//------------------------------// // The Following Angel // Story: Her Face Overgrown // by Waxworks //------------------------------// Fluttershy’s days were eased in the following weeks by Angel and Harry’s presence. She rarely went anywhere without either one of them watching over her, and she was grateful for that. Anytime she was alone she ended up thinking about what happened with Royal Pin, then Zecora, then Twilight. Each one of them represented something she hated about herself, and that made her unhappy. She hadn’t seen Royal Pin, despite having tried twice after her visit to Twilight, when she’d learned she could transform other ponies into werewolves just by biting them. She wanted to talk to him, find out if he’d been having any… black-out moments recently, but unfortunately, he had disappeared. She hoped it was just a coincidence, but somepony had died during the last full moon, and she couldn’t help but think the two events connected in the worst way. She’d asked Pinkie to stop telling the story when she’d gone into terrible detail, and had excused herself. They’d never caught the culprit, and that worried her. Zecora, on the other hand, had come by frequently. They’d talked about her condition and what steps she was taking to secure herself during the next full moon. She’d asked Zecora to keep it a secret, and she had obliged. That was a weight off her withers, but Zecora still had no cure. She asked about the bites, and what could be done immediately after being attacked (assuming one survived), and Zecora had cures for that which involved that rancid-smelling flower called wolfsbane she was using to protect her hut. It was too late for Fluttershy and possibly Royal Pin, but if anypony else got attacked, Zecora was going to be ready. Twilight had been of no help at all, unfortunately. She looked through her books and hadn’t found anything. They’d only met once before she’d run off to Canterlot, eager to find out more from the library there. They hadn’t spoken since. Angel tapped Fluttershy on the leg, pulling her from her thoughts. She looked down at him and he pointed at a nearby stall selling cherries. He really had a taste for them. She bought a few, then checked her grocery list. She needed apples, and she knew exactly where to get them. She led Angel out of the market and down the road toward Sweet Apple Acres. She could have just bought some from Applejack’s stall, but she had some medicine for Winona’s fleas she brought to drop off. She could get two errands done at once. She inhaled the smell of apples and picked up extra smells at the same time. It was queer, being able to find Big Macintosh out in the apple grove. He was off to the left side of the road, several rows of trees deep. He was sweating something fierce, and had recently tossed some hay around, or had been napping in it. She didn’t know which, but it really wasn’t any of her business. She sniffed harder, trying to use her new and strange gift to find Applejack, and smelled her off in the distance to the right of the road, past the barn. She trotted into the trees, weaving her way. Angel bapped her on the hoof and she looked down. He shook his head at her. “Oh, Angel, don’t worry so much. I just used my sense of smell to find Applejack and make our trip easier. That’s not so wrong, is it?” He nodded adamantly, frowning even harder. He poked himself in the nose and plugged it, shaking his head fiercely. He bared his teeth and shook his head even harder. “I’m not enjoying my problem, I’m just using it to make life easier until I can find a way to fix it. Is that wrong?” He nodded, and she sighed. He flapped his arms and pointed at her back, scowling even harder. “Oh… I guess you’re right. I could have just flown over the orchard.” She picked him up and put him on her back with her saddlebags, then flew up above the trees. She easily found Applejack (with the help of her nose) and flew down beside her. Applejack waved as she landed. “Well howdy there, Fluttershy. What brings you here? The medicine for Winona?” “Oh, yes. I’ve also come to buy apples.” “Y’all know Granny’s in town with the cart, right?” “Well… yes, but I thought I could get some straight from the tree, since I was here.” Applejack grinned. “Y’all don’t even have to ask. Just pick your fill and we’ll call it square for the medicine.” “Thank you, Applejack,” she said, and held out a small bottle. Applejack took it and went back to bucking, while Fluttershy watched. She picked out a few of the fallen apples she liked the look of, then bid Applejack farewell. She started on her way back home, walking back along the road, when she picked up a smell. This smell wasn’t like the other smells. This one smelled… friendly. That, more than anything, made Fluttershy uncomfortable. How did something smell friendly? She didn’t know how she knew it was friendly, but she did. It was a friendly smell that beckoned her in toward it, promising to be nice. She stopped and shivered in place. Angel put a comforting paw on her hoof, but she was still scared. “I… smell something, Angel. I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it.” It was coming from the direction of the Everfree. It was strong and insistent, like it was a command more than a suggestion. That she only had two choices: obey it or die. Still, she didn’t obey. She was frozen to the spot, afraid of the smell’s promise, and afraid of how friendly it was, despite its dangerous promise. She looked around, trying to find the exact source, peering through the orchard toward the crooked trees lining the edge of the Everfree. “Angel… I’m afraid.” Angel flicked his thumb across his nose and leaned back, looking at her. He cocked his head and his ears twitched. “No, I don’t know what it is. I can smell it, but I can’t see it.” He followed her gaze, looking toward the forest with her, but despite the light neither of them saw anything. There was just a line of trees and their calm, rustling leaves. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, dangerous, or even questionable. There was just apples and trees. Fluttershy tried to pull her eyes away, but the smell and its implicit order wasn’t going to let her. It drew her onward, insistent. She found herself lifting a hoof, and panic set in. “Angel! Take me home!” she said, voice edging on hysterical. Angel looked up at her, confused. She repeated herself, “Force me to go home, now!” Angel shrugged and grabbed her by the hoof. He yanked her along the path leading back toward Ponyville and her cottage. The moment her hoof started moving, however, she felt her body turning toward the Everfree. The feeling of implied obedience given to her by that scent was powerful, and her body wanted to obey, even if her mind railed against it. Angel was strong, however, and corralled her along, forcing her back to the cottage. Not stopping until she was inside and the doors were shut. Harry was there with the two of them immediately, he and Angel exchanging quick conversation as Angel related what was going on; that she had smelled something and gotten scared, then wanted to come home. At the end of the conversation Harry looked at her and tapped his face with a claw. He growled at her. “I-I’m sorry. It smelled… good. Kind, even. Sort of friendly, which is what I was the most afraid of. It wanted me to come but… but I didn’t want to at the same time,” she said. Harry whined and snorted. “No, we didn’t see anything. I feel like it was close, but we didn’t see anypony or anything out of the ordinary.” Angel stomped a foot. “You’re… probably right, Angel. It was probably a timberwolf or something. But why would they want me for anything other than… to eat.” Her face went pale. “I’m… just a pony.” Angel gave her a flat look. She sighed. “Okay, now I’m not just a pony anymore.” Angel went to a window and looked out at the Everfree forest. It used to be so calm, but now, hidden in the trees, there were dangerous things. He was intent on keeping Fluttershy safe, but he was just a bunny. He’d need a big friend. He pointed at the forest and looked at Harry. Harry grunted in response. They both came back to stand in front of Fluttershy. Angel stomped and pointed at her, then the floor. Harry whined. The two of them went around the house, closing all the windows and latching them. They stopped in front of her one more time, and Angel stomped even harder, pointing at the floor. “I get it, I’ll stay. Be safe you two, okay?’ Angel huffed and swiped a thumb across his nose, then folded his arms. She smiled at him and leaned down to peck him on the forehead. Harry leaned in and swiped a claw across his nose too. The effect was bigger and his claws more dangerous, but he only came across as goofy and adorable. Fluttershy giggled, then kissed him on the forehead as well. The two of them stepped outside the door of the cottage and looked back in one more time. Angel pointed at her, then the floor once more, then they were gone. Fluttershy couldn’t smell the smell anymore, but the memory of it tickled at her mind. She wandered in circles around the house for a while, but she felt restless. She really wanted to go for a walk outside, but she knew if she did, she’d smell that smell, and then she might be gone. She couldn’t do it. She had to stay put. She wandered in circles inside her cottage for a while, then retreated to bed. She pulled the blankets over her head and closed her eyes, trying to forget everything. Angel and Harry approached the forest. They knew something was in there, something that would threaten their poor Fluttershy, and they were ready to take it on, no matter how big or how dangerous. As they approached the treeline, Angel led the way with Harry close behind him. He hopped right up to the trees, glared at them, then kicked one. It shook, but that was it. He looked back at Harry and shrugged. Harry just whined in response. He was only there to help Fluttershy, he had no idea how to find something that smelled funny in the Everfree forest. Angel slapped one paw into the other, grinding it in as he looked back at Harry. Harry nodded, looking a little uneasy himself at the prospect of entering the Everfree Forest looking for… something. He whined, but stayed right behind Angel. Angel grinned and wandered into the woods. He was silent, as rabbits are wont to be, but it was all ruined by Harry’s heavy bumbling and crashing. Still, despite the noise, there was something else out there. Someone or something else that was scurrying about in the darkness. Angel held up a paw and put a claw to his lips. Harry stopped. As they stood, listening quietly, a sound could be heard. It was a rustling sound. That of leaves brushing against one another and a swiftly-moving body, combined with the snapping of twigs. Movement in the shade and dark. Angel pointed at the ground and winked at Harry, then disappeared into the darkness. Harry opened his mouth to whine after Angel, but obediently stayed put, waiting for his friend to return. Angel’s wide eyes led him along through the underbrush. He passed under branches, leaves, and twigs, skittering carefully beneath fallen logs and mossy stones as he hunted for the source of the sound. He made his way through the darkness as stealthily as he could, following the sound until it stopped. When it stopped, he halted immediately. He kept himself ducked underneath a rotten log and waited, ears held high, rotating back and forth. There was silence for a time, broken only by the night calls of the birds and insects. Neither party seemed willing to move, but Angel was patient. Fluttershy’s well-being was on the line, and there was nothing more important to him than her. He didn’t care for many things in life, but food and Fluttershy were at the top of his otherwise short list. When the sound came again, Angel was off after it. The crashing, lumbering thing had been at the edge of the woods was going deeper into the Everfree. Angel kept a mental map in his head of his distance from Harry, and kept an ear out for the thing in the darkness. He was getting dangerously far away, but he trusted his own sneaking skills more than he trusted the lumbering form of Harry to be brave. It was this self-same cockiness that got him into trouble, however, as he scuttled underneath what he thought was a bush, only for the bush to open its eyes, looking right at him. Glowing yellow eyes lit up all around him. He heard a growling start up and a low laugh from somepony up ahead. Angel saw Royal Pin, covered in bark and leaves. His mane was tangled and filled with dirt and sticks, and he was looking back at Angel with timberwolves gathering up around him. “Downwind, little one. You wanted to stay downwind,” Royal Pin said, poking his nose with a hoof. Angel struck. His paw whipped out and down at the muzzle of the timberwolf next to him. The creature’s jaw splintered, shattering into chunks of wood. It reared up and yelped through its destroyed mouth, leaving room for another one to charge at Angel. Angel coiled up and leaped into the air as a timberwolf charged him. He landed on its back and clung to it as it skidded to a stop. He crawled up its back as it whipped about, trying to reach him. Its companions bayed loudly and converged, and Angel heard the telltale lumbering crash of Harry coming to help. Angel grabbed the timberwolf’s ear twigs and yanked on them. They tore out of the timberwolf’s head and he stabbed them into its eye-holes. He jabbed them in again and again and again until the creature fell to the ground, inanimate once again. His head rang, and Angel suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground. He staggered quickly to his feet, trying to get his bearings. He felt a trickling down the side of his head and looked to his right to see four timberwolves all bearing down on him. He tried to run, but his legs weren’t listening to him. Jagged wooden teeth sank into his torso as a timberwolf caught up to him, and he was shaken rapidly back and forth. He felt himself flying through the air again and rolled to a stop. Sticks rained down around him and there was a loud roar, followed by laughter. “You can’t stop us! She’ll be ours eventually! It’s only a matter of time until the master’s call becomes too strong! There’s nothing you can do!” Royal Pin laughed and disappeared from the clearing. The remaining timberwolves barked and howled as they attacked Harry, but Harry tore them apart, huge claws shredding and splintering their bodies to pieces, until the last set of glowing eyes faded. When he was satisfied they were all gone, Harry rushed over to Angel. He lifted him up in his giant claws with surprising care after the vicious mess he had made. Angel gave him a thumbs-up and smiled. He lifted a paw and held up two claws, nodding. Harry gave him a weak smile and held up one claw, whining. Angel coughed lightly and shrugged. He breathed on a paw and rubbed it on his chest, smirking. Harry growled and began the slow trek home, careful to keep Angel steady. Upon arriving back at Fluttershy’s cottage, Harry brought Angel up to the door, but Angel tapped him on the paw and shook his head. Unwilling to wake up Fluttershy or make her worry any further, Angel insisted on dragging himself inside through one of the pet doors. He found the first-aid kit and brought it back outside, then instructed Harry on exactly how he should be bandaging him up. He was soon a small stained-red pile of anti-septic, bandages, and sticking plaster. When he was satisfied, he limped back inside and put it all away, checking the floor for any drops of blood that might betray his nighttime excursion. When he came back outside, he pointed at the forest and mussed his fur up into a mohawk. Harry nodded and picked him up, then lumbered off into the woods, carrying Angel to Zecora’s hut. When they arrived they scratched at her door until she opened it, eyes bleary from sleep. She saw Angel’s condition and gasped. “Why, Angel dear, you look so pale, come inside, and tell your tale.” Angel pantomimed out the story of his gallant, solo fight against the timberwolves, evoking every amazing backflip and powerful strike to beat them off (Harry was there, too). When he was done, he pointed out the presence of Royal Pin, and how he was working with the timberwolves and got away from them. Zecora nodded to indicate she was listening, but she scratched at her chin in confusion at much of his mimed actions. “You say that Royal Pin is there, but you’ve failed to convey just why I should care.” Angel made the sign for Royal Pin, then made a timberwolf face. “You say that Pin has gone bad, but what is it that makes you so sad?” Angel made a Fluttershy face, and indicated that Royal Pin was after her. “You’re worried he’ll take away dear Fluttershy, I can’t imagine why she would go with that guy.” Zecora stood up and paced around the room, thinking. “The problem as you have explained it, is that Fluttershy’s falling to wolf bits. Her sense of smell is so good, she’s being called to the wood. You want me to wolfsbane the forest?” Angel nodded. “I have not enough flowers to do what you ask, you’re asking for hundreds at least. But what I can do is make tea for you, to help mute the voice of the beast.” She went to a shelf and pulled items off it, jars and pots of different ingredients. She started mixing them together into a pouch. A strange smell wafted out, tickling Angel’s nose. “Put some of this into her tea. It will calm her and help her, you’ll see.” She held the pouch out to Angel, who took it and held it tight against his chest. “Fluttershy will be fine, though her sense of smell is divine. This tea will keep it weak, that way she won’t find what she doesn’t know she seeks.” Angel nodded again and gave her a small bow. He stepped outside of the hut where Harry sat waiting. He picked Angel up and they slowly lumbered away. Zecora waved to them as they went, and they both waved back until they were out of sight. Angel mimed to Harry and Harry growled back as Angel explained what he had and what they were going to need to do. Harry nodded, listening carefully to the plan. When they got back to the cottage, they were relieved to see the windows and doors were all shut and locked just as they had left them. On the outside, however, they could see all the chickens gathered in one corner of their pen. They were clucking wildly in panic and concern. Angel jumped down from Harry’s paws and approached, asking them what had happened. They screeched and clucked in fear and pointed their wings at the forest, trying to explain. A pony had come out of the woods. He had seemed pony-like enough, and harmless, besides, but when he got close, he changed. His hooves grew wood and his teeth became sharper and deadlier. He grabbed one of them (Named Belina) and snapped her neck, then dragged her off into the woods. They had all come out of the pen to keep an eye on the woods, just in case he came back. Fluttershy hadn’t woken up, despite their screeching, and without Angel and Harry there to protect them, there was nothing they could do. Angel nodded in understanding. He motioned to Harry and asked him to stay outside, watching for anything untoward to come out of the woods. Angel would go inside and rest, ready to take care of Fluttershy when she woke up. Harry nodded and planted himself next to the chicken coop, staring out at the woods with them. The chickens all gathered underneath, laying down in and around Harry’s lap. Angel left them and went inside. He crept through the pet door and slipped into the kitchen. He prepared the kettle, teapot, and a cup for the morning when he’d give her the tea, then crawled upstairs, favoring his injured leg as he went. He climbed up onto Fluttershy’s bed and looked at her. She was sleeping soundly, but where the moonlight hit her face, he couldn’t help but see the slightly-pointed ears and sharp teeth that hid underneath her calm façade. It worried him, but he was ready. He’d do whatever it took. He rested, and waited for morning.