Warmth.
The next thing I perceived was a strong gentle warmth that held and surrounded me. It's hard to describe it, but at that time it felt like I was half asleep and half awake. I couldn't see or move or even feel a body to move or see with, but I was content. A little later, I realized that the strong gentle warmth I perceived was, in fact, a presence that was gently wrapping it's 'arms' around me. Time had no meaning to me, so I have no idea how much passed me by.
I recall at some point, this huge powerful being said that soon I would be born and that I would join my siblings. The message wasn't conveyed such much with words as it was feeling, but I understood and I looked forward to that day. Not too long after however, there was a snap. Since I didn't have any ears, I couldn't hear it but I could feel it and from my point of view, it was a snap because in that instance I was cut off from the warm comforting presence I'd been with for so long. My half-conscious mind cried and wailed for my lost connection, but they didn't return.
While I didn't have a body to speak of, I was still able to perceive motion and quickly realized that I was flying, albeit an uncontrolled flight that made me think about a leaf blowing in the wind. I paused as that particular metaphor crossed my mind and briefly wondered why it struck a chord. Ah well, it'll come to me later. I'm not sure how long I flew as I had no way of telling night from day and my perception of time was still off kilter. For all I knew, I could've been flying for days or weeks even months or years.
After who knows how long, I began to descend and soon enough, I touched down on solid ground. Upon touching down, I felt this odd surge of energy and then I grew. My body surged in size and changed. I could feel arms and legs growing, my head and face took form, though it felt different than what I vaguely remember. I felt a tail extend behind me and there were two sets of something on my head. Soon it was over, and I was left bombarded with new sensations.
No longer was I unable to perceive the world, now I could hear, feel and smell. My ears were picking up sounds, but they were somewhat muted. Beneath me, I could feel wet springy grass and raindrops landing on my new body. My nose further confirmed that it was raining as the smell of rain wafted into them, a fresh wet scent I always enjoyed.
I would've examined more of my new environment and myself, but my body was so heavy with exhaustion that I couldn't even open my eyes. Instead, I just lay there letting myself drift into slumber. Before my mind could sink into dreamland, my ears twitched as they registered soft, gentle steps approaching. I was then scooped up by gentle arms and cradled softly. The last thing I heard was a soft voice speaking quietly to me through the words didn't reach me as I had fully sunk into slumber.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
It was a terrible storm the pegasi had whipped up. There hadn't been much rain for a while, so now the weather team of Ponyville whipped up one heck of a downpour to make up for it, complete with thunder and lightning. As a result, much of Ponyville's residents were sequestered inside their homes and Fluttershy was no exception. While the thunder and lightning were scary and loud, the shy pegasus enjoyed this time to some extent. During times like these, her home was warm and cozy and she was surrounded by as many of her animal friends as she could fit in her cottage.
Fluttershy couldn't think of a better way to spend a stormy day than relaxing at home reading a book, knitting, sewing, cooking, singing or even cleaning surrounded by her animal friends. She was reading a book as she leaned up against Mr. Bear's warm belly when something caught her eye. Looking up from the pages of the book, she caught a glimpse of something shiny flying past her window. Curious, she set her book down and went to the window to investigate.
It was a leaf, but there was no doubt in Fluttershy's mind that this was anything but an ordinary leaf. In her experience, leaves weren't a glowing white. Almost hypnotized, Fluttershy watched as the leaf danced upwards before coming to a slow land in her backyard. The second it rested on the ground, the light increased to a bright flash that made Fluttershy shield her eyes. As quickly as it came, the flash faded away and Fluttershy put her hoof down to look out the window again...and her jaw dropped in shock.
Where a glowing leaf had been was now a small creature she'd never seen. It was small and covered in glowing white fur like the leaf. She could see a tail and long ears, but from here, that was all she could decern. One thing was certain, that poor little one would surely catch a cold out in the rain. The downpour had gotten lighter, but it still had no intention of stopping. Without hesitation, Fluttershy opened her back door and went out in the rain. As she approached the strange creature, the features became more distinct.
She could see that while it had tiny hooves on its back legs, the front legs had short fingers suggesting that it walked like a minotaur. Its head was also slightly larger than it's body and when she realized that its proportions were like a small child, she quickened her pace. Fluttershy also saw that the creature had two sets of ears. A small set on top of its head and a larger set located further down. As she approached, one of the larger ears twitched, meaning that it heard her approaching, yet besides the twitch, it didn't make any other move.
'Perhaps it's too tired to move.' Fluttershy guessed. If that were the case, then she'd have to be a little quieter. She stepped a little softer and upon reaching the creature, gently scooped it up. As she scooped it up, however, it let out an odd sounding squeak. It sort of sounded like an echoing cry, but Fluttershy pushed that aside and instantly went into a comforting mode, pulling the creature close to her chest as she spoke in soft tones.
"Shhh, shhh. It's okay. You're alright." She whispered. There was no response, but judging by the small being's breath, it was fast asleep.
✴✴✴✴✴✴
Fluttershy had quickly reentered her house shortly afterward and was now in the process of toweling off. The strange creature she'd brought in was now lying on a towel of its own with all her animals friends surrounding it in curiosity. Pretty soon, however, Fluttershy felt she needed to break it up.
"Alright now everybody, that's enough." She said as she started shooing animals away. "Give him some space."
Reluctantly, her friends turned and left one by one until finally, it was just Fluttershy and Angel bunny around the little one. The pegasus then began drying off the creature by gently rubbing it with the towel it was on. After a couple of minutes of watching her, Angel spoke up.
(How do you know it's even a boy?) He asked, making Fluttershy pause. (Do you even know what it's gender is?)
"That's a very good question Angel, thank you for asking." She said and the bunny grinned proudly. Fluttershy, however, was now conducting an investigation of the area in question. Soon, she was done and reported her findings.
"Female." She announced. As Fluttershy finished drying the now known female, Angel continued to speak.
(So now we know it's a girl, but not what her species is.) Angel observed. (I know I've never seen this particular creature before, and neither have you. It's a completely new species, will we even know how to take care of her properly? Do we even know what she eats?)
"I know all of that Angel, but I still have to try." Fluttershy defended. "I can't just leave her, especially out in this rain."
(Yeah, I know. Still, it's not going to be easy. Plus we don't even know where she came from or even if her parents are looking for her.)
"Well if her parents come looking, well give her to them." As Fluttershy spoke, she'd finished drying the creature and was now wrapping her in a blanket. "Until then, we'll do our best to look after her."
And with that, the conversation was closed. It was getting late, so Fluttershy and her animals started getting ready for bed. Fluttershy had pulled out an extra basket and tucked the baby creature inside then placed the basket in her room. Before tucking into her own bed, Fluttershy gave many of her animal friends a kiss goodnight including her newest little one. When she'd placed a kiss on her forehead, she'd stirred lightly but didn't wake up.
"Sleep tight little one." She whispered before switching off the light and tucking into bed. Tomorrow certainly promised to be interesting.