A Human turned into a young fox with a fabled History, a lost Past, and an uncertain Future
A young Hunter was just enjoying his favorite past time when tragedy struck, leaving him lost in unfamiliar lands, with an uncertain path forward and many questions. But the one question he can answer is that he's no longer human, but something akin to a dog maybe. Uncertain of everything, how will he move forward and what awaits in the darkness?
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Cover Art by the wonderful River Moon! (Seriously, go say hi to this dude- they are super generous and a kind person.)
Things happen in Life that are beyond our control eighty percent of the time. Ten percent we can handle, and ten percent that is just outside our capabilities. We control how our lives grow and change, but we don’t control how long those changes last or how much we gain from them. The one constant we think we control is how long we have to make our existence known, that when our time is up, we have left an imprint on our world.
It was a cold November morning, the sun just starting to shine through the half wintered trees. It was a beautiful sight, the evergreens defying Winters’ early grasp as orange and browning leaves fell from the trees, the only sound of a few birds welcoming the day and squirrels barking and fighting each other. I was sitting in an old oak tree, a climbing stand my only seat, and a pair of camouflage overalls my source of warmth, hands claiming refuge in the felt lined pockets. My only companion was a wood longbow and three carbon fiber arrows, a gift from my grandfather for my fifthteenth birthday, and never left my side since then. And this morning, I had a feeling that something was bound to happen- that I would leave my mark and earn my name. About forty minutes after sunrise, I heard the distinct sound of hooves walking over dried and frost covered leaves. Turning to my right, I spotted a monster whitetail buck, his antlers counting more than twelve points and standing over ten inches tall, body thick with muscle, and fur a beautiful dark brown with a black tint around his snout. Moving with practiced care, I slowly stood up, grabbing my bow and an arrow. Quietly, I notch the arrow, following his movements, and waiting for him to stop in the clearing twenty yards away from my stand. Seconds tick by, each slower than the last as my heart beats faster and faster until I feel as if he might hear the thunder in my chest. Finally he steps out, stopping to eat a few briars and acorns. With a practiced motion- one practiced so much it’s instinctual- I pull the bow up, left hand loosely gripping the wood with my elbow bent, arrow pulled back with my right hand and the first two fingers holding the taut string, until the fletching at the rear of the arrow touching the corner of my mouth. Taking aim, I point the arrow head just behind his shoulder- a guaranteed kill shot, through his heart and both lungs- and let loose the string as I exhale.
Time slows down as I watch the arrow sail through the trees like a speed boat over open waters, when a sudden, sharp, stinging pain in my arm makes me gasp in surprise and double over. In my surprise, I drop my longbow and in a panic reach out for it, causing me lose my balance and fall off the climbing stands small platform. I flail my arms, trying to catch anything to stop my fall only to knock off the other two arrows I had brought with me. During the fall, I had managed a glimpse of the clearing, my arrow shining in the light with tufts of brown and white fur falling around it and no sign of the monster buck. My heart breaks at the sight as I slam into the ground, bouncing from the impact and gasping for air as the wind was knocked out of me, not registering the pain in my head. I don’t have time to move as the arrows reach the end of their fall, one bouncing off of the ground- the shaft breaking and cutting my right eyelid, as the second hits my left eye- blade fist. I think I screamed, but a coldness started to creep into my arms and legs, feeling in each fading as the loss of sensation creeped further and further until I couldn’t feel, hear, or see anything.
I don’t know how long I was in that state before I felt a warmth, a small fleeting feeling. I wanted to move to it, to free myself from the freezing darkness. I needed to reach it. I feel as if lead weights are tied to every bone and muscle in my body as I blindly crawl to the warmth, struggling to move on my hands and knees. I get within touching distance when the darkness covers me again, swallowing me whole. With a silent cry for freedom, I jump towards the warmth- a blinding light freeing me from the frosted chains wrapped around my body- and grab hold onto something soft and solid like a old dogs paw with the comforting feeling my grandfather's hugs. Everything starts to fade, and I thought I heard my mother's voice before there is nothing.
All things have a beginning, a middle of varied lengths, and ultimately an end. But sometimes, after the end is a new beginning: a Continuation. Because if something was ended early, why waste the chance to see it try something else?
I didn’t wake up, but felt my whole body numb and distant. I felt a soft warmth around me, but not the same from that weird… dream I guess it was. I try to remember why I’m so sore, but my head starts to pound and nothing comes to mind. Giving up, I settle for trying to sit up or just roll over. I struggle to move what I believe is my arm, as if i don’t have the right connection. After minutes of trying to do anything, I manage to flex my toes. Waking up more from the sensation of feeling creeping up my aching limbs, I stretch my arms, my hands still feeling numb. Mustering more strength, I sit up and stabilize myself by placing my numb hands between my legs, slowly rotating my neck to remove the stiffness. With a yawn, i straighten my back- hearing the vertebrae pop.
With my hands numb and legs still feeling shaky, I tried to open my eyes but quickly shut them due to a blinding pain, causing me to cry out and fall over, covering them with my arms. The pain was so much, it caused me to involuntary cry as pieces of something flashed across my mind. The only thing I could figure out was that my eyes were damaged somehow, and I must be in some kind of hospital. I must have scared somebody because I could hear them rushing to me. I’m too focused on the pain to hear them talk, but I feel a soft, gentle hand stroke my head and i lean into it, my crying softens as I feel an overwhelming sense of love and caring aimed at me- like a grandmother does to a crying injured child. I felt something soft wipe my eyes and tenderly pick me up, before I felt like i was being carried. I wanted to see who was moving me, but between my eyes and head hurting and the gentle swaying, I found myself drifting off to sleep. Unable to fight it, I rested my head against the woman’s body and fell asleep.
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Fluttershy
It was a calm day as I walked around my little cottage on the edge of town, checking on the many critters staying, checking up on those that had minor injuries, were feeling ill, or hungry. I was making a quick snack for Harry the Bear when Angel Bunny hopped onto the counter. “Hello, Angel. Do you need something?” I smiled, placing Harry’s snack into a bowl for him.
Angel huffed and crossed his arms. “Yes. I want some fresh carrots and berries in a salad. Please….” he relaxed his arms, dropping his attitude.
I giggled to myself because of the cute anger he always showed, “Certainly. But could you take this to Harry, Please? It’s a special snack to thank him for helping with the woodchucks that got caught in that awful storm yesterday.” I smiled as he dramatically sighed before taking the bowl and hopping off the counter and into the living room. Walking to my back door, I pick up a small basket by the door with my hoof, opening the door with my other hoof before flying out into my backyard. With the help of Applejack, i was able to get a small garden started so I wouldn’t have to worry about spending so much bits at the market for food. And with the help of my little critter friends i was able to make it a bit bigger and grow a variety of vegetables and even a few fruit trees!
When I got to the garden, I dropped the basket as a gasp escaped my muzzle. “Oh my…. What happened?” I asked as Seria, a young barn owl that volunteered to watch over the garden landed in front of me.
Seria bowed, her tail feathers drooping. “I am very sorry, Miss Fluttershy. I was watching the Garden all night. And at close to sunrise, I was very tired and fell asleep…. I woke up because I heard a loud noise from the forest. And the berry bush that Mister Angel loved had been ripped apart. I panicked and flew around before I spotted a pack if Timberwolves running deeper into the forest.” She sadly hooted, hanging her head. “I am very very sorry…….”
True to her word, the berry bush was destroyed, only a single branch left standing with a sole berry at the tip. I landed, laying a comforting wing around Seria, softly smiling. “I am not mad at you. I knew that other creatures would steal from our garden, and it’s not your fault. I should have had more than one bush planted, but also you should have came in and told somepony that you were too tired. It doesn’t make your actions mean any less if you ask for help. Ok?” I hugged her, as she perked up, her body firming up from the pep talk. “Now, I have to search for some berries for Angels snack, so could you please ask the squirrels or the groundhogs to help you clean up the broken twigs and put them with the fire wood? Thank you.” Seria eagerly nodded, quickly taking off back to the house. Smiling at the happy owl, I picked up my basket and tried to remember where a berry patch was close to my cottage. Remembering, I lift off the ground, flying towards the edge of the Everfree forest.
Reaching the forest edge, I land and take the path that would lead me to a small clearing with a few berry bushes. A couple minutes of walking led me deeper than I would have liked to go, I just remembered that this group of bushes lie farther in than Zecora’s hut. Holding my wings closer to my body, I quicken my pace trying to be the brave Shy and not the scared Shy. I finally reach a small clearing with berry bushes scattered about. Relaxing at the sight of a more normal part of the Everfree, I start to pick the berries, I have almost filled my basket, more than plenty for Angels salad, and some I might preserve until the bush in my garden re-grows, when I hear a cry of pain on the other side of the clearing. Dropping the basket, I rush to the cry that sounded like it came from a foal. Flying over a batch of briars, I spot a autumn red, almost orange fox pup covering its eyes and crying. “You poor dear! Don’t worry, I’ll help you….” I cooed, gently petting its head. The fox stopped crying as it leaned into my hoof, and I used my wing to wipe its tears away but the pup did not move its forelegs from over its eyes. Concerned about its health, and wondering where its mother is, i pick up the fox pup in my wings and start to fly out of the forest and to Dr. Fauna’s clinic in Ponyville. After clearing the forest and adjusting my flight path, I feel the pup curl up in my wings and rest its head against my chest.
Fluttershy landed in front of Dr. Faunas clinic, lightly panting from the distance and not being used to carrying a passenger. Holding the pup to her chest with a foreleg, she knocked on the door with a wing. “Excuse me, Dr. Fauna? Are you open? I have a bit of a situation……” she politely and softly yelled.
A small comotion and what sounded like a woodland chipmunk barking came from the otherside before the door was opened enough for a golden furred earth pony mare, with a two tone blue mane that was tied back, to poke her head out. “Hm? Oh, Fluttershy. How can I help you?” she opened the door all the way, softly smiling.
Fluttershy showed the fox pup, still asleep in her hoof. “I was picking berries when I heard a cry, and after i rushed to it, i found this fox pup crying and covering its eyes with its forelegs……” she explained as Dr. Fauna looked the pup over without disturbing it. “I was wondering if you could examine it, and if you know if it has a mother or not…… I would hate for this poor pup to wake up and be scared, looking for a mother that’s not there….”
Dr. Fauna sternly nodded. “Indeed. Well, come in and place it on the table. You’re just in time too, i just cleared my last patient- by which I mean scolded for faking an injury to avoid an angry mate and trying to get sweets out of me.” She chuckled, walking in with Fluttershy following behind her. “You know where it is, I’m going to get what books I have on foxes.” She disappeared into another room as Fluttershy set the pup down on the examination table. The Fox pup didn’t react to the movement except for its tail curling around itself. Fluttershy was enjoying watching the cute pup sleep when Dr. Fauna came back with a small book balanced on her back. Placing it on the table, she opens it to a page with a picture similar to the fox before her. “Alrighty then…. Based on just looking at it, I can tell that its old enough to not need a mother, but its not an adult either. And I believe it to be very healthy too. But I cannot be certain until I perform a more indepth assessment.” She moved from the book to her new patient, gently moving the tail away, noting how soft and healthy the fur felt. She softly flexed its knees, pressed its paws and felt for any deformities under the skin. Finding none, she smiled and moved onto checking its teeth for any disease or damage and was slightly shocked to see perfectly clean teeth with not a single one damaged or missing. Getting past the surprise, she grabbed her stethoscope and placed it over the left, and right side of its chest before listening to the side, checking how well the lungs were functioning. Satisfied with the clear lung sounds, she moved to the center of its chest, listening to the heart. Finishing her assessment, Dr. Fauna wrote everything down on a patient report before turning to Fluttershy, “Well, I’m happy to say that he is very physically healthy and has no underlying injuries besides possibly his eyes. But i would like to test his nervous system and his other senses when he is awake.”
Fluttershy smiled at the news, feeling the most of her worry and concern lift from her wings. “Oh that’s wonderful!” She paused, blinking. “Um, did you call it a he? It kinda looks more like a female than a male….” She questioned.
“Trust me, its a he. Let's just say there was obvious signs…” Dr Fauna giggled as Fluttershy blushed. During her laughing, the pup stirred and stretched its legs and back, similar to how a dog would. The movement caught her attention, “Oh! He’s waking up…” she lowered her head to his level as he slowly blinked the sleep out of his eyes.
I stirred awake, not opening my eyes or moving. Whatever i was laying on was cold, but not freezing, and I wanted to roll over to finds a warm spot but just couldn’t muster the energy to do so. Giving up on sleep, I stretch my limbs and slowly open my eyes, blinking the sleep away. What I see as my eyes gain focus, confuses me. A golden furred face with a smile is staring at me, but I’m not scared. Just confused and curious about who it is and where I am. I tilt my head and feel something on top of it, one turns away from the direction I’m looking at as I hear a soft voice behind me gasp. A few things run through my mind, and the first is that the things on my head are ears, second is that everything I do seems to make the…… pony in front of me happier, and lastly the voice behind me is the same one that I heard after I tried to open my eyes! Wanting to see the face of the voice, I sit up and turn the direction my ear was pointed. What I see confuses me, it’s another pony, but this one is different. Unlike the first one, She has what looks like wings on her sides.And the only reason I call her a she is because a bit of how she looks and the same caring and compassionate feeling I’m getting from her. I think about moving to her to thank her, when I feel my arm move, but the hand still feels off. Looking down, everything clicks. I don’t have a hand, I have a black furred paw. And I also have a muzzle based on the red fur I see at the bottom of my vision. I slowly set my paw down, getting a feel for how it moves. I stand up, wobbling at not being used to how everything feels, and slowly move in a circle, working out the stiff muscles and numbness. As I finish my little parade, I sit back down as something in my mind shifts, and every part of my body is no longer a mystery. A golden hoof waves in front of my face, breaking me out of my introspection. Curious, I look up and see that the Golden Pony and the Winged one- that I’m going to call Grandma- are both smiling at me.
“Hello Little Fox, how are you?” Grandma asks, seeming to constantly give off love and compassion.
“Um… Okay? Very confused…..” I respond, but all I hear is a mix of soft barks and a whine, making me think she can’t understand me.
But my jaw nearly fell off when she softly smiled and rubbed me between the ears- which was a feeling of pure bliss- and responded. “Well, I found you in the forest, scared and by yourself. And it seemed like you were hurt, so I brought you to Dr Fauna- She’s an animal doctor….” She giggled and hid her muzzle behind her wing at the look of confusion and surprise on my face. “Oh, um… I forgot to mention, but I can understand animals….” she blushed, partially trying to hide behind her mane.
I shook my head, hoping to get my ears petted more. “I-its alright, i was just surprised for a pony to understand me…… um, Thank you for helping me…” I attempted a reassuring smile, but it didn’t feel like i could with the muscles in my muzzle, so I settled for swishing my tail back and forth which seemed to draw her out from her mane with a smile. Feeling stiff, i stood up and stretched out my forelegs while stiffening my rearlegs, a yawn escaping my muzzle. “So…… if I am healed, what next? I feel a bit cramped inside here……”
Fluttershy snapped out of her shyness, the fox’s question making her think about what to do with him after Dr Fauna was done with her check up. She could just take him back to the woods and let him go, Fauna did say he was old enough to start being on his own. But then the images of him curled up and crying, calling out to a mother that wasn’t there and she immediately tossed that idea aside. Instead, she decided she would take him back to her cottage and care for him until he was fully grown. She smiled at the idea, remembering Dr Faunas words before the fox pup woke up. “Well,.... When I found you, you were crying and covering your eyes with your paws. So, Dr Fauna wishes to test how well they are. So, please sit still just a bit more and listen to her, please?” The fox let one ear drop and let out a half whimper but nodded his head, which made her giggle at the cuteness.
Dr Fauna took that as her que and lightly tapped the table with a hoof to get the fox’s attention. Once he was focused on her, she took a small, low powered flashlight and slowly moved it over his eyes, checking to see if they dilated according the the amount of light they received. “Proper reaction to light, equal movement and dilation. No observed deficits.” She finished with a smile, placing a flavored treat at his paws for such excellent behavior, smiling as he quickly devoured it, a happy look in his eyes. “I do not know what happened to him before you found him, but I can one hundred percent give him a clean bill of health! You are free to take him, and I hope to not see him on the table again.” She light heartedly joked, having turned that sentence into her unique way of saying goodby.
Fluttershy smiled and gently fluttered her wings in excitement. “Thank you, Dr Fauna! He seems a little wound up, so I think I will walk him around town to get used to other ponies. He seemed a bit surprised to see us.” She softly smiled and nuzzled the little fox before gently picking him up by the scruff of his neck with her muzzle and setting him on the floor, and walking out the door. “Alright my little fox, our first stop is the Market to get you a few housewarming gifts!” She shouted, which for her was everyone else’s normal level.
Okay, first of all, that snack was amazing! I’m almost tempted to get myself hurt just to get one after every visit. But that would probably make Grandma worry a lot, as she seems the type to get easily distraught. Secondly, getting picked up by the scruff is weirdly comforting. Like, I went from feeling twitchy from staying still for so long, to ready to snuggle up for a nap in an instant! I don’t know who this kind and wonderful winged pony is, but she was a professional.
