Chapter 3

Connor stretched out on the couch. Fluttershy had offered him her bed, but he wouldn’t allow her to give it up. Plus, he fit better on the couch; pony beds weren’t as big as human beds. No, he was fine on the couch. He would have been fine on the floor, too, because all he could do was smile. The yellow mare he had met just hours ago had completely engulfed his mind, and he found himself forgetting about getting home to Hyrule for long stretches of time. Now, as the moon rose and the birds fell quiet, he felt comfortable knowing that she slept nearby, just up the stairs. He closed his eyes and let the events of the day wash over him as he fell into a deep sleep.

….A sleep which was broken most abruptly an unknown time later. It was still dark, the moon still hung in the sky, and yet Connor was on his feet, crouching, feeling adrenaline coursing through his veins. Why was he up? What had happened….?

There! It came again. A feminine scream. Connor knew of only one individual around that would be making that sound. He looked around wildly, a third scream forcing his head to turn even faster and his heart to beat at triple its normal rate. He concluded that the sound was coming from outside the cottage, and, snatching up his sword, he charged out of the small house.

Coming outside, he glanced over to see Fluttershy backing away from a red monster waving a large machete. The creature was stalking toward her, its beady black eyes filled with malice and glee as it closed the distance between it and its victim.

Bellowing, Connor charged the brute, hoping to distract it from Fluttershy. He was successful in this, and the monster turned to see him running full tilt at it, sword at the ready. The red beast gave a screech, and turned to face him, waving its machete threateningly. Connor, however, had recognized it and its kind. …Bokoblins? Here? His thoughts ran wild, but he had no time to meditate on them now. He had reached the enemy, and brought his blade up to meet the other as it sliced toward him sideways. Having forgotten to grab his shield, he was stuck with parrying without it.

The beast, surprised Connor wasn’t in two pieces, tried again, a fierce downwards cut that would have caught Connor right on the shoulder had he not blocked it with his own blade. He then took advantage of the enemy’s position (who had stopped, confused again) and brought his sword down in a diagonal slash that took the beast across the chest and knocked it flying onto its back. Connor knew better than to let it up (a wounded animal was always more dangerous) and took his chance to leap onto the beast, exclaiming loudly and driving his blade into the creature’s neck and through it into the ground below. The Bokoblin fell still, and then disintegrated briefly into black dust which blew away into the night.

Connor remained kneeling where he was for a second, catching his breath. The danger was over; the adrenaline began to drain from his system, and his heartbeat began to slow. He rose, leaving his sword partially submerged into the ground where it was, and looked around.

He caught sight of Fluttershy, trembling by the small chicken coop she kept. Connor approached her carefully, seeing the fear still in her large cyan eyes. He knelt down before her, bringing his hands up to her head. After a moment’s hesitation, he began to run his hand down her neck, feeling the soft fur there and letting his fingers play through her mane. Her trembling began to subside, and gradually she turned her head up to look at him. Connor kept quiet, waiting for her to work herself out, and continued to stroke her mane gently. Not that he minded this; he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to stop stroking her soft hair without being forcibly removed from it. Eventually Fluttershy spoke.

“Um, thank you…for saving me… that monster was scary…”

Connor smiled gently and continued to caress her light pink tresses. “No problem. I’ve dealt with that type before. Do you know where it came from?”

Fluttershy had closed her eyes, and moved her head slightly so Connor could continue sweeping his hand down her neck and onto her back.

“Oh, that feels good. Your… hands, you called them? They’re much softer than hooves…” She suddenly realized he had asked a question. “Oh, the monster… Well, I woke up when I heard the chickens starting to make noise, and I flew out to see what was the matter… I found that big dumb meanie wandering around, coming from the forest. When he saw me, he started toward me, growling. That’s when I screamed, and then you came out and....”

Fluttershy paused, reddening slightly. “…You were very brave. That was a big creature…”

Connor felt his own face flush. He was glad it was dark. “...Nah, he wasn’t that big. I’ve seen bigger. But I want to know where he came from; he’s from where I used to live.”

As if they both knew the answer, they turned together slowly to look at the Everfree forest. Its dark depths looked back intimidatingly at them. Nothing else stirred from within the woods.

Connor suddenly felt very exposed, out in front of the treeline. With tremendous effort, he let his hand fall from Fluttershy’s mane. He didn’t fail to notice the small sigh that escaped her when he did so, and the slight slump of her shoulders.

He rose to his feet, and beckoned to Fluttershy. “Come on. The chickens are quiet now, and I don’t think there’ll be any more monsters. Come back inside and go back to sleep.”

Fluttershy looked trustingly up at him. “Um, what about you?”

“I’m going to stand guard out here for a little while, just in case there are more.”

Fluttershy began to protest. “Oh, no, you don’t need to do that! I can watch, or I can get Angel to watch, he’ll wake us if anything-”

Connor quieted her with another pat to the head. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Go back to sleep, I’ll watch your chickens.”

Fluttershy gave him another uplifting smile, and by the light of the moon Connor could see the gratitude in her eyes. He suddenly felt like he could stand out here all night, on one hand if need be, to make her happy. To cover these thoughts, lest they show on his face, he made a show of going over and retrieving his sword from the ground where he had left it. He checked it, then turned to see Fluttershy still looking at him.

“Go ahead! I’ll be fine, really.” He smiled reassuringly.

“…Well, alright. Thank you… Connor.” (Connor felt his feet trying to leave the ground again as she said his name.) Fluttershy gave him one more heartbreakingly adorable look and then turned to go back inside. Connor gazed after her until the door was closed, and then continued looking, imagining her still there. Eventually he sighed contentedly, and turned back to watch the woods, in case anything else tried to come out of it that would try to harm her.

*** *** ***

The next morning, Connor awoke to see Fluttershy standing next to the couch he had returned to, carrying a tray with breakfast on it. He had stayed outside until he saw the sun breaking through the trees, then come inside to try to catch a few more hours of sleep. Fluttershy had found him when she had come down to take care of the early birds. He stretched, and then rose to a sitting position. As soon as he had removed the tray from her mouth, she began to ask questions.

“Are you okay? Are you tired? You didn’t stay out all night, did you? You didn’t have to do that!”

Connor grinned tiredly. “Aw, now, I couldn’t not protect a beautiful creature like you!”

As soon as he had said it, Connor regretted it. What was he thinking? Compliment her like that? He might as well have told her he was… well, nevermind. Stupid sleep deprivation.

Fluttershy, as expected, blushed a scarlet deeper than Big Macintosh’s coat and lowered her head slightly.

In a quiet voice, she said, “Oh… um… Thank you…”

Connor kicked himself again. “Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to be… suggestive or anything… I mean… well, that is… ”

He stuttered on until Fluttershy looked up again at him, a friendly smile on her face. “Oh, um, that’s okay. I thought you were joking, and I didn’t think you were mean like that.” Her face took on an anxious look. “You weren’t joking, were you?”

Connor felt his heart leap. “N-No! Not at all! I do think you’re beautiful! I mean… yeah!”

Fluttershy’s smile lit up his world, brighter than the sparkle of Celestia’s sun and the white gleam of Luna’s moon combined.

“Oh, well, thank you.”

Connor felt a dumb grin on his face. Shaking his head slightly to remove it, he said stupidly, “Um, no problem!”

Silence descended between the two then, as Connor began to eat his breakfast. To break the awkwardness, he asked,

“So, you’ve never seen a monster like that before? This is the first time?”

Fluttershy whimpered at the thought of the red creature that had attacked her last night. “No, he was the first. Um, why?”

Connor chewed thoughtfully. “Well, I was thinking last night. I came from Hyrule. Then another monster came from Hyrule, coming out of a forest that looks suspiciously like the Lost Woods by me. I wonder if there’s a connection between my world and yours…”

Fluttershy considered this. “Well, it is true that strange things happen there. I’ve only been inside a few times, but I know that magic works differently there.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh! If anypony knows, it’s Twilight! She’s very smart, you know.”

Connor remembered the purple pony from the day before. “Oh, yes, I met her. She said something about helping me, then ran off.” He finished eating and stood up. “Can we go see her?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, yes. As soon as I finish with the animals, we’ll go.”

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