Fluttershy was being crushed. The weight of the world bore down upon her, and she felt all four limbs pinned under her covers. It was a Sunday, and though anyone else would be in for a day of relaxation (or enforced coma by a brain parasite), Fluttershy had work to do.
But before Fluttershy could go to her part-time job at the animal shelter she had to be able to move. "Um." Her first attempt at speaking didn't even register to the mountain atop her. "Excuse me, Bridget?" The last word earned Fluttershy a twitch in the monstrous beast. "Bridget, I need to get up."
A head, equally as large as Fluttershy's own, swung around and two large, storm-gray eyes stared at Fluttershy. "Bridget, I can't get your breakfast if you are—" As Fluttershy said the magic word, Bridget lifted herself from the bed and dropped to the floor. Standing as high at her belly as Fluttershy's bed, the half-wolf canine yawned and stretched.
Fluttershy stared at the huge animal for a moment, her heart racing a little at the display of teeth, and she marveled at how cozy the pair of them had become. Feeling returned, moments later, and Fluttershy squirmed out from underneath her covers.
Her old onesie had been that of a bunny, but Bridget had given it worrying looks whenever Fluttershy had worn that, so she swapped to an anime wolf-girl one she had found. Walking past Bridget, Fluttershy reached one hand up to rub at the wolfess' shoulders. "Thank you, Bridget."
A yowling yawn was her reply, which Fluttershy understood perfectly.
"Of course I'm going to make it." Fluttershy giggled and opened the little refrigerator. Cramped though the insides of the camper was, it was now home. Seeing to Bridget's breakfast first, Fluttershy opened the can of special dog food, and tipped the whole thing into a bowl. As she turned to set it down, Bridget had blindsided her and Fluttershy was rewarded with a huge lick.
Running her tongue from the tip of Fluttershy's chin right up over mouth, nose, and between the girl's eyes, Bridget finished the show of appreciation in Fluttershy's hair. Her pack-mate put the bowl on the floor, and Bridget fell on it immediately.
"Eat slowly, dear." Fluttershy didn't rub Bridget's neck or ears, not while the wolf was eating, but she did rub her shoulder again. "Now I need to see to the rest." Turning, Fluttershy lifted her voice. "Bridget is fed, you can all come out now."
A small family of mice (all with tiny bandages on their tails), four bunny rabbits (at least one looking disgruntled at Bridget), and a long python all poked their heads out and, seeing Bridget busy eating, breathed a sigh of relief.
Morning feeding of her little friends was one of the high points of Fluttershy's days. The mice all had a special bowl of pellets put down for them, the rabbits were given a selection of garden vegetables, and the snake was fed a mouse-shaped piece of tofu-meal (because despite knowing the snake would prefer to eat the actual mice, Fluttershy had extracted a promise from them not to).
By the time all the others were eating, Bridget was done with her breakfast. She lapped up some water, but then pointedly walked to the door of the camper and looked back at Fluttershy.
"Only to use the bathroom. I need to get dressed and ready for work." Fluttershy stepped towards the door and reached over Bridget's back. The moment the door was unlocked, the half-wolf reached a paw up and knocked the handle. The door flew open, and Fluttershy was almost pulled along in Bridget's excitement. "Just tap on the door when you want to come back in."
Fluttershy slipped out of her onesie and boxers, and slid into the small shower. The camper's shower had a lot of negatives: it was cramped, there wasn't a lot of hot water, it was cramped, the shower head didn't flow very fast, it was cramped, and the floor was a little slippery; the shower was also a little cramped. But, there was one huge advantage that the tiny camper shower had over the huge, luxurious shower in her parents house, and that was that she didn't have to share the bathroom with Zephyr.
Just thinking about how long her little brother liked to use the bathroom made Fluttershy pout a little. Warm water (to call it "hot" would be a gross injustice) cascaded over her body. Fluttershy managed to get through her morning routine, and it had been a routine since the start of the year.
Turning off the flow of water, she remembered back to being kicked out of her parents' house, only it hadn't been called "kicked out" and was more "you need some more space for your little friends." Fluttershy hadn't budged when it came to the animals in her care. The shelter had room for most pets, and she knew a friend who took care of some of the wilder animals in the area, but a half-wolf, someone's pet snake that hadn't been claimed, and some mice and bunnies who had been displaced had nowhere to call home.
Wrapping a towel around the huge expanse of hair she carried, Fluttershy stepped out and began toweling off the last of the water. A knock at the door caught her attention. She took two steps towards it before realizing she was about to answer the door completely naked. Grabbing the big towel she had just used to dry off, Fluttershy opened the door and was immediately grateful for having covered up.
"Hey Sis, nice outfit." Zephyr Breeze, little brother of Fluttershy and scourge of Rainbow Dash, raised an eyebrow at Fluttershy. "Just came over to tell you that Mom and I are going to the mall to get our hair done."
Fluttershy blinked in surprise. Her brother typically only thought of one person: himself. "Oh no, I don't have time to—"
"What? Oh no! I wasn't inviting you!" Already thinking about how he was going to have his hair styled, Zephyr gestured to their parents house, which was only three-hundred feet away. "I have a load of washing on, and since Dad is working all weekend I figured my big sis could help her brother out." He turned and waved over his shoulder without looking back. "Thanks, Shy!"
Fluttershy was still glaring at her brother's retreating back when Bridget walked up to her and made a soft yowl. The noise broke Fluttershy's focus, and she looked down. "N-No, Bridget. I don't want you to eat him." The question earned the wolfess a smile from Fluttershy. "Well, maybe if you could find his clothes and give them a little mauling, it would be okay."
Turning from the door, Fluttershy walked towards the bed to let Bridget have some room. The spring-loaded door swung shut behind Bridget, and the moment it did Fluttershy dropped the towel maintaining her modesty.
Stretching, Fluttershy opened the overhead storage and pulled out a bra and panties from her collection of underwear. Reaching to the other side for some socks, she felt a large, cold nose press to her rump.
It was totally a canine thing, Fluttershy knew, so she tried to ignore Bridget's snout sampling the scents from her rear. "Y-You know I don't smell of anything but soap after a shower."
The softest, least-threatening growl Fluttershy had ever heard came from the wolf, and was followed by a lick.
"H-H-Hey!" Fluttershy's ears burned at what she hard heard, and what Bridget had done. Grabbing a pair of socks, she turned around and quickly put a hand over her crotch. "What's gotten into you?" Another soft growl, and Fluttershy colored even more. "N-No. Not now."
Parking her rump on the bed, Fluttershy pulled her socks on, then managed to get her panties on without giving Bridget another opportunity. Realizing she was maybe being a little unfair, Fluttershy leaned forward and kissed Bridget on the nose. "I'm sorry, but I just have a lot of things to do today."
Fluttershy looked into Bridget's dark green eyes—something she had been told to never do with a wolf—and saw what amounted to a smile in Bridget's expression. But no sooner was Fluttershy happy that her big friend was calm, than Bridget lowered her head and butted Fluttershy in the belly. "Wait—"
Bridget pushed at Fluttershy, shoving her bodily backwards and sprawling her out on the bed. Knowing what she wanted, and how to get it, Bridget climbed up onto the bed, stood over Fluttershy, and lay down atop her.
"You know this isn't fair, Bridget." Fluttershy looked up at Bridget's jaw. She was pinned, and further, Bridget's smell would be all over her all day: there would be no hope Fluttershy could help any animals that weren't comfortable with a big predator's scent.
Fluttershy waited for a few moments, and when Bridget didn't move she sighed. "I will just be going to the shelter to feed the dogs and cats there." With Bridget weighing nearly double her own mass, Fluttershy knew she wouldn't be moving until the wolf was okay with it. Instead of struggling, she simply squirmed her arms out to the sides and hugged Bridget just behind her shoulders.
Putting up with a lick to her cheek, Fluttershy heard Bridget give a soft growl. "Only if you behave. Remember the first time I took you back for a walk past the shelter?" Fluttershy looked into Bridget's eyes and saw amusement. "I mean it."
Bridget's answer was to stand up and back off the bed—and its occupant.
"Thank you, Bridget." Fluttershy didn't sit up at first, instead looking down her body at the wolfess. Her breasts made the task harder than it would have been just a year earlier, but Bridget was big enough that her "girls" didn't obscure the wolfess much at all.
Arching her back, Fluttershy sat up without having to roll around. She reached out one hand to rub Bridget's shoulder, and was surprised that she nuzzled the hand on the way past. "You don't have to do that, you know. I said we were equals. I meant it."
Sitting down, Bridget watched Fluttershy get dressed, her eyes following the motion of each hand until, at last, the girl pulled on one of her old hoodies. Standing up, Bridget backed up until she was waiting beside the door. She knew Fluttershy could understand her perfectly, but that didn't mean she always had something to say.
"Go on. Check and make sure it's safe." Fluttershy opened the door, and held it open for Bridget. She waited until she heard a low, but not-angry growl. "Are you sure? Did you check under the camper?" She waited until Bridget had checked under the camper before stepping out. "Thank you."
The morning outside was warming up, but Fluttershy wasn't prepared to surrender her hoodie yet. A walk was what Bridget wanted, and Fluttershy honestly didn't mind one either. The animal shelter was four blocks away, so with a pair of comfortable sneakers and her skirt on, Fluttershy started to jog.
The first block went passed, and Fluttershy barely noticed it. The confidence boost becoming lead-singer for the Rainbooms had infected the rest of her life, making her a little less self-conscious of her looks. Of course, it also gave a boost to her confidence having her new close friend at her side.
When the third block passed, Fluttershy heard her phone ringing in her pocket. Reaching for it, she pulled it out and saw it was Rainbow Dash calling her. Her day improving more with the contact of a friend, Fluttershy answered it and held the phone to her cheek. "Rainbow?"
"Hiya Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash's voice sounded a little hesitant, not quite its usual one-hundred-and-twenty-percent vim. "What're you up to today?"
"The normal things. I am almost to the animal shelter; it's breakfast time there." Her feet still moving quickly, Fluttershy was almost at her destination. "Then my brother wants me to help him with some laundry, and…" Suspicion rose in Fluttershy. "What's the matter?"
When Rainbow Dash spoke again, her voice was soft enough that Fluttershy had to push the phone a little more firmly to her ear. "I don't know who else to talk to about this. Can we get together somewhere?"
Fluttershy's heart always melted when she found an animal in trouble, and hearing her closest friend sound so worried triggered every protective instinct she had. Power rushed through Fluttershy as she pushed her key into the door on the side of the animal shelter. "Of course. Is lunch too soon? Or—"
"You're the best, Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash's tone was colored with relief. "Uh, where?"
"Sugarcube Corner. It's Sunday, so they won't be busy." Entering the shelter, Fluttershy lifted the phone to the side a little. "Bridget, you wait here."
Rainbow Dash's voice was a little soft, thanks to the phone being a bit further from her ear than Fluttershy had thought. "Oh right. I'll see you there, then."
A beep signaled the end of the call, and Fluttershy slid her phone back into her pocket. Freezing in place, she turned and saw Bridget following her on quiet paws. "I told you to wait there. Now all the other animals will be too worked up over your scent."
It was too late though. Fluttershy turned her attention from the wolfess (who Fluttershy could almost see was shrugging) to the rest of the shelter. The whole building had gone deathly silent; a big predator had entered, and this was now her domain.
Stepping into the first of the rooms, Fluttershy looked around at the kennels for dogs. There wasn't a lot of room for each, but they wouldn't be spending much time here—hopefully. Sparked by her own reaction to the fear/worry that the animals put out, Fluttershy felt power flow through her, and from her back a pair of wings extended, while her ears migrated up to the top of her head. Fluttershy did a little twirl as she walked into the room, feeling her hair extending well down her back.
Finishing her twist, Fluttershy stopped such that she could see all the dogs in their kennels. There were eight present at the moment, and each of them was silent. "It's a friend. She won't hurt you."
All the dogs started at once, their panic urged on by Bridget, but their voices freed by Fluttershy's magic. "Hold on. One at a time!" Fluttershy looked to the first dog, on her left. "Steven?"
Steven shrank back to the far corner of his cage and shook his head; a soft whine came from his throat.
"I won't let her eat you." Fluttershy walked over to Steven's cage, trying to reassure them. "I told her to wait outside. Come on, you don't have to be afraid of her."
Each dog needed special attention. Fluttershy loved Bridget to pieces, but it was obvious she took delight in showing off to other canines. As she worked, Fluttershy expected her magic to go back down, but to her delight she stayed ponied up all the way through her morning's work.
The dogs and cats were easy, each could be reasoned with and told that Bridget wouldn't be allowed into the kennels, but the smaller animals had it much harder: to them, it was simply a case of, "Big predator near, hide."
Finishing up feeding and watering the smaller animals, Fluttershy felt on-edge thanks to the fear and worry she had been working amongst. Her wings were drooping a little as she made her way for the door. She smelled like scared animal even to her senses. "Why did you have to do this, Bridget?"
Bridget locked her eyes on Fluttershy, and made a soft sound between a growl and a yowl.
"That might make you feel better, but now I feel terrible." Barely able to keep her chin up, Fluttershy walked past Bridget and opened the door to the outside. "You need to work on thinking about that, you know?"
Checking the time on her phone, Fluttershy groaned. "And now I have an hour to get home, have another shower, put Zephyr's stupid clothes on the stupid clothesline and—" In the middle of a good rant, Fluttershy barely heard what Bridget said to her. The door closed behind them before she heard the wolfess speak again.
Fluttershy's ears twitched, and her blood started to pump faster. "Hunt?" She didn't look at Bridget, only out to the street. Fluttershy pictured her brother at home, walking around as if he didn't have a care. She licked her lips and let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Hunt."
Girl and wolf took off at a run. Something primal pumped between them, and pushed both to run faster and faster. Fluttershy was a block away from the shelter before she could even think, and was apparently keeping up with the dark missile at her side.
A month ago, Fluttershy would have immediately stopped and freaked out. After they sent the Dazzlings packing, and helped calm Twilight Sparkle down, she had settled back into her rut. But then Camp Everfree had changed Fluttershy's life forever. Magic was part of her. She could feel not only the animals nearby pause in their stride, but even humans were affected. The heady power of being a predator and hunting coursed through Fluttershy, and there was no room for fear or regret.
The ground smelled right. The air felt right. Fluttershy slowed to a walk and then stopped—crouching low. This was her home.
Bridget pressed against Fluttershy's side, and made an soft wuffing sound.