Oh Deer

greetings

The yellow pony shivered as she peered right at me. I saw two appendages poke out from her back. Wings? I guess she was a fly-pony. I inched closer, she shrunk into the bush even more. It was growing more difficult to believe that this pony was a construction pony, according to Reed-Tail.

"Who are you?" I asked, unaware that my voice was booming. She jumped and hid into the bush again. I tried lowering my tone,

"Okay, I won't hurt you... Just... tell me why you're here." The pony said nothing, just staring me down like I had five heads.

"Well, are you gonna speak?" I raised my eyebrow.

"I'm... looking for my pet... r-rabbit..." The pony stuttered.

"What's their name?" I asked.

The pony remained silent, murmuring to herself. I asked her to repeat herself. "Angel," she finally said.

I began to really doubt Reed. This pony was clearly lost.

"Well, I see no rabbits around," I said, "Perhaps you're lost. You should probably leave."

"O-Oh... b-but... I was... I was walking here with him... and th-then... he... kinda ran off... and... um... I wanna find him."

"Maybe he ran back home," I huffed.

"Well, a-actually,I saw him run this way..."

"Okay. Listen. Why are you really here? What is your true purpose??" I felt a surge of anger grow within me. But I also felt a little guilty for yelling at this timid pony, I sighed.

"Wh...what..?" she asked.

"Cinnamon!" A voice called. I craned my head to the source, only to see my friend Reed standing behind me, holding a spear in his front hoof.

"Reed- wait-" I called.

Reed instantly held the yellow fly-pony in a chokehold, holding his spear against her neck. The pony squealed. I inched back,

"Reed! Hang on! She might not be the right pony-"

"Of course she is! Look at her!" Reed barked back.

Suddenly, The pony crouched down and bucked Reed in the hindleg. He yelled in pain and fell over. She took to flight, spreading her wings and hovering over us.

"Get down here you jerk!" Reed shrieked.

"Reed, wait... Just wait for a moment- Pony, please come down, my friend is just misunderstood-" I called.

"Cinnamon! You can't be serious! I just told you about what this pony is doing! She wants to kill our woods! She wants to destroy it- I'm not letting her!" Reed snapped. I sighed as I approached him, embracing him as he breathed heavily in pain,

"Just calm down. She can't and won't do anything to us, I promise," I spoke softly into his ear. he nodded as his breath slowed down.

"Come down, pony," I called to her. She was still airborne, flapping her yellow, delicate wings.

"Don't worry, my friend won't hurt you. He's a little crazy-"

"Hey!" Reed snapped. I bumped his shoulder, "just go with it." Reed glared at me as I faced the pony again,

"We've all seemed to have gone off on the wrong hoof, pony, We've all been greatly misunderstood. So, if you may, please tell us your name, and why you're here." I spoke carefully so as to not scare her off again. She finally landed on the ground, still shivering in fear. After a moment, she spoke,

"I... I'm... F-Fluttershy."

"I'm Swirling Cinnamon," I said.

"Reed-Tail," my friend said from behind me, slowly sitting up. He winced while doing so.

"So... what... kind of p-ponies are you..?" Fluttershy asked innocently.

"Oh, like you don't know," Reed scolded. I hushed him.

"We are not ponies. We are deer. We've lived in these woods for a long time," I explained. Fluttershy said nothing.

"I suppose you're a fly-pony, correct?" I asked.

The yellow pony's face changed upon me saying that.

"W-Well, actually, It's "pegasus", not "fly-pony". That word's kind of a slur..."

"So's "horse", if I'm not mistaken," Reed snorted. Fluttershy gasped.

"Reed," I glared at my inpatient friend. He rolled his eyes at me.

"I apologize. I've not been informed. My mother used that word a lot, so I picked it up from her," I said, facing the pony. She nodded, without making eye contact with neither me or Reed,

"Can we... look for Angel now?"

"Who the hay is angel," Reed asked.

"Her pet rabbit," I said.

"Pet? OH! So you think you're so mighty and better than a little rabbit, huh? What else do you wish to assert your dominance over?" Reed shouted at Fluttershy. Her ears folded back as she inched away. I punched Reed in the shoulder, "hey!"

"let's be a little more neighborly, no?"

"Neighborly? To these horses? Hay no! They take and take from us! I want nothing of them!"

"Reed! Cut it out!" I shouted. Reed remained silent, only glaring back at me, frowning deeply,

"Fine, help this stupid pony. I'm gonna do something more worth my time," Reed spat at me, glared briefly at Fluttershy, then turned his back and prancing away angrily. I huffed,

"Sorry about my friend," I said. She nodded,

"It's okay."

______________________________________

"I've never seen a deer before. I've heard of them, but... never have I ever talked to one," Fluttershy said as she walked with me down the dirt pathway. I said nothing. I caught her looking down on my hooves for a moment,

"You have such small hooves," she said in amazement. I only feigned a smile.

"You have such large hooves," I fired back. Fluttershy chuckled. A moment of silence passed before she spoke again,

"You know, I... find you... interesting... in a good way..." the curious pegasus said,

"I... personally... love taking care of critters and animals, and meeting new species."

I nodded silently. Fluttershy darted her eyes around, searching for her pet bunny.

"Are there more of you?" I asked. She gave me a passing glance and shook her head.

"I came on my own. I take walks around the woods every few weeks with Angel. It's pretty nice, just enjoying nature. The stillness of it all. I... feel like I get to unwind."

This pony seemed... different, very different. She didn't seem like she wanted to cause any trouble. She seemed like she just wanted to enjoy nature. She proved to be a stark contrast to what I imagined a pony to be like. A few minutes had passed before the pegasus finally found her pet rabbit. She introduced him to me, telling him I was called a "deer", in her words, a special type of pony. He spat in my eye, then Fluttershy told me he does that with everyone. Throughout the whole interaction, I sensed a difference in her. She seemed very accepting of me... almost too accepting,

"Well, I... guess I should be heading back now," Fluttershy said softly, placing the bunny on her back as she hovered above-ground.

"Alright. Well, it was nice meeting you, Fluttershy," I waved. She smiled and waved back. flying away. I turned and headed back to my hut. I don't know if that pegasus will return, but I think it would be best for her not to, if she wants to be safe. My friend is quite paranoid of all pony-kind, and I don't want him to hurt her.

I made it to my hut, and I skipped dinner that night, not feeling a shroud of hunger. I huddled up in my bed, and tried shutting my eyes. My body still feels fatigued and sapped of energy... and cold. I sighed.

Suddenly, a soft knock on the door caught my attention. I slowly got up and opened my front door. It was Sap-Joy, my peculiar doe neighbor,

"Howdy," she smiled. I said nothing.

"Do you know where that pony went?" she asked me in a slightly bitter tone. I shook my head, yawning.

"Sorry for bothering you. I just thought she was suspicious. I don't want her eating my plants or nothing. Night night." she shut the door on my face. I huffed as I returned to bed. Sap-Joy certainly was peculiar. Some deers even make up stories that she got hit in the head by a rock, which is why she's so strange. I don't believe that's exactly what happened, but sometimes it's a little hard to deny. I yawned again as I tucked myself into my straw bed, shutting my eyes. The soft chatters of the crickets outside were always so soothing. I tried concentrating on them, I felt myself sinking in my bed.

Suddenly, another knock on the door made me jump back to consciousness. I sighed as I sprung up from my bed again. If it's Sap-Joy again, I'm going to shut the door on her face.

I slowly opened the door, only for no-deer to be there. Was this a prank? I crept out of my hut, looking around. I turned to the left of me, and a glowing light emitted from just behind my hut. I felt morbidly curious, but also hesitant.

I slowly inched my way to the light source, walking into my backyard. A luminescent stag sat quietly in the backyard, facing me as if he expected me. He stared right at me with deep purple, glowing eyes. I felt a slight surge in my heartbeat, my body felt numb.

"Hello?" I called timidly, staying in my spot. He didn't respond, only staring me down further. He didn't seem to blink either, only stare. I inched closer,

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice broke.

The deer smiled, saying nothing. He slowly stood up, and approached me, continuing to stare me down. I was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable now, I instinctively inched back a few paces. His body glowed an eerie pink color. His fur was a pale beige, and purple stripes ran down his back. His crown of antlers was a bright, luminescent magenta. However, his most prominent feature was by far his ghostly eyes. The eye whites were a deep purple, and his pupils were a piercing, glowing pink. His eyes seemed more like portals into the soul, peering into my soul no less. He gestured to me to follow him. He began walking down the dirt path, I felt entranced by his mysterious aura.

"I still don't know your name," I said.

He stopped, and slowly faced me,

"Albern Reh."