//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Two: An Emergency // Story: The Lion and the Lamb // by CrazyChickenLady //------------------------------// Chapter Thirty-Two: An Emergency Days passed deeper into the swiftly flourishing spring. Smokey’s doves and rabbit adopted the habit of sleeping outside with their new friends - which worried him immensely. He knew there would come a day where they would find partners and wish to leave to produce offspring… But why did it have to be so soon? It was difficult, but he knew he had to let them go. Since that was the case, he spent the nights on Fluttershy’s couch in order to cope with his isolophobia and the separation anxiety with his animals. Despite his emotional and psychological issues, he was glad to be there to help the mare tend to Chenoa’s nightly needs. He would have felt bad if he left the pegasus to do most of the work. After all, this came with helping to raise a child, and he was glad to do it. On the day the picnic was scheduled, Smokey’s animal companions took time away from their new friends to spend with their caretaker, Fluttershy, and Chenoa. Balancing a large basket on her back, the mare lead Smokey and their animal friends to a massive field of flowers over a pair of rolling hills. “Um… This… won’t be a bad spot, will it?” she asked the dragon, moving her head to reach over her shoulder to grasp the basket’s handle and lift it off her back and lay it on the ground. With the baby cradled in his arm, Smokey’s amazed sea green eyes scanned the landscape. Being well traveled, he had seen much beautiful scenery, but what his vision beheld far surpassed anything he had ever witnessed. The fact that he was able to share it with his first pony friend and a daughter along with his furry and feathered companions definitely contributed to that. “Not bad? Miss Fluttershy, it’s… perfect!” A flattered pink tinged her cheeks, feeling relieved that the scaly being approved of the area she had chosen. “Oh, well. Thank you,” she said with a smile gestured up at him. Looking around, she spotted the ideal place to settle down - a grassy knoll with a large, strong tree growing out of it and leaning towards one side to provide not only some decent shade, but also perfect leverage for a tire swing that someone had put up. The only thing it lacked was a pond to swing into. Though it still being the early spring, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to go swimming anyway. It seemed there was no patch of uncovered earth to be found by the draconian’s searching eyes as the group hiked up the knoll before setting Chenoa down. The crisp grass was so thick and soft, a blanket wouldn’t have been necessary if they didn’t need to concern themselves with dirt, dew, or anything that may have come in contact with the emerald blades. Tearing his eyes from the view, he waited for Fluttershy to pull the blanket out of the basket and subsequently assisted her with spreading it out. While it was true the blanket wouldn’t have been needed, Fluttershy still preferred to feel that soft cloth underneath her hooves. Once the quilt was smoothed out beneath the tree, she set the basket in the middle and began doling out various foods from inside. “It’s such a lovely day,” she stated after putting down a wrapped sandwich. “It was a good idea to come out here.” “I never doubted your judgment in the least, my dear. You’ve chosen a beautiful spot. All of these creatures should keep Chenoa entertained as well.” He cast a wandering gaze to the assorted species of fauna grazing and frolicking in the distance before lowering his eyes to the babbling baby. The griffon squealed in delight at a tiny bug perched upon a flower, with her back turned away from the stunning view. The mare’s smile widened as she lowered herself onto her stomach. “I’m sure they will. Honestly, she reminds me of myself when I was younger. When I first came to the surface, I was so enthralled and enchanted with the animals… I had never seen so many before in my life!” With a light chuckle, Smokey planted himself into a seating position beside the mare, his rabbit and birds settling down on his opposite side. “That is a good sign. She’s already growing up into the grifforian image of her mother.” “You really think so?” Gazing over at the baby, she allowed her mind to wander. She could imagine a grown Chenoa with her still snow-white plumage, taking care of and handling animals all on her own. Maybe the child would be a caretaker, like her! Or possibly even a veterinarian! “Of course! I would not have said it if I didn’t mean it,” he stated with a smirk then turned a protective, parental eye to the young one. He still heard her babbling musings she emanated while observing the insect, but he still felt the need to convince himself she was still there. He didn’t need to do the same to his animals since he could feel their bodies against his tail and thigh. “She is an angel, just like you.” The pegasus blushed and she dropped her gaze to her hooves, rubbing the fabric to smooth out a couple of wrinkles. “Thank you… I hope I can be a good mother to her. It’s been… what… two weeks now? I’m still getting over the idea she sees me as a mommy.” “So far, you’ve been a wonderful mom. I think that will give us an idea on how you’ll do,” he reassured with another gentle grin. “That also goes for any other children you may have in the future.” Her blush spread, going into a deeper shade of pink. She hadn’t often entertained the thought of having any young of her own - not seriously anyway - , even after seeing so many have theirs. “Still… I never really thought much… even adopting.” The mare giggled. “I hardly ever envisioned myself caring for any sort of baby of my own… Outside of a baby animal, anyway.” “Really?” Smokey sounded mildly surprised, shifting his attention back to the little bundle of white. Fluttershy shook her head. “No. I… suppose I was always too focused on my little animal friends and caring for them to even consider the possibility of foals… or even… having any sort of a boyfriend.” She gave pause for just a moment. “I never imagined I would meet somepony who would love animals as much as I do.” “You know… that comes off as a surprise to me,” Smokey admitted, extending his left hand to the patch of vibrantly colored flowers beside the blanket and plucked a bright yellow one. He brought the delicate object to his snout, inhaling its sweet scent. “I would expect a sweet thing like you to have an entire swarm of admirers.” “… I did. Once,” she said after a second of silence. “During my brief stint as a model. I couldn’t go anywhere without being swarmed by fans. I hated it. I couldn’t get any privacy - and they were just interested in me because of my fame anyway. Not for me.” “Oh, right. That…” Idly twirling the flower’s stem between his thumb and index finger, he went back to watching Chenoa bat at the flower in front of her. “Still… you are kind, sweet, caring, patient, and ever so adorable. Especially when you blush and squeak.” The pastel yellow equine couldn’t be any pinker in the face, and was on the verge of redness. “… You’re too kind.” She shyly retreated her gaze back to the blanket to smooth out another wrinkle - or she would have had there been a wrinkle to smooth out. “I am only telling you the truth, Miss Fluttershy.” Relishing in her bashfulness, he transferred the flower to his right hand and casually offered it to the mare - but not before taking a quick check on the baby rolling in the flowers. Inhaling a small breath, her cheeks bleeding a small amount of red as the flower caught the corner of her eye. Glancing up at the tall male with a smile, she accepted the flower into her mouth and set it down between her hooves. “Thank you… It’s lovely.” “I’m glad I chose to come here. Besides the obvious reasons of meeting you, Chenoa, and your friends.” The winged reptile stole another admiring glance at the scenery. “It’s… so beautiful out here.” “I know! I love the flora out here. I love living in Ponyville. It’s very peaceful. Nothing bad happens here.” As if on cue, a scream cutting from a distance startled the group. Fluttershy looked up at Smokey, having jumped into his arms in terror at the unexpected noise. “… Well, um, almost nothing bad happens here!” she amended. Instinctively, just as the mare had pressed against him, Smokey tossed his protective arms around her. Ear frills perked and alert, he twisted his neck to look into the direction of the scream - after checking on Chenoa and his animals, of course. The baby griffon scurried back to her adoptive parents while the rabbit and doves huddled closer to the draconic being. “That… sound like anypony you know?” “Uh… no,” the pony replied, not moving out of Smokey’s arms - or even acknowledging the position she was in. “Should we… check it out…?” “SWEET TUM?!” the same voice hollered again, this time sounding panicked. A delicate young mare appeared from behind one of the hills, a carnation pink earth pony with silver-white hair, highlighted with a stripe of baby blue in her mane and tail. Her flank was adorned with three hearts of different sizes - two superimposed over one large white one, the medium-sized one being pink and the smallest a ruby red. She was already trotting up the hill, her royal purple eyes searching frantically. “SWEET TUM?!” “Somepony needs help with something, so I believe we should. Perhaps we can help.” ‘If I don’t end up frightening her off, of course,’ Smokey mentally added as he released Fluttershy from his hold. Only just now realizing that she was in his arms, Fluttershy let go of the dragon and settled back down on her hooves. Nodding once, deciding not to dwell on it, she turned around and fluttered over to the other mare. “Um… Excuse me… Are… Do you need help?” Fluttershy asked, sounding a bit unsure. “You haven’t seen a baby pegasus nearby, have you??” The pink-pelted equine immediately latched her hooves on Fluttershy’s forelegs. “I can’t find my son!” Unwilling himself to leave Fluttershy to handle the situation alone, Smokey scooped up Chenoa and followed, his animals tailing him. Halfway to the ponies, the dragon froze in his steps, remembering how terrible he was at making first impressions because of his visage. Right now, he remained still, hoping he wouldn’t scare the other pony away. “Your son?” Fluttershy repeated. “What happened?” “I don’t know!” The pink mare sniffled, tears streaming down her face. “I was getting ready for our little play date in the park. I set him down and was spreading the blanket out - I only had my eyes off of him for a second and when I turned around he was gone!!” “Uh, uh, calm down. When… Where did you--” “On the other side of the park, closer towards the town! I’ve been looking for him for close to an hour now! I just don’t know where he could have gone!” Smokey’s expression betrayed a mixture of horror and concern. If the child wasn’t in the park… he could be in either of two locations - town or the Everfree Forest. “D… Did you check… in town, ma’am?” he inquired, hugging Chenoa tighter as she wriggled in his hold. “No…” The earth pony looked over at Smokey, her eyes snapping open wider and dilating… but seeing that he had a child in his arms and that Fluttershy wasn’t freaking out, she only gulped. “Um, no. Not yet.” “We’ll help you look,” the pastel yellow pegasus offered. “His name is Sweet Tum?” “Yes. He’s a light turquoise pegasus colt. Green mane and tail. Please! He’s barely just a year old! He can’t fend for himself!” The draconian was surprised the earth pony hadn’t expressed any further terror. If he weren’t so fretful over the lost foal, he would’ve been pleased. “We better get moving. Oh!” he exclaimed, an idea striking him at the last second. “My animals can assist us! The more eyes we have searching, the faster we should find him!” “Animals?” the mare tilted her head a small degree. “Oh! Good idea!” Fluttershy praised, grinning down at the rabbit and five doves, who nodded in acknowledgement. She then turned back to the stressed mother with a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, miss… uh?” “Pure Heart.” “Pure Heart,” Fluttershy parroted. “Don’t worry. We’ll find Sweet Tum really soon.”