Waiting in the Rain

by Alexander White

Chapter 2

Angel opened his eyes. He didn’t know when it happened, but at some point he must’ve fallen asleep. Now he found himself in a warm bed, covered in multiple layers of soft blankets. It was his bed.

He was alone in Fluttershy’s room, which was strange due to the fact that it was completely overrun by animals the last time he had checked. It also didn’t smell like they were in there earlier.

He suddenly sneezed and noticed his nose was stuffed.

“Great” he thought.
“Now I’ve caught a cold.”

He got angry and soon came to the conclusion that this was all Fluttershy’s fault. It was her after all, that he was forced to wait for in the rain. If she wasn’t away adventuring with her friends all the time and just stayed with him, none of this would’ve happen…
He suddenly stopped. It all came back now. The realizations he had, while waiting in the rain for his loving owner, all came back to him.

He felt terrible. He had blamed it all on Fluttershy, when it was completely his fault. He wanted to make Fluttershy feel bad for making him wait for her. It was his decision that got him sick and he was not going to give her a bad time for it. Not this time.
All his life he’s been acting like her only purpose was to serve him. And even though he always treated her badly she never objected. That wonderful filly never refused his ungrateful demands.

Then she entered the room. He knew she was the one who had found him sleeping on the doorstep and laid him to bed.
“Oh Angel you’re awake!”

She rushed to his bed, carrying a bowl of soup.
“Angel, whatever possessed you to take a nap outside in the rain?”
Angel tried to respond, but he found his throat was too sore. He could barely make a sound and everything he tried resulted in a violent cough.

“Oh dear! Have you caught a cold?”
She put a hoof to his forehead and quickly drew back.
“You’re boiling hot! I need to get an ice pack immediately!”

She ran to the kitchen, but Angel didn’t care about that. He wasn’t going to let Fluttershy waste her time on him anymore. He had to learn to take care of himself and show her she didn’t need to worry about him all the time.

He tried climb out of bed to get the soup that she left for him on the table, but couldn’t get up. This wasn’t just a cold, that he was just going to get over in a couple of days and Angel knew it.
When he tried to move, every muscle began to ache and his head started to spin. He felt nauseous and laid back down to avoid throwing up. “This is bad”, he thought.

For once in his life when he wanted to take care of himself and not be a burden to Fluttershy, he was completely helpless to do so. He knew that he had no choice now, but to let her nurse him back to health. Well… Either that or… pass away. He was struck with a crushing realization, that he might have just found his best chance to relieve his caretaker of her burdens. The thought lingered in his thoughts for a moment before drifting away as he heard hoofsteps coming his way.

Fluttershy came back with an ice pack and placed it on Angel’s head.

“There, that should help a bit, but you’re going to have to stay in bed for a while now mister.”
Angel, who would normally be angered or greatly annoyed by this, lowered his eyes and avoided eye contact with her. He was angry at himself and fighting to hold back shameful tears.

“Don’t be sad Angel. I’ll be by your side the entire time. My friends can surely survive without me for a mere week. You’ll see. I’ll make you better in no time.”