It was late into the evening when the trio reappeared in the center of Ponyville. However, the three of them were in various emotional states. One was groggy due to a small concussion, one worried about the one with the concussion, and the third was having Equestria’s greatest panic attack. For the sake of understanding the third’s mental break down, we’ll focus on him.

“WHAT?! WHAT?! What was that?! Where are we?! WHAT DID YOU-” Thorn yelled in confusion. Unfortunately for him, his panic ridden state caused some unwanted attention from some of the residents of Ponyville. Several ponies redirected their attention towards the buck, and they locked onto him with no intention to deviate. Thorn was quick to take notice and his fears reached an all new high. There weren’t just three ponies now, there were...a lot. Looking at him.

His eyes shrunk to atomic levels, and his breathing was too erratic to be healthy. He was sweating buckets and his mind was barely maintaining proper levels of sanity. “P-p-p-p-ponies e-e-e-everyw-w-where...” he spat out before he started foaming at the mouth,his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Thorn all but collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Fluttershy watched as the buck had a full and complete mental shutdown and couldn’t determine how to react. He’s...scared of ponies? Fluttershy thought to herself. For a moment, she felt a twinge of familiarity. Her fear of being the center of attention often limited her interaction with ponies. It wasn’t until she had met her good friend Pinkie Pie that she really opened up...gradually...very gradually.

“Fluttershy? You okaaaaaa- OH MY GOSH! What is that?!” A slightly woozy Twilight stated pointing to Thorn’s unconscious form.

“He’s the one who stopped the manticore back in the forest,” Fluttershy stated.

Twilight looked at her friend with widening eyes, her curiosity being peaked. “How? Did he fight it off? Did he trick it? Did he us-oh...whoa...feeling dizzy.” Twilight said as she started to sway a bit.

Fluttershy rushed to her friend and helped steady her, “Easy, Twilight. You might have a concussion. Let’s get you and...him to the hospital. They can take care of the both of you.”

Twilight nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that's a good idea." She looked to the buck,"How are we going to move him, though? He's as tall as Princess Celestia, and I'm not certain how stable my magic is right now."

Fluttershy considered Twilight's question. They could drape him over their shoulders, but with Twilight being as wobbly as she was, it wasn't viable. Putting him on her back wasn't going to work due to his height. Oh, if only Rainbow Dash or Apple Jack were here. They'd have no problem with this.

Fluttershy was gifted with one of her friend's presence, but not the one she was expecting. "Hey, Fluttershy! Whatcha doing out here with Twilight and..." The new arrival, Pinkie Pie, gasped as she spotted Thorn’s unconscious body. "Who is he?! I've never seen him before or what he is! OH OH, I'm going to have to throw a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party and a ‘Welcome to Pony Society' party! YAY!"

Fluttershy was dumbfounded by her friend’s sudden appearance, “Pinkie, why are you out here? There aren’t any parties tonight.”

“Oh, some strange stallion with yellow eyes and black sclera told me I needed to be here to-

Pinkie! We talked about this! I’m not part of the story. Follow the script!

“Oh right, sorry. What I meant to say was, my Pinkie Sense told me that something new and unexpected was going to arrive in Ponyville, so I looked for where the signal was strongest and it was here, but there wasn’t anything here! So I waited in that bush until something happened and sure enough you and Twilight appeared right here with that guy!” Pinkie rattled off without so much as breaking for breath. “So who, and what is he and what kind of cake does he like?”

“We don’t know. He saved us out in the forest.” Fluttershy stated, before realizing a very simple thing she had neglected to find out about her savior. I never got his name. Although he did seem nice. Oh, I should tell the girls about his fear. “Um, girls, there was something...I noticed about him.”

Twilight and Pinkie gave Fluttershy their attention, “I...think he might be...scared of ponies.”

This perplexed both of the ponies in attendance...along with several other ponies who were beginning to crowd around Thorn. Twilight took note of the gathering ponies and turned her attention towards her friends, “Well, if he wakes up with this many ponies I doubt, he’ll be too willing to talk to us.” Twilight turned to face the crowd, “Okay, everypony, that’s enough. Please clear out!”

The ponies chose to heed the princesses words albeit, reluctantly and began to vacate the area. Twilight was still a bit woozy but she was glad that she was still articulate. “Okay, girls. Let’s get to Ponyville General. I’m really starting to feel a bit woozy.”

Fluttershy and Pinkie both nodded. With Fluttershy supporting one side of the unconscious deer and Pinkie supporting the other, they made their way to the hospital.
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“The Deer oppose us?! THE DEER!? They ran in fear of our mistress years ago, now they defy US? US?!” Malum screamed as he struggled against the sticky grip of his flowery prison. His rage continually causing him to thrash around only causing his body to get stuck more in the drosera. His rage had persisted for quite some time since being left and was slowly beginning to burn off, leading to more clear and focused thoughts, “Ponies not only problem....now deer...deer and ponies work together?...No, deer scared of ponies...Deer no help them...but a deer did help ponies.”

Malum didn’t like this train of thought. He could handle the ponies...but deer too? That’d complicate things. Getting rid of six ponies was no big deal, but if the deer got involved it would make it harder. “Need to think...need to search” He then made a note of his current predicament, “...need better body. Need to get rid of those six ponies. Bring Mistress back. Make her happy.” With a less than thought out plan set in mind, he pulled himself from the manticore leaving nothing but an empty shell with no consciousness less. Malum looked at what was left of his flesh puppet and sneered,“Worthless beast, find better next time.” With that done, he left the soulless body to wither, as he slunk into the forest to think out a better plan and find a more suitable body to take.
__________________________________________________________________________

Ponyville General Hospital was winding down for the night. It was rare for them to be too busy, aside from a few broken bones, the occasional strained wing, and on those very rare occasions a laceration. A young white earth pony mare with a red cross for a cutie mark was manning the front desk while she took care of some paperwork. She anticipated it to be a fairly quiet night as not much happened around Ponyville after dark. So it was a bit interesting when not only did the recently appointed Princess of Friendship enter the front entrance but was soon accompanied by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie carrying an unusual creature with branch-like horns.

“Um...Can I help you, Princess Twilight?” the mare asked with a bit of uncertainty.

“You can just call me Twilight, no need for formalities, Nurse Redheart,” Twilight stated a bit sheepishly. “And yes, I need a cranial examination. I took a bit of a blow to the head and I might have a slight concussion.”

Redheart maintained her professionalism and made her way toward the Princess. “Well, let me take a look before we get a doctor.”

Twilight sat on her haunches and let the nurse do her cursory exam. It took her a few seconds, but the nurse did find a small fresh wound near Twilight’s temple. It was slightly open, but it wasn’t bleeding. The wound could lead to a concussion, Redheart went through the standard string of questions to determine a concussion before she was interrupted by a strategically placed cough.
Redheart and Twilight turned toward the source of the cough to find Pinkie and Fluttershy still carrying the unconscious buck. Redheart blushed a bit, realizing she had completely forgotten about the second “patient”. “Oh, hehe, sorry. What does he need?”, Redheart asked sheepishly.

“Oh...um...he saved Twilight and me in the forest. But he passed out when we arrive back in town.” Fluttershy informed the nurse.

Redheart gave the pegasus a quizzical look, “What caused him to pass out?”

“He’s...scared of ponies.” Fluttershy retorted.

Redheart’s quizzical look deepened, “Then why did he come into a town called ‘Ponyville’?”

This time, it was Twilight’s turn to blush. “Uuuum, he didn’t I...sorta teleported him into the middle of town.”, she stated with a bit of a nervous chuckle.

Redheart shot Twilight a deadpan look, face hoofed, and sighed, “Okay, we have a small isolated room we can put him in until he wakes. As for you, Princess, we’ll get you into an examination room and get your head examined.”

Redheart paged a few other nurses to come and help move Thorn, while Redheart took Twilight to an examination room.

____________________________________________________________________________

The night went by without much incident, aside from one soul within Ponyville Hospital. The lone deer had a horrid nightmare about a purple alicorn attempting to steal his soul with her evil magic. Just before he lost his soul, he awoke to find himself...strangely comfortable. His hammock never felt this...fluffy. Then there was something on top of him that was really warm and he felt compelled to wrap himself in its inviting embrace. And on top of all that there was this super fluffy thing under his head...Wait. I don’t own or know about anything like this.

This thought was enough to force the buck to sit up and realize three things. One, he wasn’t in his tree home. Two, he was in a strangely white room with a very shiny floor. Finally, he wasn’t alone in the room.

Across the room in a small chair, was a slightly familiar yellow pony with a pink mane and wings. Thorn immediately froze and looked at the mare as his eyes shrank. Suddenly, that nightmare was beginning to seem very real. The mare in question took notice of the bucks regained consciousness. “Oh, good morning...Mister.”, she stated hesitantly at almost whisper volume.

Thorn was planning his escape when he heard the greeting. He looked at the mare then back to the door he was planning to bolt for. “Uh...hi?” He responded.

The pegasus fidgeted a bit in her chair, avoiding eye contact with the buck. “I...uh...just wanted to...um...thank you for saving...my friend and me...last night.”

Despite the whispering tone, Thorn did catch part of what the mare said. She...thanked him. Was this a trick? She did trick him last night when that alicorn did... that magic...moment...thing. Now she was thanking him? Well, he did stop the manticore from killing her. So...maybe it wasn’t a trick? “Uh...you’re welcome?”, Thorn said with trepidation. “Where am I?”

The mare continued to avoid eye contact as she responded, “Ponyville General Hospital.”

“Why am I here?”

“Um...well, when Twilight teleported us here...you sort of...passed out. So, we, my friends and I, brought you here.”

Explains the nightmare. Thorn thought. He then returned to his escape plan and how hard it would be to get past his “guard”. “So, how long are you going to hold me here?”

The mare finally made eye contact with the buck, but she had a very confused look on her face. “What do you mean? You can leave anytime you want. Nopony is keeping you here.”

Thorn gave the mare a skeptical look as he slowly left his fluffy cushion of comfort. “So...I can just...leave? Just like that?”

The mare just nodded as the buck slowly approached the door. He slowly pushed the door opened and looked to the mare again. She made no attempt to stop him. He took a few steps out the door and down the hall. He then realized each step of his hooves reverberated through the hospital. He was used to wood floors that occasionally creaked, but they didn’t make this much noise. Then he realized the mare still wasn’t coming after him. Why? She’s not stopping me, she isn’t restraining me, and she isn’t even demanding anything from me. What’s going on here?

Thorn immediately turned around and returned to the room. As he entered he bumped into the mare in question, eliciting a small “eep!” from the mare. Thorn looked down at the mare and noted she had backpedaled after initial contact. “Why are you being nice to me?”,Thorn asked with all trepidation gone from his voice.

The mare again avoided eye contact but answered regardless, “Well, you helped my friends and me...so...it only seemed right.”

The statement was simple and held nothing illogical about it, yet Thorn felt oddly conflicted. Before him was a pony, the thing fawnhood nightmares were made of. Creatures that created chaos anywhere they went....Yet, here was one acting scared of him and showing him kindness. What backward madness is this?!

Thorn’s befuddled look inspired the mare to speak to the buck, “Um...why does that confuse you?”

Thorn turned to the mare again, “Because...you’re a pony! My entire fawnhood has told me that your kind is dangerous and evil!...But...You’re being nice and kind and...I’m just...confused.” Thorn said with as he rubbed the sides of his head.

The mare again looked the buck with an incredulous look, “Who told you that? That’s not what we are like at all.”

Thorn sighed, “Old tales. They said that long ago a blue alicorn came to the forest and threw it into turmoil. We deer are very connected to the forest, we try to maintain it and anything that can cause that much chaos is...horrifying.”

Fluttershy perked up at the mention of his species. She even raised her voice (to a regular audible range), “Oh, you’re called deer! Twilight was wondering about that. Oh, she’ll be so excited.”

Thorn cocked an eyebrow, “You didn’t know I was a deer?”

The mare shook her head, “No, we had no idea. We knew there might be somepony living in the forest but we thought it was a pony. No pony knew your kind existed.”

Thorn’s jaw hit the ground. His world view was being smashed. Part of him was questioning whether or not the mare was lying but...Something about her didn’t seem deceptive. Her innocent eyes, the submissive behavior, it didn’t add up. She hadn’t even attempted to restrain him. Maybe...the stories were wrong?

Thorn let out a long sigh, “I don’t know what to think anymore. Things aren’t making sense.”

The mare rubbed her front legs together as she made her first bold move of the day, “Um...by the way...my name is Fluttershy...in case you were...wondering” She finished as a blush came across her face.

Thorn averted his gaze for a moment as the sight was too adorable to look at directly. “T-Thorn. My name is Thorn.”

The two sat in awkward silence as the two attempted to determine what to do next...until it was shattered by a pink form appearing over Thorn’s shoulder. “HI! I’m Pinkie Pie! Who and what are you!?”

Thorn was definitely not ready and his first response was to flee back behind Fluttershy and scream very loudly.

Author's Notes:

Let the learning begin!