Books and Lullabies(revised)
Rarity couldn’t help but smile. The giant standing before her, who she now knew to be named Terra, had in a very short time proved himself to be such a gentlecolt. She would be lying if she didn’t admit that his size was a bit intimidating but she couldn’t find it within herself to be afraid of him. Was it the warmth in his deep, rich voice? Was it the gentle aura he gave off despite his intimidating size? Or maybe it was the simple fact that he had saved her best friend without even knowing her? Whatever the reason, she was pleased, and slightly relieved, with the chivalrous knight standing before them.
She looked over at Fluttershy and noticed that she seemed to be staring at Terra with slight awe and couldn’t help but giggle a bit.
I wonder what she thinks of him.
Rarity decided she would have to ask Fluttershy about Terra later. As for right now there were still questions that needed to be answered. She cleared her throat to get their attention.
“Well let me be the first to say that it is a pleasure to meet you Terra,” Rarity began, “but now that we have gotten introductions out of the way I would still like to ask a few questions if you don’t mind.”
Terra looked over at Rarity and nodded, “Not at all. Though I’m not actually sure how much help I’d actually be.”
The two mares noticed his nervous tone and were now even more curious, “Whatever do you mean by that, darling?”
As Rarity asked her question Terra rubbed the back of his neck nervously. While things had seemed to be going quite well so far he wasn’t sure how they would react to his answer. He remembered how scared Fluttershy looked when he first appeared in his larger form and he was afraid that if he was not able to tell them exactly what he was then they would just get scared and paranoid. It was at that moment that he felt a soft hoof on his leg, not quite making it to the shoulder. He looked down to see Fluttershy giving him a reassuring smile.
“It’s ok, you can tell us.” she said in her soft, kind voice.
He gave her a thankful smile and took a deep breath, “I don’t know how much help I’ll be because I don’t remember anything aside from the forest and my own name. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know how I got these injuries. I don’t even know what I am or where I came from.” he said, progressively getting more dejected.
This caught the two mares off guard to say the least, though their surprise was quickly overcome by concern.
*gasp* “Oh my goodness, that’s horrible!” Fluttershy exclaimed in shock.
“Indeed it is, I’m so sorry darling.” Rarity quickly agreed.
He shook his head, the warm smile returning to his face, “Thank you. I appreciate your concern, but you have no reason to be sorry, it’s just an unfortunate event out of our control.”
“Still though, to not know who and what you are… I don’t think I could handle it.” Fluttershy said softly. She was surprised by how calmly he seemed to be taking it. She knew that if she were in his hooves right now she’d probably be sobbing like a little filly. She had to wonder if he truly was that calm about it or if he was just putting up a strong front so as not to worry them.
“Well that rather unfortunately answers a majority of my questions, though I do still have to ask what you were seeing while asleep. It seemed like quite a nasty nightmare.” Rarity said, trying to change the subject. They would definitely discuss his apparent amnesia in more detail later but for right now she wanted to make sure everything else was ok. A quick glance at Fluttershy proved that she agreed.
Terra was internally thankful to move on and told them about his dream. How he had awoken in a dark void and how he was met with a strange bird-like creature named Lulu that somehow knew his name and was also the one to explain that he currently didn’t have his memories. Fluttershy and Rarity giggled at his description of Lulu and couldn't help but think of their own hyperactive pink friend. It was when he went on to say how he found himself in the Everfree that Fluttershy spoke up.
“Is that what was causing you to panic so much?” she asked.
“No.” Terra said almost harshly, surprising the mares. The mares wouldn’t have called the new face he wore as angry, but it was definitely upset. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, scared of the new shift in mood while Rarity took a step back. Terra, noticing that he had unintentionally frightened the two mares, immediately softened his features.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you.” he apologized.
“It’s ok but, um, w-what did cause you to panic then, unless you don’t want to answer of course.” Fluttershy asked timidly.
He took a deep, long breath. He couldn’t just tell them that what caused him to freak out was watching the yellow pegasus currently standing in front of him get violently ripped apart limb from limb. She probably wouldn’t take that well. Taking another deep breath, and a quick glance at Fluttershy, he simply stated, “I had to watch somebody die, not even being able to move to help them.”
Fluttershy could tell there was great pain in his tone, even if he was trying to hide it. Rarity, who had noticed him taking a quick glance at Fluttershy, knew he wasn’t telling them all of the details. However, she could also hear the pain in his voice and figured he had a good reason for being vague and so decided to not press the issue. She and Fluttershy decided to give him some space and excused themselves to a different room.
They started discussing what they should do. It was quite the conundrum that they found themselves in. It was obvious to both of them that contrary to his intimidating size and physique Terra didn’t seem like a danger to anypony, though they knew how some Ponyville residents overreacted to new things so were still reluctant to bring him into town. His amnesia was also an issue that complicated things. For all they knew he could be some sort of terrible villain and just didn’t remember it, though neither of them thought that was very likely due to how genuinely kind he acted.
After putting their heads together they decided on what they believed would be an appropriate course of action and went to discuss it with the crimson giant in the living room. Walking in they noticed that he didn’t seem as upset anymore, though his smile still had yet to return. Rarity walked up to him while Fluttershy remained further back, hiding behind her mane once more.
“Well darling, me and Fluttershy were talking and we think we have an idea of how we might be able to help you figure out who and what you are, as well as maybe fixing your little bout of amnesia.” Rarity explained to him. He just raised his brow in interest and gestured to her to go on. “You see we have a very intelligent friend named Twilight Sparkle, if anypony would be able to help us it would be her.” She continued with a certain note of pride for her friend present in her voice.
“However,” Fluttershy spoke up timidly, “She won’t be back in town until tomorrow.”
Rarity’s smile fell away for a second before returning as she added, “Yes, she is still out of town investigating some sort of attack in the south, but her assistant, Spike, is still here and while he may not be as scholarly as Twilight he is still quite intelligent himself. Not to mention, he knows his way around that massive library better than anypony I know.” She was practically beaming at that point while talking about her other close friend and gem-hunting buddy.
“He can also let Twilight know about our situation so she can help once she gets back.” Fluttershy added, trying to keep things on track.
Terra seemed to agree with the idea, “They both sound like wonderful individuals, and neither of you have really given me a reason not to trust you.” ‘Especially Fluttershy’ he thought to himself, “Since I don’t have any better idea on how to fix this, I think I’m on board with this plan.” It was then that he noticed that both mares were shifting uncomfortably.
“Is something wrong?”
“Well… I’m sorry darling but I believe that it might be better for you to remain here while we meet with Spike.” Rarity explained.
Terra raised a brow, “And why is that?”
Rarity took a deep breath before answering, “Because, to be frank, you are an absolute giant of a creature with enough muscle mass to probably bench press a castle. Me and Fluttershy may have reacted well but there are many residents that probably wouldn’t react the same way and they may end up throwing the whole town into a panic.” she grumbled the last part, knowing exactly which three mares she was talking about.
Terra blinked his eyes a bit before looking down at himself as if noticing for the first time that he was, in fact, much larger than the ponies before him. He was brought out of this utterly surprising realization by Fluttershy’s voice.
“You’re also still injured, and I don’t feel comfortable with you moving around while you heal, so I am going to suggest that you stay here and rest.” She said much more sternly than he was expecting.
“Ok, ok I get it, I’ll stay here and rest.” he said as he laid back down which caused Fluttershy to smile.
Now with everything in order, Fluttershy and Rarity went to leave but right before going out the door, Fluttershy turned back to Terra.
“Actually there was one other thing. I’m a complete stranger to you. Why did you save me?” she asked her giant savior.
Looking right back at her with his silver eyes that were shining like two full moons while his warm smile returned, “Well I couldn’t very well sit back and watch an angel die, now could I?”
Fluttershy’s face went completely scarlet when he said that and her smile grew even larger.
“Thank you” she said before leaving, failing to notice the sly smirk on Rarity’s face.
The slight orange tint in the sky and the steady sinking of Celestia’s sun were clear indications that evening was fast approaching. The hottest part of the day had already passed and now the two friends were greeted with a pleasant warm breeze. It was beautiful evenings like this that would have been perfect for a leisurely stroll or a day at the park. Unfortunately this was all lost on Fluttershy as her thoughts were on other things at the moment.
She couldn’t get her mind off of Terra and just how horrible his situation was. She still couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around just how horrible it must feel to have no memory of who you were or where you came from. She then realized that he probably couldn’t even remember his own family. Did he even have a family to remember? That thought alone nearly brought her to tears.
She was now even more convinced that he was only putting on a facade. While he seemed to be an unyielding mountain of stoicism she got a glimpse of that mountain cracking when they asked about his dream. Then there was the whole angel business. Why had he called her that anyway?
“Fluttershy?”
Actually, now that she thought back to it, he seemed to be paying more attention to her even though Rarity was doing the majority of the talking.
“Fluttershy…”
Maybe she was overthinking the meaning of a simple word. Maybe it meant something that even Terra himself didn’t know. Or maybe… he was trying to compliment her. She felt her cheeks warm up a bit at that thought.
“FLUTTERSHY!”
“Eep!” She was broken out of her thoughts before they could get more heated. She looked over at the deadpanning unicorn completely red in the face.
“Excuse me darling, but you appeared to be lost in thought. Am I to assume that you had a certain chivalrous red giant on the mind?” Rarity said with no small amount of amusement and a knowing smirk.
“No! I mean yes, but it’s only because I’m worried about him.” Fluttershy frantically said. Rarity could swear she could see steam coming off the shy pegasus’ cheeks.
Rarity was a known gossip. It was a title she accepted nowadays, mostly because she tried her best to not go overboard and kept it to harmless fun. Now what not everypony knew was that gossiping had a close relative that Rarity loved just as much. That close relative was teasing, and her best friend was giving her the perfect opportunity. Not wanting to waste this opportunity she playfully bumped into her slightly taller friend with a mischievous smirk.
“Oh I know you are darling, but you can’t stand there and tell me he isn’t just an absolute hunk of a… well I guess stallion wouldn’t technically be correct now would it?” she said in mock contemplation.
“W-what?!” Fluttershy exclaimed, completely frazzled and nearly passing out from the heat coursing through her body.
“Don’t try to hide it, I saw you staring at him. You know you aren’t very discreet, darling.” Rarity teased, “I can’t say I blame you though. I mean he’s tall, handsome, not to mention how much of a gentlecolt he is and those crimson scales and deep, powerful voice just give off this aura of a knight in shining armor.” she said while fanning herself with a hoof, a blush of her own forming on her cheeks. She then leaned into Fluttershy’s ear.
“And then there are those muscles…” she whispered.
“RARITY!” Fluttershy squeaked out, her whole body now doing a fabulous impression of a cherry tomato.
Rarity burst into snorting laughter that was most definitely not lady-like.
Once she finally stopped laughing she started walking again, “I’m sorry darling, you know I’m only teasing you. I do have to admit though that it is a bit surprising to see you warm up to somepony so quickly.”
Fluttershy, her blush starting to disappear, quickened her own trot to catch up, “It’s ok, and I know it’s weird for me but I don’t really know how to explain it. It’s almost like I can feel an actual energy coming off of him that makes me feel, I don’t know… safe? Comfortable? He did save my life after all. Oh I must sound so silly.”
Rarity shook her head, “Not at all, I don’t know about some kind of ‘energy’ but he seemed to be quite nice, though I will say that him saving you has definitely earned him quite a few points in my book.” she said as she put a comforting hoof on her shy friend’s withers.
Fluttershy graciously accepted the comfort, “Thanks, Rarity.”
“Of course, darling.” Rarity suddenly perked up as she remembered something, “I just realized that there was something I meant to ask before our attention was focused on his memory problems.”
“Yes?” Fluttershy inquired.
“I couldn’t help but be curious, Terra no doubt has the strength and size to make Big Macintosh look like a newborn colt in comparison, but I find it hard to believe he could drive off a full grown hydra. Even Twilight couldn’t do that with all of her magical talent, though I guess she was still a unicorn the last time she faced one.”
“Oh, well he was a bit bigger when he rescued me.” Fluttershy said rather calmly.
Rarity raised a brow in fascination at that, “Bigger?”
“Oh yes!” Fluttershy seemed almost weirdly excited, “He shrunk down to what I assume is his normal size after he passed out so I think he must have the ability to size-shift.”
“You seem quite excited about this.”
“Well the only creatures I know that can shift size are dragons so I figure that might give us a lead as to what Terra is.” Fluttershy said with hope present in her voice.
“I suppose that does make some sense and we can definitely ask Spike about it.” She only had one question left, “So how much larger was he?”
“Do you remember that dragon we had to ask to leave all those years ago? The one that was blocking out the sky with his snoring?”
Rarity nodded.
“Maybe twice his size, probably more considering when he stood up on his hind legs he was as tall as an Ursa Major.” Fluttershy said nonchalantly.
“WHAT?!” Rarity’s jaw hit the ground faster than Rainbow Dash going to pick up a new Daring Do book and could only stare at her clearly crazy friend.
“Are you ok Rarity?” Fluttershy asked in a concerned voice.
Rarity shook her head to get rid of the shock, “Y-yes, sorry let’s just get to the castle so that we can hopefully get some answers.”
Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement. They continued to talk, their conversation turning more casual, as they made their way into Ponyville.
Ponyville, like most small towns, tended to start closing down its shops and market in the evening. While cities like Manehatten may never sleep, the citizens of Ponyville loved their quiet little town and were saying their goodbyes to their friends as they got ready for the night.
Red Horizon was no different and loved this part of the day. He was a bit short by stallion standards, standing 5’8, with cloudy blue eyes. He was a unicorn with a sky-blue coat and orange-red mane that gave him a resemblance to his namesake. While a bit on the short side he was a very attractive stallion in the prime of his life that all the mares, and even a couple of stallions, couldn’t help but steal glances at. The only thing that seemed strange was his cutie mark; a swinging pocket watch in front of a glowing unicorn horn.
He hadn’t been in Ponyville long, only having moved in about a week ago to take a job as a psychiatrist at the Ponyville hospital, but he found he quite enjoyed the small town. Its natural air was like Celestia’s gift to his lungs, and he adored the gentle breeze blowing through his coat and mane. The town was also, thanks to the resident Princess and her obsession with knowledge, home to one of the largest libraries in all of Equestria and as both a unicorn and a doctor he knew he could take great advantage of a resource like that. But as a young, handsome stallion he was most interested in the mares, and Ponyville absolutely did not disappoint in the pretty mare department.
Speaking of which, at that moment he could see two mares walking down the road. The first one, a unicorn mare, stood about 5’5 and her coat was as white as snow. Both her mane and tail were a deep, royal purple and were perfectly curled. Her eyes were like two sapphires that matched the three gems on her toned flank and were accentuated by light blue eyeshadow. She was obviously a mare who took great care of her body and appearance and her confident trot signified that she knew it.
“Hm, she could be fun. Probably hides a wild side.” he muttered to himself before looking at the other mare and that's where his jaw dropped.
“Sweet wings of Celestia!” Red whisper screamed when he took a closer look at the pegasus. She was a bit taller than the unicorn at 5’7 and had a lovely butter yellow coat and a long, flowing mane with a rosey pink hue. Her tail was the same rosey pink as her mane, and just as long and elegant. He could only imagine how soft any of them would feel against his own coat. Her legs were long and slender, she could very well be a model with legs like that. While one of her wings was wrapped up, probably from an accident though he didn’t really care, the one he could see was large and fluffy. He figured they probably were not great for flying but they would probably feel amazing wrapped around him. He usually didn’t go for pegasi as they tended to have more muscle than he preferred, but this mare didn’t have that problem. In fact she seemed naturally thin. Well, except for what he was quickly deciding was his favorite attribute. Her flanks. Dear Celestia, those flanks. They looked like big yellow pillows with pink butterflies emblazoned onto them yet still somehow didn’t seem out of place on the rest of her slender frame, and Red bet they probably felt absolutely amazing.
She was perfect.
Deciding that he had enough of simply staring he walked up to the two gorgeous mares. He might as well take his time and have some fun.
“Excuse me,” He began, “I hope I’m not bothering you two but I was just curious what two such lovely mares such as yourselves are off to this lovely evening.” He was putting on the charm almost immediately.
Fluttershy squicked and hid behind her mane. Rarity let out an exasperated sigh at her shy friend before turning to the sky-blue stallion while putting on a friendly, yet suspicious smiling, “It’s quite alright, darling, we were just on our way to the castle library to meet a friend, though I’m sorry to say we are in a bit of a rush.”
Her voice was just as elegant as her looks. She reminded Red a little bit of the snobs in Canterlot, though the alabaster mare before him seemed less full of herself than them. What he also noticed was the barely hidden apprehension at his presence. She would definitely be a tough one to crack but he always enjoyed a challenge. Yes, she would definitely be fun.
“Oh I understand, actually do you mind if I tag along?” He asked in his most innocent voice. “I haven’t been in town too long and have been meaning to visit the library.”
Rarity slightly narrowed her eyes while keeping her friendly smile. The look actually sent a slight chill down his back. “I… suppose there wouldn’t be any issue in doing that, what do you think, darling?” She said looking at Fluttershy.
“I don’t m-mind.” Fluttershy said, still hiding behind her mane.
Red creased a small, almost predatory smile as he realized something else about this stunning specimen of a pegasus.
She was shy.
Confident mares were one thing. It was always so entertaining to take that strength and confidence and completely shatter it. It was something that made him feel a bit giddy. However that was nothing compared to breaking a shy mare. Contrary to what one may think, shy mares were just as difficult to break as confident mares, if not more so. They were usually untrusting and built up thick, strong walls in their mind. It was those walls that Red found the most joy in breaking down.
And he was currently in the presence of what was probably the most shy and innocent mare he had ever laid eyes on. He had to play his cards right though. While he figured she’d probably be relatively easy to manipulate, he needed to try and get her trust first. That could take time, so for now he would just have to lay on the charm and then he would strike. Of course if that didn’t work he had… other ways to get what he wanted. This was going to be the most fun he’s had since Manehatten!
“Excellent, by the way my name is Red Horizon but please just call me Red, may I get your names?”
Rarity gave him another suspicious look before answering, “Of course… my name is Rarity Belle, but please just call me Rarity.”
“My name is… F-Fluttershy”
“It’s alright dear, I know I may be a stranger but there’s no reason to be afraid, just take your time.” Red said softening both his voice and facial features, a tactic that always seemed to work wonders on shy mares.
Apparently Fluttershy was no different as she came out from behind her mane, “T-thank you.” She took a calming breath, “My name is Fluttershy.”
How fitting “A lovely name for a lovely mare.” He said with a soft smile, though Rarity could have sworn that there was something hidden behind that smile, something she didn’t like.
Fluttershy, however, blushed slightly at the compliment and then noticed his cutie mark. It was a bit strange to her and sparked her curiosity as she wondered what it could mean. “Excuse me Red, I don’t mean to be rude but I couldn’t help noticing your cutie mark and um, if you don’t mind, what does it mean?”
“Yes, I’m quite curious myself.” Rarity added, also noticing the strange cutie mark.
Red smiled, “It’s no problem at all, my mark represents my expertise with the mind and psychology.” That wasn’t the complete truth but they didn’t need to know that. It’s not like it was a complete lie either. “I actually moved to Ponyville to take on the psychiatrist position at the hospital.”
“My, my, darling, that is quite impressive.” Rarity said a bit passive-aggressively. She still couldn’t help but feel suspicious of this stallion.
“Yes, you must help a lot of ponies.” Fluttershy chimed in, more genuinely impressed.
“Oh in ways you would never even imagine!” And when I’m done you won’t have to imagine. “But enough about me, how about you two? What do you do?”
Rarity brightened up, always happy to talk about her work, “I am a seamstress, I run the boutique here in Ponyville as well as a couple in Manehattan and Canterlot.”
“That’s quite the accomplishment Miss Rarity, and I’m sure if the dresses are even a fraction as beautiful as you are you must be quite successful.”
“Flattery will get you nowhere Mr. Horizon.” Rarity said through a fake smile. “Though I’m sure if you came by the boutique sometime I could make you an absolutely fabulous suit.”
“I’ll have to take you up on that offer sometime.” He said, though he didn’t ever intend to go there for a suit. He was not blind to Rarity’s barely hidden suspicion and was a bit surprised. He had pegged her as a pretty face with a somewhat strong will that would be fun to break but not exceptionally difficult. He had apparently not only underestimated her strength of will but also her intelligence. He would have to be careful around her. With that in mind he turned to the true prize; the slender yellow pegasus with pillowy flanks. “How about you Miss Fluttershy?”
“Oh n-nothing special, I’m just the animal caretaker of Ponyville, and I also act as a second veterinarian.” Fluttershy said in her usual shy manner.
Red was actually surprised by this, “That’s not nothing at all, I was led to believe that was a position generally held by earth ponies so to do so as a pegasus must mean you are quite good at your job.”
“Oh it’s not that difficult, I just like helping all of the animals.” She said with a small smile.
He was about to say something else when the words got caught in his throat and he could only stare in awe at the sight before him.
He had failed to realize that they were coming up to the castle in their conversation, and it was truly a sight to behold. It was a massive tree as tall as the castle in Canterlot though it had obviously been augmented with magic as it had four large oak towers coming off of it as well as large, stained-glass windows and massive iron doors guarded by two of Twilight’s royal guards. The armor of the guards was golden and enchanted to give them lavender coats and eyes to match Twilight’s, signifying they answered to the Princess of Friendship above any of the other Princesses.
Rarity couldn't help but smirk at his reaction, "I see you've noticed the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle, quite lovely isn't it?"
"It's incredible." He said, still in awe.
"Yes quite, when Twilight ascended to become an alicorn and Princess she didn't want to leave the library. So with some help from the other Princesses, and a great many unicorns and earth ponies, they moved the Golden Oaks Library out to the edge of town, grew it to a larger size and molded it into a proper castle that also houses one of the largest libraries in Equestria, second only to the Royal Canterlot Library." Rarity said with great pride, always ready to brag about her friends and their accomplishments.
Red was actually impressed with Rarity's knowledge, "Miss Rarity, you seem to know quite a lot about this."
"Well of course darling, me and Fluttershy are some of Twilight's closest friends after all." Rarity said with a smirk, though it almost felt like a veiled warning to Red.
"How fascinating…" His current marks were close friends with the Princess of Friendship herself. The more he learned the more difficulty it seemed he would have with these two. However, instead of being deterred he was practically giddy with excitement. Oh how he loved a challenge.
The two guards standing guard at the door were a mare and stallion that were only a bit older than Fluttershy and Rarity. The stallion was a burly earth pony that stood to be 6’0 and his cutie mark was a castle wall made of metal. The mare was a slender yet toned pegasus that stood taller than the average mare at 5’10. Her cutie mark was a feather crossed with a lance.
As they approached the iron doors they were stopped by the burly earth pony guard who had a booming voice only slightly higher in pitch than Terra’s, “Halt! What busi… Oh! Lady Rarity and Lady Fluttershy it’s good to see you both, how are you this evening?”
The mares gave the two guards a warm smile before Rarity answered, “It’s good to see you too Iron Bastion, and we’re doing just fine but you know you don’t have to be so formal with us.” she said to the large stallion with a playful smirk.
Iron Bastion let out a string of booming laughter, “Hahaha! Right, sorry, force of habit.”
The mare gave him a mischievous look, “You know the Princess is going to give you another lecture if she hears about you being too formal again right?” she said teasingly, Red was surprised by the tall mare’s voice. Contrary to her appearance her voice was soft and warm like Fluttershy’s, though a bit deeper. Iron Bastion, on the other hand, went pale at what his fellow guard had said as if she just threatened him with execution. All three mares burst into laughter at his plight. Red was even more surprised to see that, after their laughter subsided, Fluttershy walked up to the taller mare and gave her a loving hug.
“It’s always great to see you Silver Lance.” Fluttershy said while nuzzling the guard, who quickly returned it with a nuzzle of her own.
“It’s wonderful to see you too, baby sister, though I wish we could do it more when we’re not both working.” They tightened their embrace a bit before separating, it was there that Silver Lance noticed that one of Fluttershy’s wings was wrapped up in bandages and she immediately went into protective sister mode.
“What happened to your wing!?” the tall mare exclaimed, causing Fluttershy to blush awkwardly.
“I kinda of fell in the Everfree and broke it, I’ll explain more once we’re in private.” she explained sheepishly. Silver leveled a scrutinizing glare at her little sister before letting out a sigh of defeat.
“Fine.”
As they were having their conversation Red Horizon had gone very pale. Sister?! He was caught completely off guard by the fact that his current mark had an older sister in the royal guard. If he thought it was going to be difficult before this just completely changed the game. He obviously wouldn’t give up that easily but he now knew he needed to plan a little bit before doing anything. It was then that he got everyone’s attention.
“Excuse me.” he said.
“Aye, and who might you be?” Iron Bastion said, his stoic authority returning while Silver Lance gave him a curious look.
“How rude of me, I am Red Horizon, the new psychiatrist at the Ponyville Hospital. I came here with these two lovely mares to see the castle, but now I think I must take my leave.” he walked up to Fluttershy and lifted her hoof to give it a quick kiss, causing her to blush, “I hope we meet each other again soon, my dear.” he said before taking his leave. Both Rarity and Silver gave him soft glares as he left while Fluttershy fanned herself and Iron Bastion simply raised a brow.
“I don’t like him.” Silver finally said once he was out of ear shot, earning her a nod of agreement from Rarity and an appalled look from Fluttershy.
“Sister! That’s rude, you barely know him!” Fluttershy scolded her older sister, who immediately gave her a look of guilt.
“Sorry sis, I guess I’m just being protective. Still, just please be careful.”
“Of course I will.” Fluttershy said before they heard Iron clear his throat to get their attention. Silver gave her an approving nod before looking at Iron Bastion with a proud smile, “So did you two hear how Iron here got promoted to captain?”
“WHAT?!” they both yelled out in surprise.
“Well temporary captain, I’m holding the spot while they get the actual captain. Twilight did offer me the official position but I declined saying that I knew someone better for the position.” Iron explained while rubbing the back of his neck.
“Who did you recommend?” Fluttershy asked.
“Can’t say, that would ruin the surprise.” Silver said in a teasing tone. Fluttershy simply gave her a pouty look while Iron simply rolled his eyes and Rarity giggled.
“Anyway, not that it isn’t wonderful to see you ladies but I’m sure you came here for more than just catching up with us two.” he said, reminding the two of their original reason for coming to the castle.
“Right, we actually came here to ask Spike a few questions. We can explain a bit more inside if that is fine with you.” Rarity said. While she and Fluttershy trusted the two guards like family, which in Fluttershy’s case they actually were, they didn’t feel quite comfortable discussing Terra outside. The two guards seemed to pick up on this and Silver spoke up.
“Understood, the little drake should be in the private library right now so he should be able to meet with you.” she said before she and Iron opened the doors and led them all inside. As they walked in Silver pulled Rarity to the side a bit.
“What’s the matter, Silver?” Rarity asked, more than a little confused.
“Hey Rares, I could see the look on your face. You didn’t like that Red Horizon guy either did you?” the tall mare asked.
Rarity’s face got serious, “No, I can’t quite place why but he gave me the same dirty feeling that I get around stallions like Blueblood.” she answered, almost spitting Blueblood’s name.
“That’s what I thought, can I ask you to watch over my little sister? She’s a smart mare and I trust her but sometimes she can be too trusting for her own good.” she asked, a bit of Fluttershy’s own timidness leaking out.
Rarity put a hoof on the taller mare’s withers and gave her a reassuring smile, “Of course, darling. She’s my best friend and I would never let her be hurt.”
Silver gave Rarity a thankful smile, “Thank you.”
Rarity simply nodded as they made it to Twilight’s private library.
They found Spike sitting there reading one of his comic books. Once the drake noticed that he now had guests he set the comic down to greet them.
“Hey guys, to what do I owe this surprise visit?” he said while giving his two friends a welcoming hug, which they happily returned.
‘Little’ wasn’t exactly the best word to describe the drake anymore. Him being Twilight’s advisor was already unpopular with the nobles due to his species but it only got worse when he hit his growth spurt. The pudgy little dragon hatchling was no more and was instead replaced by a handsome young drake that turned the heads of all the girls, pony or otherwise. He now opted to walk on all four legs instead of two but even on all fours he stood 6’2, as tall as Princess Luna. His neck and tail had become longer and more serpent-like while his head had elongated so that it now looked more pony-like. He wasn’t bulky but his muscles were still well defined giving him the appearance of a big, reptilian cat. His scales were a brilliant purple that almost seemed to shine in the light while his underbelly and spines had darkened into a more emerald green that more closely matched his eyes. By far the biggest change though were his wings. They were massive, even larger than Celestia’s, and resembled a bat’s. Like the rest of his body the back of the wings were purple while the undersides were green.
He used said massive wings to bring in the two guards to join the hug.
“Don’t think you two are exempt from this greeting.” he said with a smirk, causing them to laugh a bit.
“Oh Spike, I’m always so glad to see that big heart of yours.” Fluttershy said.
While she hated to admit it, when Spike had first started growing she had been a bit scared. While it had gotten a lot better she did still hold her fear of dragons and Spike had started to look more and more like the ones she feared. However, instead of hiding it she and Spike actually discussed it and it didn’t take long for her to realize that it was still the same Spike, just bigger and a bit more mature.
“I could say the same for you Flutters,” he then looked at Rarity and smirked, “not to mention it’s always a pleasure to see you, Miss Rarity.” he said in a teasing tone while Rarity gave him a good natured eye roll. He then felt a rough shoulder bump and looked to see Iron Bastion at his side while Silver Lance had a hoof to her muzzle to subdue her giggling.
“And what about us lad? Not happy to see us?” Iron said while roughly patting the young drake’s back, who could feel the stallion’s great strength even through his tough scales. He gave a hearty chuckle before grabbing both guards around the withers.
“Of course I always love seeing my two favorite guards! You still down for OnO this Tuesday, Iron?” Spike asked as he released the two.
“Aye, as long as the Missus is still alright with it.” he said with a chuckle when Silver walked up and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“Of course I’m still ok with it honey, I want you to have fun with your friends. It also gives me an opportunity to have family time with my favorite baby sister.” she said while tightly hugging said sibling, who gave her a nonplussed look.
“I’m your only baby sister.” Fluttershy deadpanned.
“Doesn’t mean you can’t still be my favorite.” the tall mare said before booping her sister on the nose. She then gave her husband and Spike an authoritative glare that chilled them to the core, “But if I find out you guys blew up another town then I’ll show you a wrath that makes Celestia look like a firecracker. Am I clear?”
“Yes ma’am!” They both squicked out.
Fluttershy giggled at her sister’s nagging, remembering what it was like when they were younger, when Rarity walked up to her.
“Um, what exactly does she mean by blowing up another town?” she whispered, a bit nervous.
Fluttershy leaned in and whispered back, “Remember Hoofington?”
“Oh, right.” Rarity said with a slight shudder.
Fluttershy nodded before they were brought back into the conversation by Spike loudly clearing his throat.
“With greetings out of the way, what’s up girls?” Spike asked.
“Yeah, I think you promised me an explanation for that wing of yours.” Silver said, which made Spike suddenly notice Fluttershy’s wrapped up wing.
“Holy crap, how did I miss that?!” he exclaimed as he ran over to Fluttershy, “Are you ok, what happened?!”
Fluttershy gently pushed him away while Rarity answered, “That’s actually why we’re here.”
Spike sat on his haunches while giving them an upset expression and crossing his arms.
“Explain.” he said simply. Silver and Iron sat by him, their looks indicating that they were also ready for an explanation.
Both Rarity and Fluttershy nervously gulped as they began. Fluttershy began by telling them how she went into the Everfree to look for Dragon Lilies when she was nearly caught in a stampede caused by a hydra. She explained that while she was trying to get away from the massive predator that she had fallen down a small cliff and managed to break her wing on a rock. Silver immediately ran over and gave her sister a hug while Iron and Spike were wondering what a hydra was doing so far away from the bog. It was when they asked how Fluttershy got away from the hydra did she explain how Terra rescued her. She explained his size, the rumbling roar he produced and how he was able to cause an earthquake. All jaws in the room hit the floor, even Rarity who hadn’t known about the part about him causing an earthquake.
“That would explain the shaking earlier…” Silver mumbled.
Spike shook off his shock, “Wait, wait, wait! So you’re telling me that some creature the size of an Ursa Major, sounds like a demonic subwoofer and can cause freaking natural disasters just randomly decided to help you and you, our resident creature expert, have no idea what it is.” Spike said frantically. He then found his jaws forcefully closed by a blue aura. He looked over to see Rarity giving him a deadpanned look.
“Are you quite done?” she asked, to which he nodded and she let him go. “Good, because there’s still more.”
With the interruption out of the way, Fluttershy continued with her story. She told them how after he ran off the hydra that Terra had collapsed and shrunk down to a much smaller size. Spike’s face went a bit pale and even Iron and Silver felt a little nauseous when she described the injuries he had. She then explained that she got Harry’s help to bring him back to her cottage to patch him up, as well as her wing. It was here that Rarity took over as she explained how she had gone to check on Fluttershy and after seeing her act suspicious ran in to discover Terra. They then went on to say how he had a terrible nightmare about being unable to protect someone, his meeting with the strange Lulu and, most concerning, that he had lost all of his memories aside from his name. Once they finished, Spike, Silver and Iron took a minute to absorb all the information just given to them.
“Oh, the poor dear.” Silver muttered, her tone sad.
“Yeah, I feel kind of bad about freaking out about him now. This Terra sounds like a good guy.” Spike said.
“He most definitely is, he was so sweet when he was talking to us.” Fluttershy said with a faint blush on her cheeks.
“Anyway, that’s why we came here. We figured you might be able to help us with discovering what he is and maybe a way to regain his memories.” Rarity said, giving the young drake a hopeful look. Spike sat in thought for a bit before answering.
“Well I can tell you right now that he isn’t a dragon. The only dragons that get that big are elder dragons like Torch, and even then no dragon has the ability to size shift on command, we can only do it under the effects of greed growth. With that being said, I know a book I can lend you that has a detailed list of all creatures ever documented on Equus, that may help.” Spike explained before flying up to find said book.
Fluttershy was a bit disappointed by the news, but she couldn’t blame Spike for not knowing anything.
“What about his memories?” she asked, hoping for better luck with their second problem.
Spike shook his head, “Sorry, that would be more of Twilight’s department, though the good news is that she should be back tomorrow morning so I can let you know when she’s back and we can go from there.”
“Ok, I guess that works.” Fluttershy said. Her disappointment was clear and she couldn’t help but let out a frustrated sigh. She then felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see Silver giving her a reassuring smile. She tried to return the gesture to her sister but didn’t do very well.
While this was going on, Rarity, also quite disappointed with the turn of events, looked over to see Iron Bastion deep in thought. She then realized he hadn’t said a word since they finished their story.
“Everything alright there, darling.” she said, getting his attention.
“Sorry lass, of course I feel bad for the lad but something else is bothering me.” he said with a troubled look on his face.
“What is it, hon?” Silver asked. She knew her husband well and she could tell that something was seriously troubling him and that made her nervous. It took a lot to get to Iron Bastion.
“It’s just that this Terra lad seems to be quite a mighty individual. I mean even we royal guards would have trouble taking on a full grown hydra yet he sent it running like a common mouse. So my question is…” He looked at everyone in the room with a dead serious expression.
“What kind of monster could injure him?”
Somewhere deep within the Everfree
With the sun finally setting the darkness became almost palpable. This was no issue for the hydra as it was used to not being able to see in murky bog water. It got by more off of its sense of smell and hearing anyway.
This specific hydra was far from its usual home. It had felt danger in the bog and escaped further into the Everfree, where it thought it had found an easy meal when it came across a yellow pegasus pony. However, when it had cornered its prey it had suddenly found itself being intimidated instead by some unknown creature. Hydras were relatively smart by wild animal standards and it knew it should have left quicker than it had but the creature had confused it. Aside from the rare Ursai, the hydras were the largest predators in the forest, and yet this new creature had shown up to drive it out.
What confused it the most however was that the creature wasn’t a predator, but an herbivore. This confused and worried the hydra because that meant that the creature that scared it from its prey was not the same one that had scared it out of the bog.
Snap
The hydra froze as it suddenly heard a twig snapping. It was also then that it could feel the ground slightly rumbling. Its instincts were screaming at it to run but it couldn’t move. Something was near and its four heads started looking around frantically. The rumbling stopped all of a sudden and something told the hydra to look forward.
That’s where it saw the new predator.
Due to its poor eyesight the hydra couldn't make out any details except that whatever it was easily dwarfed the hydra, being twice its height, and that one of its eyes was glowing blood red. The terrifying predator started slowly approaching and stopped when it was only a few feet in front of the hydra. It stood there for a few deadly silent seconds that felt like an eternity.
Then it roared.
The roar was horrible, like something pulled right out of the depths of Hell itself. It sounded like some unholy mix of a wolf’s howl, a tiger’s roar and a child’s scream. And underneath it all was the same low, bone-shaking growl that the other giant creature had produced. It all added up to make it impossible for the hydra to move, as it was frozen in sheer terror. The hydra knew there was no escape.
This is where it would die.
The last thing it ever saw was the horrible giant smiling, revealing its massive, blade-like teeth.
After Iron Bastion’s ominous inquiry, everyone decided to leave. Rarity decided to go ahead and head home to the Carousel Boutique, asking Fluttershy to wish Terra a goodnight on her behalf. Fluttershy was about to head home herself when she felt Silver stop her.
“Hey Shy, how about I walk you home?” she asked.
“Oh you don’t have to, I wouldn’t want to bother you while you’re on duty.” Fluttershy said shyly.
“Don’t worry about that, our shift is over anyway. Also I want to see Terra for myself.” she said, hiding a sly smirk.
“Well in that case I don’t mind.” Fluttershy smiled at the prospect of spending even a little time with her sister but then noticed that Silver still had her armor on. “Um, don’t you need to get out of your armor first?”
Silver looked down, also forgetting that she had her armor on, and nodded, “Yeah, just give me and Iron a few minutes to put it up.”
And that’s what Fluttershy did. After about five minutes the couple walked out, now free of their enchantments. Iron Bastion was revealed to have a light beige coat and a chocolatey brown mane that was cut relatively short. His eyes were the same brown as his mane. Now that Silver Lance was without her armor it was very apparent that she and Fluttershy were related. Mostly because they looked like carbon copies of each other. Silver had the same butter coat, flowing rose mane, though hers was tied up in a tail, and soft teal eyes as her younger sister. If it wasn’t for the fact that Silver was noticeably taller and had a different cutie mark one would think they were twins. Fluttershy still wondered how she was able to fit all of that mane into her helmet.
“Are you coming with us too, Iron?” Fluttershy asked.
He simply shook his head, “No, I’m gonna go ahead home and start on supper. You two have a good night.” he said before pecking his wife on the lips.
“Alright honey, I shouldn’t be too long.” Silver said before she and Fluttershy went off to her cottage.
As they were walking the two sisters decided to take the opportunity to catch up. The sun had fully set and Luna’s moon was on full display. It was a truly beautiful night with no clouds to block out the stars. Unfortunately, Fluttershy found it difficult to focus on the night, or even on the conversation she was having with her sister, something that didn’t go unnoticed by said sister.
“Hey Shy, what’s on your mind?” she asked, though she already had a pretty decent idea as to the answer.
Fluttershy jumped a little at the question and then asked sheepishly, “Am I really that obvious?”
Silver nodded, “You’ve never been very good at hiding your emotions. So what’s up? Is it Terra?”
Fluttershy let out a defeated sigh, “Yes. I’m just worried, Silver, and I don’t know what to do.”
“Hey now, it’ll be ok. It’s only the first day, remember.” Silver said reassuradly.
“I know but I just hate to think about how much pain he must be in. I couldn’t even imagine what I'd be like if I couldn’t remember you.” she said as tears started wetting her eyes and her voice become shaky. She truly didn’t know what she would do if she couldn’t remember Silver, her parents or the rest of her friends and that was the exact situation that Terra was in. The other thing bothering her was what Iron Bastion had said. She had seen first hoof how powerful Terra was, but she had also seen the severity of his injuries. Terra had power on par with an adult dragon, if not more.
And something had nearly killed him.
She felt a deep chill spread through her body at that realization. It was a very real possibility that whatever did that to Terra was still out there and may even be looking for him. Part of her hoped it was just a dangerous animal. That would at least be easier to deal with. However, a deep part of her, an instinct she didn’t even know she had, told her that whatever it was was far more sinister. She started to hyperventilate as more and more dark thoughts about Terra’s mystery assailant attacked her mind when she felt a strong pair of hooves and two fluffy wings embrace her. She looked up to see Silver wearing a worried expression. She didn’t use words, Silver never had to, something about her embrace always brought Fluttershy comfort.
As Fluttershy started to calm down and the dark thoughts left her mind only to instead be replaced with different, happier ones. She remembered how thankful she was for Terra saving her and how kind he was when he finally spoke to them. He had been her savior and she believed that, even in such a short amount of time, she could consider him a friend.
“Aiieeee!” Fluttershy suddenly screamed out as a horrible pain shot through her head like a crossbow bolt. Silver immediately started panicking but the pain was so great that Fluttershy couldn’t even hear her. If she hadn’t had them squinted shut, Silver would have noticed that her sister’s eyes were glowing. As quickly as the pain appeared it then subsided and Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief while Silver continued to worry.
“Fluttershy, are you alright?! What was that?!”
“Sorry, I guess the stress of today finally got to me and gave me a quick migraine. It’s gone now.” Fluttershy reassured her sister.
“Ok… if you’re sure.” Silver said, though she still had a strange feeling that it was more than just a stress migraine. She decided to just ignore it for now and the two went back to walking back to Fluttershy’s home. Once they calmed down, Silver looked back at Fluttershy with a coy smile.
“Soooo, there was something you failed to mention when you were telling us about Terra.” she said innocently.
“Oh? What was it?” Fluttershy asked.
Silver leaned right into her ear before asking in a teasing tone, “Is he handsome?”
“SILVER!” Fluttershy exclaimed, her whole body going beet red. Silver collapsed to the ground in laughter.
It didn’t take much longer for them to reach the cottage. Fluttershy’s cheeks were still flushed and slightly puffed out in a pout. All the while Silver was doing her best to stifle her laughter and failing miserably.
“Sorry *giggle* Shy, but it’s just too easy to tease you, not to mention how *giggle* adorable your face is when you pout like that.” she said while giggling like a madmare.
“I am not.” Fluttershy muttered while leveling the most scrutinizing glare she could manage at her sister. She couldn’t hold it for long though as the corners of her mouth twitched into a smile and she was quickly joining her sister in laughter.
When they got to the door Fluttershy was about to open it when Silver suddenly stopped her.
“Wait, do you hear that?” she said, her face had instantly shifted to a serious look.
Fluttershy was a bit confused but she knew to trust her sister’s instincts, one didn’t become a royal guard without reason after all, so she shifted her ears to better listen and she started to hear something. It was soft yet low and seemed to be following a consistent rhythm. She actually found it quite pleasing and that’s when she realized what it was.
“It’s… singing?” she whispered. The two siblings gave each other confused looks before slowly and quietly opening the door. They made their way into the living room as quietly as they could, their hooves barely making a clop. When they saw the scene taking place their jaws went slack.
In the middle of the living room was Terra. He was lying on the floor surrounded by all of Fluttershy’s little animal friends, even Angel was sitting calmly on his back. The animals were all attentively listening to the red giant and the mares were quite aware as to why.
Terra was singing.
Hush now sweet child
Don’t make a sound
Fear not dear child
For dreams will be found
Sleep now sweet child
I will give lease
Listen dear child
To my song of peace.
His voice was smooth and low, a lovely basso profundo. His pitch was nearly perfect and Fluttershy found herself swaying a bit to his soothing voice. She couldn’t help but blush a little. He was just full of surprises.
“Wow.” Silver said a bit louder than she meant to. To her credit she was actually masking her shock at seeing Terra in person quite well. Though on the inside she was squealing like a school filly. Fluttershy’s description had not done him near enough justice now that she could see just how heavily built he was. She was also pleased to see that he was indeed handsome.
Terra heard her and managed to finally realize that his host had returned. He slowly stood up, making sure that he didn’t accidentally step on any of the smaller critters, and greeted them while Angel remained on his back.
“Welcome back, Fluttershy.” he said with a smile, then he noticed Silver and his brows raised at what appeared to be a second Fluttershy. He looked back and forth between the two mares before he found his voice.
“Um, Fluttershy? I think the blood loss is still messing with my head because there’s two of you.” he said which caused the mares to giggle.
“Actually Terra, this is my older sister, Silver Lance. She’s one of Twilight’s top guards and wanted to meet you.” Fluttershy explained. Terra nodded in understanding and took a closer look at Silver. He quickly started to see differences between the siblings. The most obvious was that Silver was taller, but he could also see that her muscles were more defined and gave her an attractive, athletic look, obviously from being a guard. While it was difficult to see due to it being tied up, he could also see that her mane was cut slightly shorter, though it was still long and elegant. However, even with all of those differences she had the same kind, motherly eyes that Fluttershy had. Terra couldn’t help but smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Silver Lance.” he said while giving a slight bow, causing Silver to smile in approval.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, I’m glad to see Rarity wasn’t exaggerating about you being a gentlecolt.” she said, causing Terra to chuckle slightly. She then walked up and started slowly circling the red giant. She was still slightly mesmerized by him. He was like nothing she had ever seen before! As she continued to circle him, making him feel just a bit awkward, she paid closer attention to his build. He held himself with purpose and discipline and she could tell that his muscles were chiseled from work and training and not just from a few too many days at the gym.
“Wait a minute.” she muttered as her eyes went wide with realization and she rushed back to Fluttershy’s side.
“What is it, Silver?” Fluttershy asked, a bit confused at her sister’s sudden shift.
She pointed toward Terra before answering, “You’re a soldier!”
Terra and Fluttershy’s eyes went wide in surprise but quickly shook it off, “What do you mean?”
“Sorry, I mean that he’s a soldier, or at the very least an ex-soldier. The way you hold yourself is how me and my comrades hold ourselves, not to mention your muscles are built in a way that you just can’t get from weights alone. I should know. I’m married to someone with the same build.” she said with a smirk. She then gave Fluttershy a coy look.
“I guess the mares in our family have a type.” she said coyly, earning her a glare from the canary pegasus.
“Not the time, Silver.” Fluttershy hissed through gritted teeth, a light blush on her cheeks.
While Silver chuckled at her sister’s embarrassment, Terra was still very confused.
“Wait, but I don't remember anything about being a soldier.” he said, slightly flustered.
“Right, Shy told us about your dilemma. The thing is that no matter how much your mind forgets the body will still retain what it was trained to do. It’s how I assume you’re still able to speak, walk and breathe.” she explained.
Terra thought about it and he couldn’t help but agree with her a bit. While being called a soldier didn’t feel quite right he felt like he was something similar. He felt the need to protect those that couldn’t protect themselves and he would admit that it had felt good to face off against that hydra. It felt even better to protect the angelic pegasus currently still giving her sister an annoyed glare. Was it him or did her coat seem more red than usual?
grrrr
Everyone was ripped out of their thoughts at the sound of Fluttershy’s stomach rumbling, causing her to forget her annoyance at her sister.
“Sorry, I guess it has been a while since I last ate.” she said sheepishly while Terra and Silver chuckled.
GRRRR
The entire cottage shook, as well as the two mares inside, from the sudden rumbling and once it subsided they directed their shocked looks at Terra, who had a sheepish smile and a barely noticeable blush strewn across his face. Angel, who had been shaken off Terra’s back, was giving the giant an angry glare.
“…I guess you’re not the only one who's a bit hungry.”
…
…
“Bwahahahahahaha!” they all suddenly burst into loud guffaws. After a while of laughing and a few tears shed they quieted down.
“I think that’s my cue.” Silver said while looking at the two, “It was great to meet you Terra, but my husband did say he was making dinner for me so I should get going.” She went over and tightly hugged Fluttershy, them saying their goodbyes, before she walked to the door. However, before she opened the door she turned back to look at Terra and both he and Fluttershy were surprised to see her eyes glistening and emanating a look of both sadness and gratitude.
“Thank you for saving my baby sister. I… don’t know what I'd do if something had happened to her.” she said all of this trying, and failing to keep her voice from cracking. Terra simply nodded in understanding, a warm smile on his face. Silver nodded back before giving a final goodbye and flying off to her own home.
“You have a wonderful sister.” Terra said after a second.
“I know, she’s always been there for me and I love her very much.” Fluttershy said.
They would have sat there longer but their stomachs demanded attention, causing them to both chuckle. She was about to go make them some dinner when she had a realization.
“Um, Terra?” she asked a bit nervously.
“Hm?”
“What exactly do you eat?” She had spent the whole time assuming he was an herbivore, or at most an omnivore, as that was the diet of every other sapient species aside from dragons, who were lithovores that occasionally ate meat. But he was something completely different from all the other sapient species so he could very well be a carnivore. If he was it wouldn’t have really bothered her, she had plenty of carnivorous critters she took care of, but she knew that not all ponies would be so accepting when they inevitably brought him into town.
He started chuckling, calming her nerves a bit “If you’re worried that I eat meat you have no reason to fret. I’m a vegetarian.” he said and she let out a silent sigh of relief.
At that she started making dinner. She made a relatively simple salad with some lettuce, red onions, shredded carrots, croutons and some shredded cheddar cheese. She made Terra’s serving nearly three times the size of hers, figuring he needed the extra food due to his size, and served it with ranch on the side. While Fluttershy practically drenched her salad in the white dressing, Terra was far more reserved in his application.
They ate in silence for a while and the entire time Fluttershy was stealing glances at the red giant. She noticed that he used his whip-like tail to hold the fork and eat, surprised by its dexterity. After what Silver had said earlier she was less surprised to see that he ate with a subdued discipline that she usually saw the guards eating with. As she kept looking at him, unaware that she had unintentionally started staring, she couldn’t help but once again take in his strong frame. Even wrapped in bandages she could see the muscles flexing ever so slightly. She followed those muscles up his thick neck until she got to his strong, defined jawline and found herself blushing.
He really was quite handsome.
“Fluttershy?”
“Eep!” she squeaked out, not prepared to hear his low, velvety voice. She looked back at him to see a concerned look on his face. She noticed that he also finished his meal.
“Uh, you ok there?” he asked with a raised brow.
She shook her head to rid it of her previous thoughts, “Yep, all good here! Nothing wrong whatsoever.”
It didn’t work.
“Okkkk… anyway, I was going to ask if you and Rarity were able to figure anything out with your visit with your friend.” he said, a little put off by her current behavior. However, being reminded of her original purpose for meeting with Spike brought her back to her senses.
“Unfortunately, Spike didn’t know anything, though he said he was pretty sure you weren't a dragon, and neither did Silver or Iron. But he did say that Twilight would be back tomorrow morning and he would let me know when she arrived at the castle. Also,” she got up from the table and approached her saddlebags that she had left by the door. From them she pulled out a truly massive book that had The Creatures of Equus written on the front cover in an elegant, golden cursive, “Spike gave me this. It’s the most up to date and extensive list of creatures that live on the continent of Equus and we figure we might find your species in here.” she said hopefully.
Terra was staring in awe at the massive tome. It looked like it had to be at least fifty pounds! He was even more shocked by how easily Fluttershy was carrying it around, almost like it was nothing. Her slender frame obviously hid a deceptively strong mare. A slight shiver went down his spine when he realized that if she was this strong then how strong was her much more muscular sister? He was brought out of his thoughts when Fluttershy dropped the dead tree on the table, causing it to creak a bit from the strain.
“So, should we begin?” she asked.
He nodded. “Let’s get to reading.”
A few hours later
Nothing.
They had spent the last couple of hours reading through the massive book, to the point that it was well past midnight, and they had found nothing. They thought they had found the answer a couple of times when they read about the basilisk, behemoth and mokele-mbembe, but none of them fully matched Terra’s description and they just kept finding themselves at more dead ends. Fluttershy was starting to get incredibly frustrated. She was so frustrated that she could just kick something, so she did. With all the unyielding force of a pissed off dust bunny, she kicked her couch.
“Fluttershy, are you ok?” Terra asked, having seen her most heinous act. He was a bit surprised when she spun around and saw great pain in her eyes.
“No! We keep finding nothing to help and every idea I have just leads to another dead end. I’m just so…so…USELESS!” she screamed out the last word, an actual scream, as her eyes started to water.
Terra was shocked. Not only because of the sudden volume in her voice, but because of what she was saying. His shock quickly morphed into determination. He didn’t know how to fully calm her or make her feel better, but there was one thing he knew for damn sure.
“Fluttershy, you are NOT useless.” he said sternly.
“Oh please,” she said in between whimpers, “I can’t do anything to help you *sniffle* or anything to pay you back for saving me in the Everfree.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” he tried to placate the distressed pegasus.
“YES I DO! If it wasn’t for you I would have been killed, Terra!” She screamed at him before the frustration became too much and she just curled up into a ball and devolved into crying hysterics.
Terra could only stare sadly at the weeping mare at first. He knew she was right to a certain degree. If his nightmare before was any indication then she would have definitely died if he hadn’t shown up. He also knew she was being far too hard on herself. It was only the first day so it was unlikely they would’ve found any solutions anyway, but he knew that wouldn’t be enough to convince her. He needed some other way to prove that she wasn’t useless and that's when he looked down at his bandages and had an idea.
“Fluttershy?” He tried to get her attention.
No response.
“Fluttershy, please look at me.” he said a bit more sternly. After a couple more sniffles she looked at him and he nearly cringed at how puffy and red her eyes had gotten. However, now that he had her full attention he decided to continue with his idea.
“You say you’re useless and that you haven’t been able to help me but look at these.” he gestured to the bandages all across his body. “You did this.”
“It wasn’t anything special…” she said before he softly shushed her..
“Of course it was. I remember how bad my injuries were, and how much blood I was losing. If you hadn’t stitched me up I would most likely be dead myself. Not to mention the kindness you’ve shown me by letting me stay at your place and immediately trying to help me with my memory problems.” he said, all with that warm smile of his.
Fluttershy found herself being comforted by his words but before she could say anything she was surprised when he wrapped his tail around her and brought her into an embrace, careful not to hurt her damaged wing. She felt herself against his slightly pebbly scales and solid frame, but was surprised to find that his body was very warm like a pony or griffon, unlike the colder bodies of dragons and changelings. She found herself looking up into his caring silver eyes and smiled as she was overcome with a feeling of warmth and safety.
Terra, meanwhile, found that her coat was as soft as velvet and her rose mane was so smooth he almost thought it was a liquid. He also found that his theory earlier was correct as he could feel some very defined muscles underneath her slender frame. None of that mattered though as he found himself staring into her large, kind eyes and smiling.
They stayed like that for a little bit until a yawn from Fluttershy signified that they should probably go to bed. Before that, Fluttershy led Terra to the guest room where he was surprised to find a bed that he could comfortably sleep on. When he questioned her about it she said that after a series of very strange events that she always kept a bed large enough for an adult manticore. He was too tired to question further.
Terra made himself comfortable on the large bed and in an instant was already asleep. Fluttershy giggled a bit at this and headed off to her own bed. As she closed the door she looked back at the sleeping giant fondly.
“Goodnight Terra, and thank you.”
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Geez Red, stranger danger!
Say, isn't one of her wings broken at the moment?
I'm pretty intrigued! This is a good start and a wonderful story for someone still learning. Awesome work so far!
Hope to see more soon!
11213087
Thank you so much!
Also thank you for finding that oversight, it completely slipped my mind
a simple edit should fix it
Terra: