Heart of Oak

Fluttershy was having a rough day. First, she had woken up late, which meant that her animals had missed their wake-up song. Then, she found that Jackie the jackalope had hit one of her antlers on the fence, which gave her a headache. Fluttershy had gone to get some medicine for her, only to find that she was all out. Now, some mean, but probably actually kind stallion was taking a long time in the pharmacy line.

No matter how many times she cleared her throat, or politely asked him to go, he wouldn't leave. By the time he had finished, Fluttershy was in a panic over what horrible kinds of pain Jackie must be in. She quickly grabbed, and payed for the medicine, then rushed home as fast as her wings could carry her.

When she arrived, though, she was scared. Mortified, even, to find some strange creature, likely from the forest, leaning over Jackie, arm stretched out as if to take her as a meal. It was covered in some sort of clothing formed from bark, leaves, and vines. A long staff, adorned with carvings and topped with a grey crystal, leaned against her cottage next to it. Two large, branching antlers rose from its head.

She hid, naturally, and watched from beyond the fence. It hovered it's claw over Jackie, who stood still (likely petrified in fear). She jumped a little bit when it's claw began to glow with a soft, green light. It rested it's glowing claw on Jackie, who visibly relaxed herself. This motion, of course, was seen by Fluttershy as Jackie's giving in to her inevitable death.

She squeaked in panic, and flared her wings out unconsciously. The strange creature pulled his arm back, and looked towards Fluttershy's hiding spot. Upon seeing her wings sticking above the fence, it smiled. It briefly put two glowing talons to it's lips, and stood up. It's height made Fluttershy begin to back away.

It held up it's arms, and froze. "Please, have peace. I mean you no harm." Fluttershy relaxed at the sound of his voice. There was something very soothing that she just couldn't put a hoof on. "I presume you are the one these animals call Fluttershy?" He (she assumed it was a he) could communicate with her animals?

She let out a tiny squeak, before looking away. "Yes, thats me." She looked him over again. "Please don't hurt my animal friends." The creature paused, then laughed, then stopped.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I wouldn't think of it. Come here, I would much like to have an introduction face to face." He sat down, mindful of the animals around  him, and patted the ground in front of him. Fluttershy slowly advanced towards him.

Once they were facing each other, he smiled. "There we go. My name is Fhrokka Heishardt." Upon seeing Fluttershy's confused look, he sighed. "Don't worry, I know it can be difficult to say. People often call me Oakheart, its easier to say."

Fluttershy looked at him, and cautiously offered a hoof for him to shake. He took it. "Um," she began. "It's nice to meet you, Oakheart. But if you can excuse me, I need to give this medicine to Jackie. She hit her antlers, and she has a terrible headache because of it."

"Oh, the jackalope? Don't worry, I already took care of her. Just a quick Remedy cantrip, nothing major. I thank you for your concern and care, though. I've hit my antlers before: it is not a pleasant feeling." In a slight contradiction, he reached up, and pulled his antlers off. They were revealed to be attached by just an wooden circlet of sorts. "That was when I first became Archdruid. Only the Archdruid may become a reindeer: it's a sacred animal to our beliefs."

"Thank you for helping Jackie." She looked up. "You can become a reindeer? Can I see?" Oakheart smiled, and nodded.

"Of course. It's my pleasure to do so." He shifted so that he was kneeling on both legs, then he closed his eyes. He glowed a gentle green as a breeze blew through. Leaves, grass, and other such flora swirled about him for a moment, before dispersing into the wind.

When the commotion cleared, a great and majestic creature. It had a pale brown coat, with white under and on the chest of it. Its great antlers had a deep, rich brown fuzz on them, with small ribbons of green magic curling off like smoke. Oakheart smiled, and gave a small nod to Fluttershy. "Here you are. This is my form as the Archdruid, to it's full extent. I will admit, though, I prefer the smaller reindeer to my own form. More subtle."

Fluttershy perked up, in awe of Oakheart's new shape. "Oh, wow! It's just- I mean-" She shrunk down. "It's really pretty." Oakheart gave a small chuckle, and nodded.

"I had a similar reaction when I met the Archdruid before me. I can also do other animal forms, limited only by my devotion to the wilds." He gave a quick chuckle, which sounded odd coming from a reindeer. "I can do requests, if you wish."

Fluttershy perked up at this. "You mean, you can become any animal you want? Oh! Um, can you maybe... do a pony?" Oakheart's eyes widened a small amount, then relaxed.

"I'm not sure. You are the first pony I have met. I will try my best though." He focused, the smoke on his antlers increasing. It joined the plants swirling about him, and cleared to reveal another pegasus. He had a green coat, matching that of forest moss. His mane was the same color as his antlers had been, with a green stripe matching his magic. His eyes were a red-orange.

"Here you are. I wasn't sure on some details, like gender, or the mark on your hip, but I did the best to become a pony." Fluttershy looked him over, then giggled. She quickly stuffed a hoof into her mouth, blushing. "Ah, I got something wrong, didn't I?" He smiled sheepishly.

"A little bit. You... um. You look like a mare." She looked to the side, trying not to be rude, and chuckle. He widened his eyes, looked back at himself, then began to laugh. Their laughing mixed together, until they were both crying.

Oakheart shook his head, and shifted into a smaller reindeer than his previous, more royal variant. He paused for a moment, magic glowing around his throat. "There we go. Now I'll be able to converse with people as a reindeer. Before, we were speaking in Petric, or nature's tongue. Ah, where should I go first to find somewhere to relax? I am here just to get away from the trials of my world."

Fluttershy paused, and thought. "If you just walk into town, over that way, look for either the big crystal castle, or the gingerbread house. Those belong to my friends, Twilight Sparkle, and Pinkie Pie." Oakheart nodded.

"Wonderful. And thank you, Fluttershy, for your hospitality and acceptance. I know plenty of people who would not stand for having a stranger on their property, much less casting magic on their pets." He frowned. "I apologize for not having asked permission. I would just rather take care of an injury sooner than later, if you understand."

Fluttershy nodded. "Wonderful. I shall see you sometime later, hopefully. I don't know how long I shall be staying here. It could be a day, it could be a decade." He bowed, waved a hoof over his staff, which vanished into leaves, and started his walk away from the cottage, and towards the town.