The tops of the trees barely miss Fluttershy's hooves as she flies above the forest, looking down and rapidly darting back and forth, scanning the ground for any sign or shadow of a cave. Her mind moves as quickly as her eyes, trying to process what is happening with her herdmates.
"Winona?"
The dog gives a somewhat fearful bark, suspended as she is fifty feet above the ground.
"Do you like staying with Applejack?"
Winona nods her head, trying to stay as still as possible in Fluttershy's hooves as she lets loose a low growl.
Fluttershy glances back, looking at the small travel pack at her side, "Hmm, I suppose I should have borrowed Rainbow's custom saddlebags." A tear comes to her eye, "I'm just as bad at thinking about that as I am at finding good owners for pets, aren't I?"
Winona shakes her head, two short barks.
"Oh, Winona, I don't mean to get so upset, it's just that I... I..." Fluttershy sobs, holding her hooves to her face, drying her tears with Winona. She looks down at the terrified dog shaking in her hooves, "Oh, dear, Winona, I'm sorry, I just..."
Fluttershy sobs again, her hooves starting to shake. "Oh, um..." she moves to the top of the nearest tree, placing Winona in the branches. The dog clings, first to Fluttershy, then to the branch as Fluttershy settles down next to her. The two sway, the tree bending back and forth as Fluttershy cries. Winona lets loose a mournful howl, terrified as she looks down at the dizzying drop.
Fluttershy slowly regains her composure, looking over at Winona. The dog continues shaking, eyes locked on the ground below. She sniffles as she tries to pick the dog back up, her paws clinging desperately to the branch. "Shh," she coos, "It's okay, I'm better. We'll get through this." Fluttershy slowly pries first one paw, then the other, then the first paw again from the tree. Winona relaxes as Fluttershy's hooves wrap around her, carefully fluttering down to the forest floor.
Winona gives a happy bark as her paws contact the ground, a quick glance back at the yellow pegasus. On seeing tears still forming in her eyes she gives a quieter bark, moving forward to nuzzle Fluttershy's leg. The mare drops down, her pregnant belly resting on the ground, forcing herself to nuzzle the dog in return. "It's just... so... frustrating!" Fluttershy shouts into the woods, managing to rustle a few of the nearby leaves. She gives a heavy sigh, feeling a little better at getting the anger towards her herdmates out of her system, "Well, we might as well do what we came here to do. Now, if you were a bunch of nice, dark caves, where would you be?"
Winona sniffs the ground, circling a few times before darting off. Fluttershy smiles, giving chase while wiping the last of her tears from her eyes. "Plenty of time to worry about that later. Oh, hello little birdie!" She spots one of the forest birds who flitters down, chirping away. "I'm from Ponyville, and I was looking for a cave for some new arrivals!" Scattered chirping as a second bird arrives, "Oh, hello to you too! Its a family of fruit bats that I'm trying to find a home for."
A few more birds gather, chirping among themselves. Fluttershy quietly listens before she realizes that Winona has ran off, and not returned! She was supposed to follow the collie, but instead got distracted by the birds! "Oh, um, excuse me, everyone."
The birds continue chirping, ignoring the quiet pegasus. "Please be quiet, I need your help."
A few birds give annoyed chirps before flying around, their warbles mixed with other birds arriving.
"No, I need help with something else, Winona's gone missing! And I need your help to find her!"
The birds stop chirping at Fluttershy's outburst. She breathes heavily, regaining her normal composure after a few seconds, "Oh, um, I think she went that way." Fluttershy points with a hoof down the direction she thinks Winona ran off. Most of the birds fly that way while a few take off on other angles, widening their search. Fluttershy takes off, heading down the middle before excited bark comes at her from the side.
However, it isn't the excited bark of Winona, but instead the animated bark of a timber wolf.
"Eep!" Fluttershy gasps, trying to fly away as the wolf barrels after her. One the of the birds flies in the timber wolf's face, the brief distraction enough for Fluttershy to dart away, weaving between trees as she tries to out distance the wolf. She glances up, a sharp intake of breath as she sees two more timber wolves leaping from limb to limb above her. The other wolf is still tailing her on the left side, and Fluttershy makes a break to the right, trying to get underneath and behind the wolf above her.
The wolves above quickly turn back, chasing Fluttershy but from further back. The wolf on the ground sprints after her, nipping at her hooves as Fluttershy dodges to the left, then back to the right. The wolf moves to cut her off, Fluttershy turning and dashing off to the left again. The wolf hangs back, allowing Fluttershy to gain a little distance. She looks back up again, the wolves above again cutting off her potential flight. It's almost like...
Fluttershy gasps as she comes to a thorny thicket, the thick brambles cutting off her further escape. She glances backwards, breathing heavily as two wolves flank on her left and right. The largest wolf advances from the middle, a large sneer on its tooth filled maw.
Fluttershy turns, fixing the alpha timber wolf with her Stare. It doesn't even stumble as it continues advancing, the pegasus' thoughts turning to that of her unborn foal as she cowers, trying to recover her stamina while holding her hooves above her head. She can feel the stench of decay as the alpha snorts, bits of brown leaves and pollen escaping from its open jaws. Fluttershy hides behind her mane as the wolf opens its mouth even wider-
A loud bark from the side startles Fluttershy, but more importantly distracts the alpha from closing its jaws around her head. The alpha glances to the side as Winona jumps out of the foliage, a low growl emanating from the collie. The branches of the alpha contort to a derisive smirk as one of the timber wolves steps in between the collie and Fluttershy, matching her growl for growl. The alpha turns back to Fluttershy; the mare still looks like she is cowering, watching Winona through her mane while her hind legs get ready.
The wolf lunges towards Winona, the collie yelping while dodging to the side. The wolf skids, regaining its balance for a second lunge. Fluttershy dashes forwards, disrupting the wolf by charging into its side. The alpha gives chase, about to bite into Fluttershy's exposed flank when a small white blur lands on top of its head.
A white foot knocks the alpha off balance, the bunny doing several midair flips as he lands. He pulls out two carrots, whipping them around his body while the alpha gets back on its feet. It glares at the bunny, pawing the ground as the bunny holds out one carrot. He slowly rotates the carrot, the green leaves pointing towards the ground, flicking it towards his face twice. The alpha growls, slinking to the side as the bunny slowly rotates, keeping one carrot pointed directly at it, the other held loosely at his side.
The third wolf charges the bunny from the back, blind siding him and punting him through the air. Fluttershy gasps as the bunny slams into a tree, dropping to the ground and laying still. Winona dashes towards the bunny as Fluttershy follows closely behind, grabbing the collie with one hoof. The alpha swipes its claws across Fluttershy's flank as she scoops up the bunny with the other hoof. She screams in pain, taking to the air, quickly climbing above the treetops as the wolves scramble to climb after her.
Fluttershy winces as she hovers above the tree tops, the timber wolves still visible as they prowl back and forth. She looks down, the unconscious bunny breathing but otherwise not responding. Her own side throbs with pain, the cuts oozing blood that she can feel matting her fur. She glances around, travelling towards the foothills away from Ponyville while the wolves underneath seem to lose interest, heading away from her. At least she has her travel pack with her, and a few medical supplies.
She flies along for a few minutes before spotting a cliff, the sparse trees nearby providing a little shade from the evening sun. Fluttershy sets down on the outside of a cave, placing Winona and the bunny on the ground. She inspects the bunny, seeing a small cut on its foot where it kicked the wolf and a large bruise on its shoulder and jaw where it hit the tree. None of the bones seem to be broken, so she goes to her pack, pulling out a bottle, a few bandages and some disinfectant.
The bunny screeches as it awakens, Fluttershy quickly turning and saying, "Oh, don't worry, I'm here to help you. My name is Fluttershy, what's your name?"
The bunny screeches again, looking at the supplies Fluttershy has in her hooves.
"Oh, your name is 'Ain gel? That's a beautiful name."
The bunny screeches a third time, shaking its head and pointing at the bottle.
"Yes, 'Ain gel, don't worry, I'll be right there." Fluttershy pulls the cap off her bottle of pain gel.
The bunny puts a paw to his mouth, trying to lower the swelling and fix his pronunciation. He points to his injured foot, stamping the other and trying to growl while holding his jaw.
"Yes, I see the wound, I have a bit of this pain gel that I will apply, but after I disinfect it. This might sting a little; okay, ready Angel Bunny? You don't mind if I call you that, do you?"
The bunny makes what can only be described as a sarcastic growl as he points at the bottle, then at his foot. He winces as Fluttershy applies the alcohol wipe, and relaxes as the pain gel is spread on the wound.
"There, Angel Bunny, much better. How does your jaw feel?"
Angel Bunny shrugs his shoulders as Fluttershy applies the bandage.
"Well, I don't know how much I can do for that. I can try a little of the gel, on the outside, but it looks like you just have a bit of swelling. It should go down in a day. Would you help me with my cuts, Angel? I would have a hard time reaching."
The bunny takes the offered wipe, moving to Fluttershy's side. She grimaces as he cleans up some of the blood, looking at the wipe and stamping his foot.
"Oh, um, I do have some water in my pack. Winona, can you get it for him?"
Winona retrieves the bottle of water, bringing it to Angel. The bunny merely stares at it; Fluttershy moves, taking off the cap and dribbling some of the water onto the bloodied fur. She winces as she pushes the fur around, trying to get the blood out. Satisfied she has gotten as much as she can Fluttershy lays back, Angel applying the wipe again against the four cuts. Fluttershy instructs him as he takes the bandage, pushing it over the wound.
"Thank you very much, Angel, both for saving me from those timber wolves and for helping patch me back up." The bunny squeaks in reply, Fluttershy nodding, "You are very welcome, too. Can I help you with anything else?" The bunny chatters his teeth, looking at his two paws. "Oh, you lost your carrots? Um, I don't think I have any with me, but I have some back at my house. I live near Ponyville. Would you like to come back with me? You could live with me, if you like, I have lots of animal friends who come and go."
Angel shrugs, rubbing his sore jaw. Fluttershy continues, "Um, but, before we go, I need to find a cave. I'm looking for somewhere a new colony of bats can live."
Angel raises one eyebrow, pointing at the cave they literally landed at the mouth of. Fluttershy turns, a sheepish grin on her face, "Oh. I guess I had more important things on my mind, huh?" as she smiles, closing her eyes and moving her head towards Angel. The bunny merely sighs, hopping into the somewhat lighter pack. Fluttershy hesitantly moves to the front of the cave, calling, "Hello? Anypony in there?"
Satisfied at the lack of response Fluttershy flies up, putting the saddlebags back on and grabbing Winona, reassuring the dog before beginning the long flight back to Ponyville.