Team Harmony

by Norwegian boy

Winter Story part 1

Winter, I always loved winter over the other seasons. I can’t explain it, there’s something that makes so calm in the winter. Who am I? Fox McCloud, a fox in a world where inhabitants are anthropomorphic ponies, but you already knew that. I think it’s been six months, maybe more since I arrived in this world and I have still no clue who or how I got here. Maybe I should have looked into that part more, me and Sunset tried to find out two months after I got here, but no luck. The last two months has been hectic, griffon, Parasprites and Nightmare Moon. The last one is a little complicated, me and Sunset went to stop Nightmare Moon with six other ponies, we won but then they got their memories altered by Celestia, we think.

Anyway, it’s been a month since my time in the hospital and boy am I glad to be out from there. It took another week before my body was working properly. I was jogging outside town early in the morning, I decide to have some activity for getting my body to shape. I was wearing normal sweatpants and I had only a t-shirt on my upper body, my fur protected me a little and cold felt good.

After my run I ran back to my house and on my way there I notice something in the snow, it was the color purple. I walked closer to see what it was and boy I got a shock, it was a little filly and she was covert in snow. I removed the snow, so I could take a closer look at the filly, when I saw what kind of pony it was I was shock again, it was a bat pony. I didn’t care what kind of pony it was, the filly was in lying in the snow and she could die if I didn’t do something.

I scoop her up in my arms and ran as fast as I could to my home, as soon as I got her body to mine I could feel that she was cold, very cold. I was just grateful that I felt a pulse. I almost burst through my door when I arrived at my home, I managed to open it before I broke it. Once inside I ran over to the couch and lay her down there, then I started to push away the table, so I could push the couch closer to the fireplace. Once that was done I started to burn wood, thank god I had put some wood there before I left. Once the fire was lit I push the couch closer to the it.

Once that was done I fell to the floor, I was exhausted. I leaned against the back of the coach to catch my breath, I thought I was in better shape and this. I got up and walked up to the second floor to get some blankets for the filly, once I had found them I headed back down stairs and cover the filly with them. Then I decided to take a closer look at bat pony, in a none sexual way. It was female, that’s for sure. Purple hair and her fur was a mix with blue/black, I think she about Applebloom’s age. She had clothes on her, but they were in pretty bad shape. Where did she come from?

Then something landed on the edge of the couch, it was my phoenix. Yes, I have a pet phoenix, but she doesn’t like to be called a pet. I did that once and she burned me a little on the head, it was painful. Her name is Vixy, after my mother. She didn’t like the name at first, when I told her that it was my mother’s name she accepted it. How did I get a phoenix? That’s story for another time.

Vixy stared down on the batboy and then se looked at me with questionable look. “What? Did you really expect me to just leave her out in the snow?” Vixy let out a small cry and flew back to her perch, I just shock my head at her behaviour. I looked at the fireplace and saw that the fire had started to grow, I decided to put some more wood on it, so it wouldn’t burn out. Once I had done that I look out the window and saw that the night had arrived, what the hell happened to the daylight? Then I let out a big yawn, I guess I’m more tiered then I thought.

Before I went up I looked over to Vixy. “Keep and eye on her through the night.” She let out a cry, I pointed a finger at her. “Hey, don’t get frisk with me. I know that you don’t like ponies that much but this one is a little filly.” I pointed at bat pony. “Show some heart for once.” She let out another cry. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I said nothing more as I walk up the stair to get some sleep.

It was new day and the sun was starting to rise on the horizon and ponies was starting too wake up. in Fox’s house the sun shining through the window and into the eyes to the bat pony that was lying on the cough, she opened her eyes and the first thing she notice was that she was indoors and not outside.

The bat pony decided to sit up and saw that she had blankets over her body, she was also lying on a couch. “Where am I?” She asked no one in particular, she looked around and she saw that she was on a living room. “How did I get here?” She then sneezed. “I guess I have a cold.” She pushed away the blankets, she then stood up and when she did the world started to spin. She fell back to the couch. “That was not a good idea.” She tried again and this time it went smother.

“I don’t know how I got here and don’t care, I’m leaving.” She was about to walked towards the door when she heard a noise behind her, she froze and she started to turn around slowly and she could not believe what she saw. On a stick was… “A phoenix.” She wanted to touch it, but she decided not to do it. She started to walk to the exit again.

She looked at the door but to get there she had to walked past the kitchen and in the kitchen was fox who was staining on two legs, he was making food. The bat pony tried to sneak past the entrance to the kitchen so she could leave. “Going somewhere?” The filly froze in her track, she turned her head towards the fox who was now looking straight at her with his arms crossed. “If you are think about leaving you can forget it, the door is locked an I have the only key, so I suggest you get back to the couch, so you can get well.” I told her and lest hope she listen.

“Are you going to eat me?”

I couldn’t help to raise an eyebrow of her question. “Why would I eat you?”

“You are a fox and foxes eat meat.” Well, I’ll give her that.

“You are right about that foxes eat meat, but I’m not going to eat you. Now, get back to the couch and I will bring you some soup.”

The fox turned around a kept counited cutting vegetables while the bat filly wonder what to do, she walked to the door and tried to open it, it was now use, the door was locked. She had no other choice and go back to the couch, once she was back she lay down on it and pulled the blankets over her self and waited for the fox to bring her some soup.

When I was finished making a vegetables soup I walked back to the living room, when I arrived I saw the bat filly had fallen asleep again, it was actually kind of cute the way she was sleeping. Well, time to wake her up and get some answers. I walked over to her and nudge her, she opened her eyes and she started to panic a little when she saw me. “Take it easy, I’m not going to hurt you.” She calmed down a little. “Here, I brought you some soup.” Before I gave her the bowl, I had to ask her. “You eat vegetable, right?” She gave me a nod. I was relieved of that. “That’s good, the last thing I want to do is to make you sicker.” She just gave me a look that said: is this fox joking or not. I just ignored it and placed the bowl on her lap, she just stared at it. While she did that I sat down in my chair.

I don’t know how long she started at bowl but eventually she grabbed the spoon and started to eat the soup, while I watch her eat I couldn’t help but wonder why a filly like hat was lying in the snow. Time to get some answers. “Alright, since I saved your life I would like you to tell me why you were lying in the snow.” She didn’t answer me, she just kept on eating. “I’m not going anywhere so you might just tell me.” She finished up her soup and put the bowl on the floor. “You should have left me there.” I didn’t not expect that answer.

I leaned back and crossed my arms. “Why should I have left you? What about your parents? Aren’t they worry about you?” She didn’t answer me, but then I saw tears in her eyes. “I’m guess you don’t have any parents.” She didn’t answer. I rubbed my head in frustration. “You have to work with me here kid, I can’t help you if you don’t say anything.”

She lay down the couch. “Why did you save me?” I wanted to answer her but… “When ponies see a bat pony they usually just walked away, they call us monster.” She got up and she had tears her eyes again. “Why didn’t you just leave me there?”

Again, I did not expect that. “I help you because you needed help, you could been a griffon for all I care, I help you because you need it.” She just started at me, probably wondering if I was crazy or not. I think. Time to get some answer. “Since I answered why I save you, can you answer mine? Why were you lying in the snow? Since you don’t have any parents, I’m guessing that you ran away from an orphanage.” Judging by the way she took her legs closer to her body, I’m guessing yes.

“Since I was a baby I have been living in the orphanages in this town, I don’t know who my parents are, the mare who run the orphanages told me one day that she found me on the stairs to the orphanages.” She then started to cry. “I hate living there, the other children wont play with me and nopony want to adopt me because of what I am. I hate it there and that’s why I left there.” She put both hands over her eyes and started to cry even more.

I felt bad for her, living your entire life in an orphanage and never knowing who your parents are. I want to comfort her, but I didn’t, something told me that would make things worse. I just let her cry. After a while she finally stopped. “Do you feel better?” She shocked her head, maybe I should have comfort her. I decide to ask her name. “What’s your name?” She sniffed couple of times.

“It’s Shadow.”

“Shadow you say, that name suits you.” That made her smile. “Well Shadow, my name is Fox McCloud. Nice to meet you.” I gave her a salute that made her laugh a little. “Your funny.” I just shrugged my shoulders. “I try, is there something you want to ask me?” I wanted her to trust me and thought that if she could ask me something, it would help.

She thought for a moment. “How did you end you here in Equestria?”

“That’s an excellent question, to be honest, I have no clue. I just woke up in Everfree forest six months ago at first, I tried to find out how and why I ended up here, but no luck. I even had help from Sunset Shimmers, the local librarian, but she didn’t know either.”

“What about princess Celestia or princess Luna? Couldn’t they help you.”

“That they could, but I doubt that have time to help me find a way home and besides, I have stopped looking for why I ended up here. I have accepted my life in this world.”

She had listen to me, that I could see. “What about your eye? What happened to it.”

I touched my left eye. “A griffon did this to me, she blamed me for something I didn’t do, and she took her anger out on my eye.”

She looked down and her ears folded, I guess she felt bad for asking.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to ask.”

“Don’t worry bout it, you didn’t know.” She was about to ask me more, but then her stomach made some noises, that made her blush. I couldn’t help but smile. “I hear that you are still hungry, I go and make some sandwich for the both of us.” I got up and headed for the kitchen to make some sandwiches, after making them I walked back into the living rom with the sandwiches, I gave some of them to the bat pony and rest went to me. I sat down in my chair and started to eat.

While eating I decide to ask her something. “So, who gave you the name Shadow?”

“I named myself.”

That got me to raise an eyebrow. “Say what?”

“I said that I named myself, the lady at the orphanage didn’t want to give me a name so I gave one myself.”

I was about to ask why the mare in orphanage didn’t gave her a name, but Vixy let out a cry. “Oh right, you also need food.” I got up walked back into the kitchen to get some food for her, when I arrived back into the living room I walked to where Vixy was and sat down a plate with seed. She looked at her food and then at me and she was not happy. “Be as angry as you want, you aren’t getting any mouse.” I want back to my sandwiches, while I did that Vixy flew down on the floor and started to eat.

I could see Shadow stare at my phoenix. “It’s rude to stare.” That got her to look at me.

“Sorry, it’s just…” She looked back at Vixy. “I have never seen a phoenix before, I know that princess Celestia has one but that’s it.” She looked at me again. “How did you get one as a pet?” Oh boy.

When Vixy heard that she looked at Shadow with anger and that made the bat filly very afraid. “Calm down Vixy, she didn’t know. Get back to your food.” Vixy snorted, I didn’t know they could do that, she went back to her food. “Sorry about that, Vixy don’t like the ‘p’ word. She burned part of Rarity’s hair when she called Vixy that, that was not pretty.” It was a little funny.

“Got it, don’t call your phoenix the ‘p’ word.” She looked back at me. “Where did you find her?”

I put away my plate. “About a month ago, I was running through the forest outside the town, not Everfree the other one. I saw her lying in the snow, she was weak. It looked like someone had hurt so I decide to help her.”

“How did you do that.” Shadow ask me with curiosity I her voice.

“Fire.” Now, she was confused. “You see, a phoenix body is mostly made of fire, so I lit a fire and she actually absorb the fire.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well.” I leaned back in chair. “She got better, then she gave me a look, probably considering if I was dangerous or then she flew away. I didn’t see her after that, or so I thought. After a few days, a neighbour of mine told me that a phoenix was sitting on my rooftop and the rest is history.”

Shadow didn’t looked convinced. “That’s it?” I gave her a nod. “That wasn’t very exciting.”

I just shrugged my shoulder’s. “Not every story is.” I got up. “I got some errands to in town, you are going to stay here and get well. I’m going to lock the door, the last thing I need is dead filly on my conscience.” I don’t know if that made her feel bad, I left before I got the chance to find out.

“So, there is where she went, when she get’s back she is going to find out what happens when you run away.”

So, I might have lied to Shadow when it came to what I was going to do in town. I told her that I was doing some errands, but what I did was go straight to the orphanages to tell the lady the runs the place where Shadow was. Let me the you, I didn’t not expect her reaction. I thought that she would be worry about her, I was wrong. It sounds like she wants to beat her up when she gets back.

“And what do you mean by that?” I asked her with some anger in my voice, which she ignored.

“We have rules her Mr McCloud and rules are meant to be followed.”

“I agreed that rules are meant to be followed but that’s now excuse to beat her up.”

“I never said that I would beat her up.”

“No, but it sounded like you are going to if she get’s back here.” She should be happy that she is a mare, or I would give her a broken nose, or a black eye, maybe both.

Then I did something I never thought I would do. “Then I will adopt Shadow.”

The mare looked at me as if I was crazy. “Say what?”

“You heard me, I will adopt Shadow.”

She blinked a couple of times. “Mr McCloud, there’s many other children in this orphanages that would be better to be adopt than a bat filly.”

You got to be kidding me. “It doesn’t matter what she is, I will adopt her.” I got up from my chair and leaned forward over her desk. “Do you have problem with that?” She started to shake her head, I guess I scared her and I don’t really care.

“I will find the papers right away.”

She opened a drawer behind her desk and took out a paper, I sat back down and signet it and I became Shadow’s adopt father. The mare showed me her bed, so I could collect her stuff, she didn’t have much, it was some clothes and a poster of the Wonderbolts. I guess everyone has their hero, or hero’s. Once I was done collecting her stuff I headed home.

When I walked through the door I slammed it behind me scaring Shadow who had fallen asleep on the couch, I didn’t mean to scare but it was angry, and I had forgotten that she was here. I threw her bag in the couch in front of her feet, I sat down in my chair and buried my face in my hands.

“Hey, this is my stuff. Why do you have it?”

I looked at her as she was searching through her bag, this is going to be awkward. “I said that was going do some earns in town, but the truth is that I went to the orphanages to talk to the mare who is charge there and might have end up adopt you.”

Now Shadow looked at me like as I was crazy. “Why? Why did you do that?”

“I felt bad for after you after told your story, so I decide to have a talk with the pony who runs the orphanages. After talking to her I decide to adopt you.”

“So, you did out of sympathy?” She asked with some anger in her voice.

“Maybe?”

Now she was angry. “You adopt me because you felt bad for me.” She puled away the blanket and grabbed her bag. “I’m outta here.” She walked towards the door.

“And where will you go? Back to the orphanages?” That made her stop. “As I see it. You have three choices. One; you can go back to the orphanages and hope that you will get adopted. Two; you can wander the street of Ponyville and hope that someone will take you inn. Three; you can stay here and have roof over your head. What do you say?”

She walked over to me. “Can I really stay here?” I gave her a nod. “I don’t have to go back to the orphanages?” I gave her another nod.

She looked unsure. “Look, maybe I did adopt you out of pity or sympathy. But I wasn’t about to let you go back to a place that you hate, and the mare that run the orphanage was not very nice, it looked like she didn’t like you at all just because you are a bat pony.”

Shadow sighed. “Yeah, she doesn’t like me, none of the other kids don’t like me.” She looked down on the floor, probably think. Then she looked at me. “Okay, I’ll will stay.” I was glad to hear that.

“Great, let me show you were you can stay.” I got up and we started to walk up the stairs, I looked at Vixy as we walked up, and she did not look happy. “Oh, get over it.” I swear, that phoenix. I got to wonder, how this will play out.

Author's Note:

Part 2 will be out when it’s ready.

Shadow is my oc.

Comments

[ArcticAce01]

So very happy to see this update and this chapter was amazing I’ve been looking forward to seeing the winner wrap up chapter FOR SO LONG glad to see it finally here and like your OC shadow in this part 1 of the winter wrap up chapter and I’m looking forward to seeing part 2

[Norwegian boy]

8992805
It’s NOT winter warp up chapter, that after winter story part 2.

[ArcticAce01]

8993046
Whoops sorry about that then thought it was the winner wrap up

[Shadow Hero]

Great chapter, I like you're OC Shadow. Keep up the good work.

[Lord Nopony]

OMG! A Bat Pony OC? So cute. I like her already!