Chapters Author's Note
Keep in mind as you read that the writing gets better and that I've been on and off it for over the year i was writing this in the beginning, still writing, but i was busy at the time of starting it due to school and other life events. I'm doing better on staying on task with it though. ill leave this first chapter here and see what you guys think before posting the second one, any spelling errors you may or may not see (though i have tried to fix all of it the best i could) just ignore as i am watching out for those like a hawk. (Don't judge the weird paragraph format, a school friend was editing this.)
The Finding
Fluttershy trotted through the forest with her companion, Angel, hopping by her side. She smiled as he hopped onto her back.
“Now Angel, don’t give me that look, we're almost there,” The yellow pegasus assured, giving him an impatient look.
“I know the rash on your stomach is bothering you, but I told you not to chase that squirrel just because it stole some of your salted cashew nuts mixed with your salad. Poison Joke is nothing to toy with, you know.” Fluttershy recalled.
Angel gave arm waves and a few squeaks of protest.
“I know you didn’t mean to run into that plant, and you didn’t mean to actually play with it, but you should still be careful of what you do around here little guy,” Fluttershy stated calmly.
A thought then came to Fluttershy.
“But this happened late yesterday, why hasn’t your form changed?” Fluttershy wasn’t sure whether she was asking herself that, or Angel.
Angel’s ears flopped confusingly, as if agreeing with her question. Angel wasn’t the smartest animal in Fluttershy's home, but he knew well that he shouldn’t be messing around with Poison Joke. Then he gave more waves of silent speech.
“Well I guess Poison Joke doesn't have to have physical changes, I mean, when me and my friends had this happen, only Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack and Twilight had physical changes. Me and Rainbow had no physical changes at all. So maybe this gave you a rash or something.” Fluttershy theorized.
Angel nodded.
“But normally Poison Joke doesn't give you any actual diseases or injuries of some sort,” Fluttershy said, putting a hoof to her chin while stopping in her tracks.
“Maybe it isn't poison joke? We could have mistaken it for a different blue plant?” Fluttershy suggested.
Angel perked up at that and nodded eagerly. Fluttershy smiled weakly.
“Well, I hope so. But when we get to Zecora’s, we will see. But let's not get our hopes up too much, okay?” Fluttershy replied, then continued her pace with a trot.
Angel squeaked.
“Hehe, yeah, we don’t want to disappoint ourselves.” Fluttershy agreed.
Fluttershy and Angel had a long conversation on the way, though others would say it would be a one way conversation. No pony except for Fluttershy could understand animals and their emotions. But otherwise Fluttershy wouldn’t argue about it.
When arriving at Zecora's place, Fluttershy knocked and then looked back at Angel, still perched on her haunches.
“Let's hope for the best!” Fluttershy said, smiling at him.
Angel smiled and flopped his head up and down in agreement. Fluttershy looked back when she heard the door open, revealing a zebra on the other side to greet her.
“Hello Fluttershy, what gave you an idea to come here? If it is something urgent, then I am all ears.” she greeted, then gestured to come in.
Fluttershy followed Zecora in without a second thought and spoke.
“Well, I don't think it's too urgent, but I do think it's something even I can't cure,” Fluttershy answered.
Zecora stopped her saunter and looked back with a smile.
“Well I'd be happy to help you Flutter, even if you don’t think it would need an adjuster,” Zecora replied.
Fluttershy smiled.
“Now tell me, what could your problem be?” Zecora asked, sitting down at her small tea table with Fluttershy doing the same.
“Well, me and Angel were having a picnic in my backyard when a squirrel took some of Angel's food and ran off. When he started chasing it, he ran into what we believe was Poison Joke.” Fluttershy explained, sitting down at the table.
Zecora and Fluttershy were talking about this, and meanwhile, other things were happening in the Everfree Forest, which was going to be noticed soon.
In the shadows of the forest, a child that was not a pony or a creature that was ever seen in Equestria before, was sprinting through the undergrowth and branches of the tall and slender trees. Some branches were thick and wide, but no matter how hard it was to run through them, the child did not give up. The child wailed and screamed, hoping anyone would hear or see him. He could hear the heavy steps gain speed, then slow down from the other side of the obstacles the child had overcome. The child would wince and yelp every time the sounds got more intimidating. He hated every single moment.
“Where are you, little one~” cooed an evil voice.
The child squeaked and tried to run faster, but the sound that emanated from the child seemed to attract the little boy’s pursuer to where he was, and it got even closer to him.
Soon the child was able to make sight of what was hunting him down. When he turned his head to see what was chasing him, he almost screamed.
The thing that was pursuing him didn’t make sense, but it still chilled him to the core. It was a mixed animal of sorts. The main body was a tiger with a second head, that being a dark gray goat. The tail wasn’t a tail, but a snake. The thing that stuck out to him out of all of this was that the child was able to understand what they were saying.
However, that was the last thing on the child's mind. He just wanted this creature to leave him alone. The boy cringed as he looked ahead, and slid to a stop as he realized he had come to a cliff. It wasn’t very high, but he knew that it would be enough to break a bone, or get knocked out otherwise. The boy didn’t need either of that. He attempted to backpedal, then froze as he heard the bushes being moved behind him.
The child whimpered. Why couldn’t this just end? The creature had finally revealed itself more clearly in the sunlight. The child tried to pay no attention to it, and he was more focused on surviving than anything. The kid turned around to meet the gaze of his predator. No– three predators. They all laughed.
“Haha, look at that! We got him cornered!” The tiger cackled.
“And he lookssss, daliciousssss,” the snake hissed.
Hosuh looked terrified as he kept his eyes on each of the predators.
“He sure does. How shall we split him into three pieces?” The goat asked, tilting its head.
“P-please, don’t hurt…me.” the boy pleaded.
The three just crackled and smirked at him, completely without empathy.
“Oh, don’t worry little one, it won’t hurt.” the goat replied.
“Yeah, yeah! We’ll make it quick, jusssst hold sssstill.” the snake said.
The tiger positioned himself, then used his hind legs to launch himself at his prey, but the boy jumped out of the way. The tiger and the other two landed with a face plant, almost falling over the edge.
“You're not making this any easier~” cooed the goat.
Hosuh ignored that and tried to prepare himself to dodge again. The animal pounced again, and the child was able to dodge the attack once more. The mixed animal growled.
“Stop moving!” the tiger shouted, positioning himself closer to the shaken boy.
As the creature stepped closer, the boy stepped backwards, not realizing he was near the edge of the cliff. When the boy stepped backwards, he jumped when he found his foot hit nothing but air. When he felt as if he would lose balance, he swung his arms in a circle motion to stay stable.
But, by the time he finally regained his footing, he realized that the animal was right in front of his face, making him scream. The tiger then opened its jaws wide as it reared back, ready to bite down on the child's head. Hosuh stumbled, as his fear caused him to lose his balance.
He fell backwards, tumbling over into more foliage, similar to the plant life he had just escaped.
This didn’t stop the creature from hunting him down. The tiger placed his front paws on the slope and slid down with ease. The child heard the dirt falling, and with despair he started to crawl through some bushes. By the time the boy was able to run, the giant predator hit the ground level, picking up speed once again.
The child continued screaming for help, thinking someone would hear him, someone who would help him. He didn’t need another animal chasing him. But after realizing how long he was running for, his lungs started to burn and his mouth and throat started to become dry. He was severely dehydrated. His legs ached and he wanted to give up, but he continued, hoping that someone, anyone could save him.
The more he ran, however, the more he felt as if he were giving up his hope to live and his hope that anyone could help him.
The boy checked over his shoulder behind him once again. When he saw that his pursuer was getting closer, he suddenly hit something firm. Falling down on his back and groaning, the boy raised his head to see something unexpected.
“Bye, Zecora!” Fluttershy called out before closing the door behind her.
Angel hopped alongside her as they made their way down the trail back to her cottage. Fluttershy let out a sigh after a while of silence.
“I'm glad it was just a rash, not Poison Joke.” She said, sounding relieved.
Despite Angel’s hopping, Fluttershy could tell that he responded with a nod.
“It could be worse,” Fluttershy said, looking ahead.
Angel nodded to that as well. When Angel stopped hopping, Fluttershy noticed and stopped herself. Angel waved his left arm to communicate.
“Oh, yes, don’t worry, as long as I have this ointment and we put it on twice a day, it should go away after two days, if not three.” Fluttershy reassured.
Angel gave a silent sigh, then hopped up to Fluttershy then stopped.
“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, seeing that her companion was not looking at her, but in the forest.
Fluttershy gave a puzzled expression and looked in the direction that her friend was looking. She didn’t see anything, but she could tell that Angel could hear something that she didn’t. Angel still wasn’t turning his attention back to Fluttershy, so she strained her ears as hard as she could to see if she could hear what Angel was hearing. Soon she did.
She could hear the sound of a child screaming ‘help’. It filled Fluttershy's heart with terror and sadness. Fluttershy didn’t even have to strain her ears for that after it got closer, but she was so shocked that she couldn’t even yell back. She looked down at Angel, who had a confused yet scared look on his face.
Fluttershy didn’t know what to say other than;
“Angel, run home and don’t look back. Don’t tell any of the animals about this, and take this with you.” Fluttershy said, then handed him the small bottle of ointment.
Angel nodded and hopped off at a rapid pace, soon leaving her sight. By the time that happened, Fluttershy felt something thud against her hind leg.
Looking down, she saw a small unknown creature with silverish-gray hair. Her eyes widened a little as she watched it raise its head to look at her with a look of confusion and, more than anything else, fear.
Fluttershy had a worried expression as she heard something else coming their way. Fluttershy didn’t notice the child run around her and hide in a bush across the path.
She then noticed the animal that came into view; a chimera. Fluttershy could handle this.
“Hey look, more food!” The tiger said excitedly.
“What about that pathetic little one we had our eyes on?” the goat asked.
“Forget it, it will keep running. Let's get this one instead!” the tiger insisted.
This made Fluttershy very mad, calling the small critter pathetic.
The boy had hidden in a bush not too far from his hunter, but he noticed that there were no more haunting steps towards his direction. He blinked as he heard an angry tone quietly scold the creature from behind him.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, picking on other animals that did nothing to you!” a soft voice the boy had not heard before reprimanded.
He turned his head and quietly pulled down some of the smaller branches out of his face to look out at what was happening. What he saw surprised him, the big predator was not attacking the yellow creature like he had expected, but it looked scared.
The child's eyes made their way up to that yellow winged creature’s face. The pink haired creature seemed to be upset with anger, staring down the predatory animal.
“How would you like it if I hunted you down and I was bigger than you!?” the creature scolded, staring down the other even harder as she kept making direct eye contact with it.
“I-i-I ummm…” all three animals stood there stunned, not knowing how to react or respond.
“Exactly! Now why don’t you leave me and that critter alone or ELSE!!” the yellow creature lectured, stomping a hoof gently.
The three headed creature yelped and ran back in the direction that it came from. The boy was speechless at what he saw, but when he saw the yellow winged animal soften its expression, he smiled.
Thinking that he might be able to trust an animal for once, he started to consider leaving his hiding spot when he saw the creature look in his direction, probably guessing where he went. He gasped, gaining the animal's attention. The boy was having second thoughts.
What if he was thinking too much into this? What if it tricks him and eats him later? What if it's a predator too? But then again, this thing had stood up against a predator that was bigger than it, maybe he could trust it?
“Hello?” The creature called, its voice soft and soothing.
It’s tone calmed the child, but he still wasn’t really sure about this. He backed up when he saw two, on what looked like hooves, so the boy would have to assume that this was a horse or some horse related creature. Seeing the pink maned horse peek its head over, the boy startled, curling into a ball of fright.
“Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you, everythings okay.” The winged horse cooed, making the boy slowly uncurl and look up to see aqua eyes looking down at him sweetly.
Suddenly, the boy felt two hooves pick him up off the ground and hold him against its chest while it sat down.
“Let me take you home, you must be starving, poor thing.” The boy decided to stay silent for now, unsure whether he could trust it just yet.
“Here, sit on my back, I can't really carry you with my front hooves.” The pony said softly.
The child was now certain this pony wasn’t going to hurt him. When she placed him gently on her back, he clutched the light pink mane, still petrified from that life-threatening instance. The pony giggled.
“Don’t worry, you're safe with me.” The boy concluded that she had to be a girl, based on how her voice sounded. So he decided to call this pony a she, for now.
“Even though it's still afternoon, it's a good idea to let you rest. You were probably being chased forever through that dense forest.” She suggested, picking up the pace.
Fluttershy knew she did the right thing. She hasn’t saved anypony’s life since the time she foalsitted Apple bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. At that time, when they ended up running into Everfree Forest after Fluttershy’s lost pet chicken, Elizabeak, she was quite petrified.
Then again, who wouldn’t be? Even though she loved her pets, she loved foals way more. Like the child on her back right now, grasping onto her mane roots to keep balance, though she knew whatever she saved was not a pony.
She decided she would ask it later when she got the chance. Asking now would be too persistent and might startle the little guy. After all, it did look scared and it didn’t seem to know where he was, or she. Fluttershy really didn’t know the gender, but soon she would.
Fluttershy reached her backyard, soon leading to her backdoor. She could feel the grip on her mane get tighter and more shaky. Fluttershy frowned sympathetically. She knew what it was like to bring in a sick or injured animal, let alone scared and lost ones, so bringing this one in was a similar experience.
Fluttershy stepped inside her home and then looked at the critter she had rescued. He was still awake and was still frightened, so Fluttershy did her normal routine for whenever she saved an innocent creature; she trotted over to her sofa and set down the small boy.
Fluttershy knew full well that this was an animal she had not seen before, but she would do whatever it took to take care of him or her. When Fluttershy had set down the critter, the boy instantly backed up against the sofa that was unnaturally large compared to him. Fluttershy slightly waved a hoof out of reassurance.
“Hey it's fine, I'm gonna help you!” She said coaxingly.
Alas, words of affirmation were not working at the moment. The child was still uneasy and still a bit frightened from the sight of a big yellow creature, even with a soft expression on its face.
Fluttershy tried to think of what else could work. She knew at some point that this would happen, it was rare for an animal to be used to Fluttershy and her home right away. Fluttershy also would be scared if she was in an environment she didn’t recognize. But, if she was rescued by an unknown creature and they were trying to help, what would be the second or first thing they do to make her calm down and feel safe?
Fluttershy thought for a few more moments. While words of reassurance or positive affirmations usually work, she had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the case this time. Fluttershy looked away from the critter and sat down, still thinking. She decided to try different love languages, the next one in line was acts of service. She had used this one a lot, mainly because most of the animals she had rescued or came to loved the idea of being served varieties of things. Food, drinks and other needs, all an animal could want. Once Fluttershy was satisfied with this option, she rose to her hooves.
“I know you probably don’t trust me yet, and I understand a lot, but are you hungry?” she asked, slowly and soothingly.
At first Fluttershy thought the critter didn’t understand her, but it replied with a slow nod, signaling ‘yes’ as a response.
Fluttershy smiled, then trotted away towards the kitchen. But, halfway there she stopped and turned her head to face her, possibly new friend, critter and asked, “What do you eat?”
The boy seemed to think for a moment, and at the same time, Fluttershy thought he was too nervous to tell her, or maybe he was thinking and was just taking longer than expected.
When Fluttershy didn’t get any kind of response, she trotted over to the critter. Fluttershy made eye contact with the kid for a few moments, which made him a little nervous. When Fluttershy understood what was going on based on his body language and the way this small critter looked around, Fluttershy knew that she would have to get this kid to get used to her first.
*Of course! Why didn’t I think of that earlier? I'm such an idiot.* she scolded herself.
Fluttershy knew what to do though, but she hoped this critter wouldn’t run or freak out even more. Fluttershy put two front hooves on the edge of the sofa and hopped up next to the boy. The child curled up again, but Fluttershy wasn’t phased by this. She lowered her stomach to the surface of the sofa and layed there facing the boy with her hooves folding under her furry chest. But that's all she did, for now. She didn’t speak, she didn’t grab the boy, she only layed there giving a warming smile, as if showing that she was no threat, even though she did that a few times before. But this time seemed to be an exception, as it seemed the boy had been calming down. As he sat down, Fluttershy extended her hoof out. The child didn’t understand at first but when everything was motionless, he cautiously walked over and then stopped when he was right in front of her. Fluttershy jerked her hoof towards her as if saying ‘come here’ which for some reason made the boy feel safe and secure. Fluttershy lifted her head higher which led to sitting down, and spoke softly once again.
“Are you scared cause you're worried I'm gonna hurt you? Or is it because you're shy?” Fluttershy asked.
That was a good question for the little one, now he wasn’t sure on how to feel. Was he still frightened? He didn't feel like he was in danger so that would be a no. This pony wasn’t attacking him either so why is he feeling so nervous? Was it an unfamiliar space? Maybe. It could even be because he doesn’t know who this pony is, let alone the name. So he figured if he let this pony comfort him, he would be okay. The boy stepped forward, giving his full trust in the pony, then saying.
“Hosuh..” he mumbled.
Fluttershy jolted a little.
“Huh? What did you say?” Fluttershy asked, surprised that this critter could actually talk and understand instantly.
She was great with animals, but it usually took time for her to understand their language.
“Hosuh..my name…is Hosuh” Hosuh replied, speaking a little louder.
“Hosuh?” Fluttershy echoed.
She then could feel him start to hug one of her front legs out of affection. Fluttershy looked down, still surprised a bit. But that soon melted into a smile and she used her other hoof to give soft prods against Hosuh’s back.
“My name is Fluttershy” Fluttershy spoke calmly.
Hosuh hugged tighter, now filled with relief. At this point Fluttershy could see teardrop sliding down his left cheek. But Hosuh was not really sure why he was feeling this way, whether it was from confusion, sadness, fear, not knowing who to trust, but Fluttershy knew why he was upset. She was good with animals afterall. He was upset because he was relieved, but whether Hosuh noticed it or not, Fluttershy was just glad that he wasn’t upset in any other way. When Hosuh let go of shy, he fell backwards, sitting upward, when he felt a sharp pain pierce through his skull. He winced and tried to ignore the pain.
“W-what's wrong?” Fluttershy asked.
Hosuh groaned.
“M-my head” he whimpered.
And with that, Fluttershy got off the couch and trotted over to the freezer and grabbed an ice pack with a washcloth. Wrapping the cloth around the pack, she made her way back to Hosuh and sat next to him again.
“Will this help?” Fluttershy asked.
Then Fluttershy realized something.
“Wait, what kind of pain?” Fluttershy furrowed her brows with concern.
“Like…well..I don't know, but I know..an ice pack probably won’t help” Hosuh winced.
Fluttershy put the ice pack down on the coffee table before checking any physical damage on his scalp, but out of pure luck, nothing was there but a bruise.
“I think I know the source of the pain” Fluttershy eventually spoke.
“What is it?” Hosuh asked quietly.
Fluttershy cringed but tried to keep calm for Hosuh’s sake.
“Well it's just a bruise, I don't know how you got that but it looked like you took a hard fall” Fluttershy explained.
Hosuh froze at that statement.
“I did fall, but it wasn’t..very high” Hosuh replied slowly.
Fluttershy gave a worried expression again and brought him in for a hug.
“I hope there isn’t any other pain than what you're feeling,” Fluttershy almost mumbled.
Hosuh shook his head.
“No, just head pain I guess” Hosuh confirmed.
Fluttershy gave a gentle squeeze to the hug and smiled.
“I'm surprised you have not broken any bones from that” Fluttershy almost amused.
The silence was soon interrupted by a small growl coming from his stomach.
“Oh yeah, I think I asked you this before, what do you eat?” the yellow pony asked.
Hosuh didn’t understand.
“What do you mean?” he asked, dangling his legs over the edge of the sofa.
“I mean, well i've never seen a creature like you and I don't know what you eat” Fluttershy stated timidly.
Hosuh was about to speak but Fluttershy kept going.
“Then again, how young are you?” she asked, giving a curious expression.
Hosuh was also caught off by this.
Hosuh said nothing.
Fluttershy’s ears dropped to her skull when she noticed he looked uneasy.
“Oh um okay, what about my other question? If you don’t mind answering, that is” Fluttershy grinned sheepishly.
Hosuh stayed quiet for moments before responding.
“Well, I do eat fruits and vegetables” Hosuh replied happily, then pain came back to him.
Fluttershy grabbed the ice pack and handed it to Hosuh.
“Here, hold this against your scalp and wait for me to get back, i'll make you a fruit salad or something if that's alright” Fluttershy suggested.
But she left before Hosuh could respond. Hosuh tried to keep the ice pack on even though the ice cold temperature was almost unbearable. But even as the ice was freezing and very uncomfortable, it was also very comforting in a way. Some of the time he had trouble finding the spot that Fluttershy had forgotten to mention where his bruise was located. But it wasn’t hard after a couple of failed attempts to find it. While this all was happening, Hosuh could hear things being moved around in the kitchen. Hosuh wasn’t sure why he was tempted to go and meet Fluttershy there, he guessed he liked, if not, loved her embrace. She kinda treated him like a kind mother, which this thought led to Hosuh thinking about his own parents. But he didn’t, he didn’t remember his parents. He remembers having some but not being with them. All he remembers is that they got killed and mauled by that morphed animal in the forest when they were hiking, that's how he met Fluttershy 20 minutes after being chased.
But now that Hosuh thought about it. Will he ever have parents again?
Hosuh pulled the ice pack from his head to think deep about it.
If Hosuh is now an orphan, who will be his parents? He can’t be an orphan for the rest of his life. Hosuh started to worry and his eyes were getting watery again. Hosuh didn’t want to think about this. But he started to wonder, will he get parents again? Who would be his parents? He doesn’t want to be alone forever.
*I'll ask Fluttershy about this, I don't want to be alone! Not forever!* he whimpered to himself.
At this point Fluttershy came over as she spoke.
“I don't have very many fruits but I hope this will do” Fluttershy stated gleefully.
She turned her head from the bowl and instantly frowned when she saw that Hosuh had tears in his eyes again.
“Hosuh what's wrong?” she whimpered with a small high note in her voice.
Hosuh set down the ice pack with Fluttershy doing the same with the salad, then got down from the couch. Hosuh sprinted over to Fluttershy out of eagerness and sadness, needing her for comfort again. When Fluttershy noticed this she immediately sat down to bring him close. Hosuh started to sob, not hard, but enough to spill a few tears.
“Hosuh tell me what wrong?” Fluttershy repeated, giving back strokes to calm him down.
“i-i-i..*sniff* mmmhmm..i-i-i-i..” Hosuh stuttered, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything now that he was quivering a little and sobbing.
“Shhhh~” Fluttershy cooed.
“Please calm down and tell me what's troubling you” Fluttershy begged.
Hosuh was starting to stifle a bit of sobbing, but still sobbing lightly. When Hosuh was able to have the strength to speak, he spoke.
“I actually wanted to *sniff* ask you something *sniff*” Hosuh weeped.
Fluttershy didn’t change her expression however.
“What is it?” she asked, putting her full attention on him.
Hosuh stayed silent for a few seconds.
“...Fluttershy? Will I have parents soon?” he asked, looking up at Fluttershy with what Fluttershy would call in one word ‘pleading’
Fluttershy froze for a few seconds, she hadn’t thought about parents when she found him. Will he have parents? Soon? How will she respond to that? She really didn’t know how to tame this situation. She could tell easily that he wanted parents, but who in ponyville would adopt some creature she had just rescued? Surly no one would. He isn’t a pony and even if he was, she would put him up for adoption. But he wasn't a pony, she doesn’t even know what he is yet. If she ever gets to know his species. But that doesn’t matter right now. What mattered is how to respond to Hosuh’s complicated question. Fluttershy may have been good with foals and animals, she even knew herself that Hosuh was a foal or whatever word they used for his kind when it came to their young, but she didn’t know how to answer questions like this. But she would just call him her foal since she really didn’t know what else to call him besides his name. But then again, she could keep Hosuh for herself for now, not as a mother per say, but as a companion. She wouldn’t have minded becoming a mother herself, but not when her hooves were full with angel and his rash, alongside that she had to visit Rarity in a couple of days for a spa day and after that some redesigning for her grand galloping gala dress, shopping had to be done as well sooner or later to top that off. She had most, if not, the whole week planned. Fluttershy looked down at him, had she not realized she was looking straight ahead. Hosuh didn’t seem to be weeping as much now, but she knew he would keep it going if she either didn't respond or accidentally gave an answer that would make this situation worse. Fluttershy tried to give the best answer and tone she could muster.
“Well I'm not sure, I might have to check with other ponies to see if they would, okay?” Fluttershy said with a reassuring smile.
Hosuh frowned again, but kept his water works behind this time.
“What do you mean ponies?” he asked, confused.
Fluttershy gave a sheepish smile this time.
“Well your kind isn’t normal in this place, so you would be the first to appear” she replied.
Hosuh softened his expression then let go of Fluttershy, then sat down in a folded leg position.
“I hope I find some new parents soon, I really don’t care who it is, whether it's just one parent or two, I just want to be in a family” he murmured.
Fluttershy’s heart almost melted at that statement, putting one hoof to her chest. She had met nice fillies from time to time, but Hosuh would definitely be the icing on the cake. She did look down at Hosuh as he looked up at her in awe. She lowered her hoof over his head and gave a couple pats.
“Let's eat, we don't want it to go to waste don’t we?” Fluttershy asked, smiling warmly.
Hosuh stood to his feet and nodded in agreement. Then pushed away her hoof lightly, also shyly smiling.
“I guess” Hosuh said calmly and a little unnerved.
Fluttershy picked him up and set him on the couch so that he could eat, then grabbed the fruit bowl and showed it to Hosuh. Letting him see what fruits were presented to him. Like Fluttershy had said before, there weren't very many fruits. But the fruits that were chosen were: bananas, apples, pears and grapes. And what's a salad without a few lettuce leaves decorating different areas of the bowl. Fluttershy sat down next to him and tried giving him an apple. But for some reason he wouldn’t take it, although he did look like he wanted it.
“What's the problem now?” Fluttershy asked, surprisingly not upset in any way.
Hosuh blinked uncomfortably and looked away.
“I...I don't know? I never fed myself before” Hosuh replied, turning embarrassingly pink.
Fluttershy blinked, astonished but at the same a little puzzled. But Fluttershy didn’t mind this, she could handle hoof feeding him, now that she knows that she probably should. But would Hosuh be comfortable being fed by a pastel colored pony?
“I'd be willing to feed you if that's okay…” Fluttershy suggested.
Hosuh looked up at her, half pleased and half considering the offer.
“Sure..i'll learn to feed myself at some point” Hosuh replied, hesitant but at the same time just wanted to eat something.
Fluttershy moved the sliced fruit towards him with her hoof. Hosuh looked up at her as if he didn’t understand, but then flutters just put the piece of fruit into his mouth.
“It's a soft apple, don't worry,” she assured him.
After chewing on the apple for a few seconds, Hosuh then choked and coughed it up on the sofa.
“Sorry, I didn't think that would happen” Hosuh said with a few coughs escaping his mouth.
Fluttershy sighed.
“It's okay, i'll just get you some applesauce instead” Fluttershy said, cleaning up the mess and then heading into the kitchen to grab the food that she knew she had.
Hosuh wiped some choked tears from his eyes and sighed a little.
*why can’t my life be simpler* he thought.
Fluttershy came back out shortly with the whole container of mashed apples and a spoon, which Hosuh knew what that was for. He was less embarrassed and more eager. This time instead of sitting opposite Fluttershy, he crawled over to sit in front of her. Fluttershy noticed and smiled. She took a reasonable amount of applesauce in a spoonful and held it close to Hosuh’s face, where he almost instantly took the spoon and put it in his mouth. Swallowing it with ease.
“Heh, what do you know, not only do you like the taste way more, you also happen to eat it way easier, I guess it's kinda like baby food for you” Fluttershy amused.
Hosuh blushed, but tried not to pay any mind to that and continued with his feasting. When Fluttershy fed him his third bite, Hosuh found out, even at his age he can have somewhat of a messy face when it came to eating. He went to go and wipe it off but Fluttershy stopped him.
“Let me get it, you're just going to make it worse, not that it's a bad thing all the time though” Fluttershy voiced an amused tone. Trying to hold back a few giggles.
Fluttershy lifted one of her wings and used it to flick it off, which worked perfectly. By the time Fluttershy fed him his 10th or 11th bite. He was full, pushing away the spoon.
“Okay, well you let me know when you get hungry again” Fluttershy said, closing the lid and putting everything they had out, away for the day.
Fluttershy returned to the living room and saw that it was nearing sundown at this point.
“Oh my, we should turn in soon, we don’t want to oversleep,” Fluttershy spoke.
That however earned some yawns from Hosuh and Fluttershy looked over, then smiled. Seeing him yawn while rubbing his eyes made him really adorable to Fluttershy. She trotted over to him and lowered to his level on the sofa.
“Is someone getting tired?” Fluttershy cooed softly.
Fluttershy stood back up, smirking. Then saw Hosuh reach both of his arms out, signaling that he wanted to go to bed, or maybe he just wanted to be held. But regardless, Fluttershy picked up Hosuh and placed him on her back to rest. But she was only a few hoof steps away from the coffee table when she could feel two arms tap her shoulder. She turned her head to meet eyes with Hosuh. His blue eyes never leaving hers.
“Can you carry me? In your arms?” he asked, doing the pick me up gesture again.
When Fluttershy shook her head to say no, since she wasn’t really the type to hold things with her hooves while walking, Hosuh gave pleading eyes and they started to tear up again. Fluttershy almost panicked but managed to calm herself down. She gave in, but realized she could just fly up to her room since there was no other spare room in the cottage. She did so, cradling Hosuh in her front fore legs as she gently flapped her wings up into her room with quick but soothing speed.
Putting Hosuh down into the bed was tedious, he would constantly keep grabbing Fluttershy’s mane, hooves or wings whenever he got the chance, as if letting her go was the end of the world.
“Its okay Hosuh, i'll be down stairs on the sofa. You can come and get me if you have a nightmare or if you need something, okay?” Fluttershy said, still trying to pull Hosuh off of him.
Hosuh just whined and tried to fight the urge to cry. But when Fluttershy had given up, she started complaining.
“Come on Hosuh I want to go to bed, don’t you?” she asked, seeing that Hosuh had somehow been able to hang onto her chest fluff.
He nodded but still didn’t let go of her.
“What do you want then?” the yellow pegasus asked, her mood changing.
Hosuh looked up and made eye contact with her again. Giving the same pleading eyes.
“Please sleep with me, I don't like the dark” Hosuh spoke, his voice almost sounding hoarse from tiredness.
Fluttershy decided to give in one last time to this boy.
“Okay fine, but you're sleeping by yourself tomorrow okay? I don't want to make the mistake of crushing you” she insisted.
Hosuh nodded in agreement. Fluttershy smiled and crawled into bed with him, this time Hosuh actually let go and snuggled into her neck, where he was met with hooves and a pair of wings wrapping around him. He giggled and was about to speak when Fluttershy hushed him.
“Go to sleep..” she said calm but playful.
Hosuh closed his eyes, his stomach satisfied with food and was able to find a place to stay until he found a fitting home. Fluttershy too was satisfied, closing her eyes also, soon giving themselves up to slumber.
Author's Note
i think i might just end up making this a story by itself instead of a sequel, i was thinking about what i wrote in the last authors note tag and realized it may not happen since it wouldn't make sense...to me at least. again, it doesn't have a lot to relate to for the other "prequel" y'know...
New Friend
Hosuh awoke with Fluttershy absent from his bed. Thinking she might have gone somewhere else to roost during the night, Hosuh got out of bed. Then stopped at the bedside when he saw a piece of paper on the bedside desk. He picked it up and now found out it was a note from Fluttershy.
Hosuh was puzzled, but tried to read it the best he could. Despite his lack of understanding on how to pronounce certain words at his age.
Hey Hosuh, sorry I won't be at the house for a while, but I will be back soon. I'm only gonna be at the market for a while and I need you to be good alright? I left some food on the kitchen counter so that you can fill your stomach while I'm not there. I'm leaving Harry the bear in charge. And don’t worry about him, he will make sure you are safe. He’s a nice creature around other little creatures, so he won’t hurt you I promise. I also left another piece of paper down stairs to read since this one and the other is small.
-Fluttershy
Hosuh blinked in awe and set it down where he had grabbed it and headed down stairs to go get breakfast. Making his way down the stairs, he could see different kinds of animals running around the place, playing and fighting. Hosuh tried to pay no mind and that Fluttershy probably just had an obsession for animals. He just hoped they didn’t bother him too much. When he reached the bowl he saw another piece of paper and a chair next to the counter. But Hosuh would have preferred to eat on the couch where he was more comfortable. He picked up his plate and a spoon that laid there and the paper with it. Setting down the plate of food and reading the piece of paper.
I decided to leave you some soft foods since Iknew that solids are gonna have to wait, I do hope you enjoy it! Again I shouldn't be gone for long.
-Fluttershy
Hosuh smiled a little and set the paper down next to him then turned his attention to his food. Hosuh had finished his food when something had jumped onto his lap. His eyes landed on a white bunny, his white foot thumping against Hosuh’s thigh out of, what Hosuh presumed, was being upset.
“Do you need something?” Hosuh asked uncertain.
The bunny kept on thumping its foot for a moment and then started making squeaks and an arm wave. Hosuh knew he was trying to communicate, but Hosuh doesn’t speak bunny.
“I apologize, I don't know what your saying” Hosuh said, giving a puzzled look.
The bunny stopped his incomprehensible act and then face palmed. The white rabbit gestured to follow and hopped off of him. Hosuh got up to follow. At this point, the only thing Hosuh’s mind was on, was that this rabbit had a characteristic personality apparently. Hosuh almost didn’t notice, but he was certain he could see a small red wound on his stomach. But he didn’t say anything. When they went up the stairs and into the room Hosuh had rested in, angel had looked in the very top jowar of the bedside desk and brought out a tube of some ointment. He turned to face Hosuh and pointed to the bottle and his stomach.
“You want me to..put that on for you?” he asked cautiously.
The rabbit nodded with a small smile. He hopped over to Hosuh gave him the tube. Then laid down on his back. Hosuh knew this stuff was probably strong at some level, so he only squeezed a small amount and started to rub it on the stomach of the rabbit. Hosuh put the cap back on as Angel finished rubbing it in, then hopped off back down stairs. Hosuh went back to where the jowar was still open, then placed it gently back in. He felt some thin sheet of paper hit his hands. Even though it could have been nothing, he decided to read it anyway. Taking it out of the sliding box, he tried to make this quick.
Ointment instructions:
Only put on the cream twice a day, once after breakfast and after dinner.
Don’t use too much or it will go to waste.
Don’t eat or place anywhere near your face. It will possibly cause blinding or eye doctor treatment.
Be cautious when handling near foals 10 and under.
Don’t let foals 10 and under play with it.
Hosuh read the rest and was glad he put it back when he could, he didn’t want to touch it again. But what worried Hosuh was what was in it. He tried not to think about it, and just put it back in the jowar. But at least he knew Fluttershy was going to be back, hopefully, before lunch.
Then he wouldn’t have to deal with things he didn’t want to be involved in. or maybe he didn’t like being alone for a certain amount of time, save for the animals in the cottage, even though Fluttershy was an animal. He would weather talk to someone, or somepony. There is a high chance he is the only human like Fluttershy had said before. But that's not stopping him from wanting to be with her.
10 minutes prior to Hosuh waking up.
The sounds of hooves filled the streets, alongside that, ponies headed to a specific destination. Fluttershy however had a similar experience. She trotted while kicking up a few pebbles and dirt, making her way to a certain part of the street that was filled with varieties of tents and stands. When her eyes spotted a certain part of the street, her eyes glittered with glee, making her way over there quickly. She was moving at a pace that her saddle bag almost seemed as if it would fall off. Arriving at the stand she found what she wanted, oranges, mangos and other types of fruits. Once she paid for what she needed, she started her hunt for the next stand. Keeping a sharp eye on every one that she could see. Making sure she didn’t miss the stand she was looking for, which was a stand that held different types of beverages. The ones she needed were milk, apple cider and orange juice. It seemed like forever but she found it without much issue.
After a couple of stops, she was suddenly stopped right in her tracks when she saw and heard spike, her friend Twilight's number one assistant ran past her then tripped and face planted into the dirt.
“Oh my gosh, are you alright, spike?!” Fluttershy yelped.
Spike groaned and lifted his head to face Fluttershy, still on all fours.
“Oh nothing, just in a hurry” he replied, trying to pick up scrolls he dropped all over the place.
Fluttershy had not noticed the scrolls until now.
“What are those scrolls for? if you don’t mind me asking” she asked, pointing a hoof at it.
Spike got up on his feet and started picking up the scrolls. Fluttershy counted about six of them.
“There for Twilight , just normal princess stuff is all” spike gave a sheepish grin as he picked up the last scroll.
Fluttershy smiled.
“Do you need help carrying any of that?” Fluttershy asked, putting her hoof down.
Spike shook his head.
“Nah im good, i've done this many times anyway” he declined.
Spike got a good grip on the scrolls and looked at Fluttershy again.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Spike scoffed.
“I'll be fine flutters, besides don’t you have animals to feed or something?” he asked, raising a brow.
Fluttershy perked her head up, realizing she had not fed her animals. She was so focused on shopping that she overlooked feeding them. But she still needed to get her shopping done. Apparently Fluttershy wore a funny face which made Spike snicker.
“I knew it,” he joked before running off in the direction of Twilight 's chest castle.
Fluttershy was going to be done after one more trip to another stand, she just had to be quick. Galloping towards the stand was not much of a problem, she knew where it was and was there in maybe 15 minutes or less, she lived in a big town and getting there in 10 seconds flat was only Rainbow Dash material. When she got there however, she was greeted with a line about 10 ponies long. Now this wouldn’t be a problem normally, the lines she waited in were usually 3 or 4 ponies long, not 10. Fluttershy did a nervous skipping dance in place, just wanting it to speed up. She just needed a few carrots for angel and she would be done. She just hoped that the ponies in front of her had interests that didn’t involve carrots. If she wasn’t able to grab any and pay, she would be back at the cottage with an angry bunny. She also hated the idea of using the stare on him. She was usually satisfied when she needed to use it, but this time was no exception. She had just used it recently on him and she didn't want to go down that tedious path again. It seemed like this line was going on for hours, but she knew it wasn’t that long. But each time one or two ponies had succeeded in their purchase, it felt like she was slowly sinking into quicksand, and at any moment she would give up on trying.
She needed to head back to angel and her Hosuh, make sure they were alright. She knew they would though, it wasn’t like anypony cared about what pet she got, unlike Hosuh.
She still didn’t want to take any risks. Finally she reached the counter and put 6 bits down for three carrots. Once she took them and carefully placed them in her saddle bag, she galloped in the direction of her cottage. She was on the other side of town and was running at a speed she never thought she could manage. But her legs gave in and she slowed her pace to a stop. She had to stop being so worried about everything and calm down. She took deep breaths to calm her shaky nerves and looked ahead, her cottage sitting in the distance calling her home.
“Calm down Fluttershy, you know Hosuh will be alright along with angel. Let's just hope angel is gentle with Hosuh” she mumbled to herself.
“Angel is gentle with who?” a raspy voice called from above.
Fluttershy jumped and looked up. It was Rainbow Dash laying on a cloud looking over the edge down at her with a confused look.
“Rainbow! I didn't see you there” Fluttershy said, putting a hoof to her chest.
Rainbow dash smirked.
“Yeah, I know. But really though, what were you talking about?” she asked, her smirk fading.
Fluttershy froze. She didn’t need to tell Rainbow about Hosuh, if she did, Rainbow would probably be suspicious of her. She didn’t want to be a lair either, but she wanted to protect Hosuh. She was afraid of Hosuh getting taken away or something. And she knew Rainbow Dash would tell.
“It's nothing of your concern rainbow” Fluttershy replied, then started her way home again.
Rainbow dash frowned and zipped right in front of her.
“Fluttershy tell me what's on your mind, i can tell it's starting to get to you” Rainbow asked, her voice stern.
Fluttershy gulped.
“Rainbow, I'm fine, now I need to get home please” she begged.
Rainbow still held her in place.
“Fluttershy just tell me what's going on” the Rainbow Dash demanded.
Fluttershy didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t tell her that she had a strange creature in her cottage. But then again would she care?
“What were you talking about? Hoping angel would be nice” she repeated.
Fluttershy tried to find a good answer, but nothing came to her. Rainbow kept her stare on Fluttershy.
“Uhmm well, I promise home a new animal, a weasel actually, so I just hoped that uhh, angel would be nice while i'm out” she lied.
Rainbow dash calmed down.
“That's what you have been hiding? Why would you hide that?” Rainbow asked.
Fluttershy seemed to be frozen again.
“Cause I'm in a hurry, I forgot to feed my animals before I left and I need to get there now before they go insane” Fluttershy amused, then gave a sheepish grin.
Before Rainbow could ask anymore questions, Fluttershy dashed off, hoping her Rainbow maned friend wouldn’t follow. Thankfully she didn’t. Fluttershy opened the door to her home.
“I'm back friends, sorry I wasn’t able to feed you before leaving, I was busy” Fluttershy gave an apologetic smile.
Her woodland friends were a bit cranky but accepted her apology. Fluttershy almost jumped when she felt a small form wrap around her front foreleg.
“Oh, um hey Hosuh. How were you when I was gone?” she asked, looking down at him.
Hosuh looked up with a small smile and spoke.
“Fine, did you find anyone who would want to adopt me yet flutters?” he asked, squeezing tighter.
Fluttershy giggled.
“Hosuh it will take a while, and no I haven't. Sorry '' she apologized, couldn’t help but smile wider at Hosuh’s facial expression.
“Oh” came Hosuh’s short but less light hearted reply.
Fluttershy thought for a moment and spoke.
“Do you want to help feed my animals with me? I'm sure they would love you if you did” Fluttershy asked, wrapping a hoof around Hosuh.
Hosuh seemed to like it and hugged it back.
“Yeah!” he replied excitedly.
This would definitely take his mind off of the adoption thing.
“Okay well, we're going to start in the cottage and work our way outside. So watch closely” she said, then walked around Hosuh, over to where angel was laying down.
After an hour and a half feeding the animals, all they had left were the chickens.
“Okay Hosuh, you should let me do this, it's a big chore and I don't want you to get hurt” she said.
Hosuh gave a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean?” he wondered aloud.
“I mean chickens can be quite mean sometimes and im worried that they would get aggressive around you” Fluttershy replied.
Hosuh gave a smile again.
“But I'm sure i can help Fluttershy, I helped with the other ones, I promise I'll be careful” he begged. Grabbing her front foreleg again.
Fluttershy didn’t bother pushing him away.
“Im sorry but no, i'll let you do this when you're a little older” Fluttershy assured before Hosuh let go of her leg in disappointment.
“But-”
“No buts, no means no” Fluttershy said, furrowing her brow.
“Okay” was his last reply for now.
Since Hosuh couldn’t help Fluttershy with this one, he just watched from the sideline. Seeing how dangerous or troublesome feeding chickens could be. It didn’t look too complicated, but he still was a little upset that Fluttershy wasn’t letting him help. He felt kinda bad.
When Fluttershy were done after a couple of minutes, she came up to Hosuh.
“Let's go inside Hosuh, I don't want you outside for the rest of the day” she said with a worried look on her face.
Hosuh nodded. Then they spent the rest of the day relaxing, nothing too special.
2 days later…
Yesterday was a spa day with Rarity, Fluttershy had officially done it without Hosuh feeling alone the whole time. When she got back she asked what he had been doing, he said he was just napping since he didn’t sleep well the night before. Fluttershy didn’t blame him. But today, Fluttershy had to go over to her friend's Rarity for a fixer upper on her gala dress. But she noticed something else as she was making her way towards the front door. She looked at Hosuh and realized he had been wearing the same clothes.
“I'm sorry but, does your kind always wear clothes?” Fluttershy asked.
Hosuh nodded, he didn’t seem phased by the question at all. Fluttershy blinked.
“I'm guessing you're gonna need new clothes right?” Fluttershy guessed.
Hosuh nodded again.
“Well..then do you want to come with me to get more…” Fluttershy stopped herself.
When was she bringing Hosuh anywhere? Futtershy sighed and he would probably start talking about getting new clothes at some point anyway.
“More of what? Clothes?” he asked.
Fluttershy looked at him in silence for a moment then nodded. Hosuh came up to her and was ready to go.
“Now Hosuh I want to tell you something before we leave” Fluttershy said, lowering down to his level.
Hosuh waited for her to speak.
“You remember me saying that you were the only one that was not a pony in this world?” she asked, knowing he would remember.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Well Iran into one of my friends recently and she might not be happy about seeing you, she is more of a fighter then ‘lets be friends’ type. But if she does see you and doesn’t attack then she might be keeping an eye on you. I'm not saying she will see you, but if she does, then she does” Fluttershy explained.
Hosuh was almost concerned.
“Then how do we get new clothes for me?” Hosuh spoke.
“Well I have a saddle bag here” Fluttershy replied and then lifted a bag with a strap on it.
“You will be in this on the way there, just don’t make noise or movement. I have a friend who can make clothes, so maybe we can get her to make clothes for you. I just hope she doesn’t freak out from seeing you. But she probably won’t heh” Fluttershy amused.
“Iget to meet one of your friends?” he chirped.
Fluttershy smiled sweetly.
“Yeah, but promise me you won’t move inside or make noise on the way,” Fluttershy said.
Hosuh nodded gleefully. Fluttershy giggled and set the bag down. Hosuh stepped in and sat down. He surprisingly fit, but then again he was at least half the size for his age. Fluttershy lifted the bag and rested on her back. The weight of Hosuh was light, so she didn’t have any problems carrying him. She could even run if she had to. Not that it needed to be needed.
“Are you comfortable?” she asked, opening the door.
Hosuh hummed ‘yes’ before Fluttershy smiled and stepped out the door and closed it.
Fluttershy was dozens of feet away from the carousel boutique door before Fluttershy was stopped by Rainbow Dash trotting up to her.
“Hey Fluttershy? I wanted to apologize for what I did earlier. I should have been softer on you” Rainbow gave a worried expression. Drooping her ears and dipping her head in defeat.
Fluttershy turned in her direction.
“It's okay rainbow, you don’t have to apologize” the yellow pegasus replied.
Rainbow dash lifted her head, her ears still down.
“Are you sure?” she rasped.
Fluttershy nodded.
“Well okay, if you say so” Rainbow replied, her ears standing on end again.
Fluttershy was about to bid her farewell until a slight shift interrupted the silence.
“What was that?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Fluttershy wished she didn’t freeze easily.
“Uhhh, that was the weasel in my saddle bag, he is quite the motivated animal” Fluttershy lied.
Rainbow raised a brow.
“Why do you have a weasel in your saddle bag, especially when you're at Rarity’s place?” she asked suspiciously.
Fluttershy choked on her own words, struggling to mouth anything.
“I-I agreed that he would get a sweater from Rarity” Fluttershy lied again.
Rainbow was puzzled and a little annoyed.
“When does a weasel need a sweater in the middle of the summer?” she asked sternly.
Fluttershy waited longer to answer. Which raised rainbow’s suspicion even higher. Fluttershy could see it in her eyes.
“He gets cold during the night, so I told him I would get him one and well here we are. Ibetter get going, by!” Fluttershy sped off again.
Rainbow was annoyed with Fluttershy, but confused and all at once didn’t know how to feel. Rainbow dash gave up again and raced off to her cloud home. Fluttershy let out a sigh before knocking on the carousel boutique. She looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was in hearing range and looked down in the saddle bag Hosuh was in.
“Are you doing alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, was that one of your friends just now?” Hosuh questioned, shifting to get more comfortable.
“Yes. and you're about to meet one of them so be quiet” Fluttershy replied, before hearing the door to the boutique open with the sound of a sing-song bell ringing through the building.
“Ah Fluttershy you're here just on time” Rarity gleefully greeted.
Fluttershy grinned.
“Come on in, I have some treats and some tea waiting” Rarity said, as Fluttershy walked in.
Hosuh, from the inside of the bag gone unnoticed, could hear everything going on. But whatever they were talking about didn’t make sense and tried to keep in mind not to make noise or any movement that would produce that. But after a short time of boring information about this dress of Fluttershy’s, the subject of Hosuh came up.
“Um Rarity?” Fluttershy asked.
“Hmm?” Rarity hummed.
“Can I Show you something?” Fluttershy spoke slowly but timidly.
Rarity turned her head and trotted over and then sat down beside her on the couch. Fluttershy looked to her right at her saddle bag that rested next to her. Even for Hosuh, he could feel Fluttershy’s gaze land on him.
“What is it darling?” Rarity asked, her voice soft and understanding.
Fluttershy winced.
“Can you keep a promise?” Fluttershy said, not breaking away from her bag.
Rarity shifted in her seat.
“Yea, i can do that. What is it?” Rarity repeated.
Fluttershy cringed again.
“What I'm going to show you Rarity, is out of this world. But I promise you he won’t do any harm” Fluttershy reassured. Turning to look at her friend.
Rarity raised a brow, concerned but interested.
“Okay?” the fashionista replied hesitantly.
Fluttershy sighed.
“Promise me you won’t freak out or anything?” Fluttershy said, before picking up her saddle bag and setting it in front of her on the sofa.
Rarity nodded. Then looked down at the bag, half expecting something to jump out at her. Fluttershy steadied her voice and spoke.
“You can come out now, she won’t do anything”
Rarity was starting to think it was an animal. But now that she saw whatever was poking its head out to look eye to eye with her, she was starting to now think that she was, at some level, right.
“Rarity, this is Hosuh, Hosuh, this is Rarity” Fluttershy introduced.
The two stared at each other until Hosuh shyly ducked back down into the bag. Rarity didn’t do anything but widened her eyes a little.
“What is that?” Rarity tried to keep a polite and calmed tone.
“Well I'm not really sure, but he is friendly, I promise” Fluttershy replied, unsure.
Rarity softened her facial expression and said:
“Can I see his full body?” she requested.
Fluttershy nodded, then picked Hosuh up as if he were a kitten. Then moved the bag over to the side and placed Hosuh on her lap. Hosuh looked up at Rarity once again. Rarity was actually liking the appearance of him.
“He is…adorable” Rarity whispered.
Hosuh tried hiding behind Fluttershy’s mane. But failed a few times.
“He is, but there is a reason I promise him here,” Fluttershy said, seeing Rarity’s eyes dilate with amusement.
Rarity paused to turn her attention towards Fluttershy.
“Yes?” Rarity questioned.
“First I Want to say, can you please not tell anyone about him please? Especially Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy begged.
Rarity blinked, then nodded.
“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” Rarity replied, mimicking the pastry being shoved in her eye.
Fluttershy sighed in relief.
“And I also want to mention something else,” the shy pony said.
“Can you make him know clothes by any chance? His animal kind always has to wear clothes” Fluttershy asked, giving Hosuh head pats to comfort him.
Rarity blinked, then looked down at Hosuh. The white unicorn could tell in his eyes, even if he wasn’t looking at her, that he was desperate to get more. Rarity looked away to think. All Rarity usually is dresses. But based on the name of this kid, it was a big chance that he was a boy. Rarity took a glance at his clothes and just saw that was normal looking, but she didn’t seem to mind from Fluttershy’s perspective. Rarity made eye contact and gave a half smile.
“I'll do it, I'll make some night gowns as well. If Hosuh is a friend of yours like your critter friends, then he is a friend of mine” Rarity said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
Hosuh and Fluttershy looked at each other then looked at Rarity. Both of them were filled with excitement.
“Really?!” Fluttershy asked, astonished.
Rarity nodded. Fluttershy smiled and then looked at Hosuh again.
“You're going to get some new clothes now hos” Fluttershy said, hugging Hosuh.
“But I Do need to take some measurements so, Hosuh come with me” Rarity said, hopping down from the couch.
Hosuh looked Fluttershy, as if he didn’t understand.
“Don’t worry Hosuh, i'll be out here on the couch” Fluttershy reassured.
Hosuh blinked, then felt himself feel 10 times lighter as he was levitated off the ground with a sapphire blue glow that covered his body.
“Don’t worry Hosuh, you're safe with me. I Promise you this is safe, I Don't bite” Rarity said. Setting Hosuh down on her back then walked off into a separate room.
Fluttershy put a hoof to her lips and drew it up ward, as if telling Hosuh to smile when it was appropriate. Hosuh returned a small smirk, then dropped it. Fluttershy knew getting to know somepony was good for him, she also knew he was shy for being himself. But she could tell Hosuh could handle this on his own. If he was able to run from a chimera, then he can survive this.
Rarity could feel her mane being pulled and gripped on, which made her cringe a little. She didn’t mind it at first, but when Hosuh got too aggressive, she would occasionally use an application of magic to get him to loosen his hold on her. It worked, almost every time, but it wasn’t enough for Hosuh to knock it off. But when Rarity was able to turn her head to look at him, she saw a stray strand of purple hair, she had enough and put him down on her work table with a bunch of mirrors surrounding him.
“Okay I think that's enough pulling and gripping, heh heh. Wait here, i'll get things set up, up stairs and we will get started soon enough” Rarity gave a small smile before trotting up the stairway. Leaving Hosuh unsupervised for a moment.
*I hope he doesn’t get into anything important down there* she thought to herself.
Opening the door to her bedroom, she saw her cat opal, sitting on the bed. Her cat meowed and hopped off the bed and made its way down stairs. Rarity didn’t pay attention to her though, instead started to clean up her room, the last order she did had taken a lot of space and was trying to clean it as fast as she could. Putting the needles and thread into their places. Fabric on the shelves, mannequins lined up against their respective walls and windows and then put a measuring tape strap around her neck with a pair of red glasses with small diamond studs that decorated the frame. She neatly made her bed and then pulled out a dress rack and put on the dresses that were on some of the mannequins from days before and today. She did a quick check of the area and tried to make sure that everything was foal proof, I mean Hosuh looked as if he were younger then sweetie belle, he younger sister. She didn’t want him to get hurt. If he did end up hurting himself in any way like a naive little foal, she wouldn’t forgive herself. He was too innocent. And Rarity felt a slight connection to him and she called him her friend as well. She wasn’t sure if he was okay with that, but either way, Rarity didn’t want to ruin her friendship with Fluttershy and Hosuh, if anything had happened to him.
Rarity jumped when she heard the unmistakable sound of Hosuh yelping.
*oh great, good job Rarity, you solved something that will never be fixed* She kicked herself and then ran out the bedroom door, and then stopped in the hallway.
She was listening to anything that would let her know that Hosuh was alright. When she heard him whimper, she galloped down the stairs and came to a stop when she saw Hosuh on the ground. What she saw made her heart break and then melt at the same time. Hosuh was laying on the ground on his back, he must have fallen but then again the table wasn’t up that high, he should be fine. But on top of Hosuh was Rarity’s white cat, opal. What she was doing was not normal for her to do. She was grooming Hosuh’s hair, which probably tickled, because he was falling into layers of giggles and small laughter. Rarity had calmed down completely when her eyes laid on this scene. Rarity couldn’t help but stare for a few moments, but soon realized the reason why opal was grooming him. Hosuh might have been needing a bath for probably days, opal doesn’t groom herself unless it was an emergency, or when she had tufts of fur sticking out. Like any other cat would. Rarity chuckled and then lifted Hosuh off the ground and out of opals grasp.
Opal chirped and meowed, as if saying she wasn’t done. Rarity set Hosuh on her back and made way back up the stairs as she spoke. Hosuh having another tight grip on her mane.
“Now opal, we don’t need Hosuh to be groomed by you, we just need to run a bath for him in a minute is all '' Rarity spoke, reasoning with her cat.
Opal gave a disapproved mew but Rarity ignored her. When Rarity closed the door to her bedroom behind her after opal was in, she set Hosuh down on her bed with her cat laying next to him, purring. Rarity was just glad she stopped grooming Hosuh. While it was a little strange for opal to like anyone, she isn’t usually this friendly towards anyone at all. Even another animal like Rainbow Dash’s pet tortoise, tank. But she let Hosuh pet the cat while she went to get her sewing machine set up. When she did, she came back to Hosuh and sat down on the ground.
“Hosuh, I need you to stand up for me okay?” Rarity stated, then watched Hosuh get off the bed and onto the floor.
“Can you hold still for me please? I need to measure your form so i can make what you need” Rarity requested.
Hosuh nodded and stood up straight, staying still as humanly possible. Rarity was impressed that he was able to do what she ordered, most foals just did what they wanted, like sweetie belle. But sweetie belle was at her parents house instead since she isn’t always with Rarity. When Rarity was done, she took another good look at Hosuh, then grabbed a notepad and pencil and wrote down everything she had measured and seen.
“I'm gonna have to remember this,” she mumbled.
Rarity set down the notepad and looked at Hosuh.
“Okay here is the plan” Rarity announced happily, clapping her hooves together.
Hosuh was now full and complete attention to Rarity.
“I will start working on your clothes, when I'm done with a pair of shorts and a shirt, along with some underpants, we will get you a bath started. How does that sound?” Rarity explained, lowering down to Hosuh’s eye level.
Hosuh nodded, then remembered what Fluttershy did with her hoof before Rarity had taken him into her own hooves. Hosuh gave a small smile in agreement. Rarity’s eyes shined with aw as she picked him up and set him back down on the bed.
“While I'm busy working, you can…” Rarity paused, looking around the room to see if she had anything for him to play with besides her cat.
“Wait here” she ordered before leaving the room.
She came back with a few plush toys and set them on the bed with Hosuh.
“You can play with those while I work, it should pass the time anyway” Rarity said, then trotted over to her sewing machine and different fabrics.
Occasionally she would look down at her notepad, seeing the notes she had written down for use. While this was happening, Hosuh would be playing with the plush toys. Sometimes would turn his attention to the cat to pet her. The whole time opal would either sit down on the bed beside Hosuh, watching him play with the offered toys or she would lay down next to him, purring.
Fluttershy on the other hoof, was still in the waiting room. But she didn’t mind, she liked the peace and quiet. It was like sitting in her cottage back at home, except if her cottage was something more sophisticated and more shiny and colorful and less nature feel to it. She picked up a treat from the small rack that sat in front of her. Taking a bite out of it. It was near afternoon and she knew Rarity had time to make a stack of clothes at least. Now that she thought about it, she should mention to her friend that Hosuh will get older and that she would come back. She would also agree that she would offer a generous amount of bits to pay.
After sometime of putting together the clothes and giving Hosuh a bath, Fluttershy and Hosuh headed out. Fluttershy decided to gallop back with Hosuh in the saddle bag once more.
By the time Fluttershy had closed the door in her cottage, she could hear a soft exhale and inhale coming from the saddle bag. She opened it to find Hosuh asleep. She was surprised he was able to fall asleep on the way here in a full gallop. But Hosuh probably found it relaxing in a way that it made him tired. It was now somewhere late afternoon now and Fluttershy was eager to relax with her critter friends. She picked up Hosuh and then spread her wings open. She flew upstairs and gently laid him in bed, then took his shoes off in order for him to sleep better. Pulling the covers over his shoulder, Fluttershy brushed some hair out of Hosuh’s face with her hoof. Smiled, then quietly left the room while turning off the light and closing the door. Fluttershy had a few thoughts running through her mind while she made her way down the stairs. It was still technically day time, and she had enough time to wander through Ponyville and asked if they were willing to take responsibility for Hosuh. but nopony has seen Hosuh before except for Rarity. Fluttershy knew she couldn’t take him, she had a job to make dresses and other things, she couldn’t do Twilight since she had princess duties like spike had said before, Applejack already had Apple bloom and a dog, taking care of a toddler would be more of a hoof full if anything. Pinkie pie couldn’t either since she had the baby cakes.
Fluttershy sat down on the couch to think about this more and deeply.
Pinkie also had a store to deal with. And she obviously didn’t want to check in with Rainbow Dash, one she lied to her, two she doesn’t seem to care for fillies when it came to being responsible for it. Fluttershy sighed, shifting and laying down on the sofa. She knew there were many ponies in this town with foals of their own, if they didn’t they had a job. Or they were simply not interested in getting a pet. There were too many houses to go through and Fluttershy was not prepared for that. Which led to herself. Fluttershy didn’t think of herself as having Hosuh as a….son. She did like Hosuh a lot, but did she love him as a son? Now that she thought about it, Hosuh did follow her around and she did feed him as if she was a mother. Did Hosuh see her as a mother though? Was he going to ask about her being his mom? Fluttershy almost felt light hearted at that thought, she would have to think about this tomorrow. But as Fluttershy got a blanket from underneath the couch, more thoughts flooded her mind. The first one that popped into her head was Hosuh being very grabby when she was putting him to bed. But she kept telling herself that he was just being a kid, nothing more. He did say he was afraid of the dark, did he say that? Yeah. he did. But again Fluttershy thought nothing of it, he is just a kid. Kids are gonna have fears of the dark from time to time. But Fluttershy was like this when she was a foal. Around the same age as Hosuh is, maybe older.
Fluttershy rolled to her side and looked in the direction of one of her windows and stared up at the stars lazily and somewhat saddened. She didn’t know why, but it was probably because she was having trouble with getting Hosuh new parents, or if it was because of the lies she told dash earlier. Or if it was because she was having trouble deciding on what to do with Hosuh. But she shut those thoughts out when she felt tears threatening to leave her eyes. Falling asleep was a little hard, but when she did. She was instantly peaceful.
A white light blared around Fluttershy, soon leading to a midnight blue color, decorated in white spots as if they were stars. Everywhere. Fluttershy opened her eyes and was puzzled when she was greeted with a space-like area. At first she felt serene and relaxed. But then a bright white orb appeared in front of her, Fluttershy put a leg over her eyes before it disappeared. Fluttershy lowered her hoof and saw princess luna.
“Luna?” Fluttershy called out.
Fluttershy bowed down to show respect for the princess, but was soon interrupted.
“Please Fluttershy, I would accept it, but now isn’t the time” luna spoke softly.
Fluttershy stood up in a flash.
“Why? Is something wrong?” Fluttershy asked, trotting up to her.
Luna gave a stern but worried expression.
“No, but there is a reason I'm here in your dream,” she replied.
Fluttershy shuttered, her eyes widened.
“What is it?” Fluttershy asked, then raised an eyebrow.
Luna nodded in agreement.
“Yes, but I think it’s easier to show you, i'll talk after words” luna spoke slowly.
Fluttershy didn’t like that reply. But let Luna do her thing. Luna lifted her front hoof, then stomped it against the ground at such a force, it echoed across the empty area Fluttershy called her mind. Everything started shifting and moving at a high speed around them. Fluttershy was going to feel nauseous, but it finally stopped when she and Luna had appeared in ponyville. Fluttershy was puzzled, but soon she heard a loud crash. Turning around she almost gasped. Luna had a blank expression on her face, but had a hint of stern and interest. Fluttershy walked over and next to her to look at her face, then the chaos. Again she almost gasped. Not sure how to feel. A group of ponies surrounded somepony in the middle, all of them cheered with happiness and support. In the middle of the group was…no one. No one was there. Fluttershy was confused but at the same time curious.
“What is going on? No one is there” Fluttershy stated.
Luna looked down at Fluttershy.
“That's because it has not happened yet” she replied.
Fluttershy raised a brow as she said this.
“Why are you showing me this?” Fluttershy asked.
Luna looked ahead again, Fluttershy followed suit.
“Just to tell and show you that there is always hope,” Luna explained shortly, putting a hoof to her chest.
Luna looked down at Fluttershy, while turning to face her straight. Again Fluttershy did the same.
“I know you have been taking care of that child Fluttershy, it's no secret to me and only me,” Luna said, putting her hoof back down.
Fluttershy was puzzled again.
“Huh? Do you mean Hosuh?” Fluttershy asked, not knowing how Luna knew about this.
“Iknew since the first night he was there in your cottage, I also knew deep down you would take good care of him. Which you have, and that you both are struggling” luna explained.
Fluttershy gave up on trying to digest what she was saying.
“How do you know about Hosuh?” Fluttershy timidly questioned.
Luna smiled.
“I'm the ruler of the night, I look after dreams and make sure everything is serene” Luna answered. Luna continued.
“I just happen to come to one of your dreams about a night ago, you dreamt of Hosuh, did you not?” she asked.
Fluttershy stared at the ground before answering.
“I don't know, if I did im sure I would have remembered it” Fluttershy replied, lifting her head.
Luna dropped her smile.
“Well either way I assure you, you did. Sometimes ponies won’t remember dreaming, but like I said, I assure you, you did dream of Hosuh. Nothing big or important at the moment” she stated.
Fluttershy raised a brow again.
“Also what do you mean by struggling?” Fluttershy questioned ceriously.
Luna blinked.
“i can feel it in your dreams, even Hosuh himself,” Luna replied.
Fluttershy was surprised.
“You went into his dreams?!” she yelped.
Luna gave a questioning look.
“Right, right. Princess of dreams, heh” Fluttershy nervously giggled.
“But what is Hosuh struggling with? Does it have to do with having parents?” Fluttershy asked, stepping closer to luna.
She nodded.
“Yes, but let's focus on you for the moment,” Luna suggested.
Fluttershy was baffled but...saddened.
“How do you feel about Hosuh getting new parents? Is he getting any?” Luna asked calmly.
Fluttershy’s face melted into guilt.
“Well, no. I was thinking about it before going to bed, I know no one will take him except for me if I had too” Fluttershy explained.
Luna took that in for a moment.
“Are you planning on telling him that you will take full responsibility for taking care of him?” Luna asked again.
Fluttershy kept her guilty expression however.
“I..don’t know, I think so. But I'm not entirely sure yet. He still thinks he is getting parents or one parent” Fluttershy replied sadly.
Luna took this in as well. She put a hoof to her chin to think. Then lowered it.
“What told you about parents? Anything you think is important?” Luna said.
Fluttershy thought deeply about this.
“Well he has told me he didn’t care about who adopted him, as long as they took good tender loving care into him, he even said he didn’t care whether it was one or two parents. But I guess I should also tell you about him and me since he has been liking the fact that my presence is around him” Fluttershy explained, her guilt slowly turning into oblivion.
Luna didn’t say anything and just listened.
“Ever since I rescued him from a chimera, it's like I'm a mother figure to him. He constantly is by my side no matter what, unless I told him I was going to be out for a bit. But when I returned from a shopping trip he was instantly around my forelegs the second I stepped through my front door” Fluttershy went on.
Luna gave that a thought.
“Have you done anything else that has triggered his senses into thinking you're his mom?” Luna asked.
Fluttershy sighed.
“Well, he calls me by my own name actually, but I have fed him a few times before. Except for when I left him with food on his first day here, even though he said he couldn’t feed himself. I also asked Rarity to make him clothes and that I would pay her. I'm also there when he is upset or when he needs me” Fluttershy was getting tired of explaining things.
Then it was like a light bulb went off in Luna's mind.
“I think I now know why he is always acting like a child,” Luna said.
“What do you mean? He is a child luna” Fluttershy commented.
“My point is that he wanted you to adopt him as a mom. Think about it fluttershy, you're getting him clothes, feeding him, putting him to bed, you're there for him when he needs you, i'm pretty sure you're going to be called mom at some point” luna confirmed.
Fluttershy’s eyes almost widened.
“Are you saying-”
“Yes, I am. Fluttershy think about it deeply, do you expect him to keep calling you friend or pal because you're doing this to make him happy?” Luna raised a brow.
Fluttershy shook her head.
“No,” she answered weakly.
Luna made her voice a little stern.
“Then it is settled,” Luna said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder.
“Fluttershy, you need to take care of him. I'm sure deep down you want to take care of him as a mom” luna reassured.
Fluttershy was going to protest but nodded in agreement, she knew it deep down herself.
“What do I do now?” the shy pony asked.
“Tell Hosuh your going to be responsible for him, if you can take care of hundreds of animals, I know you can take care of Hosuh” luna replied.
Fluttershy closed her eyes, taking in the peaceful silence. Before Fluttershy could say anything to break the silence, she started to feel light headed. Luna recognized this almost immediately.
“Our time is up, I have to go,” Luna said, turning around and walking through an opening that had appeared.
Fluttershy didn’t pay any mind to it. She just let the princess go as she waited for herself to wake up. Once princess Luna had disappeared, Fluttershy could feel her surroundings start to fade to the same blaring white light she had felt and seen from minutes before. Then it felt like her mind was filled with senses.
Author's Note
i hope this is a pretty decent story at least, im new to writing (kind of) especially to writing a book, cut me some slack.
Secrets
Fluttershy's eyes shot open, filled with shock. All she could think about was what Luna had said. Fluttershy blocked her view from the window with a hoof, the sun had just risen above the hills in the earth. Fluttershy yawned and stretched out her limbs, then carefully got off the couch to look around. Some of her animals were awake but other than that it was quiet. Fluttershy smiled, though she was filled with anxiety. She slowly made her way up the stairs, knowing hosuh wasn't awake yet. Opening the door slowly but cautiously, she could see hosuh in her bed, sound asleep. She almost felt bad for what she was about to do, waking him up seemed rude. But she knew what she had to do, she was going to tell hosuh she was going to be his mother. The thought itself made Fluttershy shutter, not from fear, but from excitement and nervousness. She wasn't sure if she was ready to tell him this yet. It felt too quick and easy for her. But who can blame her, Fluttershy could feel a small flame of excitement start to grow. But she stood there with her head peeking in through the doorway, her hoof wrapped around the door. Fluttershy shifted in place when she saw hosuh's body start to move awake. Fluttershy was in a fight or flight scenario, unsure whether to run from this, or fight her fears and tell despite the excitement.
"Fluttershy?" hosuh yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepy.
Fluttershy snapped out of her thoughts and then came into the room fully.
"Hey hosuh, morning. Did you sleep well?" she asked, walking over to her, soon to be son.
Very soon.
"I slept okay, even better than before" hosuh replied, sitting up.
Fluttershy sat down on the bed in front of him.
"Hosuh, about the adoption thing, i have something to tell you" Fluttershy said, giving a sheepish smile.
Hosuh blinked, trying to understand Fluttershy's tone in her voice.
"What is it?" hosuh asked, excitement growing inside him.
Fluttershy was trying to anticipate what he would do after she told him.
"I found your new parent" Fluttershy almost sing-song.
Hosuh was full of energy and curiosity.
"Well where are they?" he asked.
Fluttershy smiled, then replied.
"You're talking to her right now," Fluttershy hinted.
Hosuh was fully confused and didn't know how to respond at first. But after some thinking and processing, hosuh's eyes widened.
"Fluttershy..are you saying..." hosuh said slowly. Not believing what he was hearing.
Fluttershy blushed.
"Yes. i'm gonna be your mother" Fluttershy replied.
Silence seemed deafening. But beside all of that, hosuh jumped into Fluttershy's arms and wrapped his arms around her neck. He was almost speechless.
"Thanks Fluttershy" hosuh whimpered happily.
"It's not Fluttershy anymore, you can call me mom now" Fluttershy cooed.
Hosuh smiled brightly as ever.
"Ok, mom," he giggled.
2 days later...
Fluttershy was pretty good at holding back the fact that hosuh was a thing, and that rarity was able to keep that secret for her and Luna included. At least she knew Luna would not tell anyone about it. But today was an unlucky day for Fluttershy and hosuh. Where things got turned around. Fluttershy was doing a winter wrap up with her friends and the whole town of ponyville, when they were done, she explained to some friends that she was leaving to zecoras to get some soup. Something hosuh had actually liked when he tried it not long ago. But this time she decided to bring hosuh, so that he could get out of the house to stretch his legs. When they were at a point in the path where they were out of sight, Fluttershy aloud hosuh to ride on her back. Which he was happy about, he hated being in a saddle whenever he did go out with her, but it's pretty rare for him to be outside of the house anyway. Hosuh being the 4 year old that he was, he did start to point things out and say things like: look at that! That's pretty! What is that? Fluttershy found this entertaining and at the same time amusing. Sometimes he would get bored and asked if they were at the location yet, which Fluttershy would giggle and reply no. but when hosuh was about to ask again, he paused when he saw a giant tree in a clearing with a door on it.
"Where are we?" hosuh asked timid.
"Where at a friend's house, in which i want you to wait here for me by the door alright?" Fluttershy said, turning to look at her son.
Hosuh slid down from Fluttershy's back and grabbed a hold of Fluttershy's light pink mane, as if it would be her hoof or his dead mom's hand. They sauntered closer to the tree hut and Fluttershy was just happy that hosuh wasn't giving a stronger grip to her hair as he had done before.
"Ok so since i don't want anyone but rarity to see you, i need you to hide in that bush" Fluttershy said, drawing closer.
As Fluttershy explained the last few words, she pointed to a bush that was next to the door of Zecora's living space. Hosuh smiled.
"Okay, how long will this take?" hosuh asked, stepping into the bush.
Once he had, he realized the surface of it was up to his neck, it was perfect for him to hide in.
"It shouldn't take long, maybe 3 or 4 minutes. She might have to make it so if it takes longer, it's probably because of that'' Fluttershy replied.
Hosuh nodded understandingly.
"Also make sure you keep your head under until i'm out, i don't want animals finding you either" Fluttershy added, before stepping inside zecora's hut.
Hosuh immediately ducked into the bush, promising himself and Fluttershy that he would wait.
Hosuh didn't know how long it had been since Fluttershy had left him here, but it couldn't have been that long. He was starting to gain boredom and he was starting to pick and pluck at the grass strands, if he didn't have interest in that he would do the bush. But a small part of him wanted to get out and actually scratch his legs. It would be fine if the coast was clear, right? There is no harm in that. Hosuh peaked out of the bush, then slowly emerged and then arched his back, backwards until he heard a small pop. He did the same with his legs and arms. When he was done, he looked back at the bush and returned inside of it.
By the time he sat back down, he heard a bush rustle across the clearing from him. He turned around to see what was causing the noise. When he looked he jumped back and gasped. A human girl, maybe around hosuh's age, had emerged from the bush he heard noises coming from. She seemed lost and confused. Was she being chased by a beast as well? No. She wasn't running, she would be right now if she was. The appearance of the girl was something hosuh never thought he would ever see on another human being, especially being at least 3 or 4 years of age. He could tell it was a girl based on the hair and clothing. This girl's hair was a snowy white with a slight hint of gray, it wasn't terribly long. Her hair reached at shoulder length and her eyes were different colors apart from each other. Her left one had a gray color, almost silver. Her right one was a cobalt blue. She had a white bluish ring above her head, hosuh now could tell that it was a halo. She was also wearing a white t-shirt, with navy blue shorts. The girl looked around timid, until she met eyes with hosuh. From the girl's perspective she could only see his eyes, so she was unsure of whether whatever she was looking at was human or not. This scared her apparently because she gasped and ran in a different direction. Hosuh wanted to call out, but it was too late.
Seconds after she disappeared into the never ending forest, Fluttershy had come out of the hut. Hosuh jumped out, almost scaring Fluttershy half to death.
"Hey hosuh, you ready to go?" she asked, patting him on the head when hosuh had latched onto her leg like always.
Hosuh nodded.
"Okay hop on" Fluttershy said, slouched down so that he could get on.
Fluttershy started her way down the path before speaking again.
"Sorry if it was longer than usual, we had a few roadblocks on the way heh heh heh" Fluttershy giggled.
Hosuh smiled back, then hid in his mom's mane. It was a silent peaceful walk on the way back.
"You okay mom?" hosuh asked, giving a concerned look.
"I don't know, how are we gonna get you back if my bag is full?" she asked, hoping her son would have any ideas.
But he didn't. Fluttershy did have one idea, it wouldn't work perfectly as she knew it would, but it was the best she got.
"Hosuh i have an idea, but it might not work. But it's the best i got" Fluttershy said, lifting her head to face hosuh.
Hosuh blinked and waited for her statement.
Fluttershy was fearful, knowing hosuh would most likely be seen by the citizens on ponyville. But rainbow dash was something she was more worried about. She had lied to her after all. Hosuh was apparently monkey booting one of Fluttershy's front forelegs. Even though he weighed more than she had anticipated, it wasn't a bad thing, she could handle it long enough to get to her cottage.
*next time i'm leaving him home* she thought.
But just as she was half way there, she noticed that the sun had moved way more than she thought it did from earlier. How long was she out in the forest for? Well she did mention to hosuh it did take longer than expected to make that soup with zecora so she wasn't really phased by it in the slightest. She was stopped when five ponies from ponyville came up to her.
"Hey, Fluttershy, you were gone for longer than we expected. Did something go wrong?" carrot top asked.
"Yeah everything is fine, just a couple of road blocks is all" Fluttershy answered, peeking over carrots shoulder over to her cottage that was in the distance.
"What kind?" Berry punch asked, leaning forward in Fluttershy's face.
Fluttershy cringed.
"Why do you want to know?" she asked, backing up. Hosuh still held on tight and no one seemed to notice him.
"Because I asked them to" a familiar raspy voice called from above Fluttershy and the others.
Fluttershy froze, so did hosuh. Rainbow flew down in front of Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, I know you have something you're not telling me, based on the way you trot. You also carry around your saddle bag more than you should" rainbow dash explained.
Fluttershy felt sweat drops run down her face.
"Well I just like the feeling of it on my haunches, you know?" She lied horribly.
She started around rainbow until she was stopped by a hoof.
"Tell me" the rainbow maned pony demanded.
At this point, hosuh didn't like where this was going and hopped out from underneath Fluttershy. Rainbow looked down in awe, then stepped backwards many hoof steps back.
"Fluttershy what is it?" she rasped.
Everypony in this area started to notice by this point and Fluttershy were starting to panic a little. Everypony that saw hosuh had a confused yet fearful look on their faces.
"I don't know, but I adopted him. He is my son now" Fluttershy replied slowly and weakly.
Rainbow was now full of confusion.
"B-but...Fluttershy look at him, does that look like a pony to you?" Rainbow asked, not sure whether to feel mad, fearful.
Fluttershy gave an expression that said, 'im not stupid'
"No, but I don't care. He is my son regardless" Fluttershy repeated.
Rainbow dash looked back up at Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, I know you love animals but keeping one as a son?" Rainbow asked, her voice hoarse and stern.
"What's wrong with that?" Fluttershy softly spoke.
Rainbow furrowed her brow.
"Fluttershy take a good look at him then yourself" rainbow spat.
Fluttershy did as she was told and looked at hosuh, who had a puzzled and worried expression on his face. She looked at herself. She looked up at rainbow dash.
"See anything different?" rainbow dash mocked.
Fluttershy furrowed her brow.
"Rainbow, I know having hosuh as a son, even if he may not be a pony, is weird to you. But to me he will always be my foal" Fluttershy said, putting a hoof on top of hosuh's head.
Rainbow glared at Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy this is not acceptable, you need to release it back to wherever you found it, weasel or not" rainbow dash angrily yelled.
"Rainbow dash!? How could you say that? He is too young! He can't protect himself out there!" Fluttershy protested.
"Who cares Fluttershy! Who knows, if you end up taking care of it, it might grow up to be a monster! Does this animal seem normal in equestria?!" rainbow dashed argued. Pointing to hosuh.
Fluttershy was covering hosuh's ears. But she knew he heard those words already, it was enough for him regardless.
"Rainbow dash! Knock it off! He is not a monster, he will never be!" Fluttershy scolded.
"But does he look like he belongs in this place?" she asked, shooting daggers at her friend.
"No" Fluttershy replied simply.
"Then get rid of it!" rainbow dash yelled again.
Fluttershy tried calming down a bit.
"Does hosuh look like a monster to you rainbow?!" she asked, picking hosuh up and holding him close, giving rainbow dash a good look at hosuh.
Rainbow had had enough of Fluttershy's antics and full on rage, flying into the air and grabbed a storm cloud and kicked it as hard as she could out of anger. The sudden impact made the cloud burst with lighting, while making the loudest noise to ever come from a stormcloud. It sounded similar to a giant roar of a lion and it scared hosuh so much he started balling his eyes out. Fluttershy tried to calm him down but was unable to. Rainbow Dash pushed the cloud away before coming back to Fluttershy, seeing that she was holding hosuh motherly and could see that hosuh was violently shaking and tearing up so much. Rainbow looked up at Fluttershy who gave her a look of beg. Rainbow dash sighed annoyed and lowered her head down. Rainbow could now tell that the whole group of ponies had gone dead silent.
"How long did you have him for?" she asked calmly and collected.
"Only for a few days" Fluttershy replied, annoyed with rainbow.
"Where did you find him?" she asked again, her voice intensifying. Making hosuh quiver even harder.
"In the everfree forest, he was being chased by a chimera, so I helped him," Fluttershy explained. Her tone became more soft and mellow.
Rainbow dash sighed out of her nose slowly. Looking away.
"Then you may keep him," Rainbow Dash replied, calm again.
This raised Fluttershy's hopes.
"Rainbow dash, i know he will be a good friend, just you wait" Fluttershy stated, but rainbow dash was quick to answer.
"I agreed to let him stay, but that doesn't mean that he will be my friend. Ever" rainbow dash confirmed.
A heavy silence fell on top of everyone there, almost awkward and deafening. But when rainbow had noticed the sun starting to dip behind the hills, she called out to the ponies.
"We should turn in for the night everypony, see you all again tomorrow" was the last thing she said that day, before speeding off towards her cloud home.
Hosuh had calmed his crying, but he was still weeping and shaking a bit from the painfully loud sound that pierced the air.
"What's his name?" a young voice called from in front of Fluttershy.
She looked and saw that it was scootaloo. Fluttershy laid hosuh in her arms and smiled warmly.
"His name is hosuh" she replied.
"Hosuh? Neat name" she said, before galloping off to her house.
Fluttershy stood to her hooves and held hosuh in one leg, walking towards her house. But she frowned when she could hear him getting restless again. Sat down once more and cradled him.
"Rainbow dash really got under your skin didn't she..." Fluttershy sighed, holding him close.
Fluttershy tried to calm him down again, but he was too upset. Then she tried humming a tune that her mom hummed her when she was upset.
Hosuh seemed phased by it, but the thing Fluttershy can't get over is that he was still quivering. Fluttershy unfurled her wings and flew to her house, still humming. She decided to change the tune to one of her friends, something about how she loved it when her friends smiled. But that actually seemed to not work as well either. When she got to her door steps, and failing from trying different varieties of music, one came to her head she knew would work. She smiled warmly and opened the door, then started humming. It was the same tune she used on the cutie mark crusaders when they stayed at her place. It seemed to work a lot better than she had anticipated. She decided to take her time going up the stairs, flying at a slow pace similar to a tortoise. Hosuh was starting to calm down a lot more, but his shaking was not subsiding very well. It only seemed his sobs were affected by her music choice. When his sobbing had calmed down and had made it to the bedroom door, Fluttershy started giving him back rubs. She made it to the edge of the bed and laid him down gingerly. She laid next to him and pulled the covers over the both of them, she snuggled deeper and wrapped her wings around him while pulling him closer to her chest. Instead of continuing to rub his back, she just held him close, as if letting him know that he wasn't alone. Fluttershy had decided to stay there for the night, she cared for hosuh deeply, even more then her friends, even more then her animals, even more than the princesses of equestria, even more than angel bunny. Fluttershy kissed hosuh on the head and closed her eyes, then falling asleep moments later.
