//------------------------------//
// Taking a Step Back 
// Story: Of Amphibians and Equestrians 
// by AegisExemplar 
//------------------------------//

	Exhausted as he was, there wasn’t a dream one that would disturb Aegis’s slumber, and it was like he had merely blinked when dawn’s first rays entered the window and shone into his eyes. He rolled about, positioning his legs beneath him, and a small, warm lump scooted closer in, snuggling tighter. Aegis’s eyes flashed wide. What had infiltrated his humble abode and, more importantly, his couch?
Many things flashed through his mind, wild animals most of all. Snakes had been known to infiltrate bedding in seeking warmth, though this was too solid for a snake. Possum? The nasty massive rats were, as far as Aegis was concerned, too unpredictable, though this lump was too large. By Celestia, don’t let it be a possum THAT large. Honey badger? Naw. Mythological creatures weren’t common to Equestria.
Aegis slowly, ever-so-slowly, gathered his legs beneath him, still unable to see the whatever-it-was snuggling against him. With an explosive effort, Aegis lept up and over the back of his couch, landing square on his back with a massive thud. His blanket flew over with him, floating serenely down to cover his head. He scrambled up and, tripping ever-so-gracefully over the blanket, made his way back around to the front of his couch. The yellow lump revealed itself to be none other than his houseguest, Leapfrog. Aegis’s sleep-addled mind finally recalled the prior day’s events, when he’d agreed to keep an eye on her. During the night, she’d apparently decided Aegis’s large, comfy bed wasn’t good enough. And now, despite the sudden action of making a complete fool of himself, she still lay there on the couch, serenely snoozing. At least Aegis could be happy there were no witnesses.
“About time you got up. What were you doing on your couch, anyway?”
Ah. Of course.
“Good morning, Fireball. How do you keep getting in here, anyway?” Aegis turned toward the kitchen half of the room, where Fireball, a burnt orange pegasus mare with a semi-wild shock of hair just as brown as Aegis’s stood, sipping on a cup of coffee. Fireball giggled, having of course witnessed the whole thing, from start to finish.
“Trade secret. Still, why are you on your couch? Too tired to drag yourself to your bed?” Fireball strode toward Aegis, leaving her coffee on the three-seater round kitchen table, and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was about this time she noted the lump of yellow on his couch.
“Uh, Aegis, what’s this?” She motioned to the sleeping foal filly on the couch. Aegis shrugged.
“A four-legged escort contract who apparently decided my bed wasn’t comfortable, to answer both your questions.” Aegis gathered up the blanket that had rode with him over the back of the couch and tossed it over Leapfrog. She must have brought it in with her, as Aegis hadn’t bothered with one on the couch. The weather would be just fine until Winter’s Breath Day came.
“Ah. And where are you escorting the little bundle to? Isn’t it a bit soon for you to have gotten another contract already?” Fireball motioned to the bags of bits lying exposed in the carelessly dropped saddlebags from the previous night. “You look like you’ve enough to last quite a while.”
“Snooping?” Aegis said with a grin.
“Observing,” replied Fireball.
“Eh, well, the heavy bag’s hers, actually. And as for where, it’s right here.” Aegis spared a glance at Leapfrog, who was still sleeping. “It’s directly related to my last contract. I was sent in to find what turned out to be her parents. They...didn’t make it. I found her, instead. I’m watching her while Catazoo-” Aegis grimaced at using the awful contraction, “-makes arrangements to have her picked up by an orphanage.”
“An...an orphanage? No one else can take her?”
“She’s no pony left in the world.”
“I see.” Fireball sighed, looking down. She’d had orphanage experience, though for only a couple years before she had been old enough to qualify to apply to a weather patrol position. She never spoke of those years to Aegis. Fireball looked back to Aegis, deciding to try and lighten the mood a little.
“So, um, you’re so strapped for bits you’re foalsitting now, huh? Y’know I could make you a little loan...” Fireball grinned.
“Har har. It’s more like guard duty. And it’s paying well enough, thank you.” Aegis shot her a smirk. “Shouldn’t you be napping on a cloud somewhere instead of instigating a home invasion?”
“Day off, thought we might do something, but if you’re busy...” Fireball sipped at her coffee, having retreated back to the ‘kitchen’ section.
“Hey, now, don’t be so hasty. It’s an ‘escort’ contract, not a ‘stand there and look menacing’ contract. Mobilization approved.” Aegis smiled at Fireball. “Oh, and thanks for the basket. It didn’t stink up my kitchen this time.”
“Not a problem.” Fireball snatched up a banana from the remainder of the fruit basket. Aegis immediately followed suit. Peeling a banana was a chore for both earth pony and pegasus, but the reward was well worth the trouble. After tapping the two fruit together in a ‘cheers’ motion (carefully, of course), they downed the bananas in a few bites each. The orange lay abandoned, as it was considered too much effort too early in the morning to peel. Aegis poured them both a bowl of oats from his dwindling supply. Aegis left his bowl a tad empty, making sure to leave enough for a nice, healthy serving for Leapfrog. The remainder of breakfast was eaten in happy silence.
Aegis stretched while his breakfast settled, then checked the position of the sun in the sky. Leapfrog had slept long enough. 	He walked the short distance to the couch and nudged her gently. Aegis had to admit, she looked kinda cute laying on her back, all four hooves sticking up in the air. She’d managed to kick off the blanket somehow.
“C’mon, sleepyhead, time for some breakfast.” Leapfrog stretched, then rolled over and sat up, blinking sleep out of her eyes. She looked up at Aegis, momentarily confused, but got right to the matter at hand.
“Breakfast? Can I have haycakes?”
Aegis had figured out the secret to waking Leapfrog up. Mention food.
“Outta hay. Got a nice bowl of oats for ya, though, munchkin. Grab a chair.” Aegis motioned with a hoof to the table over his shoulder. Fireball waved, a goofy grin on her face. Leapfrog huddled against Aegis, placing him solidly between herself and the new mare.
“Who’s she, Mr. Aegis?”
Fireball giggled, then answered for Aegis: “I’m Fireball, I’m Aegis’s special somepony.” Fireball had closed the distance and leaned in, whispering the last part, like it was a secret between two. Aegis rolled his eyes.
Leapfrog giggled, now part of the ‘secret.’ Aegis was lucky to have Fireball. He couldn’t help but smile.

*	*	*

It had been a year ago, now, but it sure didn’t feel like it. Fireball’s regular duties were with Snaffleton Weather Services, performing just as the name claimed. This night, however, was special. Princess Luna had been restored to her throne, though just how depended on who you had asked. A massive celebratory meteor shower had been planned, and Fireball’s true skills were called upon.
Fireball was a meteor bucker. Her special talent, meteor redirection, came into play by patrolling the night sky during meteor storms, making sure stray meteors didn’t strike habitated areas. This shower was to be seen all across Equestria; strays were sure to be an issue.
Fireball had, unfortunately, gone missing after a particularly bright meteor had zoomed across Snaffleton’s skies. She wasn’t believed to be hurt, but as the meteor had been spotted crashing into the Everfree, it was decided that Aegis, of course, would be sent in to at least investigate. Aegis, being nearly broke at the time, happily accepted the easy contract. He packed away a first aid kit and plenty of rations, consisting mostly of pressed oat bars, then headed into the Everfree.
It wasn’t hard to track where the meteor had impacted; all he had to do was keep a general compass heading and check for the direction of the smoke when he came across the occasional break in the treeline. It had only landed a three-hour trot from the Snaffleton-side edge of the Everfree; a close impact in the astrological sense of things. The still-smoking crater was easily thirty yards across and had blasted trees away from the impact site, forging a devastating order out of the Everfree’s disorganized chaos.
“Hello! Anyone here? Fire..uh..Firefly? FireBug? Fire...uh..umm...?” Aegis searched his memory for the mare’s name. Maybe he should have paid better attention to the non-directions portion of the briefing.
“It’s Fireball,” muttered a voice above and behind Aegis. Aegis didn’t think he could jump higher if he had springs for hooves.
He spun around, glaring upwards. What he discovered was an orange-red pegasus dangling upside-down from the viney overgrowth, thoroughly and completely tangled. Aegis nearly laughed out loud, but caught himself, producing merely a smile and a bitten lower lip.
“Little help here, Red?” called Fireball as she lazily swung back and forth. “Getting a mite uncomfortable.” Her violet eyes gleamed in the odd rays of the Everfree-filtered sun, though the right eye was hidden by her brown mane.
“It’s Aegis, and hold on a sec...” Aegis trod around the tree the vines had chosen to climb. Finally, he traced the vine he’d been looking for.
“You may want to brace yourself, this could get...interesting.”
“What do you mean ‘interesti-iiiiiing!” Fireball screeched in surprise as Aegis leaned forward and bucked the vine where it clung to the tree, severing it with an expert application of hoof-force. Fireball swung back and forth at a much lower altitude now, but still out of Aegis’s reach. Repeating his tracing routine, he walked to another tree and once more bucked and snapped the vine. Fireball whooped in joy as she swung this time, but once again another vine caught. Luckily, she had now descended to a height from which Aegis could reach her.
“Glad you’re having fun,” grinned Aegis as he approached, then he leaned down close to her head. “You may want to brace yourself.”
“Wh-what, why?” She shied away as best she could, considering she was hanging upside down from a tangle of vines. Aegis grinned, then nipped at a vine wrapping from her left hoof, around her neck, and across her right wing, severing the vine cleanly. With an “eep” and a whump, Fireball fell, finally, to the ground below.
“You could have warned me,” she said with a smirk.
“I believe I did,” he answered, the very same smirk displayed on his muzzle.
Both ponies shared a chuckle as Fireball stood, but in doing so she was completely unable to hide a grimace. Aegis leaned in to support her, but as he brushed her wing she grimaced again, shying away.
“I think I may have sprained my foreknee,” she muttered, then tried stretching her left wing. “Ow...and wrenched my wing...So much for flying outta here...”
“Well, can you walk?”
“I think I can manage that much.”
Aegis dug around in his saddlebag for a moment, then pulled out the first aid kit he’d packed. It was simple, but it held everything he needed for his purposes.
“Hold still, lemme splint that...” With those words and a little time, Aegis managed to get her foreleg splinted, utilizing the abundant choice of short limbs and sturdy stick the Everfree Forest provided. For her wing, he devised a simple sling. She would be able to heal her injuries with simple rest, but the Everfree wasn’t the place to get it.
‘And now the best part!” Aegis fished out his canteen, then held up a pair of small paper pouches, containing some sort of powder. “Painkillers! Some sorta Zebra concoction, can’t pronounce the name.”
“Oh, goody, just what I needed. Bleh.” Despite her reaction, she dutifully stuck out her tongue as Aegis emptied a packet onto it, then greedily slurped at Aegis’s canteen. “That stuff always tastes so nasty.”
“Yeah, I know. Are you sure you’re good to walk?” queried Aegis as he packed away the kit, slipping it back into his saddlebag.
“Of course, I just-gYAH!” Fireball yelped as she accidentally put too much weight on her injured foreleg, then glanced sheepishly at Aegis.
“Well, no way about it then. Hold still.” Aegis walked over to her, and then under her, easily lifting the light pegasus up on his back. Startled, Fireball provided no resistance. “Make yourself comfy, we’ve a bit of a hike.”
“I, um, ok...” Fireball replied weakly, somewhat embarrassed. Aegis had hefted her like she was nothing. He was stronger than he looked, and he looked strong. 
“In my right saddlebag I’ve got a compass, in the small round pocket. You’re with weather services, right? Bet you can navigate for us,” Aegis grinned back to her, and Fireball shrugged, then awkwardly pulled out the compass as asked. “Plot us a course west.”
“Aye-aye, cap’n.”
“Hah. Dunno many captains that are also the vessel.”
“In that case, shush, ships don’t talk.” Fireball stuck her tongue out at Aegis, who just grinned and trotted off in the direction indicated.
Fortunately, Aegis was able to correct their path as they trod on. Fireball was a passable navigator by air, but her ground navigation skills were not nearly as robust. A generally eastward course got them about halfway to Snaffleton before the growling of Fireball’s stomach interrupted an otherwise pleasant chat.
“Whup. Um, sorry, but do ya have anything to eat? I kinda haven’t eaten since supper last night...” 
Aegis glanced upward. From the position of what little sun he could see through the thick foliage above, it was around noon by this point. Perfect time for lunch. Aegis crouched, allowing Fireball to slide off his back and down his side, careful not to place any weight on her sore leg. Shrugging off his saddlebag as he stood, Aegis also subtly worked his back muscles. Fireball weighed practically nothing to a pony of Aegis’s build, but she’d been riding in a single spot for a while.
Fireball whistled and, if a blush could be seen beneath his already dark red coat, it’d be even redder. Fireball giggled at his otherwise obvious discomfort at her cat call. She had, of course, felt each muscle on her ride so far. She had to admit, she was a little impressed.
Aegis was just as impressed with Fireball, though he was too embarrassed to admit it. He’d been able to get a good look at pretty much all of her while tending her injuries, but what had really struck him was just speaking with her. He hadn’t struck it off so well with anypony before. He smiled through the unseen blush and doled out a few of the ration bars he so enjoyed. 

*	*	*

And the rest was history. They’d been dating on and off for the intervening time, Fireball leaving the occasional treat for his return when he’d been out away from Snaffleton, Aegis taking time when he could to spend the day with Fireball. They couldn’t consider it serious, but both knew there was certainly a spark of something there.
Leapfrog finished her breakfast in due time, a spot of maple syrup Fireball had added to Leapfrog’s oats sticking to her chin.  Aegis looked at her, a smirk playing on his lips.
“You, my dear, are a mess. Guess it’s as good a time as any to introduce you to the bathtub.” Aegis pointed to the third and final door in his house, helpfully marked with an old hanging picture of a sudsy tub.
“Aww. Do I have to?” Leapfrog gazed at Aegis with large puppydog eyes. 
“Eeeyuppers. Hop to it, squirt,” Fireball giggled at the poor filly’s dilemma, having remembered fighting her own parents at the very same issue. 
A short while and several soakings for all involved later, three now clean ponies stepped out of Aegis’s front door, Snaffleton’s gentle sprawl spreading before them.

*	*	*

Golden eyes watched as the armored red stallion carried the yellow filly out of the Everfree forest. His left wing, shattered beyond use, and in the Everfree, beyond repair, hung painfully at his side. He would never be able take any kind of revenge for what the pony had done, not until his wing was healed. But for now... for now he would watch, and wait.