Sam couldn’t remember the next several days very well as his head attempted to wrap itself around the idea of a mythical creature sitting on his couch. Every time he walked past the Pegasus, who he now knew was called Fluttershy, he had to rub his eyes and look once more at her to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Sam didn’t try to press her to talk, though he had a million questions buzzing around inside of his head. The biggest question that was forefront in his mind was where she came from and how she got here.
On the third day, he checked her bandages to see if her wings and leg were healing properly. He was very gentle around her since she seemed to be so frightened of her new surroundings. Every day, he would quietly ask her if she felt better, and she would softly answer “Yes”. He brought her vegetable soup and water for her meals, since he didn’t really know what she would eat. From his limited knowledge of horses, he knew they didn’t eat meat, so he assumed that Fluttershy would be no different. He continued to keep his questions bottled up inside, though they were soon going to burst from him like floodwaters from a dam.
After a week of caring for the Pegasus, he was checking her bandaged wings to see how they were faring.
“Do you think your wings might be healed by now?” He had no idea about the anatomy of Pegasi, so asking Fluttershy seemed the only option. She winced a little as she shifted on the couch.
“I-I don’t know. They feel better.” Sam thought for a moment, and then came up with an idea.
“I’m going to take the bandages off, but please be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt again.” Sam slowly grabbed the end of the bandage and began to unwrap her wing. He could feel the softness of her feathers as he gently removed each layer until the last bandage was removed from her body. Taking a step back, he nodded to Fluttershy. She winced one more as she began to extend her wings slowly. She looked like she still had some pain, but soon her wings reached their full extension. They stretched from one end of the couch to the other, and were made of beautiful yellow feathers. She began to gently move them up and down, testing them to see how they had healed. After a moment, she folded them back to her body and smiled at Sam.
“Thank you. I think they’re going to be fine.” She lowered her head as Sam noticed her cheeks beginning to turn a rosy shade of red. Is she blushing? Pegasi can blush? Sam felt a little uncomfortable as he stood there looking at her.
“Heh, it was no problem. I’m glad there was no permanent damage.” She raised her head again, but her eyes were beginning to water as a tear rolled down her face.
“I want to go home Sam. I’m scared.” Sam immediately felt a twinge of sadness in his chest as he slowly came over sat down next to Fluttershy.
“I don’t know how to get you home. I don’t even know where you came from.” Sam looked at the floor as he felt guilty. She doesn’t belong here, but I have no idea how to even begin to think about getting her back where she came from. Fluttershy also looked at the floor as the tears began to flow faster.
“I-I’m stuck here, aren’t I.” Sam looked over at her.
“I’m afraid so. For now at least. But you can stay with me. My place is big enough for both of us. Maybe together we can figure out a way to get you back home.” At this point, his questions were not going to wait any longer. “Can I ask you a few questions?” Fluttershy looked at Sam and slowly nodded. “Ok, to start with, where did you come from?” Fluttershy thought for a moment.
“The name of where I came from is Equestria.” Sam pondered this answer for a minute. Equestria… She continued, “It’s ruled by two sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. There are many cities in Equestria, but I live in the town of Ponyville.” Sam chuckled a little at that name. Ponyville…what kind of name is that? But he was intrigued.
“What do you do there? You do have jobs, right?” Fluttershy smiled as she answered.
“I take care of animals. All of them, big and small, they come to me and I help them.”
“So, you’re like a veterinarian?” A puzzled look came over Fluttershy’s face.
“What’s a vetarinian?” Sam smiled as she mispronounced the word.
“A veterinarian here takes care of sick and injured animals. People bring their pets to them and the vets make them all better.” Fluttershy smiled as a twinkle came into her eye.
“I guess I could be called a veterinarian. But, they are more than just pets, they're my friends.” Suddenly a sad look came over her face. “If I’m not there, who is going to take care of all my animal friends?” Sam put his arm around her and gently hugged her.
“I’m sure they’re going to be all right.” Fluttershy began to cry once again.
“Why did this happen to me Sam? Why did this happen to me?” She turned her head and buried her muzzle into the front of his shirt. He could feel the tears soaking through the fabric, but he didn’t care. Sam just sat and held her as she continued to cry. They sat like this for about an hour until she final went quiet. Her steady breathing told him that she had cried herself to sleep. As gently as possible, he laid her down on the couch and grabbed a blanket to put over her. As he got up and went into the kitchen, a thought kept running through his head. I need to get her back home. She doesn’t belong here. This is no place for a Pegasus. If anyone found out about her… I don’t even want to think about what would happen to her. He grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water, downing the entire thing in a few seconds. He went and stood in the doorway and stared at the sleeping yellow Pegasus. She looked so peaceful lying there, but Sam knew how she must be feeling.
“I will get you home Fluttershy, I promise.”
……
The next day, Fluttershy seemed a little happier. Sam still saw some fear in her eyes, but she seemed to be slowly warming up to him. After a breakfast of soup, Sam suggested that Fluttershy try and move her leg a little and see how it was healing. Fluttershy seemed reluctant at first, but with a little prompting from Sam, Fluttershy decided to give it a go. Fluttershy winced a little as she swung her hind legs over the edge of the couch and gently placed her hooves on the floor. Sam quickly rushed over and was ready to catch her if she began to fall. Placing a little pressure on her legs, and using the couch for support, she slowly slid her front legs off and onto the floor. She seemed to still have some pain and was very unsteady on her hooves, but she was standing. Fluttershy gingerly put a hoof out and began to gently trot around. She limped a little, but she seemed to be strong enough to get around.
“That’s amazing Fluttershy. Pegasi must be able to heal faster than humans.” Fluttershy looked over at him and smiled.
“It helps that you did a good job fixing me.” She continued to slowly trot around the living room until Sam suggested she sit back down on the couch.
“No need to push yourself too hard. You don’t want to hurt yourself so soon after getting better.” Fluttershy agreed as she crawled back up onto the couch. She situated herself on the cushions and looked at Sam once again.
“Sam, can I ask you something?” Sam was taken aback by this. He never thought that Fluttershy would have questions for him. Sam nodded slowly. “Why did you help me? You could have just left me there in the bushes. You had never seen something like me, so why did you help me?” Sam thought for a moment before he answered.
“I guess it was because I saw the pain in your eyes and saw how frightened you were. Something inside of my head told me that I couldn’t just leave you there. I had to help you, there is no better way to say it. I guess that’s a part of me that I never really thought about. I mean, I like to help people. It makes me happy when I can help someone else out. And when I saw you there, I knew there was only one choice.”
Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I…I just wanted to say thank you. You have been so kind to me, and I don’t know what I would have done of you hadn’t shown up.” A tear welled up in my eye as a feeling of pride crept into my head.
“You’re welcome Fluttershy. It is my pleasure.” It was then that Sam noticed the time. It was past midnight and he had to work the next day. “I need to head to bed. Is there anything that I can get you before I leave?”
“I don’t think so Sam.” Fluttershy laid her head down and closed her eyes.
“Good night Fluttershy.” Sam said quietly. But he could tell from the steady rise and fall of her chest that she was already fast asleep. He quietly made his way into his bedroom and began to undress and put on his pajamas. After brushing his teeth, he pulled the covers on his bed back and crawled in. Bringing the covers up to his chin, he closed his eyes as sleep quickly overtook him.
……
“Sam?” He felt something hard poking him. “Sam?” He moaned a little as he slowly began to come awake. Sam rolled over to see what was poking him in the back. As he completed his roll, he saw a large yellow face right next to his. Sam slammed on the light as he let out a yell, and the yellow face quickly ducked down and was covered by two yellow legs.
“Fluttershy?” He asked as he finally was able to get his eyes to focus on the yellow Pegasus. “Oh Fluttershy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” The legs began to slowly remove themselves from the yellow head as two wide eyes looked up at Sam. “You startled me is all. Did you need something?”
She slowly got up onto her legs and blushed. “I-I, ummm, had a bad dream. And, well, it’s lonely out there by myself.” She seemed hesitant to continue.
“What is it? Do you want to sleep in here tonight?” He felt a little awkward asking her that, but after everything she had been through, it might be what she needs. She looked up at Sam and nodded. Slowly getting back under the covers, he pulled back the covers on the other side of the bed. Fluttershy trotted around and crawled up onto the mattress. Using her mouth to grab the covers she pulled them up over herself.
Sam turned the light back out and closed his eyes. Suddenly, he felt Fluttershy shift and a furry leg was laid over his chest. He wasn’t sure how to respond, but then he heard her softly whisper into his ear.
“Thank you Sam.” Fluttershy said sleepily. Sam smiled as sleep once again took a hold of him and he drifted off into his dreams.