The First Steps of the Rest of Your Life

by Rhino

Chapter 4: House Call

***Day 3, Sunday***

Well I guess I’ll just try and avoid the rain if I can, and if I can’t it’s just a little water, nothing to worry myself over.

I fire up Res and start leisurely working my way over to Fluttershy’s.

Hmmm something’s missing… I know! Let’s see what I have in the mental music files to give me a rhythm for the trip. *click*

We’re no strangers to love.
You know the rules, and so do I.

*click* … Alright, mental music files are temporarily corrupted. Backup plan: don’t focus on anything in particular and just enjoy the trip. I’m amazed at how different the scenery is just from going five minutes in a new direction. I’m guessing this must be the park area considering the benches and gentle paths. Wonder why nopony is here? Doesn’t really matter I suppose. I think Fluttershy said her home was about 5-10 minutes away from the far edge of the park... in the other direction...

The trip is uneventful and I eventually see a house upon a hill coming up.

Guessing that’s the place, wow she really went for the natural look didn’t she?

I see plenty of birds flitting in and out of their homes in the area, from my view in front I could also just barely see some burrows on the edge of the stream below the bridge at the base of the hill as well as the edge of a yard out back from which I could hear what sounds like even more animals.

She really wasn’t kidding when she said she takes care of animals was she?

I walk up to the front door. The animals don’t seem to pay me too much more than a casual glance of curiosity when I walk by. I knock three times on the door and settle in to wait for an answer.

Alright, I’m here as a practitioner so I guess it’s time to get my professional attitude on… done, let’s see how I can help.

As I gather myself I hear a soft clop of hooves approach from the other side of the door. The top half of the door cracks open and I see Fluttershy’s eye peek out to check who it is, before opening up when she realizes it’s me.

Security conscious. I can appreciate that, though it seems less necessary here than it was in Canterlot.

I put on my professional voice as I greet her, “Good morning Fluttershy, I’m here about the problem one of your pets was having. Is this a good time?”

She is still half hiding behind her mane as she responds, “O-oh yes, please come in.”

I nod curtly, “Thank you.”

I wipe my hooves on the mat as she opens the door. Her house retains the theme of nature, but with the comforts of a modern home. It provides an interesting balancing act.

She leads me over to a small wriggling blanket on the couch. “He’s right here, though the pains started up again so he’s not feeling well right now. Can you do anything?”

I lift up the blanket to find a small ball of fur I identify as a black squirrel, from the webs connecting its front and back limbs it appears to be a flying squirrel as well. He’s currently curled up in a defensive ball.

Pain appears to be resonating from chest or abdominal region. Before I do anything else, best to see if I can get him some relief, should provide some insight as to where it hurts as well.

One spell they teach you in school is a sort of combination painkiller and nerve scanner spell. It uses magic to sense the areas in the body with most stress on the nerves and once located you can use the magic to produce a “cushion” for those nerves. This dulls the pain down to general discomfort in the area, but requires a constant flow of magic to maintain. On a small being such as this squirrel it shouldn’t drain much magic. I perform the spell and find that the area with the most stimulated nerves is around the stomach and dull them appropriately. The patient’s body eases up a bit as the pain fades.

Fluttershy notices the glow on my horn and the squirrel’s relief. “Was that it? Is he going to be okay?”

I continue looking over the patient as I answer, “It’s nothing life-threatening; however what I’m doing to him right now is a temporary solution. What can you tell me about what he’s been going through?”

She hums thoughtfully, “Oh, umm, well it started a few days ago, at first I thought it was just a tummy ache so I gave him a little soup and it went away, but it keeps coming back.”

I repeat the gist back to her to make sure I got it right, “So it goes away from normal remedies, but it doesn’t stay away?”

She nods her head in affirmation, “Yes.”

I glance around the room as I make a recommendation, “Hmm, do you have any ginger root lying around?”

She tilts her head curiously, “Yes, why?”

I reply simply, “I would like you to grab a piece to let him eat to settle his stomach while I try and find the cause.”

She perks up at having a direct solution to her pet's pain, “Oh, okay.”

She seems relieved that we are getting somewhere with him, I’m glad, I don’t like seeing ponies worry.

Fluttershy returns from the kitchen with a small root of ginger. She approaches the squirrel, who has uncurled a little more by now. She gently talk it into nibbling on the root, after which he seems to like it and grabs it from her and sits there eating the rest of it.

I try to keep her informed as to what I am doing, “Alright, I’ll maintain my spell for about 10 more minutes, by then the ginger should have kicked in.”

We wait that long just watching the squirrel to make sure he ate the ginger. I ask Fluttershy if he has a name but apparently she doesn’t name animals that aren’t hers specifically, and he is one of the ones that she simply takes care of until she finds him a good home.

She asks with hopeful eyes when the time is up, “So is he cured now?”

I nod, “He should be, though we need to find out what keeps the pain coming back. Now, if you would, please tell me about his diet.”

She pets the squirrel lightly as she responds, “It’s nothing special really, he has his own bowl of pre-shelled mix nuts like all my other squirrels do. Each of them has preferences for particular mixes but other than that they are all the same. But he was eating those a long time before this started.”

“Hmmm, can you show me these nuts?”

She nods, “Umm sure, over here.”

She leads me over to a cabinet in what looks like her pantry. She opens the door and I see a number of bowls filled with, what a surprise, nuts.

I gesture to the cabinet at large, “Which one is his?”

She points to one.

Seems like a normal bowl of nuts to me, hmm? What are these flakes?

“Fluttershy," I ask, "do you season any of these nuts?”

She shakes her head quickly, “Oh no, the squirrels like them the way they are, I don’t put anything on them.”

This certainly looks like a spice of some kind… maybe…

I look up and see a few flakes coming from the bottom of a drawer above the bowl.

Ahah! Wait how does she even get up there? Oh right, pegasus.

“What do you keep in that drawer there?” I ask, pointing at the drawer in question.

“Oh that’s where I keep my bag of Tartarus powder. One of my friends recently got a pet phoenix and I heard sprinkling this on their food during the molting stage of their first few rebirths helps them get through them easier by increasing the heat produced by their bodies to keep their metabolisms up near the end of the cycle.”

Impressive knowledge.

I turn to the pegasus, “Would you mind if I took a look at it?”

She motions at me, “Go ahead.”

I start pulling the drawer out with my magic, unfortunately what I figured was just a slight rip in a bag turned out to be that…and a drawer bottom that apparently somehow became disconnected from the rest of the drawer…meaning all I did was pull said bag over what was now a hole…meaning I had time for one last thought…

This is gonna suck…

*sizzle*

…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! RIGHT IN MY BUCKING EYES! IT FEELS LIKE A FREAKING TORCH IS BEING JAMMED STRAIGHT INTO MY FREAKING EYES! WHAT THE HAY!

Whilst that maelstrom of panic and pain is hooting through my head, on the outside I strain to stay still while I bite my lip to make sure I don’t shout and scare Fluttershy… it’s reeeeeeaaaaally hard. Pretty difficult to try and restrain myself from bashing my face against the wall too because that is looking more and more enticing by the second as the urge to end the pain grows exponentially.

*squelch*

Ok, still in pain but slightly less now… what is this thing on my face? Is this a washcloth? Who-Fluttershy. At least I can think slightly coherent thoughts now. Still blind though.

My voice is strained as I ask, “Fluttershy *twitch* do you have a water hose?”

I hear her respond from in front of me, “Yes I have one out back.”

The pain is still coming in quick waves as I ask, “Can you, ahh, point me towards it please?”

I hear a quiet gasp from where I assume she is, "You’re in no condition to walk around, you can barely see!”

With that statement she grabs my hoof and leads me what feels like outside to the hose.

You know, despite the pain, I could probably get used to this.

Her voice comes from the side of me this time, “What do you need me to do?”

I remove the washcloth with a hoof but keep my eyes closed, “Just… point it at my eyes and let me know when to open them.”

A moment passes before she responds, “Ok, open them.”

*gushing sounds*

Cold! Also up my nose! Whatever! Worth it as long as it washes this damn stuff out my eyes!

I cough a few times as I try to open my eyes again.

It’s a miracle, I can see. Wow, judging by the reflection in that puddle right there, I could give some seriously evil looks right now. Every artery in my eyes is inflamed more than I have ever seen.

Still trying to clear the water out of my nose I cough one more time, “Thanks Fluttershy.”

The blur that sharpens into the form of the mare looks concerned, “Are you sure you’re ok?”

I blink a few times to try and clear my vision, “Eyes are a bit irritated but since I can still see it should be fine. Let’s go back inside and get back to why I’m here shall we?”

We head inside and see the squirrel looking at us with a look that says ‘What was all that about?’ At least he’s feeling better. I give him a once over with magic.

Seems to be in perfect health now. Wait what about all that powder on the floor-

I look up and see Fluttershy finishing cleaning up the bit of powder on the floor.

Wow she works fast. Ok explanation time.

I adopt my professional air again, which I had lost due to extreme pain, and deliver my official diagnosis, “Fluttershy I can, relatively speaking, safely say that your little friend here should be fine from now on.”

Her eyes almost sparkle with glee, “Really?”

I nod, “Yes, you were doing everything right in treating his aches, it appears they were caused by a trickle of that Tartarus powder on his nuts. Being meant for phoenixes, I’m not surprised he reacted so badly to it.”

She smiles brightly, “Oh that’s great news, I was getting really worried about him." Her voice quiets back down quickly as she asks, "Umm how much do I owe you?”

What is she-oh.

I smile gently at her, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Fluttershy, I’m just a friend who came to visit, recommended a food, and accidentally made a mess.” I smile at her.

She giggles in return.

You know that is the most adorable sound I have ever heard, and I don’t think that’s just the adrenalin talking. Well wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome, I can already see the future awkward silence.

I walk towards the door and open it only to see it pouring rain out.

Ok, heavy rain than I expected. Still no big d-

*BOOOOOOM*

Lightning… that could be a problem. Little known fact: out of all the races, unicorns are the most susceptible to lightning. It’s not just the horn thing either, magic that flows in the horn also tends to attract lightning. Spells are like a magnet for it if you’re outside. Hence why I only start to get worried during storms if I'm outside.

Fluttershy appears next to me at the door and looks outside. Guess she snuck up on me, not surprising considering how quiet she is.

She observes the storm and looks at me with astonishment, “You can’t go out in this storm!”

I answer in a confused tone, “I thought Rainbow Dash said they were only going to get 'a little rain'.”

“That’s her way of saying a storm. Anything else she calls a drizzle.”

Great, another mare that needs a translator.

I sigh to myself, “Now how am I supposed to get home?”

Her reply is almost inaudible, “Umm, well, you could stay here for the night. I mean… if you want.”

I cough lightly and turn away from her in embarrassment as I try to politely decline, “W-w-well I mean, I, I wouldn’t want to be a burden and we just met yesterday and-“

Crap, I’m conflicted here! On one hoof I kind of want to stay, but I mean it’s not exactly appropriate and I don’t want to bother her and how bad could it b-

*boom*

Ok, I can take a hint. I think it’s time to stop ignoring the warnings… Ok I guess I’m staying. I hope she’s alright with that.

I speak quietly, still trying not to make eye contact, “I guess I could sleep on the couch or something…”

Her replay surprises me, “I’m sure he would like that.”

I look at her questioningly, “Huh?”

A strange feeling causes me to look down and see my little patient from earlier has been snuggling up to my leg giving me the puppy dog look while I’ve been standing here .

My gaze softens and a smile grows on my muzzle at the display, “Heh, cute.”

“I’ll go grab some blankets.”

She goes upstairs while I go back to the couch with the squirrel bounding behind me.

Still a few hours left in the day, I think I still have that paper work in my bag, guess I can go ahead and get that out of the way.

Fluttershy comes back downstairs with a few blankets and sets them on the arm of the couch while I get out the forms and pull up the coffee table.

“What’s that?” she asks curiously.

I wave a hoof over the mass of paper, “Forms for my employment at the clinic.”

She nods understandingly, “Oh alright, Angel and I are going to go upstairs for the night then.”

I reply with a slightly confused tone, “Angel?”

I look up to see a small white rabbit on her head that looks like he just woke up. He’s giving me a slightly suspicion filled stare. He looks next to me at the squirrel and jumps down in front of him. They make various motions and small animal sounds at each other and Angel seems to be a bit friendlier as he jumps in front of me and holds out a paw.

Guess helping his friend gave me some points in his eyes.

I hold out my hoof and Angel brohoofs me.

Approval gained.

He hops back to Fluttershy who had just been watching this whole time.

She giggles again, “Wow, Angel doesn’t usually like it when strangers come over.”

I let out a small chuckle as well, “I guess I’m not a stranger now.”

She just smiles softly, walks back upstairs, and turns off the hall light. I smile to myself and spend the next 2 hours finishing my paper work. I finish up with a satisfied feeling and a tired yawn and settle down on the couch for the night. Before I fall asleep I feel the squirrel snuggle up against my chest.

Good night little buddy.

Comments

[Worm]

great so far, looking forward to reading this one

[Rhino]

473660 Heh thanks I appreciate the comment.

[Atomic Vortex]

Two quotes:

"Every vein in my eyes..."- Inccorect: Only capillaries are in the eyes. Sorry bit of a science nut.

"...Tartarus powder on his nuts..."- I'm so immature!

[Rhino]

474972 I figured someone would make a nut joke, so I left it open for you guys to do so.

Also, was wondering if someone would call me on the eye thing, but I think most get the picture of what I'm getting at.

[Atomic Vortex]

474974
True chiz...

[Desert Storm]

NO I MUSNT STOP READING

[Fragment12]

Oh for the water hose thing you could put 'I heard the water turn on with a loud gushing noise' or somthing like that.

[MC BR0N3]

Your story really needs more love. THIS IS AWESOME!

[drone009]

this is fairly bad grammar, but I've seen worse, and the story overall is pretty good. may I suggest using an editor? I've read part of a chapter near the end of the book, and i have got to admit you have progressed very far, but even just for the beginning chapters?