Chapter 1: Nightmare Savior

Fluttershy's breath came in heaving gasps as the canary-yellow pegasus rushed pell-mell through the dense undergrowth of the Everfree Forest. The path had been abandoned long ago in her frantic desire to escape. Fear kept her wings tucked in tightly against her sides, a habit that had been ingrained in her since her days in Flight School. It was a habit that made her a favorite target of bullies, but now was endangering her very life.

As her not-flight continued, a single word forced itself into Fluttershy's head over and over again. Stupid...stupid stupid stupidstupidstupidstupidstupid! Going into the Everfree Forest was a risky venture at even the best of times, although the path leading to the home of her zebra-friend, Zecora was usually as safe as anyplace could be in the forest. Still, Fluttershy felt she should have known better than to go into the forest during Zap Apple Season. The timberwolves, whose howls signaled the beginning of the season, were always closer to the edge of the forest at this time of year, making even the most well-used trails more dangerous than usual.

A trio of the monstrous wolves formed from animated wood were in hot pursuit of her now. Even though she couldn't spare the concentration to look back, Fluttershy knew they were there, literally dogging her hoofsteps. She could even hear their grunting pants as the eager predators gave chase.

Her ears managed to warn her that one of the creatures was flanking her from the right. Veering left, Fluttershy adjusted the course to keep the timberwolves behind her. To her surprise, the tangle of undergrowth that filled the spaces between the trees gave way to an open clearing. Fluttershy's eyes widened as the oppressive darkness of the forest gave way to pure daylight as the sun, no longer filtered by the forest canopy, blazed overhead, the promise of open skies inciting hope within Fluttershy's natural pegasus instincts even though her fear still kept her wings closely tucked into her sides.

That feeling of hope was snuffed out as quickly as it arrived. From the edge on the other side of the clearing, Fluttershy spotted a pair of yellow eyes, practically identical to the ones that followed close behind her. With a shriek, she dove to the side as a fourth timber wolf lunged out of the cover in front of her, its teeth only just barely missing her tail.

Fluttershy's dodge carried her towards the wide trunk of an exceptionally large tree that dominated one side of the clearing. Before she could attempt to go around it, yet another timber wolf lunged out of hiding from behind the tree, forcing Fluttershy try and dodge around the trunk in the opposite direction, only to find that that path of escape had been closed off by the trio that had been pursuing her.

The realization dawned on Fluttershy that this had not happened by coincidence. She had been herded into a cunning trap by the clever hunters. Five timberwolves now surrounded her, with the tree at her back cutting off any hope of escape. Even if Fluttershy had been able to use her wings, the yellow pegasus would not have been able to escape upwards in time now that she was so closely hemmed in. All hope seemed to be lost.

Tears streamed down Fluttershy's face as she came upon her next realization. I'm going to die here. In what she assumed to be her last moments, she idly pondered what the result of her death would be, besides five well-fed timber wolves. Would anypony from Ponyville ever figure out what had happened to her? She knew better than to wonder if she would be missed. Fluttershy knew that her friends would be severely saddened and would mourn her passing. But what would happen to all her precious animals? Oh dear. I hope there's somepony that can look after them.

As the five wolves edged closer, Fluttershy let her eyelids drift shut. Just because her end was inevitable didn't mean she wanted to see it come. Besides, it promised to be messy. With a soft, barely audible whimper, the poor pegasus settled back and prepared for the end.

Her ears picked up the barest sound of something landing on the ground in front of her before they were filled with the dull roar of rushing wind. Opening her eyes, Fluttershy watched in shock as the wolf in the center of the group encircling her was knocked back like it had been hit by a charging buffalo. For the briefest of instants, the savage beast experienced the miracle of flight before it hit the ground with a loud yelp, bouncing all the way over to the other side of the clearing and slamming into the trunk of another tree.

The remaining wolves snarled and snapped, but advanced no further as though there was a tangible barrier between them and Fluttershy, who finally found her attention drawn to what had stopped the predators' ruthless advance. A young pegasus colt had touched down in front of her, positioning himself between Fluttershy and the advancing wolves. His coat was a deep black color, darker than Luna's night, supplemented by a silver mane. The colt's front legs were bent, lowering his head towards the ground while his wings spread out from his back. The angle at which he held the appendages caused the feathers to splay upwards and outwards, giving the impression that the colt was considerably larger than he actually was, the feathers on his wings spreading to resemble a shield that he kept between Fluttershy and the wolves.

Being Ponyville's resident animal expert, Fluttershy was more than a little familiar with the habits of wild animals, even those from strange and eerie places like the Everfree. She could recognize a threat display when she saw one. What shocked her was to see a pony putting on such a display, as though he were no different from a wild animal himself.

Fluttershy's ears twitched as she picked up a faint buzzing noise coming from the colt. It reminded her of the sounds some snakes made when they felt they were being threatened, particularly poisonous rattlers. Looking more closely, spotted a slight blurring of the young pegasus' feathers as they vibrated in place. He was creating the buzzing noise with his wings.

If anything, this seemed to upset the ravenous wolves even more. Two of them began to shuffle back, seemingly intimidated by the strange pony between them and their meal. The one furthest to Fluttershy's left stepped forward in preparation for a lunge. But the colt whirled to face it, checking it's rush as the cowed wolf retreated back. Before the others could try to take advantage of the distraction, the colt spun about to face straight ahead again, keeping all the remaining wolves in sight.

With a final round of snarls, the four wolves turned tail and ran, followed by their companion that had been knocked for a loop earlier. The pack of five slunk into the underbrush and vanished into the depths of the forest. As they disappeared, Fluttershy's quivering legs finally gave out and she slumped into a sitting position.

The colt's wings went silent as he folded them into his sides. Without making the slightest move to acknowledge the mare behind him, he began to move forward, as though he had simply been out for a morning stroll.

"Um, excuse me." Fluttershy's voice was barely more than a whisper, but it made the colt freeze in place, his entire body going rigid. "Please don't go," she begged.

Slowly, the colt turned around to face her. Fluttershy's eyes widened as they met the colt's own. His eyes were a beautiful turquoise color rarely seen in ponies. Even more distinctive were the vertical slit pupils framed by those irises. Fluttershy had seen only one other pony with eyes like those. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips before she could stop herself. Quickly, Fluttershy clamped her hooves over her mouth, but she knew that the colt had already heard enough.

He merely stared at her, his expression blank. Even though his face showed no reaction to Fluttershy's startled exclamation, his eyes betrayed a hint of some emotion. At first, the yellow mare was afraid that she had angered him. But she ultimately recognized his gaze as one of resignation. This colt was clearly used to other ponies taking exception to his eyes.

In spite of what logic told her, Fluttershy felt no fear from the colt's gaze. Perhaps it was because she had once seen the eyes of the true Nightmare Moon and the madness they contained. But she saw nothing of that malice and anger in the colt's gaze, only a placid acceptance of what he clearly considered to be inevitable. Willing her tired legs into motion, Fluttershy forced herself onto her feet and stretched a hoof out towards the colt. As the hoof came towards him, he reacted with breathtaking speed.

Pushing off the ground and spreading his wings, the colt leapt back skipping several pony-lengths back from Fluttershy with such speed that he briefly seemed to be in two places at once. Fluttershy couldn't believe that a pony could be so fast. "Oh!" she squeaked in surprise, "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you like that. Please don't worry. I won't try to hurt you." It had already occurred to Fluttershy that he couldn't hurt this colt if she wanted to (not that she would ever want to).

This seemed to placate the strange pony somewhat, but he remained wary and moved no closer. Lowering her hoof, Fluttershy continued to speak. "Um, can you talk?"

The colt's throat twitched as he hummed and coughed for a few seconds. Finally, he opened his mouth. "Yes." His voice was as soft as Fluttershy's own. It was deeper than she had expected, with a surprisingly resonant clarity that made him easy to understand even as quiet as he was. It also carried a hoarseness that suggested that the mechanisms that facilitated its usage had not been exercised for quite some time.

Before speaking further, Fluttershy took a moment to look at the colt before her more closely. His fur was thick and matted, while his mane and tail were tangled and ragged, indicating that he hadn't been groomed in a long time. Furthermore, his physique was surprisingly muscular, but lean. While the colt clearly wasn't starving, it was obvious to Fluttershy that he was no stranger to missed meals. His weathered hooves lacked shoes of any kind and were dotted with old cracks, while the skin visible through his fur was crossed with healed scratches and other old scars. The only parts of him that were even remotely clean were his wings, which he clearly preened on a regular basis. His feathers were straight and even, devoid of ragged edges that might indicate a lack of care. At least there were two parts of his body that this little pegasus took good care of.

"Can you tell me your name?" asked Fluttershy gently.

"My name is Dawn Lightwing," replied the colt, his voice still a match for Fluttershy's in volume.

A gentle smile spread across Fluttershy's face. "Thank you for saving me, Dawn Lightwing. Without you, I would be..." Fluttershy trailed off, barely able to finish the sentence as she grappled with the reality of what nearly happened to her. To help get her thoughts back in order, she decided to focus on Dawn.

"Why are you here in the forest, all by yourself?" she asked in her most placating voice, before hesitating, "Um, if you don't mind telling me..."

Dawn blinked. Then, to Fluttershy's shock, he averted his gaze, something like shame spreading across his eyes. "Ponies don't like my eyes."

Fluttershy had to fight to keep tears from springing out of her own eyes. Dawn's voice had barely any inflection at all. Perhaps the look in those strange eyes of his was an indicator of a different emotion. Dawn's voice didn't betray an ounce of shame. His tone was flat, as though he were doing nothing more than stating the facts of his existence.

"Um...I don't mind your eyes at all," she said tentatively.

The colt turned his gaze up to meet hers, an unreadable expression in those draconic orbs of his. Fluttershy got the sense that he didn't quite believe her.

"I...uh...I mean I was...surprised when I first saw them. But your eyes aren't all that scary; just...different."

"I know you're not a bad pony, Dawn. You saved my life." Deciding to take a chance, Fluttershy began to move toward him, taking slow, deliberate steps, making sure that he was able to see her every motion. "You don't have to worry about me. I won't try to hurt you."

With each step she took Fluttershy could see the colt's body tensing, as though he were fighting a war against himself. Having seen how quickly he had retreated when she had tried to touch him earlier, Fluttershy reasoned that Dawn's natural instinct was to escape when faced with another pony. But at her urging, he was trying to suppress his natural tendencies, an indicator that her words were having some effect.

"Why don't you come with me?" asked Fluttershy, surprising herself with her own forwardness, "I live outside the forest, in a town called Ponyville. I actually live a little ways outside the town, so you don't have to worry about other ponies too much until you're ready to meet them."

Dawn blinked, betraying something like surprise. "You say that like they won't reject me."

Fluttershy gave him her most encouraging smile. "Even if they try to, I won't let them."

Slowly, she reached out her hoof again. This time, the colt did not shy away. Ever so gently, she brushed her hoof against his cheek, looking deep into his blue-green eyes as she did so. Fluttershy didn't know what she had been expecting to see there; hope perhaps, possibly anxiety or fear. Instead, she saw nothing. It was as though she was gazing into a vast, empty void.

"Please?" she whispered.

Dawn's eyes slowly closed. "No."

Then he was gone, vanishing as though he had never been there in the first place. The tears Fluttershy had been fighting to keep back began to spill out of her eyes. There had been no anger in his rejection, only the same emptiness she had seen in his eyes. It was as though the colt had moved beyond fear or hope, apparently no longer having any reason to put stock into either emotion. As she wept, Fluttershy found herself wondering just how often Dawn had been faced with that rejection he had talked about to reach the point where the thought of it evoked no emotional response from him at all.

It had taken a few moments, but Fluttershy found her way back to the path and then to Ponyville. She had had to fly up past the forest canopy a couple of times to get her bearings, but otherwise had little difficulty in finding her way. It had occurred to the pink-maned pegasus that she could have flown back to her home, but she preferred to walk. And for some reason, she no longer felt concerned about running into any more predators.

She could feel the eyes of another pony on her, following her as she made her way through the forest. When she reached the edge and trotted out into the open space between the Everfree and her home, she turned her eyes back to look where she had come from. She caught the briefest flash of turquoise eyes before they vanished into the darkness of the dense underbrush.

Her lips curling up into a smile, Fluttershy let out a slight giggle. It seemed that while Dawn was wary and watchful of others, at the very least, he was a true gentlecolt. "Thank you for walking me home."

Fluttershy hummed a jaunty tune as she followed the road into Ponyville proper. In spite of her harrowing experience the previous day, she was feeling quite relaxed. She had felt Dawn's eyes following her when she stepped out of the house to take care of her chores and attend to her chickens. It seemed that, for all his trepidation, Dawn was at least committed to remaining in her vicinity for a little while longer. He never approached and whenever Fluttershy turned her eyes in the direction of the forest's edge, she caught sight of brief tremors in the vegetation that suggested that the colt had ducked down to avoid being seen.

"Good morning, Miss Fluttershy. You seem awfully happy today." A startled squeak erupted from the yellow pegasus. She had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn't seen the tan stallion approach her. Seeing her jump like that, he packed away. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."

Regaining her composure, Fluttershy turned to face him. "It's alright Caramel. I was distracted and you just startled me a little."

Caramel was one of the few ponies and even fewer stallions outside of Fluttershy's close circle of friends that she felt at ease with. While he could be clumsy and easily confused, he was gentle, polite and reliable when it counted. He was, in fact, a distant relative of Applejack's, although the tenuous ties that could be called upon to justify family relation for the Apples were hard to follow. Fluttershy had asked once, but had lost track somewhere around "father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate..."

Caramel fell into step beside her as they made their way into the market. "How are things at the shop?" Fluttershy asked.

"Going well," answered the stallion, "Bon Bon's been a little on edge lately. She doesn't talk about it much, but I think it has something to do with one of Lyra's concerts conflicting with their upcoming anniversary."

"Oh dear," exclaimed Fluttershy (or at least it was as close to an exclamation as she ever got), "They aren't fighting are they?"

The stallion shook his head, relieving her worries a little. Caramel worked for Bon Bon at her sweet shop, although the two of them were closer to business partners than employer and employee, where he showed the hint of his Apple lineage, however tenuous, with his confections; caramel apples; chocolate-covered strawberries, cherries, blueberries; and a host of other candy and fruit combinations.

"Oh, I'm glad," said Fluttershy.

The two ponies moved among the market stalls, scrutinizing produce and making their purchases. Caramel engaged in idle banter with several stallholders while Fluttershy perused their offerings. Caramel made no remark on it, but he noticed that Fluttershy was buying a fair bit more than she needed to feed herself and her animals.

Of particular note that day was the absence of the Apple family's celebrated apple stall. With Zap Apple season in full swing, the entire family was swept up in preparations for the brief window afforded to harvest the magical fruits and cook them into jam afterwards. And speaking of those preparations...

Caramel and Fluttershy made their way towards the beekeeper, Caramel needing honey for some of his confections. As they approached, they noticed that the bees were unusually active and clustered around a small filly, who was cheerfully talking to the hundreds of buzzing insects that hung from her chin like a bizarre parody of a beard.

"Good morning, Apple Bloom," said Fluttershy as she and Caramel approached, "Are you getting honey for the zap apple jam?"

The filly grinned a she turned to regard the two older ponies. "Ah sure am, Miss Fluttershy. Granny told me that Ah need to start learnin' to do this stuff for mahself. Someday, Ah'll be able to make that jam without any help."

"That's too bad," came the smug and arrogant voice of another filly, "Then I guess you'll grow up to be just as much of a kooky embarrassment as your granny."

Apple Bloom, Fluttershy and Caramel looked over to see a pink earth pony filly wearing a glittering tiara smiling condescendingly at Apple Bloom. Applejack's little sister narrowed her eyes as she glared right back.

"Ah guess ya didn't learn yer lesson last year," she said, her glare turning into a smirk that promised mischief, "Don't ferget, that precious fortune 'o yers only exists because of mah family; or do ya need another round of singin' to the waterin' cans to jog yer memory?"

Diamond Tiara's cheeks flushed bright red before she turned her nose up and away from Apple Bloom. "Hmph. At least my family has some class. Nothing changes the fact that all your little zap apple rituals are a load of rubbish that is absolutely beneath civilized ponies."

Fluttershy opened her mouth, intending to give the arrogant filly a thorough scolding, but was stopped by an outstretched hoof from Apple Bloom, who merely grinned. "It's okay Miss Fluttershy. Granny Smith taught me a little trick for dealin' with neighsayers like her." her eyes dropped down to the mass of bees still clinging to her chin. "Go get her girls."

A cloud of bees lifted off from the yellow filly and rushed towards Diamond Tiara, who let out a scream and tore off as fast as her legs could carry her, the swarm hot on her tail.

"Apple Bloom, I know what she said wasn't nice, but that was uncalled for," admonished Fluttershy, "That poor filly could get badly hurt."

"Don't worry, Miss Fluttershy," answered Apple Boom with a cheeky grin, "They won't sting her. They're just gonna buzz around her a bit."

"That's one way to get an obnoxious pony to buzz off," observed Caramel. A few seconds later, he shrank back as Fluttershy and Apple Bloom turned to stare at him, their gazes conveying a stern reprimand. "Sorry."

After getting what he had come for, Caramel and Fluttershy bid a happy farewell to Apple Bloom and continued on their way. Being the gentlecolt that he was, Caramel offered to carry Fluttershy's bags for her as they made their way towards her cottage. Fluttershy appreciated the gesture, knowing just how far out of his way Caramel was going for her sake.

As they left the marketplace behind, the number of ponies out on the street began to thin out. By the time they were halfway, they were the only two ponies in the immediate area, or so they thought.

Fluttershy was giggling at one of Caramel's funnier anecdotes, one involving the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a pound of sugar and a load of tree sap, when a voice calling out from above made her cringe and duck.

"Hey baby, what're you doing with that ground pounder when you could be spending time with a real pony?"

A neon green pegasus with an eye-smartingly bright yellow mane swooped down from above to land on the road in front of them. His ice blue eyes barely acknowledged Caramel's presence before he returned to giving the yellow mare a downright lascivious stare along with a grin that was almost predatory.

A frightened squeak escaped Fluttershy and she sank back to duck behind Caramel slightly. The tan earth pony glared daggers at the intruder. "What do you want, Flash Spark?"

"I wasn't talking to you, dirt-eater," snarked Flash, giving Caramel a condescending look that put Diamond Tiara's earlier display to shame, "I know you like to pretend that you're worth something. But do us a favor and scram. Fluttershy doesn't need you now that she has a real stallion to walk her home."

"Um...but..." Fluttershy squeaked from behind Caramel, "I'd really rather...um...that is to say...I'd like to stay with Caramel right now...if you don't mind to much."

Flash Spark licked his lips and grinned as he began advancing in smooth strides towards the mare, completely ignoring Caramel's presence. "But I'm afraid I do mind...very much. So let me get rid of the pack mule and you can enjoy some extra time with yours truly."

"That's time you don't have, Spark," snapped a new voice from above. All three ponies looked up to see a sky-blue pegasus mare hovering over them, her rose-colored eyes directing an angry glare down at Flash Spark, who had the sense to look a little nervous at her arrival. "If I recall, you have some clouds to bust up over the reservoir. Seeing as I still spy some clouds over there, I'm guessing that you haven't finished the job yet. You'd better get on that or I'm gonna have to dock your pay."

Flash Spark rolled his eyes, muttering, "I'm surprised you woke up long enough to notice."

"Got something to say Spark?" snapped Rainbow Dash brushing a few strands of her namesake mane out of her eyes, "'Cause you'd better speak up if that's the case."

"Nothing," replied Flash Spark with gratifying speed, Rainbow's arrival having clearly punched a sizable hole in his ego. Deflated and defeated, he lifted off and began flying in the direction of his work area, giving Caramel and Fluttershy one last look before clearing off completely.

Rainbow glared at Flash Spark for a few extra seconds before turning around and descending to the ground. "You okay?" she asked Fluttershy as the quiet pegasus stepped out from behind Caramel.

Fluttershy slowly nodded. "Thank you so much, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow smiled gently and patted her oldest friend on her head. "Don't worry about it. I'm gonna have a talk with that jerk and set him straight. This is the last time he gets away with harassing you like that."

"Oh please don't," protested Fluttershy, "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"You aren't the cause," Caramel pointed out in an angry tone.

Rainbow Dash favored the stallion with a nod. "He's right. Even if it wasn't you, I'd bet my wings that Flash Spark would be causing this trouble for some other mare. I'm gonna put a stop to it." She turned her head to meet Caramel's eyes. "Get her home safe, okay."

The tan stallion said nothing, but nodded resolutely at her words. Rainbow Dash gave him one last smile before shooting into the air and turning to follow Flash Spark, leaving a shimmering, rainbow contrail in her wake. Once she was gone, Fluttershy let out a breath and sagged against Caramel's side, causing the stallion to blush.

"Come on, Miss Fluttershy, let's get you home." The two of them continued their trip, Fluttershy still leaning against Caramel for support while the stallion fought to keep an ecstatic grin from spreading across his face.

Flash Spark let out an angry growl as he bucked a cloud hanging over Ponyville's reservoir, imagining that it was Rainbow Dash's face. He despised the mare with a passion, and not merely because he worked for her. Back when he had first signed on with the Ponyville Weather Bureau, Flash had been excited to find out that his boss was a mare and a real looker at that. Rainbow Dash was attractive, talented, boisterous and tough as nails. But Flash Spark had been certain that under that tough exterior was a fragile mare, just waiting for the right stallion to break her in. Flash Spark had aimed to be that stallion.

Oh she puts up a tough front, he had thought, But I bet I can have her on her back, screaming my name in ten seconds flat.

And so Flash Spark had tried his luck, cornering her alone one dark night. He was ready to give her a taste of a real stallion, having been prepping his inner timer to see how long it was before she broke down.

He hadn't even gotten to one. Before he could even blink, Flash Spark had found himself lying on his stomach, pinned, while Rainbow Dash stood on top of him, bending his wings to the point where a few more degrees of shift would pop them right out of their sockets, making tears stream down his face.

"Remember this, pal," she had whispered into his ear, "You ever try that with me again and I will rip your wings clean off. You got that?" she hadn't waited for his answer before disappearing faster than he could see.

From that moment onward, Rainbow Dash had made sure that Flash Spark's life was hell. She gave him heavy jobs and forced him to do degrading work. The stallion didn't dare argue, knowing full well that if he tried, she would take him apart.

Flash Spark was so distracted by his reverie that he didn't notice the scream of a pegasus approaching at near super-sonic speeds. He was caught completely off guard when Rainbow Dash's hooves slammed into his side and sent him flying through several of the clouds he was supposed to be bucking out the sky, the resulting impact utterly obliterating them. Scrambling, Flash flapped his wings in a desperate attempt to regain some control, managing to right himself and avoid slamming into the ground on the reservoir's shore. Touching down, Flash looked around, trying to spy the pegasus that had nearly killed him, only to come face to face with a furious Rainbow Dash as she glared at him. Behind her, the entirety of the clouds that had been floating over the artificial lake had been blasted into wisps by the shockwave of her passing.

In a single instant, Rainbow Dash had done what would have taken Flash Spark the rest of the afternoon. It was an impressive display, one that severely cowed the normally misogynistic pegasus without a word.

"Listen carefully pal," she said, her words seething with raw fury, "Don't you even think about laying a hoof on Fluttershy from now on. If you ever try anything with her, I will geld you. Got that?"

The terrified stallion could only nod rapidly, shaking at the thought of losing the only things that mattered more than his wings.

His fear only seemed to increase her contempt for him. "You're a creep, Spark. If it weren't for the fact that you can actually do your job, I would have bounced you out of the team and out of the town. You'd better not forget that. But if you try that manure with Fluttershy, or any other mare for that matter, I will forget that you're actually useful."

With that, she blasted back into the air, the shockwave of her departure knocking Flash Spark head over hooves and leaving him lying their on the shore, dispirited and defeated.

Having finished her dinner and feeding her animals, Fluttershy trotted out of her cottage and straight over to the edge of the forest. She didn't know for sure that the colt was still there, but though she could feel his eyes watching her. In her mouth, she carried a basket of mixed berries, which she set down right at the forest's edge. With a smile, she turned to her closest companion, Angel Bunny.

"Now Angel, these berries are gifts for a friend. He lives in the forest, so he doesn't get to eat food like this very often. I want you to look after the food and make sure that none of the other animals try to take it. I've saved one of Carrot Top's carrots for you. Will you do that?"

The rabbit saluted eagerly before positioning himself in front of the basket, wary eyes scanning the area for any attempt to steal its contents. Fluttershy giggled at her pet's devotion and turned back to the house to get ready for the evening. When she returned a few minutes later, she found Angel standing with the basket, now empty.

"Did he come, Angel?"

The rabbit nodded. "Thank you. Now let's go inside and get to bed."

Fluttershy turned around and led her pet back into their home, conscious of the turquoise eyes that continued to follow her.

Author's Notes:

And thus concludes the first chapter of the first installment of a God knows how long series. Following the example of some other authors on this site, I've opted to break this story down into smaller chunks to make it more digestible and to compensate for the fact that certain arcs of it shift genres. I certainly hope you find it near as entertaining to read as it was to write.