rummaged through the armoire next to her door. She placed a rather large pair of saddlebags labeled with red medical crosses on her flanks, and used her wings to gently assure her pets before she approached me. "I don't know if I've ever seen a fox that big, but if it's as injured as you say, we need to act quickly before it bleeds out!"
As much as I adored the girl, she was perhaps a bit too brusque with her wording on such matters. I gave her a dull nod, simply letting her lead the way. We galloped in tandem, heading toward the boutique. A thought struck me as we did so, "Fluttershy, dear, why don't you simply fly instead?"
"The weather ponies have lightning scheduled for tonight."
"Oh." That was all I could manage, other than nodding dumbly. My mind wandered to a horrible place for a moment, questioning how difficult it would be to get blood out of my welcome mat. It was a gift from Twilight, after all. I couldn't just throw it out. But a bloodstained welcome mat was hardly inviting to a professional tailor and clothier's shop.
Fluttershy came to a halt perhaps four meters from the Boutique. Lightning flashed as I joined her, sitting on my haunches as her eyes widened upon seeing the creature at my doorstep. That was the curious thing about Fluttershy: she could be as timid and demure as could be when around ponies, but when it came to animals of any sort (save adult dragons), she went straight into 'mother mode'. Her hooves moved across the soaked ground faster than I'd ever seen them before. It was a speed frighteningly similar to Rainbow Dash at her most competitive or even Pinkie Pie when she was being, well, Pinkie Pie.
Her ear went down to the beast's chest, inspecting it closely, much as I had done before. However, her ear remained longer than mine, despite the musty scent of its fur and the blood that began staining her pristine yellow fur. Her mouth moved silently, repeating to herself a phrase or two that I couldn't quite read. I made my way over through the pouring rain.
"S-So?"
"He's in pain. His heart's fine, but it sounds like his lungs might have been punctured," her words were grim, but her tone was as blunt and quick as I've ever heard her.
She quickly turned the vulpine onto its back, revealing the extent of its wounds and- well, as unladylike as it was to look- its private parts. However, the dear didn't hesitate for a moment. Fluttershy quickly and deftly moved her face down to bite onto one of the wooden stakes sticking out of the chest cavity. Her hoof pushed down on its chest as she roughly and swiftly removed it.
"Rarity! There's rags in my saddlebags. I need you to push them down on his wounds as tight as you can. You have to stop the bleeding while I get these out as quick as I can."
I hesitated. I shook and quaked with fear. I could hear the sound of my own hooves against the porch of my boutique. I glanced at Fluttershy's face. That expression wasn't entirely unlike my mother's assurances when I scuffed my knees as a filly. I bit down on the inside of my cheek roughly, before I used my magic to pull the rags out of the bag. I pushed it down into the wound tightly, holding it there with the most concentration I could muster.
Fluttershy bit down on the next spike, before she began the process over once more. With the same swift pull, it was out. I did the same once again, holding the rags down. Fluttershy went on as I followed. Out came the third. followed by the fourth. She removed all of them, leaving the fox looking far worse, with the bloody rags I held against its body. My friend said nothing as she removed a roll of gauze from the bag with a hoof. She tugged the soiled rags away as she began bandaging the wounds with a very well practiced motion.
I set the cloth off to the side, watching with a mixture of worry and curiosity. It turned my stomach when I thought of it too hard, but I couldn't help but be entranced by Fluttershy's skill with medicine.
"We need to get him inside!" Those words woke me from my reverie. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping a friend in need, but I'd never had to deal with, well, that much blood in doing so. I felt terrible for admitting to myself that I didn't want to see my Purrsian rug soiled so easily. I had to trade three diamonds the size of my head for it. Nopony ever tells you that spinxes are impossible to negotiate with once they begin their silly riddles.
Fluttershy shot me an almost exasperated frown before my magic began to move on its own again. I unlocked my door with my key and in a single motion I almost threw it open. My magic continued past the door, leaving it behind. I moved as much of my rug and furniture out of the way as possible. With surprising strength Fluttershy managed to drag the fox over her shoulder and set him down ever so gently onto the wooden floor. I glanced down at her ragged, panting form. She quickly pushed her ear back onto the beast's chest, listening to his breathing again.
"Oh thank goodness," she breathed as she laid on her back beside the monstrously large creature. "His lungs sound fine, though his heartbeat is a tad weak."
"Is that an issue, darling? I haven't, well-" I gestured to the trail of blood leading out of my home and into the cold, rainy night, "Had to deal with anything like this before."
The yellow pegasus slowly sat up as I spoke, catching her breath before she gave me the same small smile as always, "It'll be fine. He just needs his rest."
I couldn't help but offer a nervous smile back, before I glanced down at the fox. "So, precisely what is he?"
"I don't know, honestly," her smile faltered into a worried frown while she looked over the creature, "Once the rain lets up, we can go ask Twilight."
I smiled to her in my fatigue, walking over to her with a gentle sway in my step. I brushed my side against her shoulder as I placed myself to speak in her ear in a soft tone. "It's been a while since you stayed over."
"I don't think I'm up for, well, that" I didn't have to look to know she was blushing. Even the gentlest teasing made her face grow a bright red.
The lightest tapping and shift in her weight told me she'd crossed her front hooves. I pulled away from her ear, looking over her face with a content grin that tugged at the edges of my lips. "Of course not, darling. I simply missed having somepony join me in my bed." Her blush remained as I looked over her face. With her eyes cast down to the floor, and her hair, matted down with rain water- and with patches of fox blood staining it- she still looked as cute as could be.
I was instantaneously reminded of the sorry state the two of us were in. My grin grew, I noticed from the mirror on the wall behind Fluttershy. "I suppose we should clean up the porch and floor, and my new 'guest'. After," I walked past my friend, letting my tail trail against her fetlocks, "How about you and I enjoy a nice warm shower?"
All that I heard was a squeak from behind me as I approached the broom closet for the sales floor to know her answer. It set my mind at ease to have such pleasant company after all of the excitement and worry that giant fox had caused me. At the back of my mind, I prayed to Celestia that it was at least tame, should it wake during the night...
