Repair and Deliver
Story 6
Chapter 15: Reunion
By: SleeplessScribe
I was only home for about an hour before I started getting ready to go. We were all expected to be at Miss Fluttershy’s pretty soon, actually. It probably wasn’t a good idea to, but I assumed we’d have a bed to sleep in again. I of course grabbed Mr. Wags, a pack of marshmallows in case of marshmallow emergency, which was something Miss Pinkie taught me, my favorite book about animal care, and some soap just in case.
Once I was all packed, I skipped towards the door. Momma and Papa Torque were waiting for me, and once again he allowed me to hop on his back. “Are you ready to go, Dinky?”
“Yes, yes, yes! Away we go! Raise the anchors! Full sail! Arrr!”
Papa Torque started laughing and Momma giggled as well. “When did my daughter become a pirate?”
I couldn’t help but giggle myself, doing little circles on Papa Torque’s back. “I’m just so excited, and I don’t know how else to get out all this extra energy except by being silly!”
“Well, be careful Dinky. You don’t want to spend too much energy and fall off my back, would you?”
He did have a point. I tried to sit back down, my tail swishing as we approached the edge of the Everfree Forest. It was so odd that a pony so shy and timid would want to live right next to the scariest place in all of Equestria, but to be fair, there were a lot of animals there.
Immediately, I caught sight of Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, and Rarity talking at the door. Not only that, but Scootaloo came up just before we arrived. “Aw, are Sprint and Apple Bloom still busy?”
Rarity looked over to us and gave a slow nod. “I’m sorry, dear, but I’ve been informed that they’ve had some… issues that require the entire family’s attention. In fact, I’m going to visit them and see what I can do to help.” The unicorn then looked right at Papa Torque. “However, if I see you there for even five seconds, I’ll give you a right what for!”
He drew back a little bit. “Um… sorry?”
“Tonight’s about you two, so enjoy yourselves!” Rarity’s ears twitched just before she leaned forward and started whispering to the colt. While she did that, I hopped off and got a kiss from my mom before joining my friends.
“Oh, really? I’d love to see it when it’s done.”
Momma turned to him, leaning forward and raising her brows. “Oh? What would you love to see?”
He turned quickly to her and began to shake his head. His words were jarred a little, and he began to stutter… just a little. “It’s nothing. Rarity was just working on a new line of coats, and I happened to see the first one when I went to do a job for her.”
“Uh huh… right. Well, I’d love to take a look as well.”
Anyone with a brain could’ve noticed that there was something going on, but Rarity and Papa Torque seemed to calm down as soon as Momma said this. In fact, Rarity even smiled and started nodding.
“You’ll be the first to see it! The one I’m making right now is especially for you, dear!”
“Wow Rarity, that’s such a nice thing for you to do.” Had she not said something, I might have forgotten Miss Fluttershy was even there. She was really quiet.
The older unicorn raised her head up, letting her mane sway. “Well, you know me, always happy to use my talents to give to others. Now, I must be off. I’m quite eager to finish this piece and see how it looks on you. Have fun, you all!”
Sweetie jumped up and started waving to her. “Bye, Rarity!”
Both Papa Torque and Momma waved to her as well, but I got hugs from both of them before they started to leave. However, before they got too far, Miss Fluttershy gently tapped the stallion’s shoulder.
“Um, Torque… I’m sorry to keep you, but I just so happened to find a dog. He’s a little roughed up right now, but I’m sure we’ll have him fixed up before you get back.”
His gaze softened as a smile formed across his muzzle. “Thank you, Fluttershy. I really appreciate that.”
“Oh, it’s not a problem. Please enjoy yourselves.”
“We will, as long as you do the same.”
Now I started bouncing and waving to them. “Bye Papa Torque! Have fun!”
Momma turned around and returned the gesture. “You have fun too, honey! I love you!”
“Love you too!”
As they left, I was pulled inside by my friends. Immediately, Scootaloo pointed forward and directed my gaze towards the snow white bunny. Miss Fluttershy kept nudging a carrot towards him, but he constantly pushed it away.
“Now Angel, be a good bunny and eat your snack.”
The pegasus gave me a gentle nudge. “See? He even gives Fluttershy trouble.”
I turned to Sweetie Belle, but I caught her walking over to the bunny and Miss Fluttershy. She too tried to coax Angel into eating, but still he refused.
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
I was already flipping through my little book for the section on woodland rodents. Once I found it, I skimmed through the page on rabbits and found something worth trying. Miss Fluttershy was still pleading with Angel when I came up, proposing all these different options that only received a shake of the head from the bunny.
Picking up the carrot, my gaze shifted from it to him. “Angel, how would you like it if we cooked the carrot?”
He looked up at me and closed his eyes, nodding quickly. Miss Fluttershy looked down at me and patted my head with a smile. “I never would have guessed. I thought you hated warm food, Angel bunny.”
Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. “Oh! Oh! Miss Fluttershy! Can we feed the animals?”
Sweetie caught on and flashed a bright grin. “Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusaders Animal Feeders!”
“Yay!”
Before our caretaker had a chance to respond, we all rushed into the kitchen. We searched frantically for food, but after a few minutes, the pegasus came in and called to us. “Girls, I don’t keep animal food in here. I’ll show you where it is, and you all can help me feed them.”
Again, we all shouted out together. “Yay!”
It wasn’t long before all four of us were carrying Tupperware containers of various fruits and veggies as well as bags of food. I was lucky enough to get the carrots and cabbage for the bunnies, but I also got the dog food. At first, the bunnies, including Angel, refused to eat. However, after I pleaded with them some, it felt like they suddenly changed their minds and began to munch on their food.
When I checked them, both the carrots and cabbage leaves were very warm, almost as if they had been steamed. “Whoa… what just… well, at least you’re eating!”
It was definitely strange, but there was no sense in dwelling on it. In my search for the doggies, I spotted Sweetie feeding the birds… incorrectly. She probably didn’t know it, but she was giving the birds with small beaks seeds that were much too big for them to eat, and vice versa with the big beaked birds. However, after a moment of watching, I saw the birds eating anyway! I must have been seeing things, as the birds didn’t look to be struggling at all, and all the seeds were the right sizes. Yet another strange thing that worked out for the best.
Miss Fluttershy was outside helping Scootaloo feed the chickens, so I went to her to ask about the doggie. Luckily, they were almost done by the time I got to them. “Miss Fluttershy, where’s that doggie you mentioned?”
“Oh, he’s just lying down on the rug. Come, I’ll show you.”
She escorted me back inside and towards the back of her living room. Honestly, I was expecting a little puppy, but this was like super doggie! He looked like he could gobble up Angel in a second, but a closer look told me he didn’t have the strength for that. His eyes were all bloodshot, he was covered in fleas, ticks, dirt, and cuts, and even though his matted hair gave an illusion of a belly, I could feel his ribs more than I should have been able to if he was well fed.
“Aw, the poor baby. Did you find him like this?”
Our hostess softly pet the big dog. “Yes. I found him limping around outside this morning. There’s no telling how old he is or how long he’s been out there.”
After a moment of thought, I scurried off and grabbed the other girls. “Miss Fluttershy, the Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to help you fix up this doggie!”
Scootaloo gently patted his ear. “Are you sure, Dinky? He looks pretty bad… maybe we should just let Fluttershy handle this one.”
“No! The least we can do is help. Even if we can’t fix him, I’m sure it’d be easier if she didn’t have to do everything herself, right?” Sweetie took a deep breath after her statement, doing her best to strike a proud pose.
Miss Fluttershy’s smile reminded me a lot of Momma’s. It was so soft and caring, and you could almost feel the love radiating from it like the sun on a warm summer day. “That would be nice. Sweetie Belle, go upstairs, open the first door on your right, and bring me that large towel you’ll see.”
“Yes ma’am!” She zipped off, and Miss Fluttershy addressed the younger pegasus.
“Scootaloo, down the hall is a bathroom with a large tub in the center. Can you fill that up with warm water and bring it in here?”
“You got it!” Now it was my turn for a task.
Once again I received a pat from Miss Fluttershy. “Dinky, I’m going to go get some special soap and a comb. Could you please try and get him to eat?”
“I’ll do my best!”
Miss Fluttershy walked off, and I reached for the small bowl next to him. The doggie sniffed at me some, and he started to whine as he licked me. I couldn’t help but giggle; being licked by a dog really tickled when he was so much bigger. Even with this, I managed to fill up his bowl and nudge his head towards it.
It took a moment, but after he sniffed at it, the doggie slowly started to nibble at the food. He didn’t dive into it like most dogs would, but at least he was eating something. Pretty soon Sweetie came down with a really big towel wrapped in her magical grasp, and Miss Fluttershy came in carrying the items she had left for.
“Okay, Sweetie Belle, spread that out. We’re going to give him a nice bath, and this soap should medicate those cuts as well. I doubt he’s going to be able to get in a tub, and that’s that the towel is for. At least the floor will stay dry when we bathe him.”
I wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the loud grunting we heard down the hall. All of us followed it to find Scootaloo struggling to drag a large metal tub. It was only half full, and with all of us carrying it, we managed to bring it in the living room with relative ease.
The big yellow lab looked at us for a moment before he was nudged onto the towel. His food bowl was empty, but his pace was still incredibly slow. In fact, Miss Fluttershy even had to help him get to the towel. I noticed that she also had a decent sized cup with her as well.
“Sweetie, can you use your magic to get his hair rinsed?”
She nodded and dipped the cup in the water. However, I stopped her rather quickly after she began to pour it on his head. “Stop! Sweetie, not like that… I don’t mean to step on your hooves, but you have to do it gently, like this.”
I didn’t even notice it until I saw all the wide eyed looks I was getting. Sweetie was no longer holding the cup, but it was still floating in the air. A bright golden aura had replaced the bright pink one that had surrounded the cup, and once my gaze shifted up I saw that my horn was glowing that same color as well.
It was difficult, but I managed not to make a big deal out of it as I lowered the cup right against the lab’s head. I slowly tipped it and allowed it to gently flow over him, moving it back and forth until his coat was soaked.
“Like that.”
Everypony else was still silent as they stared at me, but Miss Fluttershy soon caught sight of my attempts to keep things calm. “That’s right, little Dinky. You have to do this very softly. Dinky, would you mind combing his coat to get all the ticks off?”
It was a little gross to drag the comb through and watch all the ticks fall out of his hair, but it had to be done. Once he was thoroughly combed, we threw all the ticks out Miss Fluttershy’s window to be eaten by birds. With that done, we all got him lathered up and spent at least thirty minutes giving him a nice scrub. Finally we rinsed him off, and it just so happened that Sweetie Belle had borrowed a blow dryer from her sister. In case of blow dryer emergency, of course.
The best things about all this were that the doggie stayed calm the entire time, and the towel was thick enough to keep the floor from getting too wet, though we did have to get some dry rags to soak up what little water got through the towel.
By the time we were done, the sun was starting to go down. The lab was now resting in a big pile of blankets we made, and Miss Fluttershy had fixed us all nice fruit salads. “Thank you all for your help. I’m sorry you really didn’t get a chance to play.”
“Don’t be sorry!” Scootaloo took a big bite of her food. Thank Celestia she wasn’t like our earth pony friends. “It was worth it to see Dinky use her magic! What was up with that?”
“I… I don’t know. I really just wanted to do it right, and I was scared it was gonna make the dog uncomfortable it Sweetie just poured the water on him like that. You know… maybe what happened earlier was me too.”
Sweetie Belle tilted her head a little when I said this. “What happened?”
“Well, the bunnies wouldn’t eat their food, but I really wanted them to, and after a little bit, the carrots seemed to cook themselves. Not only that, but when I noticed you were giving the birdies the wrong kinds of seeds, somehow they changed sizes! Hey… remember what Miss Cheerilee said?”
Both girls looked at my flank as I turned to look myself. I think all three of us were about to scream when we saw the golden paw print on my flank with a heart shaped pad. The older pegasus smiled down at me with that warm smile, reaching over to pat me again.
“Well look at that. I guess your special talent is a heart of gold that loves to meet the needs of animals.”
I couldn’t help but start beaming as I got hugs from all of them. Even Scootaloo joined in, and she never joined group hugs! I did mention not wanting to make too big a deal out of it, so we continued our supper rather quickly.
We were all still a little hungry, and that’s when I rushed over to my bag and brought them the marshmallows. “Hey! How about we roast these for dessert? I brought them in case of marshmallow emergency!”
The other unicorn gave me a wink as Miss Fluttershy nodded. “That sounds yummy, but it’s getting late. I’ll get a fire in the fireplace, okay? I want everypony inside when it gets dark.” She shot Sweetie and Scootaloo a very brief glare. “We don’t want any repeats of last time, right girls?”
They both nodded, and Scootaloo seemed less reluctant to remember. “Yeah… wouldn’t want another cockatrice incident. We’re still really sorry about that.”
The marshmallows were yummier than I could have imagined! All of us roasted them, and I even shared one or two with the doggie. Miss Fluttershy did have to warn us not to feed him too many, since they didn’t have any real nutritional value, so we kept the feeding to a minimum. Once we were out of marshmallows, the unreal happened. The three of us were actually tired! We never get tired!
Honestly, I think it was all the playing we did at school today. You have no idea how exhausting a few games of hide and seek can actually be, especially when they’re followed by carrying around animal food and sprucing up a doggie.
Miss Fluttershy set us up for the night, but I snuck off. Instead of sleeping in the bed, I winked at my friends, grabbed Mr. Wags, made my way back to the doggie, snuggled up with him, and wrapped myself in one of the blankets he was on. Once again, he sniffed at me a few times and started to whine and lick me.
“Dinky? Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
I looked over to the pegasus and nodded slowly. “I wanna sleep with the doggie. Besides, I think he likes me.”
Again I was met with that warm, loving smile. “I think so too. Well, if you’re really comfortable like that, then I won’t stop you.” She made her way over to the big sofa across from where we were, lying down on it and tossing a blanket over herself. “Sleep well, Dinky.”
I awoke not too long after everypony else. After I got up and readjusted the dog’s blankets, I came into the kitchen where Miss Fluttershy was having pancakes. “Good morning, Dinky. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes I did, Miss Fluttershy! Say… where are the others?”
“Oh, Rarity came by earlier to get them. They didn’t think it was right to wake you, so we left you alone.”
“Oh….” To be honest, it was just a little upsetting that I didn’t get a chance to at least say goodbye. At least it wasn’t like I’d never see them again. However, there wasn’t any time to join the pegasus as I heard knocking on the door.
“Come in!”
I heard doggie start whining again as the door opened and a loud gasp once it closed. Nopony said anything, not that they could with doggie barking like he was. I turned the corner to look in and saw Papa Torque making his way over to doggie, and doggie limping with his now wrapped up leg over to him.
“Fluttershy… is this the dog you were talking about?”
The pegasus poked her head out with quite the worried expression on her face. “Yes… um, did I do something wrong?”
Suddenly Momma’s eyes widened as Papa Torque lowered himself. Doggie started licking him just as he had done me, and I could see tear streaks staining Papa Torque’s cheeks. “Wait, Torque… is this really happening?”
“I can’t believe it! Fluttershy, this is Tucker! This is Tucker! After months of him being gone, you found my dog from Vanhoover!”
It was all I could do to keep from joining Tucker and Papa Torque, and in the end I did anyway. “Yay! Yay! Papa Torque got his doggie back! So that’s why he liked me so much! He must have caught your scent on me since I ride on your back so much!”
Miss Fluttershy came in completely and observed the scene before her. “But… how? How could he have gotten all the way from Vanhoover to here?”
Momma came over too, patting big Tucker and joining in the hug. “Well, there’s plenty to eat out there, isn’t there? Maybe not as much as he was used to, but there isn’t that much danger out their either, is there?”
She slowly shook her head as she thought about it. “I guess not. But still, a pet out in the wild for months? That still seems very… oh, I know what it is.”
We all looked up to her as she drew attention to my new cutie mark. “He must have found his way here so Dinky could reunite him with his owner.”
Both Momma and Papa Torque stared at my flank for a moment before grabbing hold of me. “Oh, honey, your cutie mark! My little Dinky got her cutie mark!”
The tension of holding in my excitement all night finally got to me, and I jumped up in the air, screaming at the top of my lungs. “Woo hoo! I finally did it! I got my cutie mark! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”
Even Tucker let out a big bark at my joy, happily wagging his tail as he licked both Papa Torque and me. Finally, I looked up at Momma along with him and put on the best puppy dog eyes I could.
“So, can we take him home, Momma? Please?”
She bit her bottom lip and looked between me and Papa Torque. Finally, she let out a sigh and started to nod. “You have to help take care of him, though.”
“Yay!”