2) - Not Alone

I sit there by the door silently waiting for his return, the only sound the steady tic toc of a pendulum. The large grandfather clock in the living room has been pounding away at my ears from the moment I had woken up, and I'm pretty sure my heart beat has synchronized with its steady rhythm by now. It's been an eternity since he left for the pet shop, or at least it's felt like it. He had put some cut apples and a bowl of water out for me as promised, and I had kept my part of the bargain and had stayed out of trouble... so far.

My ears perk up from a muffled padding in the distance, the faint sound of footfalls in the snow. I stare up at the door hopefully, waiting for that golden knob to turn. But the steps just fade away and I lie my head slowly back on the floor, sighing wistfully.

Bored and curled up on the welcome mat, I watch my pink tail as it moves ever so slightly from the warm air of the vent. It looks so... tasty, like pink cupcake frosting. (am I allowed to use the word "cupcake" I'm a fimfiction?) What if tastes like it too? I nibble on the end of my tail, waiting for a sugary strawberry flavor to fill my mouth, whimpering in disappointment when it just tastes like...hair. I don't know why I thought it would be any different... I blame boredom.

I hear footsteps again, and sit up, hoping that this time maybe it'll be him. Nope, just another one passing by... I whine and go back to watching my tail flavored tail.

After a few more false alarms I start to get hungry again. I trot to the kitchen and find the apple slices, picking one up between my teeth. I bring it halfway up the stairs and sit behind the railing, watching through the arching window as the flurries fall over the frontyard grass. It's beautiful, the way the tiny flakes drift through the air and swirl with the wintery breeze. But the animals outside... they must be so cold. I guess being stuck in a boring house isn't so bad, at least I'm warm. I nibble on the apple absentmindedly while I take in the view, powdered snow floating, drifting through the air. The whispering of the wind almost sounds like a voice, calling out to me through the flurries. The longer I listen, the more defined the voice gets, until I can almost hear actual words spoken in some foreign language of the forgotten. Thinking about it sends chills down my spine, so I stop focusing on the whisper and think of my rescuer instead.

I hardly know anything about him... I guess he hardly knows anything about me too. He calls me Felicity, I grimace again at the name, how am I going to tell him my real name? I'm not Felicity I'm Fluttershy. I try to annunciate the name, but it just ends up sounding like a three syllable whimper.

Either way, my rescuer seems kind enough. He definitely likes me for whatever reason. I still don't know why he changed his mind so quickly last night... from almost stuffing me in a bag, to treating me like family.

I sigh and watch as the snowfall begins to really pick up, clouding my view of the street. Wanting a better look, I climb the backrest of the living room couch and push aside the drapes. The window provides a clear view of the backyard, a white garden of snow-covered bushes and trees. The serene beauty of the falling snow is almost hypnotic, a sea of falling white. A dot of gray catches my eye, and on one of the tree limbs I spot a silhouetted animal, blurred by the snow. I put my hooves up to the glass and smush my face against the window to get a clearer view but pull away quickly as the cold rushes to my snout. A string of tiny sneezes follows, making me dizzy and I fall onto the couch. When the ceiling stops spinning, I look back at the window, a foggy imprint of my face slowly fading. Woah, how'd that happen? I do it a gain, careful not to get too cold, and the cloudy face returns. I try to touch it and it makes a hoofprint in the fog. This is fun! I think to myself as I draw on the fading imprint, blurred animal forgotten. Eventually I learn I don't have to squish my face on the window to make the fog, and it becomes even more fun.

For a while I sit there, rubbing butterflies, hearts, and flowers into the clouded window, until I see the silhouette again. It's closer now... much closer. It must've moved, but it's still not close enough to tell what it is.

But the poor thing must be freezing... I wish I could help it. Is it looking at me? That looks like it's face... why is it looking at me?

I wave at it nervously, "are you a friendly animal ?" I whimper shyly. I blush because I know I'm being silly... It can't me hear me through the window.

I hear a sudden thud in the kitchen and I jump a little, turning towards the sound. Oh... that's just the fridge I assure myself nervously, my fur standing on end.

When I turn back it's closer, and I can clearly make out the eerie shape of a raccoon. but it's unmoving, as if looking at it causes it to freeze... like we're playing some really scary game of red light, green light. "y-y-you can stop it now mr. raccoon..." I whimper, "you're scaring me."

But he just looks at me expressionless, his eyes strangely luminescent. Something else is strange about his eyes... they're not just glowing... they're glowing /red/. I quickly turn away and close the drapes, breathing heavily as fear seizes me. Those eyes... I know those eyes... but how is that possible... Images of the red-eyed raven flash through my mind... the same cold, horrible, terrifying eyes... far too similar to just be a coincidence. My heart beats heavily and I'm too scared to look back at the window.

Maybe I was seeing things though, Maybe The raccoon's just cold... I reluctantly peek back up and split the drapes just enough to see the red-eyes raccoon not ten feet from the window, it's froth-covered teeth bared. An eep escapes my mouth and I duck under the couch, shaking. Not friendly, not friendly, definitely not friendly... Ohhhh what does he want from me?!

A sudden tap tapping against the pane sends me bolting up the stairs where I dive beneath the covers. I reeeally hope that window is locked because the last red-eyed animal I met tried to kill me.

*taptap tap taptap... taptap tap taptap...*

The repetitive knock echoes through the house sending shivers through my body. I doubt he can get in, but I'm still shaking uncontrollably, whimpering under the down blankets.

*taptap tap taptap... taptap tap taptap...*

"Please leave me alone, mr. raccoon," I whimper, throwing a pillow over my ears. Thankfully, It blocks out most of the noise, but a faint tapping still occasionally squeezes through.

After a few minutes all tapping seems to stop and I gather the nerve to poke my head out of the blankets... mostly because it's beginning to get stuffy in there. I creep back downstairs, each step more carefully silent than the next and stop at the foot of the staircase. Too terrified to move any further, I sit staring at the window from across the room, looking for any sign of the raccoon. Hyper alert, with adrenaline pumping through me, I jump at the slightest movement... which in this case is a ceiling fan.

I lie under the couch frozen in fear and unsure of how I got down here so fast.

"Hey, don't squish me!"

The squeak sends me scampering from under the couch, hightailing back upstairs with fur standing on end. It's not until I'm safely under the covers that I process what was actually said.

Was that the raccoon? It can't be. He had looked much too large to fit under the couch... "Wh-wh-who's there?" I call out in a whimper.

"Sheesh miss," comes the squeaky reply, "you'd think youse seen a ghost of some sorts the way youse ran up them stairs"

I peer out from under the covers, then dive back under quickly when I see movement . The source of the voice is a small grey mouse , "D-don't hurt me...p-p-please."

"Hurt you? Nah, that ain't me." The mouse reassures, "Wouldn't hurt a fly if it asked me to. The names Vincent by the way, but just call me Vinny."

I let out a sigh of relief, grateful to see a friendly face after that horrible raccoon. "Oh well I'm... I'm flu...shy" I whimper, barely audibly.

"Aye, no need to be shy. I ain't gonna hurtcha."

"I'm Fluttershy" a say a bit louder

"See that's better. You should meet the family sometime. I've got a wife Disney and two kids Minnie and Mickey." the mouse chuckles obviously waiting for some sort of reaction. "See it's funny because... Eh forget it" he sighs "not the joking type, aye?"

"Um... no... I don't get it," I say apologetically confused. "But you're family sounds nice."

"Nah, I'm all alone here," the mouse says dejectedly, "I was joking about the family thing."

"Me too.... I'm kind of... lost." The last word turns my heart inside my chest, reminding me of what I've gone through in the past 24 hours.

"You and me, kid... we're pretty much on the same boat." The mouse stretches his tiny paws and yawns, "I could use some grub. These naps sure work me up an appetite."

"Well you could have some of my apple if you want," I say happily, "follow me I'll show you."

"Gee, thanks kid. Youse a pretty swell..." The mouse pauses, unsure of what exactly I am. "... squirrel?"

I giggle blushing a bit "I don't know either. I think I'm a filly though."

"I've got a cousin, Tony, from Philly. Oh, don't even get me started on Tony. We could be here all week."

We reach the fridge and he bounds up to the bowl, I smile and nudge an apple slice towards him. It's almost as big as he is but he begins to nibble on it. "This is great stuff you got here. Fresh too... Thanks." As he eats, his tiny whiskers quiver, and he's looking from side to side to make sure nothings around. He's kinda cute, if you disregard the whole New York/Italian accent he has going.

"Aye quick question missy," The mouse says between mouthfuls of the red fruit, "what exactly were youse running from earlier?"

"Well there was this... this..." I shiver as the hissing image of the raccoon resurfaces "raccoon."

"You mean a bandit? With the mask and everything? The only bandit around here was Rickey T. and he was roadkill last week, the poor guy. He had it coming though, the way he would waltz across them streets like he owned the place."

"Roadkill?" I ask, unsure of what that means.

"Kid, you don't wanna know. Point is he won't be bothering you."

"But... I know I saw one." I point my hoof at the window, "it was definitely a rac... bandit. He had black around his-" I shiver "-red eyes."

The mouse laughs, almost choking on his apple "Red eyes? Kid, you're imagining things. You must've hit your noggin pretty good on the way in through that window."

"Oh... You heard that?" I ask blushing.

"Kid, the whole neighborhood heard that. Minnie and Mickie heard that and they're all the way in Orlando. But apples..." He gestures approvingly towards the dish "seems like you got it made here. That Drake kid definitely likes you.

"Drake?"

"Yeah, the human of the place" The sudden sound of jangling keys triggers an immediate dash under the fridge. "Speak of the devil, here he is now. I gotta bounce kid," he calls back, "see you around. Remember, Vinny. Get a good word in with the boss if you can" And with that he's gone, as if he was never here.

A gust of frost filled air rushes by and carries the voice of my human ('Drake' was it?) "I'm home Felicity." He rounds the corner to greet me, covered in snow and carrying a large bag. He surveys the kitchen and smiles "Stayed out of trouble?"

I think of telling him about the raccoon but don't know how , so I just end up nodding.

He bends down and scratches behind my ears, "that's a good girl."

I nuzzle against his arm, happy that he's home. I lick his cold fingers affectionately as he pets me.

He smiles, but he's no longer looking at me, off in some other world as he often does when petting me. I don't mind, as long as I'm getting scratches, I'm happy.

"Oh," he says suddenly, "got you some new things." He rests the large bag on the floor and reaches in, coming up with a beige cushion. "It's a puppy bed," he says laying it on the floor in front of me, "or in your case a pony bed. Give it a try."

I trot up to it slowly, sniffing it before rubbing my face against the soft plush. I squee happily and walk inside it's little indent, circling until I lay comfortably. I look up at him and whimper my best two syllable "thank you" that I can, but it's still just whimpers.

"I'll take it that you like it then?"

I nod my head yes, and rub my face against the cushion again for added measure.

Drake drags a huge sack of apples from the bag and plops it on the counter, "this should last a while." He picks out one, shines it against his shirt and takes a bite. "What else do we have here?" I walk up next to him, at the foot of the bag and he pulls out a light green puppy sweater.

I tilt my head questioningly. Clothes? I don't know much, but I'm pretty sure animals don't wear clothes.

"What?" He says defensively "It's pretty cold out so I thought you could use a sweatshirt... and..." He reaches back into the bag "some socks..."

Ok, sweatshirt, maybe. But definitely not socks.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. If you don't wanna wear 'em, don't wear 'em." He blushes a bit and mumbles "I just thought they would look.... cute."

I try on the sweatshirt, just to make him happy, but draw the line at the socks. The sleeves are a little long, but the velvety green compliments my pink hair almost perfectly. I look at my reflection in the water dish and smile back at him approvingly.

"See, not so bad," he chimes. "What about the socks now?"

I roll my eyes at him and cross my hoofs. There's no way I'm putting those on.

He puts the socks away, "ok, ok, I get it. I'm not gonna force you. I got you some other things too. Let's see here," he reaches back into the bag and pulls out a bunch of plushie animals; first a dog, then a cat, two ponies, and a bird. He places them in my pony bed where I arrange them neatly, sitting them up and giving each one a name. 'You'll be Fluffy, and you'll be Mittens and you'll be Rarit-'

"Oh, there's one more!" Drake interrupts, placing the cutest little baby bunny doll in the bed. My face lights up, eyes widening in delight. it's so adorable and soft and perfect and...'-And you, little bunny, you'll be Angel.' As I hug the little plushie tight, I can't help but feel a sense of familiarity.

We play together with the stuffed animals, pretending the inanimate toys are real. I notice Drake favors the puppy plushie, a Golden Retriever, and he even named it Skip. I prefer the name Fluffy, but then again I prefer 'Fluttershy' and he calls me Felicity.

Not wanting any to get jealous, I give each a turn, naming the bird Feather and the ponies Rarity and Luna. It only feels like a few minutes before it gets really dark out and Drake looks at his phone. "7 Already?! Shit, I'm late. Sorry Felicity, I gotta go." He throws on his coat, "I'll be back later tonight. You be good, ok?"

I stare up at him sadly not wanting him to leave, he had hardly just gotten back. Sure we played a whole lot... Maybe he hadn't just gotten back... But the house is so boring without him. What's the good of all these toys if there's no one here to play with me?

He sees my face and his expression melts "aww... I'm so sorry but I promised a girl I would meet her." He strokes my mane and scratches between my ear, "I'll be back before you know it."

The door closes behind him and all is quiet again, the grandfather clock echoing once again through the house.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the delay... School kinda slows my writing. I know the chapter isn't done, but I haven't posted in a while, so I figured I'd give what I have. Hope you enjoyed. All feedback is more than welcome

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