Chapter 1: Wooden Wolves
The wildlife of Equestria never ceased to amaze Razor Flake. Even the Everfree, with it's forboding appearance, and matching reputation, did deter him as much as it probably should have. The plants looked meanecing enough to frighten anypony with a glance. But that was it. Upon closer inspection, the trees were trees. Wooses and Ents are few and far between these days in the mainland of Equestria.
A pity. The coniferous Ents in the north may be the last of their kind.
Then there were the real anomalies. The flora was strange, Bute fauna blew them out of the water. Mangalore, Cockatrices, and more were just par for the course. This brought Razor's mind back to why he was walking, and not flying over, the Everfree.
A Timber wolf cub had taken a liking to to him, and eventually, Bramble, as one of the local alpha males called him, and eventually was as present Razor's own shadow. Where Razor went, the wolf went, too. Just then, an alpha female emerged from the brush. He knew alpha timber wolves could speak, it was whether or not they would. An unfortunate misconception about the creatures was their nature. Most timber wolves are docile, if somewhat territorial. They just have some bad apples in the bunch. Gerald, criminals, are just plain bad wood. Razor Flake had experience with the wooden wolves since they were far more prevalent in the north, along with the reclusive ice wolf.
"Hello there! I'm sorry about intruding upon your territory, but as you can see, I am currently unable to fly." He said this, gesturing to bandages around his barrel.
"That's quite alright. Your pup has taken nicely to me, it seems", she replied. Her voice sounded like... well, like wind blowing through trees.
"Thank you... what is your name?"
"Kindley of the Oaken pack, but Kindley is fine."
"Alright then. If you wouldn't mind, do you know where the cottage on the edge of the forest is? Bramble just had termites in his forepaws, and I want to make sure he's okay."
"Just past that Great Oak. Now, come saplings, we've got much work for you do. Anyways, I never got your name. What was it?"
"Razor Flake. I'm from Hard Hoof in the north. Bramble here is a redwood."
"Ah, yes. We don't have redwoods down here. But, the redwoods are known to be friends of the Oaken up there, and friends of the Redwoods are my friends, too."
"Thank you, Kindley. Salutations!"
"Good bye, Razor Flake."
Razor Flake had been lost in thought, and didn't realize when he number into the cottage door. Brought back to his senses, he knocked on the door of the humble looking abode.
"Hello? Anypony home? My dog is sick, and I want somepony to have a look at him. Are you the animals caretaker?"
"Yes, please come inside. it's not safe in the Everfree." The voice was very quiet and timid, but somehow familiar.
The door opened, and a yellow pegasus mare with a pink mane and tail. Her mane was long enough that it covered her face.
"Oh, come here you poor thing, let me take a look at yo-"
She was, expectedly, startled by the small timber wolf, but aided the puppy none the less.
After awhile, the mare had told Razor that timber wolves, being a magic being with a physical form, had a magic borne illness. She said that there was a magic expert in town, and that Razor should head to Ponyville.
"Thanks miss. Come Bramble, we've got some walki- Wait. Fluttershy?"
"Um yes, that's me. How do you know?"
"It's me, Razor Flake. Remember? I left in the middle of flight school?"
Then the yellow mare did something Razor did not expect. She flew into a hug, sobbing. Razor was reminded that she had thought him dead for this long, and the normally neutral faced pony grimaced at what the timid pegasus mare must have been through all those years.
"It's you? How- They said you were- The blizzard- I thought you were- We all thought you'd-"
She wasn't able to finish, she was crying too hard. It had finally struck the gray pegasus that he and Rainbow Dash may very well have been Fluttershy's only close friends. That storm all those years ago had, in Fluttershy's eyes, taken a half of her friends away from her.
"Hey, stop it, you're going to make me cry, too! I'm fi-"
Razor was always Fluttershy's pillow to cry into when RD was otherwise unavailable. Though he was closer the rainbow blur than Fluttershy, he realized he was a much bigger part of Fluttershy's life then he thought. In that moment, he knew that, even if Fluttershy was the kindest, most soft hearted pony he ever knew, this was something that he never could mend.
Even if my wings can be replaced, the relationship between us can never be the same as it once was.
She cut him off as soon as he saw his bandages. His old wounds hadn't even occurred to him in this embrace, let alone what Fluttershy would think.
"What happened to you!? Are your wings okay?", she gasped.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just old wounds that don't want to heal. I'm so sorry for what I have done to you. I know that I can never make it better, but can we still be friends?" The lie twisted his gut like a gear, but all in due time.
She seemed to calm down a little, and took the hint from Bramble's worried expression at their embrace when Fluttershy started to cry. He passed her tail, his ears pointed back, and the bristly evergreen needles on his back were down. He whimpered as her tears hit the floor. Seeing the distressed puppy, she stopped crying impressively fast for the small wolf's sake.
She explained about her friends, their adventures, and that she was still in touch with Rainbow Dash. Razor told her that he was passing through, but it had turned out that the animal specialist he was looking for was Fluttershy.
"Well, I better get going then. Come, Bramble, we're leaving to town."