Wind of Change

"How are you feeling, Spike?" Fluttershy asked to the baby dragon, who was still curled up on her couch. He had stopped wincing and groaning shortly after swallowing the foul-tasting herbs his caretaker had given to him upon his arrival. The light yellow pony had decided some rest would be all he needed to cure his upset stomach; the herbs were simply a temporary pain reliever.

"I feel a lot better now!" grinned the purple dragon. He sat himself upright on his temporary bed before looking back at Fluttershy, still grinning. "In fact, I think I'm feeling well enough to go back home. I don't want to take up your whole day, I know you have lots of animals to take care of and all."

"Oh, it's alright. I went and tended to them while you were taking a little nap. You can stay as long as you want to. It really isn't any trouble."

"Thanks for the offer but I think I’d better get going now. I'm actually kinda hungry." laughed Spike. Fluttershy leered at him, her brow raised. "Ha ha, I- uh- I was just kidding around with you, Fluttershy!" he quickly tried to save the situation so he could leave and fill his empty stomach.

"Oh, well okay then." she replied, though she knew he was lying to her. "Just be sure not to overdo it when you do get hungry. I really wouldn't like for you to have to come back here for another upset tummy."

"Don't worry," said Spike while pushing off of the couch. He landed on the ground with a soft thump. "I'll be more careful next time," he finished, giving a reassuring smile to the pink-maned pony.

"Would you like me to take you home? I think that would be good..." she mumbled while shying away, "...if you wanted me to, that is."

"No thanks, I'm good. I'm gonna get going now," he said while making his way to the door, "I don't want Twilight to worry about me, ya know?"

"Oh, yes, of course." She opened the door for him and gave a little smile. "H-Have a safe trip home."

"Will do!" he called out as he walked away.

Once he had vanished from her sight Fluttershy gently closed the door. It wasn't even close to midday and she already felt like going to bed. Well, I did get up awfully early and the woodland creatures are all taken care of... I suppose it wouldn't be so bad if I just took a short nap. There was no need to reason with herself any more than that. She simply went over to the couch; her real bed seemed awfully far away at this point. She jumped right into the makeshift bed and squirmed around to make herself comfortable. Sleep quickly followed.

~

"I would not do that if I were you!"

Fluttershy slowly tossed on the couch and rubbed her eyes. That sounds like Rarity. What could she be doing here?

"I've never seen anything like it. It's like in the the legends I heard from the dragons of the Eastern Empire." The half-asleep pony didn't recognize this hushed voice. She sat up, a curious look upon her face.

"What do you mean 'legends you have heard from dragons'? Surely you have never talked to one, it would appear you have never even seen a bunny rabbit."

Oh dear, I really should make sure the little bunny is okay. New faces can startle them so very much. She lowered herself onto the ground and walked towards the door.

"I'll admit, I haven't seen more than a couple rabbits in my travels but I have never seen one with a pure white coat like this one. Now be quiet, you're going to scare him away."

The butter-yellow pegasus slowly opened the door, unnoticed by the ponies in her front yard. She first noticed Rarity who looked very upset, most likely because she was told to be quiet. The next thing she saw was an agitated and somewhat frightened Angel running towards the open cottage door.

"A-are you alright, Angel?" There was no response from the little bunny as he jumped up onto Fluttershy's back and began tugging at her mane. "Wh-what is it?" she stuttered, looking back at him. He extended his foreleg, paw opened, then closed his tiny paw and brought his leg back towards his body. “...you... want me to... close the door?” The little white rabbit quickly nodded and repeated the motion before jumping off her back and hiding around the corner.

Normally Fluttershy would rather be safe then sorry but her friend was standing outside, just looking at her now. Surely if something was wrong, Rarity would have run by now, or at least say something, right? Despite her better judgement, the pink-maned pony opened the cottage door more so that she could take a step out and look around. She turned to her right to see a strange pony standing a few meters away from her.

This mare had a medium-gray coat, similar to the color of one of the raccoons Fluttershy so diligently cared for, just a little bit darker and in beautiful condition. She had long legs with glossy dark gray hooves that were lightly coated in dirt. It didn’t make the pegasus look any less lovely, it simply made her look more real, in a sense.

The unknown pony’s densely feathered wings were hanging loosely at her sides allowing the shy yellow pegasus to get a glance at the silvery plumage. The now blazing sun behind the gray pony illuminated her flight feathers. Fluttershy could swear she saw them shimmering as they absorbed the brilliant beams of light before being carefully tucked away close to her lean and nearly perfectly figured body. Her left wing was kept slightly parted from her and allowed to untuck ever so slightly.

The next thing that caught Fluttershy’s eye was the mare’s mane, made golden by Celestia’s sun, as if the Princess herself had planned it to do just that. It was a shorter cut for a mare but not drastically so. The ends fell in a straight row of jagged edges. Jagged may not be the right word, there was a delicate look to them and the entire mane was most certainly soft to the touch.

Fluttershy’s gaze lastly cast upon the pegasus’s eyes. The tranquil sea of blue had not been touched by the sunlight and greatly contrasted the rest of her body, which was simply aglow. They were equally beautiful, however. The soft tint of gray in them calmed the timid pony and she felt-- comfortable. That was, until she heard the pony behind the eyes she was staring so deeply into speak.

“Well...?” Inquired the silver-winged mare. Huh? Oh no, was she talking the entire time? she asked herself as she ducked her head in a desperate attempt to hide from the pony’s stare. The eyes she had been lost in had turned from calming seas to icy daggers in Fluttershy’s mind, though the gray mare had not changed her expression to match what the timid pony saw. I would have seen her lips moving if she was talking. Wait... were they moving? I don’t remember anymore. She turned her head away, shying behind her long light pink mane. She glanced up through the long pink hairs and saw a small smile had painted itself across the pale blond-maned pegasus’s face now. Why is she smiling at me? I must look ridiculous and she’s just trying not to laugh. I wish I had listened to Angel and just closed the door.

“It’s alright, darling” Rarity assured the terrified mare. “She’s a bit... odd,” whispered the unicorn, “but she seems to be harmless. She gave that poor bunnyl a bit of fright but that was only because she had her muzzle right by him. I think she was just a tad bit too curious for her own good, and the rabbit’s as well.” laughed Rarity.

Fluttershy said nothing. She simply stared at the ground, glancing up at the strange pony every few seconds. The pony was looking at Rarity for an answer as to what to do and didn’t seem to notice her silent observer this time. The yellow pegasus glanced up once more to see she was making eye contact with the pale-maned pony. Fluttershy closed her eyes tightly and tilted her head down as far as the muscles in her neck would allow. There was the faint sound of hoofsteps. Maybe she left? Oh, I hope so. I don’t know what to do or say around new ponies.

She decided she had to open her eyes sooner or later, she could start off slowly, just looking at the ground. She slowly forced her eyes to open. As she did so, something came into her vision. Her body froze as she realized it was the gray mare lying on the ground, looking up at her. Their muzzles were so close they were almost touching.

“Eep!” she cried out, rearing up onto her back legs. The moment she did this everything went dark, the last thing she remembered was the sensation of falling.

~

“I told you not to do that!”

“You technically didn’t say anything...”

“Well for future reference, if a pony is frantically shaking their head side to side at you, that should be taken as a ‘no’!”

Fluttershy couldn’t quite distinguish voices but didn’t need to, it was obvious who was saying what. She didn't want to open her eyes again for fear the mare would be looking down at her, her gray muzzle just centimeters away from her own yellow one once again. Fluttershy slowly opened one eye, cautiously glancing around with it only half open.

Rarity was standing to her left, the other pony to her right. The other pony was looking at Rarity like a filly who had just broken her mother’s prized vase. This was a look she wore well. So well, in fact, that it seemed almost rehearsed. It was a look of guilt and it was a look of ‘I’m sorry’. It was puppy dog eyes and it was a cute little pout. It was the perfect apology without saying a single word.

“I didn’t mean to scare her,” the pegasus said in the most sincere whisper of a voice. She turned her head to the side, away from Fluttershy’s spying eye, before quietly saying, “I’m sorry.”

Rarity replied with a drawn out sigh before speaking, “I know you didn't mean to dearie. Just do try to use your better judgement next time.”

The pale-maned pony simply nodded in reply. She then looked down to the yellow pegasus on the ground. Fluttershy quickly closed her open eye. I hope she didn't see me.

"Hello there Miss... uhm..." began the gray mare in a much less energetic tone then she had when Fluttershy had initially met her. It was a warm and inviting tone, Fluttershy wanted to answer. She opened her eyes and tried to open her mouth but it would not listen to her. She wanted to tell this pony her name but just didn't have the ability.

“Come and get off the dirty old ground, will you? What is it with ponies lying on the ground getting all dirty today? Here, let me help you,” said Rarity as she began to push Fluttershy with her muzzle. The other pegasus backed up, being sure to give her plenty of space to get up on her hooves.

When Fluttershy got up she shook her mane into her face and tried to make herself as small as possible. She didn’t want to do this, it was simply in her nature. The silver-winged pegasus slowly approached her, stopping when she was a little over a meter away. She had obviously learned something from the last incident.

“Uhm... Hello,” began the unknown pony, “my name is Moon Breeze.” She finished with a slow courtesy, looking for any response. There was nothing but an awkward silence. Rarity looked to both of them, hoping somepony would say something so she didn’t have to interject.

“Hmm...” Moon Breeze finally spoke, breaking the silence, “your name is... Flutterby, perhaps? I suppose it could be Butterfly but who would name a foal after another animal? I like the Old Equestria version better myself, it’s a more accurate description. Either one would match your cutie mark quite nicely, which I imagine was earned by your special talent for caring for the plants and animals around here.” She turned to Rarity and added, “That’s why you brought me here, huh?”

Rarity gave a little nod and smile. “That would be the reason.”

There was another silent spell as the pony named Moon Breeze turned back to the pink-maned pony. She just tilted her head to the side in a look of pure curiosity. There was no sign she was going to say another word. It was clearly Fluttershy’s turn to talk. She tried to think of what to say. It took her a moment to even remember the question. There was no way should could think of something to say in reply so she didn’t think, she just spoke.

“MynameisFluttershy!” squeaked the butter colored pony in a ‘shout’ that was just barely at normal conversation level before cowering even more than before.

“Oh, sorry. I always like to try and guess the names of new ponies. It’s more fun that way,” smilied Moon Breeze.

“Fluttershy, dear, we actually stopped by because the pony took a bit of a, shall we say, tumble, earlier today. She seems to have injured her wing and I thought you might be able to take a look at.”

“Oh, uhm, well,” she quietly responded, “I suppose I could. I’m not a doctor though. Maybe you could take her to the hospital, if that’s okay with you.”

“Well,” Rarity whispered, though Moon Breeze could surely still hear, “she seems to not like that idea. I’m not quite sure if it’s the hospitals, doctors, needles or what it is but she simply refused to go.”

Fluttershy glanced over to the taller pegasus who was still keeping her distance. She turned back to Rarity as soon as eye contact was made. She couldn’t even talk to the pony, let alone touch her to give an examination. She felt she had to help though, she would never turn away and injured woodland creature, so she certainly shouldn’t say no to a pony who needed her help. Maybe if she treated her like a patient instead of a stranger, she could get over her shyness, even if only just a bit.

“I-I’ll do my best.”