//------------------------------// // Shade // Story: The Unknown Stranger // by FailWhale //------------------------------// When Fluttershy reached her cottage, she immediately galloped inside to grab everything she needed to help the pony. She cleaned his wounds, wrapped them up in bandages, and she flew him up to her room and set him down on her bed. She hoped that he was comfortable, and walked downstairs to fill up a glass of water. She put a straw in the glass, and stood there, staring at the glass. "Oh, what was I thinking? I've never taken care of another pony before...I don't think this was such a good idea, but I couldn't just leave him there..." She sighed. "We'll just have to see how everything turns out..." She took the glass of water up to her room, and she noticed that the young stallion was stirring. Fluttershy walked as quietly as she could over to her bedside table, and set the glass down. As she walked away, she heard a groan. Fluttershy turned to look at the pony, and he slowly opened his eyes. He looked around the room, and laid his eyes on Fluttershy. "Wh-wha...wh-where am I..." he asked feebly. "U-um...y-you're...I-I..." Fluttershy found that she couldn't form a sentence. -Come on, Fluttershy, you can do this! Just breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out... At this point, the stallion noticed the water on the table and downed the whole thing in 3 seconds. Fluttershy gulped as she tried to speak again. "I-I'm...F-flutter..." The young stallion smiled. "I think...that I should be the one...with an inability to speak...seeing as I'm...dazed and injured..." he said jokingly. Fluttershy giggled. -He seems really nice...Okay, you can do this! Fluttershy took a deep breath, and started. "M-my name is Fluttershy...I found you passed out in the Everfree Forest, and you asked me to help you...so...I picked you up, and took you to my cottage..." she said quietly(as usual). "Huh..." said the pony, appearing to be thinking. "You...didn't leave me there?" "I...I couldn't...You asked me to help you...What kind of pony would I be if I didn't?" replied Fluttershy. "Hm...You seem like a good natured pony..." said the young stallion. "Th-thank you..." said Fluttershy quietly. She pawed the ground nervously. "Um...do you n-need anything?" she asked. She had never taken care of another pony before. She was at a loss of what to do. "Could I have some more water?" he asked. His voice sounded somewhat dry, even after drinking the entire glass of water(it was a somewhat large glass). "Of course!" said Fluttershy rather loudly out of nervousness. "I-I mean, of course..." She took the glass, ran downstairs, filled the glass, and ran back upstairs in the time span of 15 seconds. "I'm detecting a hint of awkwardness in this situation," said the pony jokingly as Fluttershy set the water down on the table. "I-I'm sorry..." replied Fluttershy. "Don't be, it's fine, I would also feel somewhat awkward if I'm meeting a stranger who just woke up and is leeching off of me." "Oh, it's no trouble at all!" said Fluttershy. "Um...can I ask you something?" she asked. "Shoot." "What's your name? I mean, if you don't mind my asking..." "My name is Shade. Shade Night." He looked down at the covers of the bed for a couple of seconds. "Thank you for helping me, but I think that I've already been too much trouble for you, so -GAH!" He tried to get out of the bed and yelled in pain. Fluttershy ran over. "Oh, no you don't!" she said, pushing him back down as gently as possible. "You're badly injured, and you're staying in that bed. Until you get better, of course..." she said. "I suppose you're right," sighed Shade. He laid back down, and as he started showing more of his personality, Fluttershy began to notice more things about him. He was a dark blue color with a black mane. His eyes were a light blue, and he had some degree of handsomeness to him. "So, what exactly is wrong with me, Fluttershy?" asked Shade. "Well, you have a very large bruise on your side, and you also had a really deep gash in your shoulder. It mostly stopped bleeding by the time that I found you, but you seem to be in a large amount of pain." "Eh, I've had a lot worse," replied Shade. "Really?" "No, actually." Fluttershy giggled again. She walked over to a closet and pulled out a quilt. "Oh, um, take this. The weather forecast said that it would be cold today, and my blanket is thin..." Fluttershy placed the quilt over Shade. "Is this some kind of gift giving? Because, I don't really have anything on me right now..." said Shade, smiling. "Oh, It's fine, don't wo-" Fluttershy stopped and her eyes widened as she realized what Shade said. "Oh my goodness, the gift giving! I completely forgot!" said Fluttershy as she picked up her satchel and ran to the top of the stairs. "I'm so sorry, I have to go! I'm meeting my friends today, and I don't want to be late, but...I don't want to leave you alone either..." said Fluttershy. "It's fine, don't worry about me, go meet with your friends," replied Shade, smiling. "It's not like I can go anywhere, anyway," he added. "Thank you so much! Be sure to get plenty of rest!" called out Fluttershy as she ran through her front door, and took flight. "Hm...I think she's the one I've been looking for..." said Shade as he laid his head down on the pillow. "I think I'm going to like it here..." Fluttershy raced through the sky as quickly as she could, to the spot where her friends decided to gather. -Oh no! I can't believe that I'm late! I hope I haven't been keeping my friends waiting for too long... As Fluttershy flew in the air, her thoughts wandered towards a certain orange earth pony who she especially hoped would not be disappointed with her. Her thoughts continued to travel until they rested on Shade. -He seems like such a nice pony... She flew for a couple more seconds, then she heard the shout of a pony. "Hey, everypony! Fluttershy made it! She's here!" called out the voice of Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy touched down next to Rainbow Dash, and heard a voice from behind her. "Ah'm happy ta see ya, sugarcube," said Applejack, walking over to Fluttershy with a smile on her face. "I-I'm glad to see you too, Applejack..." said Fluttershy, returning the smile. She soon greeted all of her friends and continued to talk with them. They had chosen to meet in a nice meadow. Twilight called their attention. "Excuse me, everypony!" she called out as she held what appeared to be notes. "I'm glad to see that all the participants have arrived, and now we can officially start the gift giving!" She seemed to be speaking very quickly. "Gosh, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash. "What are you being all formal for? And, why exactly are you speaking so fast?" "Well, I want us to finish the actual giving as quickly as possible, because I planned for us to go to Sugarcube Corner after this," answered Twilight. "Oh goodness, I hope I didn't keep everyone waiting for too long..." said Fluttershy quietly as her face fell. "Don't worry about it, dear," said Rarity. "We wouldn't have started without you!" she reassured. Then, they started the gift giving. Twilight brought them all hoof-made journals that all had their respective cutie marks carefully printed on the covers. It looked like it took quite a while to make. As Fluttershy looked at the gift, she thought about her flowers, and how they weren't all too special compared to the journals. Rarity had brought them each a hat adorned with precious gems. The jewels were different colors corresponding to the receiver. Fluttershy looked at the hats in amazement. They also seemed to have taken time to make. She started to question her decision to bring the flowers and not make something herself. Pinkie Pie brought them all cookbooks, which looked ordinary when looking at the covers. However, when they all looked inside, they saw that there were at least 100 recipes for different treats, and they were all hoof-written. "I made sure to put in the treats that you girls REALLY love!" said Pinkie. Fluttershy started to feel guilty. All her friends brought these special, hoof-made gifts. And she brought flowers. Rainbow Dash brought each of them a cloud. The clouds were special, because they had a special ability to form rainbows between each other. Rainbow Dash didn't really tell them how exactly they could do this, or under what circumstances they would even NEED to form a rainbow in between themselves, but as the saying goes, it's the thought that counts. Fluttershy wondered what the hay she was thinking, bringing the flowers. Applejack was next. She brought them all a special apple sapling. She had asked Twilight to cast a spell on the sapling, so that it would grow depending on who was caring for it. If the caretaker of the sapling cared for it frequently, it would need constant attention. On the other side of the spectrum, if the caretaker was very busy, the sapling would be left to it's own devices, and grow from there. At this point, Fluttershy was embarassed. "Alright, Fluttershy, time for your gifts!" said Twilight happily. Fluttershy was very nervous. "Is something wrong, Fluttershy?" asked Pinkie. "Um...I...I..." Fluttershy drifted off. "It's alright, sugarcube, ya can tell us what's goin' on," said Applejack. Fluttershy took a deep breath. "I-it's just that...all of these gifts are amazing...a-and...I don't think mine are good enough..." said Fluttershy in a quiet and depressed tone. "Fluttershy, we'll love whatever you give us!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Even if they're..." Pinkie Pie shuddered before continuing, "...baked bads..." "Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked up at Applejack. "Come on, sugarcube. Ya can't just second guess yerself. Ya hafta be confident. Like RD said, we'll love whatever ya give us," said Applejack with a smile. Fluttershy reached into her satchel and pulled out the flowers. "Um...okay...here..." she said as she gave them all their respective flowers. "Wow!" said Pinkie. "These flowers are absolutely GORGEOUS!" shouted Rarity. The other three ponies had similar shouts. "You really think they're that nice?" asked Fluttershy. The other ponies nodded in agreement. Fluttershy looked at the flowers. It seemed that the Everfree Forest dulled the flowers' beauty, and being in the sunlight brought it out. The petals looked like velvet, with the color of their coat. The center of the flowers had the mane color. They seemed to shine in the sunlight as if they were jewels, and they had a somewhat surreal quality about them. In fact, they seemed... "...Magical," said Twilight. The other ponies agreed, and Fluttershy felt overjoyed. "Hey, Fluttershy, where did you get these super special amazing flowers?" asked Pinkie. "Oh, I found them in the Everfree Forest!" she said. The other ponies gasped. "You found them where?!" asked Rainbow Dash incredulously. "What were you doing in there, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight curiously. "Well, Elizabeak ran away a couple of days ago, and while I was following her tracks, I noticed the flowers. I decided to pick them and bring them to the gift giving," said Fluttershy. "I really think I should've told Shade more about why I had to-" Fluttershy started, but then Pinkie interrupted. "Shade? Who's Shade? Is he a new animal friend of your's, Fluttershy? You know that animals can't talk! I mean, sometimes Gummy fools me into thinking he's talking because his mouth is opening and closing like if he's talking, but when I go over close to him, I see that he's eating my cupcakes! Don't you hate it when an alligator eats your cupcakes? I hate it SO MUU-" "ANYWAY," interrupted Twilight, "Like Pinkie was saying before she got sidetracked, who's Shade, Fluttershy?" "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you girls. Well, when I found the flowers, I heard some strange breathing coming from deeper in the forest. I decided to follow it, so I walked towards the sound, and I stepped into a clearing. I found an unconscious pony there," she explained. Her friends all gasped. "Then what did you do?" asked Rainbow Dash earnestly. "I didn't know if I should leave him there or help him, because I'd never been in this situation before!" said Fluttershy. "Then, he woke up for a couple of seconds. After that, there was no question about it; I had to help. So, I picked him up and I flew him over to my cottage. He woke up, we talked for a little while, and he introduced himself as Shade Night. He's a really sweet pony, you all should meet him!" said Fluttershy happily. "Hm...are ya sure ya can trust 'im, sugarcube?" asked Applejack. "Oh, of course!" replied Fluttershy. "I would've introduced you all to him today, but he was badly hurt and couldn't leave the bed. I'll be sure to bring him next time!" she said. "Alright, if you say so," said Twilight. "I should get back to my cottage," said Fluttershy nervously. "I need to see if Shade feels better." They all said goodbye to Fluttershy as she took flight and left the meadow. -That went well, didn't it? I never thought that they would like my gift so much! I hope that I can introduce them to Shade soon... As Fluttershy left, Pinkie Pie asked, "So what was that about going to Sugarcube Corner, Twilight?" The ponies all started walking back to Ponyville, all except Applejack, who stood there, staring at the sky. She seemed to be lost in thought. "Hey, Applejack, are you coming?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, o' course I'm comin'. Ah'll catch up with y'all in a minute," replied Applejack. "Alright then," said Rainbow, turning to the other ponies. -Hm...Ah don't know if Ah should trust this Shade character...Well, Fluttershy trusts 'im, and Ah trust her, so that's good enough fer me... Applejack sighed. -Fluttershy...when am Ah goin' ta tell you how Ah feel about ya...Heh...Ah'm always tellin' you ta be brave and confident...when AH'M the one bein' a scaredy-pony... Applejack shook her head. -The time'll come. Right now, I better catch up ta those ponies! "Hey, y'all! Wait up fer me!" called out Applejack as she ran towards the group of ponies. Yeah, there's the second chapter. Fluttershy being OOC, me butchering AJ's accent, slow updates. This is coming along great. Speaking of slow updates, sorry about that. Finals Week is drawing nearer, and teachers LOVE to pile on the homework. So, next chapter should be up sooner than this one if all goes well. Hope you're enjoying this.