The wildlife of Equestria never ceased to amaze Razor Flake. Even the Everfree, with it's forboding appearance, and matching reputation, did deter him as much as it probably should have. The plants looked meanecing enough to frighten anypony with a glance. But that was it. Upon closer inspection, the trees were trees. Wooses and Ents are few and far between these days in the mainland of Equestria.
A pity. The coniferous Ents in the north may be the last of their kind.
Then there were the real anomalies. The flora was strange, Bute fauna blew them out of the water. Mangalore, Cockatrices, and more were just par for the course. This brought Razor's mind back to why he was walking, and not flying over, the Everfree.
A Timber wolf cub had taken a liking to to him, and eventually, Bramble, as one of the local alpha males called him, and eventually was as present Razor's own shadow. Where Razor went, the wolf went, too. Just then, an alpha female emerged from the brush. He knew alpha timber wolves could speak, it was whether or not they would. An unfortunate misconception about the creatures was their nature. Most timber wolves are docile, if somewhat territorial. They just have some bad apples in the bunch. Gerald, criminals, are just plain bad wood. Razor Flake had experience with the wooden wolves since they were far more prevalent in the north, along with the reclusive ice wolf.
"Hello there! I'm sorry about intruding upon your territory, but as you can see, I am currently unable to fly." He said this, gesturing to bandages around his barrel.
"That's quite alright. Your pup has taken nicely to me, it seems", she replied. Her voice sounded like... well, like wind blowing through trees.
"Thank you... what is your name?"
"Kindley of the Oaken pack, but Kindley is fine."
"Alright then. If you wouldn't mind, do you know where the cottage on the edge of the forest is? Bramble just had termites in his forepaws, and I want to make sure he's okay."
"Just past that Great Oak. Now, come saplings, we've got much work for you do. Anyways, I never got your name. What was it?"
"Razor Flake. I'm from Hard Hoof in the north. Bramble here is a redwood."
"Ah, yes. We don't have redwoods down here. But, the redwoods are known to be friends of the Oaken up there, and friends of the Redwoods are my friends, too."
"Thank you, Kindley. Salutations!"
"Good bye, Razor Flake."
Razor Flake had been lost in thought, and didn't realize when he number into the cottage door. Brought back to his senses, he knocked on the door of the humble looking abode.
"Hello? Anypony home? My dog is sick, and I want somepony to have a look at him. Are you the animals caretaker?"
"Yes, please come inside. it's not safe in the Everfree." The voice was very quiet and timid, but somehow familiar.
The door opened, and a yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail. Her mane was long enough that it covered her face.
"Oh, come here you poor thing, let me take a look at yo-"
She was, expectedly, startled by the small timber wolf, but aided the puppy none the less.
After awhile, the mare had told Razor that timber wolves, being a magic being with a physical form, had a magic borne illness. She said that there was a magic expert in town, and that Razor should head to Ponyville.
"Thanks miss. Come Bramble, we've got some walki- Wait. Fluttershy?"
"Um yes, that's me. How do you know?"
"It's me, Razor Flake. Remember? I left in the middle of flight school?"
Then the yellow mare did something Razor did not expect. She flew into a hug, sobbing. Razor was reminded that she had thought him dead for this long, and the normally neutral faced pony grimaced at what the timid pegasus mare must have been through all those years.
"It's you? How- They said you were- The blizzard- I thought you were- We all thought you'd-"
She wasn't able to finish, she was crying too hard. It had finally struck the gray pegasus that he and Rainbow Dash may very well have been Fluttershy's only close friends. That storm all those years ago had, in Fluttershy's eyes, taken a half of her friends away from her.
"Hey, stop it, you're going to make me cry, too! I'm fi-"
Razor was always Fluttershy's pillow to cry into when RD was otherwise unavailable. Though he was closer the rainbow blur than Fluttershy, he realized he was a much bigger part of Fluttershy's life then he thought. In that moment, he knew that, even if Fluttershy was the kindest, most soft hearted pony he ever knew, this was something that he never could mend.
Even if my wings can be replaced, the relationship between us can never be the same as it once was.
She cut him off as soon as he saw his bandages. His old wounds hadn't even occurred to him in this embrace, let alone what Fluttershy would think.
"What happened to you!? Are your wings okay?", she gasped.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just old wounds that don't want to heal. I'm so sorry for what I have done to you. I know that I can never make it better, but can we still be friends?" The lie twisted his gut like a gear, but all in due time.
She seemed to calm down a little, and took the hint from Bramble's worried expression at their embrace when Fluttershy started to cry. He passed her tail, his ears pointed back, and the bristly evergreen needles on his back were down. He whimpered as her tears hit the floor. Seeing the distressed puppy, she stopped crying impressively fast for the small wolf's sake.
She explained about her friends, their adventures, and that she was still in touch with Rainbow Dash. Razor told her that he was passing through, but it had turned out that the animal specialist he was looking for was Fluttershy.
"Well, I better get going then. Come, Bramble, we're leaving to town."
Author's Note
Hey! You're Here! How's the story going so far? I know it's chapter one, but I think this is going places.
Chapter 3: Snap Crackle Pop
With Bramble at his side, Razor Flake entered the literal tree house, Razor had knocked on the door, and was soon greeted by none other than the princess of friendship herself. But, interestingly enough, that wasn't what caught him off guard. It was the tan unicorn behind her.
"Hi, Flywheel. Long time no see."
"Razor Flake!? I had no idea you were in town!"
"So I see you've shown Twilight a basic demonstration of alchemy. It's fascinating, isn't it?"
Razor Flake suddenly had an idea to show the true power of alchemy. Anyway, he needed his wings changed.
"Say, Flywheel, have some time for me? I need my replacements again"
Twilight was understandably confused. She decided to ask about it.
"What do you mean?"
"I know the bandages may have thrown you off, but I'm actually a pegasus. Apologies for not introducing myself. I am Razor Flake. I come from Hard Hoof, in the north. I was in the same class with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Though, I can understand that they may not have said anything about me. I was sort of a traumatic experience, what with a close friend being presumed dead."
Something clicked in Twilight's vast mind. Suddenly, she realized why The two pegasai always took a day away from everything. That day had been a freak blizzard, but she never thought they knew the colt that died, or so they thought.
"Oh Celestia! That must have been terrifying.. But, what do you mean by replacement?"
"You're smart, Twilight. What happens to fragile tissue, such as a colt's wings, when subjected to prolonged exposure to harsh cold and wind?"
"The cells freeze, bursting them, a condition commonly called frostbite, typically minor, but in extreme cases must be treated by... Amputation."
She gasped at what this meant. The grey pegasus nods.
"Yes. I don't have wings. But, my friend here really is amazing. Want to watch?"
Jumping at the chance for more information, she avidly agreed.
In a matter of seconds, Flywheel had drawn a vastly more complicated circle than the previous one. He then unwrapped the bandages around Razor's middle, and Twilight saw. She saw the gears, and the pistons, and so forth. She followed them to where they ended. They ended where his wings should have began. Razor stepped into the circle, and in tandem with Flywheel, actvated the circle. In a blaze of blue and white light, and a lot of crackling, she saw the obvious pain in Razor's face. But, in his cold blue eyes, there was an indescribable amount of resilience
"Thanks again, Flywheel. And to you, miss Sparkle, I leave Bramble. See if you can't find what's wrong with him. Now, I'm going to take these on a test drive. See you later!"
Flywheel was on the outskirts of Ponyville, eager to meet Princess Twilight. Contrary to what one may believe, the unicorn wasn't anxious about this meeting. In fact, he couldn't wait any longer.
He was, however, even more so excited about the reason for the meeting. He had made a magical breakthrough. He just needed to show her.
This was it. The library stood before him, and he knocked. Just then, a small, purple and green dragon answered the door.
"Hello. Who are you?"
"The names Flywheel, and I'm here to see Twilight."
"Okay, wait for a few seconds"
The door closed, but was opened once more by a striking lavender mare.
"Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle, but just Twilight is fine. Come in."
"Thanks, I'm Flywheel. I don't mean to be rude, but let's get down to it. Have anything to write with?"
"Always! Need a quill, pencil, ma-"
"Chalk"
"Okay"
The chalk levitated over to Flywheel, and he took it from Twilight's grasp to his blue one. Then, he drew an intricate circle on the ground, with many symbols and runes Twilight did not recognize.
"What are you doing?"
"Wait. Give me a bit of material. Anything will do."
"How's this?"
She levitated a chunk of melted wax to him.
"Great"
He placed it on the circle, then put his hooves on the edge of the shape. Then it glowed, and then the wax started to shift. When the light faded, there was a candle in the wax's place.
"There"
Twilight was intrigued.
"What was that? I've never seen anything like it!"
"That was an extension of my unicorn magic into the circle. The circle acts as a medium for the magic to exist in, somewhat like an aura, but with a physical form. But that's not all. Though slightly more limited, the inherent magic of Equestria, and ponies themselves, be it earth, pegasus, unicorn, or, in theory, anything, can harness magic. Anypony can."
Twilight stood there, in awe at the possibilities.
"The implications of this are.. are.."
"Tremendous?"
"Yes! This is revolution on the way society works! I'll write Celestia right away!"
"Wonderful. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe somepony is at your door."
"Wait you can stay, I'll let them in."
When she opened the door, Flywheel, who was usually fairly composed, was taken by surprise and the Pegasus who walked in.
"Are you Twilight? My pet's got a magic ailment, and Fluttershy recommended you."
