Chapter Twenty-Six: Winter Wrap Up
The weeks rolled by and Mother Nature was drawing her winter to a close. The last day of the frosty season arose, luring the equine inhabitants of Ponyville from their homes in the early hour to ready themselves for the long day of work that awaited them. There were many tasks to accomplish on the annular day known as Winter Wrap Up; snow needed to be cleared - shaken from trees, plowed away, and melted in order to make way for tilling and sowing fresh vegetation. The frozen surfaces of waterbeds required breaking up, bird nests needed to be built, birds led back from their designated migration grounds, and the animals in hibernation needed to be roused from their lengthy slumber.
Fluttershy had recuperated from both her injury and her sickness - though she was under the weather for nearly a week, and her hoof took another to heal. She had grown closer to Smokey over the weeks, often being with him after she had completed what ever rounds of chores she had for the day and once the animals were tended to. Despite the fact that the dragon fed the critters before, they were still nervous around him and had to be reassured by their caretaker a few more times that he was harmless. The majority were becalmed after a couple more visits, but there were still those who were apprehensive.
While her life had more or less returned to how it was, save for her new friendship with Smokey and having adopted a daughter, she was eager to introduce her draconic friend to the citizens of Ponyville at large. She and her equine friends had yet to do so, and in the meantime, Fluttershy and Applejack often made deliveries of food and supplies to him, with Twilight Sparkle bringing books - and sometimes Spike tailed along - and Pinkie Pie desserts and entertainment for him and Chenoa that she thought they would like. So far, no other ponies in town mentioned the fact there was another dragon in the woods.
The two dragons immediately hit it off, both of them ecstatic to meet another one of their kind who had been raised by ponies. Spike was eager to tell the older reptile about his entire life - just as he had done with Fluttershy on the first day they met - and Smokey was just as eager to listen. After the first meeting, they spent some time together whenever the larger dragon wasn’t busy helping Fluttershy care for Chenoa, her animals, or tending to his own. The two of them even held a couple of sleepovers at Smokey’s home.
A cry originating from Fluttershy’s room awoke almost all currently residing in the pony’s humble abode. Smokey jolted awake and fell off the couch with a heavy thud upon the wooden floor. He spent the night so that he may get up with his pony friend and quickly help with tending to Chenoa and the animals before assisting with Winter Wrap Up.
Upstairs, Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open immediately and she fluttered off the bed towards the nearby crib to check on Chenoa. Her maternal instincts have grown such acutely that the slightest utterance of noise drove her to check on her instantly, even to the point to where she didn’t even have to.
Not long after the mare precipitated herself beside the wailing baby’s home-built crib to tend to her, a red blur zipped into the room to materialize into the dragon as he came to a cessation. In the back of his consciousness, he knew Fluttershy would get to Chenoa first and take care of her, but - like her -, he possessed parental instincts that compelled him to check on the infant.
The red-scaled beast’s hands smoothed over the top wooden bar of the crib as he watched the pegasus reach for the baby inside. The crib itself had been crafted out of trees and branches he cut down himself - after making sure he wasn’t touching any that served as homes for any hibernating animals. When he discovered building one was going to be harder than he assumed, he enlisted the help of Applejack. The golden orange earth pony had been more than happy to assist him with chiseling the bark off, cutting, hammering, and sanding. By the end of the day, the two of them surprised Fluttershy and Chenoa with the new crib.
As their eyes met, Smokey greeted Fluttershy with a warm smile and a “good morning”, but Chenoa’s cries drowned out his words.
Greeting his gaze with a kind expression, she mouthed a “good morning” back. Rocking the griffon in her forelegs, she began to gently shush her to calm her down while flapping her wings to keep them aloft.
“There, there, sweetie. Don’t worry, Mommy’s getting you something to eat now,” the mare crooned as she routed herself out the door and downstairs to the kitchen.
Angel leered into their direction with contempt as the baby continued to noisily voice her hunger, rolls of baggy skin sagging underneath his tired eyes. In an effort to block out the sound grating at his nerves and eardrums, the rabbit pinned his ears to the sides of his head with his pillows. Unfortunately, the results held little avail.
The weeks had given both Fluttershy and Smokey some knowledge about what Chenoa would generally eat regarding her appetite - and the pony and winged reptile found it was easier to handle at first than they originally realized. Her more carnivorous instincts likely wouldn’t be kicking in until later when she would be ate the age where griffons usually began hunting. By then, the pegasus and her scaly friend figured they would be able to instill a largely vegetarian diet in her.
By this point, Fluttershy still wondered about Chenoa’s birth parents, but she had mostly given up hope of finding them or any evidence of if they were still alive. She hadn’t found any herself on what little free time she had given herself to look… and to a certain extent, actually found herself hoping on some deep level that she - or her friends - wouldn’t find them. She wasn’t willing to give the baby up without a fight now.
It did not take long for her to gather everything up and mix a bottle of formula together. Baby cradled in one foreleg, she used her other hoof to bring the bottle to the little one’s beak for her to grasp and suckle.
“Here you go. Here’s your baba,” Fluttershy said in a maternal voice. She felt it a little odd to bottle feed her when she was capable of eating soft food and some perfectly edible hard food such as tiny cereal chips so long as she didn’t choke.
She figured she really should have thought ahead and had something already made and readily available; all that needed to be done was to be warmed up slightly before being given to the baby. However, she couldn’t berate herself that much. It was just one of the many things that came with raising a child - and the experience itself was nothing short of invaluable. It would prove to be a good base point for if she ever had any more children, adopted or otherwise. Plus, she was still getting used to having a baby around.
As Smokey stepped into the kitchen and noticed Fluttershy was in the middle of feeding Chenoa, he advanced to the cabinets where some of the animals’ food was located. He might as well start feeding them while the mare was busy. The large reptile moved about the cottage, quickly dumping appropriate amounts of food into bowls or on the floor in collected piles for animals to munch on. After helping his equine friend with this for the past couple weeks, he had the entire routine embedded in his brain. The animals were willing to accept food laid out by the dragon once he was at a far enough distance - except for Angel. The rabbit resented Smokey’s presence; resented the attention Fluttershy gave to him that would’ve otherwise been lavished onto himself.
Chenoa was okay though. Angel didn’t mind Fluttershy busying herself with her. She was a baby after all. He even had taken interest in the small griffon, and even assisted with various tasks in taking care of her once in a while. He didn’t think he would ever find himself in such a position, helping his caretaker with a bottle or two here and there, but even he surprised himself on occasion.
By the time the griffon finished her bottle, Smokey was done tending to the animals. The pegasus passed the baby to him to be burped while she prepared a bowl of lettuce and sliced cucumbers and carrots.
“Here you go, Angel bunny. Smokey, Chenoa, and I are going out for Winter Wrap Up today. Would you like to come along and help us wake up the animals?”
Angel gave her a flat look and shook his head to convey his answer. While he wouldn’t have minded during warmer seasons, he would much rather stay inside. It was also still too early for him. Yawning, the white rabbit drowsily nibbled on his breakfast.
She just smiled and moved closer to him to press a kiss to his fuzzy little head. She didn’t think so, but figured she should’ve asked. Drawing back to give him his space, she turned around to see how the draconian was doing, right on time to see the baby emit a loud belch.
“What time is it? Do you know?” she asked. “With all we were doing, I completely forgot to check.”
The dragon shivered once, still feeling a little bit cold from being outside feeding the chickens and goat, but he was quickly warming up thanks to the fire started assumedly by one - or a collective few - of the animals earlier.
“I actually didn’t think of checking the clock either. But, we should probably eat something really quick and get going, shouldn’t we?”
“We probably should. I’ll go make some toast.”
A quick meal of buttered toast was shared between them and the baby. While Smokey washed the plates, Fluttershy took Chenoa back upstairs to get them both dressed. Placing the child in her crib, the winged pony slipped on her team vest, a scarf, earmuffs, and a set of boots Rarity had created for her.
The unicorn, in her generosity, had not only provided for Fluttershy, but had also crafted an outfit for Chenoa; giving her a warm coat, earmuffs, and a matching stocking cap with a tiny bell sewn at the top. Retrieving them, the mare dressed the baby and picked her up to meet Smokey downstairs.
In her foresight, Rarity could not resist making a set for Smokey, including a pair of gloves, a scarf, and boots that were sapphire blue in color. Together with Chenoa’s ruby red and Fluttershy’s emerald green, they made a complete set - and as the alabaster unicorn fussed, only slightly deviated from the brownish tan of the animal team vest Fluttershy wore.
Smokey left the restroom, having brushed his teeth and taken care of his business, crossed over to the table - or more specifically, one of the chairs at the table where his winter attire was waiting for him. He had neglected to put it on when he went to feed the animals outside. The dragon hadn’t owned any winter clothes, so it had been a pleasant surprise when the white-coated unicorn presented him with his. He was very grateful for her kindness, and he still yet had to think of something to repay her. At least, he believed he did. He thought no good deed should go unrewarded.
Accepting Chenoa from Fluttershy after he was garbed in his clothing, the mare took her turn to use the restroom. Once out, she took her back and held her close, nuzzling her cheek.
“Are you warm, Chenoa? I certainly hope you’ll be when we’re outside. We’re going to wrap up winter! And starting tomorrow you’ll be able to play outside with all the cute little animals…”
Chenoa chirped in response as she nuzzled her mother back. She didn’t understand what she was saying, but the excited note in her voice was impacting her mood.
Craning his neck, the draconic being pressed a kiss to Chenoa’s head and drew back slightly to fully analyze her appearance.
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get over how adorable she looks in those clothes.”
“Oh, yes. Rarity really outdid herself this time!” she gushed, nuzzling her face against the side of Chenoa’s head. “I love how she looks in the red. Though I have to say maybe purple would be a better match for her. Rarity seemed to agree, but she said if she went with that then it would completely mess up the color scheme…
“I told her I wouldn’t mind wearing the blue, or the red, since red and blue make purple, but she insisted that the green brought out my eyes.”
“Believe me - your eyes stand out in anything, Miss Fluttershy,” Smokey chuckled with a playful wink.
The mare’s cheeks flushed to a noticeable hue of pink and she glanced off shyly.
“You’re so nice…”
A wide smirk pulled at the corners of Smokey’s mouth as he indulged in the pony’s mannerisms.
“I cannot help but point out the truth.”
“Still, it’s very kind of you,” she stated, turning her attention back to the dragon.
She had to admit - though she wouldn’t out loud just yet - that she had grown very fond of Smokey. Very fond. He was a gentle, sweet soul, and he did so much for their animals, as well as for her and Chenoa out of the kindness of his heart.
“Thank you.”
The dragon in turn, had become attached to Fluttershy with the more time they spent together. Being socially underdeveloped with ponies, he wasn’t sure how to classify his attachment. He didn’t bother mulling it over for long. He just decided to let everything flow naturally.
“Are we ready to go?” he asked, giving the baby back to his companion as she extended her forelegs to them.
The equine nodded once, hovering over to the door as she held the baby close to her torso. Stopping right when she shifted the griffon to one foreleg and placed a free hoof on the doorknob, she turned her head back to her rabbit.
“We’ll be back no later than sundown, Angel. Try to stay warm,” she informed, though she knew she would likely check on him and the others by lunchtime and leave them a midday snack. Flapping her wings to boost her out the door, she grinned at the cool breeze. It was chilly, but according to Rainbow Dash - if her memory served correctly - it would be warming up significantly by the end of the afternoon if all went well.