> In Fine Feather
>  by ThaStrangr
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It had started again. The wailing. The groaning. The pained stares. Twilight cringed as he struggled to take even the smallest of breaths. Fluttershy would be here in a few minutes, diagnose him, and get everything back to normal.

She noticed it maybe twenty minutes prior. Everything seemed to be fine. Just another average day, in their average home, of their average lives. Twilight had pulled herself out of bed and, after scarfing down one of Spike’s delicious breakfasts, curled up on the floor with an old Daring Do. 

She became lost in the world she loved. While she cherished her friends, and would not give them up for anything, she did sometimes miss her solitude, when she would waste her days in those printed papers, where she would let loose her imagination. She was pulled from the story being woven in her mind by a loud screech. It was nothing she had heard before. Unbearable pain emanated from this noise. 

She searched for the source of the sound, finding her beloved pet Owlowiscious writhing on the floor. Without hesitation, she tossed the book aside and darted to him. When she was a foreleg’s length away, he howled and attempted to pull himself away from her.
“Spike, something’s wrong with Owlowiscious. Get Fluttershy.” The little dragon stormed through the door as fast as his little legs could carry him as Twilight simply watched her pet suffer agonizing pain she had no idea how to relieve. After the bird had relaxed a bit, she used her magic to carefully place him on the stand holding the figurehead in the room. After that moment, all Twilight could do for her owl was wait.

A gentle knock sounded on the front door.
“Finally,” Twilight sighed. She trotted toward the door and threw it open. She was greeted by a shining smile.
“Good afternoon, Twilight. I have my supplies with me. Where is Owlowiscious?” Twilight returned her smile and pointed toward the statue in the center of the room. Fluttershy approached the bird slowly and began speaking to him in calm and quiet tones. Spike followed her through the door and stood by figurehead.

“Hello, Owlowiscious. I’m going to be looking over you. You don’t need to be afraid. Okay?” As Fluttershy reached forward, the owl began flapping wildly, twitching this way and that. “Twilight, hold him.” Twilight followed the doctor’s directions, encasing the bird in a lavender aura and gently pressing him into the table. 

For reasons she didn’t fully understand, Twilight felt water creeping from her eyes. ’Fluttershy will fix him. Whatever’s wrong, she can fix it.’ Those words echoed through her mind. No matter what the problem, she swore to herself that Fluttershy had the solution. She wouldn’t allow herself to consider any alternative.

An ear-shattering screech from the captive aviary turned the unicorn's gaze to the doctor. Fluttershy was simply staring at the owl positioned before her, pulling her stethoscope’s diaphragm away. She was wearing an expression that made Twilight feel a bit uneasy. Fluttershy cast her eyes to her friend.
“I… I think I may know what the problem is. Could you keep him steady for me?” With but a thought, the bird had ceased his squirming. Twilight nodded back to her veterinarian, cuing her forward. Fluttershy reached her hoof forward slowly, gently pressing it against her patient’s back. The little bird released a noise similar to a scream. Fluttershy closed her eyes and retracted her hoof. She directed her attention to the baby dragon beside her.
“Spike, could you go into the kitchen for me?” she requested rather nonchalantly.
“What for?” was his response.
“Owlowiscious is going to need food to recover, so I want you to whip up a nice, big meal for him.”
“Oh, I guess that makes sense. No problem. I’ll make him a meal fit for a princess.” He sprinted through the kitchen doorway, unaware of the yellow pony closing it behind him.
“Twilight.” At the mention of her name, the unicorn looked up. The look she was being given filled her with a sense of dread she had never before experienced. The pegasus walked up to her, placed a hoof on her shoulder, and donned a pleasantly reassuring smile. Though, Twilight could tell that this smile was shaky and forced, and seemed to require some effort for her friend to keep it. She couldn’t stand to drag this on any longer. She had to know.
“Fluttershy, what is it?” The faux smile instantly vanished and was replaced by regret and sympathy.
“I believe,” Fluttershy took a deep, calming breath to steady her speech, “I believe Owlowiscious has a pulmonary embolism.”
“A.. a what?”
“Simply put, a clot formed somewhere in his body and traveled through to his lungs. The clot is too large to pass through his lungs’ cavities so it’s causing blockage.”
Twilight looked over her beloved owl once more, feeling a wrenching pain somewhere inside her. 
“There’s something else.” She shot back to the other pony, not certain she wanted to hear what followed. “The surgery to remove the clot is very dangerous. I don’t have the equipment to perform it myself and moving to a vet center could worsen his condition. But, judging by his current condition, even if he received the surgery and survived by some miracle, he wouldn't last the following night.”
“Wh-what? You’re telling me there’s nothing I can do?!” Fluttershy reached into her  medical bag and pulled something from it.
“There is one thing.” She held the ominous tube out for Twilight to examine it.
“No. No I can’t.” She felt all hope slipping from her grasp as the tears fell relentlessly from her eyes.
“Twilight. He is in excruciating pain. You know I wouldn’t suggest this if I wasn’t certain there was no alternative. Whatever you decide, there is about a 98% chance Owlowiscious won’t make it through this.” Twilight’s legs felt weak, and buckled beneath her. Her sobs had evolved into low wails by this point, and Fluttershy positioned herself next to her unfortunate friend, embracing her comfortingly. For a moment, they simply sat there before Fluttershy broke the silence.

"I know you think I'm being cruel, but I'm actually trying to help him. He's just going to writhe and suffer until he fades. This way, he doesn't to go through that. This way, it'll be quick." The unicorn gave a hesitant and shaky nod in agreement.

"Can I talk to him a bit first? 

"Of course." The yellow mare walked slowly back to her side of the table. As Twilight looked down over her feathery friend, an image crossed her mind.

A lone unicorn quietly writes at her desk as a shadow dashes by outside. She opens the nearby window, and the ensuing breeze whisks away her parchment. She watches as the paper dances through the night sky, far beyond her reach. Panic filling her, she paces back to the desk, only to find an unfamiliar bird, placing the same scroll that had occupied the space moments before. The winged well-doer, content with his work, turns to the window to take his leave. The pony calls out to him, 
“Wait! Don’t go. Don’t be afraid.” The bird turns his head around to regard the pony. She thanks him for retrieving the lost item for her, an instant before a cold wind slips through the window, causing the bird to shiver.
“Gosh, it’s cold tonight,” the pony states, “Say, would you like to relax in here and keep me company while I work?” Her new feathery friend, thankful to be out of the cold, hops across the desk with a ‘hoot, hoot’ and perches himself on a nearby coat rack, watching the unicorn as she sets back to her writing.

She held him in her magic as she reached her hoof over and gently stroked his face.
"That night, all those years ago, I thought it was luck that brought you to me. But you were meant to find me. Others may see you as just a pet, but you're so much more. You have been a loyal and loving friend. You taught me so much, even if you didn't mean to. I will always love you." She leaned in, and her lips tenderly pressed against his head.

As the needle gently slid into him, he left his companion with one final lesson.

Twilight never knew owls could smile.