The Lion and the Lamb

by CrazyChickenLady

Chapter Fourteen: The Misunderstanding

Chapter Fourteen: The Misunderstanding

Smokey was quiet as he made his entrance, slowly pulling the door behind him shut to prevent any noise from disrupting Fluttershy and Chenoa’s sleep. As he strode across the room, his body directed to the kitchenette, he paused midway to gaze over the couch and took a moment to watch his guests as they slept, their peaceful forms bathed in the pulsating glow orange cast upon them from the fireplace. He then turned his body to face them completely, bringing his free arm to a rest upon the back support of the couch, upper arm working as a prop as the dragon leaned in, his eyes absorbing the scene before him. He was completely unaware of the ponies outside who had intentions on “rescuing” the mare he befriended.

Fluttershy sighed, snuggling into the mattress and subconsciously pulling Chenoa closer. Very softly breathing, her face had a warm, happy smile on it as she slept--feeling both safe and content.

Outside, Twilight Sparkle was pacing back and forth in front of her three present friends, who were lined up in front of the house. Her mind was already trying to formulate a plan. She had attempted to see what was inside the window, though the curtains were drawn and she couldn’t see.

“Right… How are we going to do this…?” she muttered.

“Hey! Hey, hey, hey!” Pinkie Pie called over, bouncing around the side of the house.

“What is it, Pinkie?”

“There’s a broken window on the side of the house! I was able to climb inside, but the door leading to the rest of the house is locked!” She smiled. “I think we might be able to break it down and get in!”

“Really?” Twilight Sparkle grinned. “Pinkie, that’s perfect! I just got an idea!”

“We’re gonna bust right in and take Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash attempted to clarify for Twilight Sparkle, putting on a determined grin with adrenaline coursing through her body and energizing every fiber of her very being. She was more than ready to break into the dragon’s dominion and do what ever it would take to get their friend out safely.

“Exactly,” Twilight Sparkle said. “And we’re going to do a three-pronged assault.”

“A three-pronged… assault?” Rarity inquired.

“Yes. Pinkie Pie, take Rarity and go back to that one room. Smash down the door there. Applejack, you’re with me. We’re going through the front. Rainbow Dash.” She glanced over at the addressed pegasus. “Since you seem to be so proficient in breaking in through my windows, why don’t you do that?”

Rubbing her hooves together with a look of pure deviousness, Rainbow Dash prepared herself to crash through the front window. “Alright! Let’s do this!”

Rarity trotted and Pinkie Pie bounced around the house until they came upon the broken window. Both mares needed to climb through with extreme caution in order to prevent cutting themselves on the jagged glass remains. Once they were safely inside the room, they tip-toed over to the closed door. Keeping their ears pressed to the wooden surface, they listened diligently for the other three to break in.

Pausing at the front door, Twilight Sparkle turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “You girls ready?”

“Ready!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash replied simultaneously.

“Right!” Twilight Sparkle shouted, turning around. “On three! One!”

“Two!” Applejack followed.

“THREE!” they yelled in unison, bucking backwards at the door.

Right on cue, Rainbow Dash barreled right through the window, shattering the entire pane into pieces.

Detecting the commotion on the other side, Pinkie Pie and Rarity whirled around until their back ends were facing the door. Lifting their rumps and utilizing the power in their flanks, they launched their hooves and sent the door right off its hinges.

The sudden noise startled Smokey and his animals--and obviously pulled Fluttershy and Chenoa out of their slumber. His protective instincts kicked in, and unfolding his wings to lift his body over the couch--after dropping the bag of groceries--, the dragon went straight to his two guests. He fell onto his knees beside them and threw his arms around the mare and baby griffon.

The doves took to the air, flying around in a confused frenzy until they figured out they should go to their caretaker for protection. The same thing happened with the small brown rabbit. As the birds amassed themselves beside the reptilian, the rabbit dove under his tail.

“Alright, you big meanie-mean pants dragon!” Pinkie Pie challenged. “We’re not going to let you eat our friend, Fluttershy! Let our friend go! Now!”

“Girls?!” Fluttershy coughed, her eyes spinning in confusion.

“Don’t worry, Fluttershy! We’re here to rescue you!” Rarity called.

“’Rescue’…?” Fluttershy blinked. “No wait--!

“ATTACK!!” Twilight Sparkle cut her off, her horn glowing and charging at the dragon.

“Wha…?” was all Smokey could say in his dumbfounded state. These ponies, who he had taken as some sort of threat, were Fluttershy’s friends? And they thought he was going to eat her?

Before he could even do anything, Rainbow Dash lunged at him, her body having gathered enough momentum to knock him over a few feet away. The sight of the intrusion combined with the attack on the dragon was more than enough to send Chenoa clinging to Fluttershy in a fit of frightened wails.

“Yah! Take this!” Pinkie Pie cried out, leaping up and onto the winged reptile. As did Applejack, who was beginning to wish that she had brought her lasso instead of just running of without having nabbed it in the first place.

Ignoring the ear-splitting wails of the baby griffon, Twilight Sparkle precipitated herself to Fluttershy’s side. “Quick, come on, while he’s distracted!”

“What? But, Twilight--”

“Don’t worry, darling, we got you! Hurry!” Rarity was at her other side, tossing the blanket off her and moving to help her up. She had noticed--and was wincing from--the baby’s crying, but she was determined to rescue her too.

“Girls, wait--” Fluttershy tried pulling away, only to be held back by her friends.

“No time!” Twilight Sparkle snapped, her magical aura lifting her off the mattress.

“Girls?! Girls! Gir--” the yellow pegasus gritted her teeth. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and…

“STOOOOOOP!!!”

The room instantly went silent--sans the crackling coming from the fireplace. Even Chenoa had ceased her crying and was staring, wide-eyed, at her adoptive mother. Heck, everyone was staring at Fluttershy, including the doves and rabbit, who were trembling in fear and huddled among the baby griffon in a cluster of white and a patch of brown.

After a moment, Smokey decided to break the heavy stillness, addressing the rainbow-maned mare who had wrapped her forelegs around his head in a Half-Nelson. “Excuse me, miss? Would you mind letting me go?”

Though he could’ve easily pulled her off him--and defended himself throughout the ordeal--, he figured it would be better if he asked politely instead in order to show them he was a peaceful creature.

Rainbow Dash glanced down at the dragon with a hard, mistrusting glare, then back at Fluttershy with a far softer expression. “Fluttershy? What the hay is going on here?!”

Fluttershy heaved a bit, her chest lightly congested and the shock of being very rudely awakened from her induced sleep caused her to be uncharacteristically angry. Shooting a sharp glare over at Rainbow Dash that could freeze a lake over had it the power to do so, she then turned her gaze to everypony present, her anger quickly subsiding.

A few seconds passed, and she spoke, her voice soft--giving a sigh. Cradling the chick in one foreleg, she stroked her head with the other. “What happened was that I found this baby griffon near my house. She ran away, so I ran after her. I chased her onto a dead, fallen tree… over an underground well. I assumed the tree was strong enough to support me. I didn’t even think it would break, and… the two of us were sent tumbling into the well. My leg was trapped under a boulder, and I couldn’t push it off. So, I couldn’t fly out.

“I thought we would be okay at first, that someone would come along and save us… but then the water started rising. I still couldn’t get that rock off of me, and I honestly thought I was a goner.

“It was Smokey who saved me… saved us,” she explained, looking over at the dragon. “If he hadn’t come along when he did, then I’d… I…” She went silent for a moment or two. “I’ve been here, resting up and recuperating ever since.”

The ponies stared at their friend with wide eyes as their minds absorbed what she had just revealed to them. As their brains processed the information, they turned to the dragon. Rainbow Dash’s forelegs loosened and let go of his head with an apologetic look. Lifting a hoof to run it over her mane in embarrassment, a slight nervous grin spread across her muzzle.

“Well… This is kinda… awkward.”

“Oh… gosh.” Applejack sighed. “Ah… wow.”

“My. We’re so dreadfully, terribly sorry!” Rarity said.

“Yeah! We’re really, really, really, REALLY, really, really sorry about all this!” Pinkie Pie said, her eyes wide in apology.

“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow Dash added her own apology.

Twilight Sparkle said nothing, letting Fluttershy go and making her way to Smokey, her head bowed. “I… we… apologize, Mr. Smokey. We acted hastily, and in error. We saw signs at Fluttershy’s cottage that suggested there was a fight, and we saw your tracks and we just… assumed the worst had happened. We’re really sorry--we just wanted to make sure our friend was safe. Could you ever forgive us?”

Smokey’s eyes went from one pony to the next, acknowledging their sincere apologies. Smile tugging on the corners of his mouth, he nodded. “Of course. It was an honest mistake. I possibly might have acted in the same manner had I thought someone abducted dear Fluttershy.”

Upon hearing Smokey’s forgiveness resulted in a circle of smiles painted on the ponies’ faces.

“Whoo-hoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered.

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy shushed the pink pony. “You’ll scare Chenoa.”

“Huh?” Pinkie Pie turned over. “Oh! Is that the baby! Let me see! Let me see!” Coming closer, she bent her head down slightly and smiled at the griffon chick. “Oh, she’s so cute!”

“She’s absolutely adorable,” Rarity agreed. “Almost reminds me of Pound and Pumpkin.”

Twilight Sparkle smiled, before turning around and walking over to the front door.

“Uh, hey, Twi? Where ya goin’?” Applejack asked.

“Nowhere. Just to fix the door we so callously destroyed,” Twilight stated. “And I should probably do something about fixing the other door and the window, too.”

“Aw, shucks. Lemme help ya with that,” the farmer offered, heading over to assist.

“Is Fluttershy okay to travel?” Rarity asked Smokey as she turned to him. “Not that we don’t appreciate you taking care of our friend, but… wouldn’t it be a better idea to get her to a proper facility?"

Mulling over Fluttershy’s condition, Smokey rose onto his feet to kneel beside the yellow mare, his scaly hand brushing over the chick’s soft head for additional comfort.

“I’m not sure…” Raising his free hand, he brought it to the pink-maned pegasus’ forehead, splaying his palm over her hot fur, brows furrowed in thought. “She is still running a fever… And I would hate to expose her to the cold weather only for her to get worse…”

“I suppose we’ll just have to keep her here, then.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, girls.” The pale yellow equine smiled over at Rarity and then up at Smokey. “Smokey’s been taking really good care of me.”

The baby griffon frowned at the sight of Pinkie Pie, head sinking into her shoulders and burying her face into Fluttershy’s chest. The earlier scare proved to be a lousy first impression for the child. Pinkie Pie frowned a bit, her mane drooping as she pondered what she could do to cheer the baby up. While her first instinct was to run and grab a bag of flour to dump on her head, she wasn’t entirely sure Smokey would appreciate her doing that. Instead, she continued to smile and tried making funny faces at her. The result only made the infant burst into tears all over again.

“Uh, Pinkie,” Fluttershy softly spoke up. “Please don’t do that, you’ll scare her.”

“Aww.” She frowned. “I was just trying to make her smile! I’m not a bad pony--I didn’t mean to make her cry!” At that, she made another funny face.

Eyes wide with fright and beak turned down in a frown as she watched Pinkie Pie’s attempt to cheer her up, Chenoa buried her face into Fluttershy’s warm fur again, snuggling into the secure embrace. That, and with the additional touch on her head by her male guardian helped quell her fears.

Comments

[Midnight Blues]

Twilight's use of tactics was entertaining.
Great chapter keep up the good work!

[Nyerguds]

Ooh, this is on Fimfic? Awesome! I lost sight of this fic ages ago.

[Rainbowblitz]

i knew this chapter was going to be funny

[The Sandwich Guardian]

This seems kind of pointless, didn't they go through this with Zicora