The Night Bird

by MisterEdd

Falling Hard

Terror buried itself deep inside Strix's bosom but it was quickly overpowered by desire, the desire to see her secret crush, to see him. It'd been a week since she last visited Ponyville and her travels to that town always frightened her but to catch even a fleeting glimpse of Red Cross was worth it. Gracefully soaring through the air, she nimbly landed on top of a thick tree branch and gazed longingly into the three-story window, her heart beating so hard that it hurt. A light flicked on and a unicorn stallion stepped into view, dropping his apparently heavy saddle bags on the floor and Strix momentarily lost her breath. There he is!

Red Cross possessed a turquoise blue coat and had a wavy mane of navy blue hair. Even without looking at him, Strix could see his eye color: jade green, like fresh leaves in the glowing candle light. True to his name, the stallion had a red, equal-armed cross inside of a heart as his cutie mark. The first time Strix saw him was during a casual flight and she just happened to have spotted him as he walked out of Ponyville General, where he worked as something called a "residential physician." After that, she would visit him at his house and simply watch him as he went about his business, even sometimes leaving him gifts such as a flower or a wood carving.

Because he often worked long into the night, the nocturnal Strix was able to visit him though she usually stuck to his house as there were was less of a chance of her being caught by prying eyes. Stretching his back out, Red Cross hopped onto his bed and flicked on the television, channel surfing until he came across a nature documentary on birds of prey. What always puzzled Strix was why such a handsome and successful stallion like Red Cross was single. He was straight and was of the right breeding age yet she hardly ever saw him go anywhere. Digging through his trash turned up no indications that he'd had any recent contact with mares, only dirty magazines and take-out menus.

Perhaps, she blushed to herself. He's waiting for the right female to swoop him up.

So what are you waiting for? Despite the lack of a mirror, the other owl-pony often followed Strix around, talking to her and giving her advice that was, for the most part, actually quite sound.

Strix shook her head. I've already told you that-

Creee-eee-ack! The branch that Strix was perched on snapped and she was sent hurtling into another branch, knocking the wind out of her as it struck her back. Toppling head-over-talons, she plummeted to the earth and bit back a scream as something snapped underneath her. "Ow...ow-ow-ow." She winced and slowly pulled her wing out from under her. "It's not s-supposed to look like that..." The upper half of her wing was bent in an unnatural shape, the feathers either torn out or mangled and twisted around. "I-I have to get out...get out of here before-..."

"Hello? Who's out there?"

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Another long night at the grind. Red Cross sighed and switched his TV on, hoping to find something that peaked his interest. While he enjoyed his work at the hospital, finding it incredibly fulfilling to help ponies, it was pretty much all that he had going on in his life. He saw less and less of his friends, who were either married and had children, were getting married or in the process of starting a family and he wasn't in the mood to start looking for friends at work. As a consummate professional, he kept his personal and private lives separate to avoid being distracted from aiding his patients. And then, there was the question of his love life.

Sure, there were many eligible bachelorettes living in Ponyville but none of them were really right for him. Derpy the mailmare was nice enough but her clumsiness was a cute novelty and he found her a bit off. Vinyl Scratch, aka DJ-Pon3, was a little too boisterous for his tastes and Pinkie Pie, while a selfless and happy-go-lucky mare, was hyperactive and randomly odd. Red Cross wanted to find The One, a mare that he could have a real connection with and see himself sharing a future. His search for the perfect mate didn't get his mother off his back, who insisted that he should get married like his older brother and having foals and yadda yadda yadda.

And then there was the mystery mare that left him gifts at his doorstep. After an exhaustive search, he'd yet to discover her identity and was curious as to who she could possibly be. He believed her to be a shy, lonely soul that was too bashful to talk to him directly but still wanted to ensure that he was aware of her interest, hence the traditional courting gift of flowers. Clicking the button on the remote, Red Cross came across an educational program on birds of prey and instantly set his remote down. I wonder if my mystery mare likes birds too? One of the few hobbies he had was bird-watching and was interested in ornithology, particularly of raptors like falcons and owls. There was just something majestic about the way they soared through the air, chasing their prey or simply drifting on the breeze.

"And here we see the snowy owl, or bubo scandiacus, stalking her prey, a nearby duck. Notice how she employs the 'sit and wait' method, patiently searching for the right time to catch the duck unawares before striking. She silently rushes the duck and tackles him, seizing him with her powerful talons..."

Red Cross was so thoroughly engrossed by his program that he physically jumped at the sound of breaking wood, followed by a thud and a soft moan. He leaned over and gazed out the window, finding a pony-shaped mass lying in his backyard, a pegasus by the look of it. What is a pegasus doing in my backyard this late at night? A part of him screamed to remain inside but the medical specialist part ultimately won out and he found himself trotting downstairs and opening the back door. After all, even if it was a burglar, they still had a right to first aid like everypony else.

"Hello? Who's out there?" Red Cross asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. The light from the back porch illuminated the backyard and he watched as the figure slowly rose, appearing to shy away from the light as it cradled its wing. "Um, please don't attack me. I'm a resident and I thought you might need medical attention-..." The words died in his throat. While the figure was a pony, it wasn't like any he'd ever seen before.

The figure was slightly taller than your average pony and was covered in midnight-blue feathers, its belly and underneath its wings were black dotted with white feathers giving it the appearance of being a piece of the night sky. While its forelegs ended in hooves, its hindlegs possessed scaly, three-toed feet with hooked talons. A large pair of unblinking yellow eyes peered out from its uninjured wing. The head was that of a mare but covered in feathers and dominated by equine ears whose ear tufts gave her the appearance of owning a set of horns. It was an owl-pony!

"Please don't look at me." The voice was a little on the deep side but still undeniably feminine, carrying with it a sort of silky cadence. "I'm-I'm sorry about your tree. I should go!"

"Wait!" The owl-pony froze. "You...you're injured. Come inside and I'll fix you up." Red Cross gestured towards the inside of the house and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay. I won't hurt you. I just want to help."

The owl-pony nodded but didn't move. "Could you t-turn the lights off? They hurt my eyes."

"Sure thing. By the way, I'm Red Cross."

"Strix," the owl-pony stated and Red Cross could've sworn he noticed a blush on her exposed cheek. "It's so nice to meet you...Red Cross."