//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Kindness and Comfort 
// Story: Change the Heart 
// by FatesWinds 
//------------------------------//


Chapter Two
Kindness and Comfort
"The smallest gift, however insignificant it may seem to you, may be all that one truly needs to receive." —Cinnamon Sparks




No matter what Rarity said, sleeping in the barn was far from uncomfortable. Heart Shield had fallen asleep the moment his head hit the hay. He didn’t sleep long, waking up when the sun began to rise, but he felt as well rested as if he’d slept all day. He left the loft and sat outside, watching as the sun rose over Sweet Apple Acres.
“Looks like I ain’t the only early riser.”
He turned around as Applejack spoke.
“I rarely got to see sunrises like this in Cloudsdale. It’s a lot different when you just have clouds around rather than ground and trees,” he said. “I think I can see myself getting used to these.”
Applejack laughed and clapped him on the back. “And only after one night, huh? Guess Princess Celestia made the right choice in bringing y’all down here then.”
Heart Shield laughed. “Yeah, maybe.”
“You’re going to fit in well ’round here. What do you say I show you around Ponyville so y’all can learn where everything is, then come back here so Big Mac an’ I can teach you what goes on at Sweet Apple Acres?”
“Sure, I didn’t get much of a look around last night,” he nodded and followed Applejack out of farm and to the rest of Ponyville. They talked like they did the night before as they walked. Applejack told him about the events in Ponyville in the past year and how she and her friends had met.
“You’re the ones who saved Lady Luna?” he asked as they reached the town. “I’d heard that somepony had done that, but I never imagined I’d meet the ones who did it. And as for Discord… it’s hard to believe that so many things have gone on that you all managed to save us from.”
“Shucks, it ain’t nothing that big,” Applejack replied, rubbing the back of her head. “We just did what anypony would have done in our position.”
“Still, you six are heroes all over Equestria.”
“I think that may be a bit much, we’re just some ponies who happened to be able to help.”
Heart Shield noticed that Applejack was getting flustered at his words and decided to change topics. He pointed to a large shop towards the middle of town. “What’s that?”
“That’s Sugarcube Corner,” Applejack said, relieved for the change. “That’s where the Cakes work, Pinkie mentioned that last night, remember?”
He nodded. “The bakery and sweets shop, right?”
“Exactly. Now, if y’all take a look over there you’ll see…”
She led him all over Ponyville, pointing out all the different shops and houses where everypony lived. Now that he wasn’t being brought to meet all of them so suddenly, he found it was easier to memorize everything and everypony. They even dropped by the school where her sister went, though classes hadn’t started yet. Cheerilee had just gotten there and begun to prepare her lessons for the day, but she took time to chat with Applejack about how Apple Bloom was doing, and to give Heart Shield a tour of the school.
“This is different from the one in Cloudsdale,” he admitted. “Over there we focused mainly on weather patterns and flying, with the occasional trip to the rainbow factory to learn how things worked there, just in case any of us was interested in working there sometime.” He chuckled to himself, remembering one of the trips where Rainbow Dash had leaned too far and fallen into one of the vats, completely covered in every color on the spectrum when they pulled her out; she was able to laugh as hard about it as all the other foals and fillies in the class afterwards.
“You’re welcome to sit in on one of our classes to see how things are taught here if you’d like,” Cheerilee said, smiling at him. “Perhaps you could give us a look at how you learned things sometime.”
“I may take you up on that,” he replied. “Thank you for your time, I’m sorry if we’ve kept you from getting everything ready.”
“That’s quite alright, I still have an hour or so before the first of my students arrive, that should be plenty of time to take care of things. You two have a good day.”
“You too.”
Heart Shield and Applejack left Cheerilee to continue getting ready for her class and wandered back through town; Applejack pointed out a few more buildings and said hello to the ponies who were getting ready for the day as they made their way back to Sweet Apple Acres.
“Y’all got all that?” she asked as they walked past the last shop.
“I think so,” he said. “It’s a lot to remember, but everything’s so close to each other, and everypony seems helpful, so if I can’t find someplace I’m sure somepony will help out.”
“Well of course they will,” Applejack laughed. “That’s how we do things out here. Would you like some breakfast before we start work on the farm?”
“Yes please!” he replied as his stomach let out a loud growl.
They stood where they were in silence for a few seconds, then both of them broke out into fits of laughter. Applejack brought him to her house, where Big Mac and their grandmother, Granny Smith, were already preparing breakfast. He exchanged greetings with the two of them and asked if there was anything he could do to help. Granny Smith immediately had him gathering ingredients for her special cinnamon apple pancakes, showing him how to mix them together properly before letting him give cooking them a try. It took him a few tries to get it right, but the Apple family was patient with him and soon he laid out enough for each of them to have seconds and thirds. Granny Smith told him about the history of Sweet Apple Acres while everypony ate, happily answering his questions – when she remembered what was being talked about that is. Applejack’s sister stopped by while they ate and was halfway through her second helping of pancakes before she realized that there was somepony else at the table. She stared at Heart Shield, or rather his wings once she noticed them.
“Heart Shield, this is Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “Apple Bloom, this is Heart Shield. He just arrived in Ponyville yesterday, and he’ll be stayin’ with us for a while since there ain’t any room anywhere else around here.”
“Hi,” Heart Shield said, tucking his wings closer to his body.
“Pleasure t’meet ya,” the filly said with a smile.
The rest of breakfast was uneventful. He helped to clean up after everypony had finished, said goodbye to Apple Bloom when she said she was heading to school, and straightened up the table before following Applejack and Big Mac outside. They brought him to their orchard first and showed him how to collect the apples. As with breakfast, it took him several tries to get the hang of things before he had the technique down. He wasn’t as strong as either of them so it took him two or three more bucks into the trees to shake all the apples loose and into the basket. They worked in the orchard for most of the day, Applejack talked with him while they worked.
“…and Pinkie was the only one who knew how to deal with them. Ponyville would have been doomed if she didn’t know what to do with those varmints.”
“Wow, I never knew Parasprites could be so much trouble. We never had any in Cloudsdale or Canterlot.”
“Consider yourself lucky. It took weeks to get Ponyville back to normal after they came.”
“Sounds like things in Ponyville can get pretty crazy sometimes.”
Applejack laughed and elbowed him as he knocked the last of the apples into his basket. “Havin’ second thoughts about stayin’ here?”
He laughed, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. “Are you kidding? It sounds like life is never dull in Ponyville, a lot more fun than staying in Cloudsdale if you ask me.”
“I’m plum tickled to hear y’all say that,” she said, leading him out of the orchard. “But despite all the things that happen here that almost level the town, a lot more happens here to keep everypony entertained and happy.”
He nodded. “So we work our way through the orchards in the mornings?”
“Not every morning, and not all of them. That was only part of the northern patch.”
“Okay, what else happens here?”
“Whoa there, no need to work yourself to the bone in one day, right now we’ll take a break. After that Big Macintosh’ll teach you how to plow the fields.”
Heart Shield rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, I just wanted to find out what else I can do around here.”
Applejack laughed. “Well I’m glad to see that y’all are enthusiastic about workin’ here. Just be sure to take things easy, I don’t want to have you get hurt because you were working nonstop.”
“I’ll be sure to take a minute to smell the roses now and then,” he joked, getting another laugh from her.

***

The next day Heart Shield woke up feeling sore from pulling the plow, but after a few minutes of stretching and working out the kinks in his muscles he began to feel better. Applejack was waiting for him when he got up.
“The fence needs a few repairs,” she told him after they ate, “some of the planks and stakes were broken a few days ago and we haven’t gotten around to fixin’ it up yet. After that, the barn has a few loose boards up top that we can’t reach; can you take care of those for me?”
“Ah, um…” he said, fidgeting, “is there any pulley I can use to get up there?”
She shook her head. “The rope snapped last week and we haven’t gotten our replacement yet. Besides, you can reach it easier if you fly can’t ya?”
“Flying isn’t really one of my specialties,” he lied. “What about some hay I can stack to get up there?”
“Shucks, if we had enough hay for that we’d do it ourselves,” she laughed. “Are you sure you can’t do it? I can always get Rainbow Dash or Twilight to do it, but you’re already here and ah’d appreciate it if y’all could help.”
Heart Shield scratched the ground uncomfortably with a hoof, but reluctantly nodded. “Okay…”
“Thanks,” Applejack said, smiling at him.
He sighed as he left to work on the fence. Of course he wanted to do the repairs, it was the least he could do in return for her giving him a place to live, but he had hoped he could avoid flying to take care of it. The less he did, the less chance anypony would find out he was still blank. He knew his secret would come out eventually, and putting it off would only make it worse, but he’d already seen the looks he’d gotten for his wings. What would everypony do when they found out he still didn’t have a Cutie Mark? He took his time on the fence, putting off having to return to the barn as long as he could, but there was no avoiding it. He didn’t want to make Applejack angry by not doing the job he’d agreed to, and, as he pounded the last stake into the dirt, he no longer had any excuse for taking so long. He made his way back to the barn, where he found Applejack taking a break.
“Sorry for taking so long,” he said, picking up a few nails from a pail next to the door.
“It’s alright,” she said. “I’m sorry for askin’ ya to do so much around here; you’re still getting accustomed to life here after all.”
“It’s not a problem, I’d rather work all day. It makes me feel like I can be of use, and I’m not sure what else I’d be doing if it weren’t for this.” He kicked off into the air, looking for the boards that needed to be repaired.
“I do appreciate your help.”
“Hey, it’s how I pay my rent isn’t it?” he joked, finding one of the loose boards and proceeded to nail it into place, using his hoof as a hammer.
“True,” she laughed. “How about you take the weekend off and get to know your way around Ponyville?”
“Sounds like a plan. Is there anything you recommend?”
They began to idly chat while he worked. Heart Shield listened to Applejack talking, chiming in now and then, but mainly focused on the repairs. There was a lot more than he’d initially thought. He was suddenly aware that Applejack had stopped talking. He looked at her and saw that she was staring at his side in shock.
“What are you-?” he began before his eyes went wide. His flank! He quickly dropped to the ground and tucked his wings tight into his sides, hiding his empty hips from view, though he knew it was too late. He took a few steps back, faltering under Applejack’s gaze.
“You… don’t have your Cutie Mark…?” she said slowly.
Heart Shield looked away, his heart pounding. She saw! She knew! Applejack took a step toward him, stopping when he retreated back a step; he kept his head bent down toward the ground, so that his hair fell down over his face. She could see how badly he was trembling, how tightly he had his wings pressed into him. She remembered what he’d said during the party, about how he’d been teased not only for his wings but because he had been a Blank Flank; she’d assumed that he’d just gotten his late, but now she realized that she had been wrong. Suddenly it made sense why he didn’t keep his wings away from his body for long, why he’d been reluctant to work on the siding on the barn.
“You never got yours, did you?” she asked softly. “That’s why you get so uncomfortable whenever anypony mentions it, isn’t it?”
His silence was all the answer she needed. She walked over to him, noticing the small patches of wet dirt under his head, and placed her hat on him. His shaking slowed down, though the dirt continued to be covered with the tears that fell down his cheeks. Applejack sat beside him, saying nothing and let him let out his emotions. He sat down as his shaking came to a halt, waiting for the last of his tears to fall. Applejack remained silent as he dried his eyes, his face hidden beneath her hat, to which he was extremely grateful.
“Thank,” he began, stopping as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat before starting again. “Thank you…”
“T’weren’t nothin’ Sugarcube,” she replied. “How come you never mentioned it before?”
Heart Shield laughed weakly. “Why would I? My wings already set me apart from everypony. No need to advertise that I’m the only pony in all of Equestria who’s not a foal or filly and still blank.”
“It doesn’t matter that your wings make you different, heck, I’ve heard several ponies say they wished they had wings like yours.”
He scoffed, wrapping his wings around his front. “That’ll be a first. I’ve always been the big-winged frea-.”
Applejack smacked the back of his head, knocking her hat off of him. He turned around to demand to know why she did that, stopping as she pointed to his right hoof, and looked down to see what she was pointing at. His wristband, stained with the tears he’d wiped away, was what his gaze fell on.
“I thought that y’all said that you never let anypony’s words get to you because of that,” she said. “Or was that just hot air?”
Heart Shield continued to look at it.
“It doesn’t stop me from thinking all of it,” he admitted quietly. “It doesn’t stop me from not liking just how different I am from everypony…”
Applejack picked up her hat and put it back on her head. “I’ll tell you the same thing I told Apple Bloom: there’s no shame in not having a Cutie Mark. Y’all have a chance none of us does; you have endless options ahead of you. Everypony else is bound by their special talents, but not you, you have so many things that you can do, and you can do them because you aren’t tied down to one thing like the rest of us.” She looked at him and ruffled his hair. “So what if it takes you a little longer to find the thing you’re good at? Y’all are bound to discover it eventually.” When he remained silent, she tried again. “We have a group here called the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a little club dedicated to trying to discover one’s special talent. Y’all are a little older than the three fillies who’re in it, but maybe you should take a page out of their book and see what y’all can do around here that may be the thing y’all are best at.”
Heart Shield sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the side of the barn. “Maybe…” he said, closing his eyes. “Applejack, is it okay if I take the rest of the day off? Have some time by myself?”
“I figure we can manage a few hours without you,” she said, nudging his side, getting a small smile from him.
“Thanks,” he said as he stood up.
“Where are you going to go?”
“Not sure, I was thinking of just wandering around Ponyville until evening.”
“Just make sure you stay away from the forest, okay?”
He glanced at her over his shoulder as he moved his wings into a more comfortable position. “I will. See you in a few hours Applejack.”
He turned and slowly walked down the path that would bring him into town. Applejack watched him go before she adjusted her hat and headed off to find Big Mac, glancing over her shoulder at the pegasus’s retreating figure. Unseen by either of them, Apple Bloom hid behind a bushel of hay, her eyes wide.
“Somepony can grow up without ever gettin’ their Cutie Mark?!” she squeaked.

***

“You’ve been surprisingly quiet today Apple Bloom,” Applejack said as they walked to Apple Bloom’s room. She let out a yawn. Even though the sun had set two hours ago, she’d insisted on staying up to wait for Heart Shield to come back, but as the hours passed and there was still no sign from him, fatigue forced her to accept that it was time to sleep; she just hoped that the pegasus would return sometime in the night.
“There’s a chance I may never get ma Cutie Mark, ain’t there?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Now what makes ya think such a silly thing like that?”
“Well Heart Shield’s a Blank Flank, an’ he’s your age ain’t he?”
“How’d you know about that?” Applejack looked at her sister, surprised.
“I overheard y’all talkin’ earlier. If he doesn’t have one and he’s all grown up, then I might not get mine either!” Apple Bloom looked up at Applejack, distraught.
Applejack led Apple Bloom to her room and put an arm over her shoulders. “Heart Shield is a rare case Apple Bloom, as far as ah know, he’s the only pony to not have their Cutie Mark when they’re no longer a foal or filly. But y’all know that in order to get your Cutie Mark, you have to find the one thing you’re best at; maybe he never got his because he’s good at so many things that he hasn’t figured out which one is his true talent. He also may not have one because he’s already got somethin’ that makes him special like everypony else. His wings may set him apart from others, but they make him a special pony too. They may be a trade-off for not havin’ a Cutie Mark yet. Whatever the case is, I’m sure you’ll get yours soon, so don’t y’all worry about it.”
Apple Bloom frowned as she thought this over. Applejack turned off the light and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind her.
“Do you really think all of that’s true?”
Applejack jumped, startled by the voice behind her. She turned around and saw Heart Shield standing behind her.
“Do you really think I don’t have mine because I have a lot that I’m good at? Or that my wings are a trade off?"
Applejack smiled at him. “Of course. As I said earlier, I think you’ll find out what it is sometime. Perhaps that’s why Princess Celestia sent you here; not just so that you’d be able to be around ponies who could be new friends and not treat you as others used to, but also so that you could find out what your special talent is.”
She walked him to the barn and said goodnight. He thanked her for what she said and went to his loft. He stayed up half the night thinking over her words. Maybe what she said was true. Maybe he hadn’t gotten his Cutie Mark yet because his wings were the thing that made him unique after all…

***

As the months passed – winter came and went faster than he could have believed – Heart Shield adjusted to his new life in Ponyville. After seeing how well Applejack had taken the news that he was blank, he eventually revealed his secret to everyone in Ponyville; surprised at the readily acceptance everypony gave this, a lot of them even offered to give suggestions for ways he could get his Cutie Mark; Rainbow Dash’s were mostly racing and extreme stunts he soon found out. He was introduced to the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders – Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle – by Apple Bloom and, though he turned down the suggestion they gave that he could join, the four of them would often try to get theirs together at times, at other times he’d offer them suggestions that they hadn’t yet thought of. He smiled to himself the night it had happened, remembering that encounter.
“He’s really staying in your barn?” Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom as the Cutie Mark Crusaders left Carousel Boutique and walked toward Sweet Apple Acres, carrying a large bag on their backs, having given sewing a shot. None of them got a Cutie Mark, but they had managed to make something for each of them, with Rarity’s help of course.
“Yup, and he’s been helping out around here too!”
“And it’s true that he hasn’t got a Cutie Mark yet?” asked Scootaloo. “I mean, he’s not a foal anymore, and everypony says that you get your Cutie Mark before you grow up, so he has to have one, right?”
“Nope, he’s as Cutie Mark less as we are,” Apple Bloom replied.
“So it is possible for none of us to get our Cutie Marks?!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes went wide with terror. “We could be stuck as Blank-Flanks forever?”
“Applejack says that he maybe never found his special talent like every other pony because he’s been bullied about that and his wings and all that made him too scared to try an’ find out what he’s good at. And as Cutie Mark Crusaders, it is our sworn duty to take him in under our wing and help him!” Apple Bloom smacked her hoof to her chest. “Right girls?”
“Yeah!” cried Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.
“So that’s why you suddenly wanted us to go to my sister’s, so we could talk about it,” Sweetie Belle said, glancing up at the bag.
“That… and I thought we might have been able to get ours while we were there…”
“I can’t wait to see the look on his face when we- oof!” Scootaloo said just before all three fillies ran into somepony. “Ow…”
“I’m sorry girls,” Heart Shield said, setting down the bag of tools he’d been carrying. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, are you three okay?”
“Heart Shield!” Apple Bloom cried, jumping up to hug his neck. “Just the pony we were looking for.”
He laughed when she latched onto his neck and rubbed her head before setting her on the ground. “Hey there Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle” he grinned.
“Hi Heart Shield,” Sweetie Belle said, waving at him. She’d met him once when Rarity asked him to help fix the boutique’s door, though she never knew he was Blank; he’d kept his wings at his sides at the time.
“And you must be Scootaloo,” he said, turning to the last filly. “Rainbow Dash told me a little about you.”
“R-R-Rainbow Dash did?” she stammered, wings buzzing with excitement.
“Yeah, she said that you’d be a top-class flyer someday. Reminded her of herself as a filly.”
Scootaloo almost fainted.
“So, what is it that you were looking for me for?” Heart Shield asked, obviously unaware of how large an impact his words had had.
Sweetie Belle nudged Scootaloo in the side to get her attention and all three fillies stood up straight, putting their bag down and faced Heart Shield. Apple Bloom cleared her throat.
“It has come to our attention that, like us, you have not gotten your cutie mark yet,” she said. “As you may know, we are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and it is our job to do whatever it takes to find out what all our special talents are and assist other Cutie Markless ponies like ourselves in finding their own special talent. And so, we humbly ask if you, Heart Shield the pegasus, would consider joinin’ us as a fellow Blank-Flank and become a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”
“That wasn’t part of the welcoming script I wrote,” Scootaloo hissed.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t remember all them words on the spot,” she shot back, both of them turned to Heart Shield when Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, all three looking up at him with smiles on their faces and waited for his response.
Heart Shield rubbed the back of his head. “I’d like to-.”
The fillies cheered.
“-but I’m really busy working around Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres, I don’t think I have enough time to be a full member.”
Their faces fell.
“However, I’ll help out when I can; I can try out some of the stuff with you sometimes and I’ll try to come up with ideas for what you could do to try and find yours.” He smiled down at the three fillies, whose faces lit back up. They cheered again and jumped on him, knocking him down and buried him in a dog-pile, laughing happily.
All in all, life was enjoyable, and he found himself being truly happy for the first time in years. True, though some events in Ponyville were crazy – the Flimflam brothers trying to take Sweet Apple Acres away soon after he’d come along, the Cerberus showing up in Ponyville, and the CMC’s Gabby Gums articles for example – and there were some that were surprising – like Hearts and Hooves day when Applejack had surprised him and asked if he’d have dinner with her, both were flustered at the time despite agreeing that it was just a friendly evening to celebrate his first one since he’d moved – things were nice. He would sometimes be asked to do small repairs around town and earned quite a few bits for his work. Mayor Mare offered to have a house made for him, but he’d gotten so used to staying in the barn and enjoyed his life on Sweet Apple Acres that he turned down the offer. Sometimes Applejack’s friends, who quickly became his as well, would come by the farm to chat with him while he worked, or to ask for his help with supplies for projects they were working on; mostly this was Dash when she wanted to build some new fancy stunt for the fun of it. Fluttershy stopped by one day for just that, looking upset.
“What’s wrong?” Heart Shield asked, handing her the bag of nails, planks of wood and paint she’d asked for.
“Oh, it’s nothing,” she said. “One of the deer from outside Ponyville isn't doing too well, but she won’t let me anywhere near her to help.”
“Would you like some help? I’m almost done today and have nothing else planned for the rest of the day.”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to be a bother.”
He flew up onto the roof of the Apple’s house where he had pail of roofing asphalt next to several new shingles. “Honestly, it’s no trouble at all,” he called down as he spread some of the asphalt over the newly replaced shingles covering the leak that had appeared. “I’d be happy to help out.” He put them into place and used a hammer he’d borrowed from Twilight to pound the nails into place before applying another batch of the asphalt over them and pressed the old shingles that hadn’t need replacing down over them. When he’d finished he brought everything down, landing neatly beside Fluttershy.
“Well, if you really want to I’d appreciate the help, if that’s okay of course.”
He smiled and picked up the bag of supplies he’d gotten her. “Lead the way,” he said, holding the straps in his mouth.
He waved to Applejack, nodding when she asked if he’d finished before following Fluttershy. They stopped by her house first to drop off the bag and pick up the first aid kit she had before heading off outside of Ponyville’s town limits. It was a good distance away to the field where she’d said the doe was, so he spent the trip asking for more details about what was wrong.
“One leg is broken and another is trapped in a hole. I’ve tried to calm her down long enough for me to help pull her out and bandage her up but she gets frantic whenever I try to approach. I didn’t want to leave her, but I thought that if I was gone for a little bit then she might get calmed down enough for me to help. Her fawn is with her but he’s as frightened as she is.”
“So you need to keep both of them calm before you can even get the chance to pull her out.”
“That’s right, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to do that, even with your help…”
“Leave that to me,” he said with a smile as they reached the spot she’d mentioned. Sure enough there was the doe, her hind leg stuck up to her thigh in a thin hole, her fawn standing beside her. They looked over as he and Fluttershy came closer, eyes wide open. Heart Shield held out his wing to block Fluttershy. “Wait here.”
He flew over to the doe and fawn, the latter jumped away as he landed. The doe began to struggle to free herself as he walked slowly over. When he got within a foot of her, she lashed out with one of her legs, kicking him in the side. He grunted and winced at the impact but continued to get closer. She kicked him again, hitting his chest this time; her fawn, sensing his mother was in danger, ran over and started to hit the pegasus too. Fluttershy yelped and began to run forward.
“Don’t get any closer!” he shouted at her as the fawn slammed head-butted him. He winced as the blows kept coming, but didn’t move away, looking into the doe’s eyes even as her next kick hit his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispered to her, taking another hit from the fawn. “I’m here to help, and I’m not going away until you’re free. I’ll take all you two can give if that makes you believe me.”
She kicked the side of his head again, but his eyes never once left hers. Slowly her attacks let up; the fawn kept going until he’d tired himself out. When she stopped lashing out at him she studied the bruised pegasus. He smiled at her, ignoring the pain this caused.
“See? I’m a friend.” He nodded to the leg stuck in the ground. “Now, if you’ll allow me, I’d like to help you get out of there.”
She continued to study him, but did nothing as he slowly moved to her side, looking at the hole. Her leg was stuck tight in it, pressed into the dirt that had likely been filled in as she struggled to get out. Moving slowly, he placed his hoof at the edge of the hole and scraped back some of the dirt. He continued to dig slowly, not wanting to startle her again. Her fawn watched him as he worked, slowly making the hole larger. When it was wide enough that he could fit part of his hoof in beside her leg, he knelt down and pushed at her side with his head, working his arm under her to push up. She got the idea and lifted up, her leg pulling free from the hole, keeping the broken one pressed into her side. He smiled at her again.
"There, ready to have that other leg looked at?” He motioned Fluttershy over, placing a wing against the fawn’s chest when he started forward. “She’s going to make your mom better, she’s with me.” The fawn looked at him warily but stepped back.
Fluttershy hurried over to the doe and, after Heart Shield managed to make the deer understand that she only wanted to help, eventually managed to bandage up the leg, fashioning a splint with a few sticks Heart Shield went out to get. “That should do it,” she said when she finished.
“Try not to put too much weight on that leg for a while,” Heart Shield told the deer. “If you follow us, we’ll take you to a nice safe place for you to stay while you recover.”
She looked at him curiously but somehow he managed to get his message across and she and her fawn followed them back to Fluttershy’s house, where Heart Shield was patched up.
“How did you manage to do that?” Fluttershy asked him. “Keep calm even though they were attacking?”
“They were just scared, and I needed them to understand I was there to help. They thought I was there to hurt them, but when they saw I made no attempt to defend myself they seemed to understand I wanted to help. That’s why I told you not to come over while they were doing that, it would have just made them more scared,” he replied, watching the two deer snack on some berries Fluttershy brought them.
“That was dangerous,” she scolded. “You’re lucky they didn’t do anything more than bruise you.”
“Hey, it was a risk I was willing to take. I’d have let them break my ribs if it’d show them I wouldn’t hurt them. Besides, I trusted that they’d stop before things went bad.”
“Promise you won’t do something that foolish again…”
“I promise. Would it be okay if I came back until she’s healed up? I want to be here in case she gets scared again.”
“Just so long as you don’t get yourself hurt again.”
He laughed. “Deal.” He looked up at the sky, noting that the sun was starting to set. “I’d better head back to Sweet Apple Acres.”
“I’ll walk you back, if you don’t mind.”
“It’d be my pleasure.” He smiled at her.
She smiled back and they made their way back to the farm. They noticed a bit of smoke coming from the farm as they drew near and raced over. Applejack stood in front of the barn, what remained of it that is, scolding Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, all of whom were looking at the ground. The roof of the barn was broken; a large hole stretched across it, charred wood could be seen as the smoke cleared.
“…that again! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?” Applejack said angrily.
“What’s the problem?” Heart Shield asked.
“These three decided they’d take a shot at special effects and blew up the barn,” she replied, looking up at him. “They’re lucky they didn’t get hurt or start a fire!”
“We said we were sorry,” Apple Bloom said meekly. “We didn’t mean to do it…”
“Yeah, it was an accident, honest,” added Scootaloo.
“We won’t do it again,” Sweetie Belle told Applejack.
“You’re darn right you won’t,” Applejack said, almost snapping at the filly, whose eyes started to fill with tears.
“Hey, there’s nothing to worry about,” Heart Shield said, stepping forward. “The barn can be fixed and the good news is that nopony got hurt. I’ll put it back together in the morning after I get some materials when the shops open, and they’ll do whatever they can to make reparations, won’t you.” He looked at the fillies, who nodded quickly and turned back to Applejack. “See? Everything’s good.”
“No it’s not,” she said, less angrily this time. “The loft is too damaged to make it safe to stay in there, so you have no place to stay!”
“That’s easily dealt with, I can camp out tonight, I used to sleep outside in Cloudsdale someti-.”
The sound of thunder rang out, stopping him midsentence. All of them looked up at the sky, which quickly became covered in dark clouds. Another roar of thunder came, followed by a sudden torrent of rain, soon drenching them all. Applejack gave him a look.
“Still thinkin’ that’s a good idea?”
He smiled sheepishly. “So I won’t sleep under any trees tonight.”
“H-he can stay with me,” Fluttershy spoke up. “The spare room is free now.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, even as the rain came down harder.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Applejack. “Y’all don’t wanna get sick now.” She turned to the fillies and sighed. “Looks like y’all are going to be stayin’ with Apple Bloom tonight.”
They nodded, looking back down at the ground. “We’re sorry,” they said as one to Heart Shield.
“It’s fine, now hurry along and get inside.”
They ran quickly to the Apple house. Applejack looked at him exasperatedly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then. Y’all are gonna tell me what happened to ya when you get back.”
He nodded and he and Fluttershy said goodnight to her. She headed inside while the pegasi hurried back to Fluttershy’s house. Angel the rabbit was waiting by the door with a towel for Fluttershy when they got in. They dried off and, after a quick dinner, she showed him the spare room.
“It’s not much, but I hope it’s to your liking,” she said to him.
“It’s great,” he replied. “I haven’t had a real bed since I left Canterlot before coming here. Thank you for putting me up tonight.”
“I-it’s no trouble; I wouldn’t want you to get sick from sleeping out in a storm.” A loud clap of thunder shook the house, causing her to yelp in surprise and curl up on the floor with her hooves over her head.
Heart Shield chuckled and helped her up. “Let’s get you to bed, covers work better than hooves.”
She nodded and hurried to her room, calling out goodnight before another clap made her slam her door shut and hide under her covers. Heart Shield laughed silently to himself. She hadn’t changed much since Cloudsdale. He turned off the lights before making his way to the room she’d showed him, climbing into bed. It was nice and comfortable, and he found himself fast asleep in a matter of minutes. He slept peacefully through the night, waking up with the sun as usual. He stretched and got out of bed, noticing that Fluttershy’s door was still closed.
“She must still be asleep,” he said to himself. “I’ll thank her when she gets up.”
He made his way silently out of the house to check on the deer, both had found shelter and were fast asleep. He smiled and went to head back inside when he noticed that the chicken coop had been damaged, likely due to the storm the previous night. He went inside and got the planks and nails from the bag he’d brought over and set to work on fixing it up, working as quietly as he could so as not to disturb Fluttershy. Several rabbits and squirrels wandered over as he worked, handing him nails when he needed them. He laughed and finished up the repairs. The doe and her fawn had woken up while he worked and wandered over to him when he finished; the fawn jumped around when Heart Shield saw him. He laughed again as more animals came over. By the time Fluttershy woke up and came outside, he was feeding and playing with all of them.
“They’ve taken a liking to you,” she noted.
“You think?” Heart Shield laughed as the rabbits jumped him and piled over him. “They’re a lot of fun, and very friendly.”
She beamed at his words. “If you’d like, I’m sure they’d all like to see you when you come over to help with her,” she said, nodding to the doe who had busied herself with some grass for breakfast.
“Sounds like fun,” he replied, grinning from underneath the rabbits.

***

During the weeks after the storm, he spent a lot of time at her house when he wasn’t busy with life on the farm, helping her take care of the animals. More often than not, his time working with the animals would go until night fell, so Fluttershy offered to let him stay over whenever he worked with her. After Applejack said that she thought it was a good idea, that way he’d be able to help out whoever he stayed with the next day, he agreed. She and Applejack decided that they’d work out a schedule for him to assist them both, which he was more than happy to agree to and soon found himself busy pulling jobs for both of them.