What... What is that? After drawing the attention of what I thought to be my host-or my prince charming-a small yellow horse walked in! I numbly stared at it, the burning in my throat forgotten. The horse seemed to have no such reservations. It walked right up to me, then slowly made eye contact. I was shocked, again, by what happened next.
"Oh, you poor, poor baby. You had a big owie on your throat, but don't worry, Doctor Fluttershy is here to make you all better." She said with a small smile (I could tell she was a she based on her voice).
Oh, hey... funny thing, I could sweat that little horse just talked to me. Wait, what? A freakin tiny horse just walked up and spoke to me! How is that even possible?! Whoa, whoa, slow down hotshot. So what if a horse talked to me? No big deal. No big deal. No big deal. I mean, I died already, or did I? Wait, no! Don't think about that again! Just think about the nice little horse in front of you that TALKED!! Wait no, it's probably just the blood loss talking. I mean, how could a horse talk to me? Don't you need a tongue to talk? Do horses even have tongues? My half manic thought process was interrupted by the horse nudging at my arm.
"Ummm... How are you feeling?" the talking horse asked as she leaned down with a concerned expression.
She wants to know how I'm feeling. How thoughtful. Well let's see, I might be hallucinating from blood loss from getting my throat slit, and I'm extremely dehydrated. So,yeah, all in all I guess I'm doing just peachy! I opened my mouth to say my sarcastic remarks, but the most I could manage was what sounded like a low growl.
My llittle vocalization made her demeanor shift instantly. "Oh no! Are you okay? Are you hungry? Or are you thirsty? Or maybe you're tired?" She began to ask me questions at a rapid fire pace, before suddenly straightening up. "I know just what you need! Wait right here!" She proclaimed before galloping off.
Slightly confused by her rapid fire questioning, I thought over my current situation. I'm helpless, and trapped in a cottage with a talking horse! Maybe I can escape? Wait, how can I outrun her? I can barely move. As I considered the best way to make my totally not cowardly exit, she came back into the room carrying a miniature platter carrying a small bowl of water and fresh several carrots.
Nervously, I tried to back up along the ground, but inexorably she drew closer. She set down the platter next to me and said, "Alright little baby! I know you're hungry, so Doctor Fluttershy brought you food." She then leaned her head down onto the platter and grabbed a small paring knife in her mouth. As she raised her head I saw the glint of the steel and remembered the last time I had seen someone carrying a knife. Suddenly I was back in that dark alley where that hood killed me. What's she doing?
"No!" I attempted to say as my terror grew, but as usual all that came out was a weak moan.
"Oh dear, you must be really hungry!" My self appointed doctor said after she finished cutting up the carrot. She somehow picked up little pieces of my meal with her hoof and held them in front of my face. "Here comes the choo-choo. You better open wide for it."
I can't believe this! She thinks she's going to feed me! If someone's gonna feeds me, it'll be my special someone! I'll just wait until I'm strong enough to do it myself! I would literally rather starve. Confident in my decision, I clamped my mouth shut and turned my head to the side defiantly.
The self-titled "Doctor Fluttershy" was not pleased at all with my choice to ignore her offering of food. "Oh please! Just one bite? Please just try one teensy little bite. It'll make you feel better."
Ha! I said I wouldn't eat any and I won't! Well, I didn't say it out loud, but same difference. I turned my head a little more, so I was could only see her out of the corner of my eye, and even then just barely.
"Please? Just a little bite? Oh, why won't you? Is it something I did?" At this, she began to sniffle slightly, as if she genuinely believed it was her fault that I wasn't eating.
I turned my head slightly again, so I could comfortably look at her without straining my eyes. I saw her shoulders start to slump, and her lower lip start to quiver. I saw the beginnings of tears form in the corners of her eyes, and I saw her reassuring smile run away from her face. The corners of my mouth pulled themselves up in a small smile, and I attempted to chuckle. Wow, she really thinks I'm stupid enough to fall for that? Yeah, butter luck next time, honey. However, after seeing that her demeanor was actually getting steadily more pitiable, I realized my error. Oh no! Please don't cry! I'm sorry! Here, I'll eat the carrots! Just, please don't cry! Of course, when I tried to convey that sentiment to her it came out as a gurgle. Sighing, I fully turned to her and opened my mouth.
She instantly brightened, and her reassuring smile returned as if she had never been the one to require reassurance. She began to feed me small bites of carrot, which I ate quickly to get the experience over as soon as possible.
"Oh thank you! See, don't you feel better with a little food in you?" Doctor Fluttershy asked after feeding me two carrots. "Here, have some water." At that, she poured some water into my mouth. I greedily drank it, even though it made my throat ache worse for as long as the liquid was in contact with it.
"Alright, now that that is out of the way, what are you little guy?" She asked while looking me over, from my too-long toenails to my matted hair spilling over my face.