Pony’s Best Friend

Gotta run…
Gotta think…
Gotta run and think at the same time…
In the dark of night, a lone wolf was dashing through the dark forest. There were cuts and bruises all over his body, some of them bleeding. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get out of the forest and figure out where he was, among other things.
Okay, just keep running. Good. Keep doing that. Right, mental checklist time.
My name is…
He drew a blank.
Okay, we’ll come back to that one. I was born in…
Another blank.
DAMMIT. No, no, don’t panic. Keep thinking, keep running. Right now I’m a…
He looked down at his panting form. He saw plenty of fur and two paws carrying him. A quick glance behind him revealed a bushy tail.
Wolf. Okay, I’m a wolf. Now we’re making progress.
His thoughts faltered for a moment.
Wait, no. This isn’t right. I’m not a wolf, I’m a…
Again, a blank.
Well, whatever, I’m a wolf now. And the reason I’m running is, um… a monster! Right, I was attacked by that big lion thing. That would explain the cuts and bruises. And the searing pain.
Having ignored it until now, the thought quickly reminded the wolf of the extreme level of discomfort he was in.
I can’t keep this up, I gotta hide somewhere.
By a stroke of luck, the wolf’s paws had carried him to the edge of the forest. Sitting quietly in the night was a small, wooden cottage.
A house! Smart things live in houses! Hopefully this smart thing is also a nice thing.
Starting to burn out, the wolf hobbled his way up to the cottage door and began scraping at it, whining softly. No one came to the door, though, and after a minute the wolf had finally run out of adrenaline and could no longer stay awake.
Can’t… go on… someone, anyone… help…
He collapsed on the doorstep. Just as darkness filled his vision, he caught a quick glance of something yellow and pink.

“Why bother with this if you aren’t even going to give me a fair shot?!”
“Your past is corrupted, young one. I want to give you an opportunity to redeem yourself, but in order to do that; certain elements must be wiped clean.”
“You can’t just take away my life like this!”
“I assure you, I have taken nothing that you have not already lost.”

The wolf bolted up from sleep and looked around himself in a panic. The sun had risen outside, banishing the cold night. He was inside a small living room full of various furniture, as well as animal pens and cages. He was lying on a large, fluffy green blanket, and his wounds had all been bandaged and treated. He felt an aura of calmness exuding from the walls around him.
I’m okay…? Maybe whatever smart thing lives in this house helped me. Well, I’ll be sure to thank it, then.
Right on cue, the wolf heard something descending the stairs. He looked up, waiting to see his savior. Strangely, his savior wasn’t much bigger than he was. It was a small horse-like creature covered in yellow fur. Its mane and tail were colored a bright pink. On its sides were two small wings, an equal shade of yellow to the rest of the creature. Finally, on its flank, was a small picture of three butterflies.
What the crap…? Is that my savior’s pet or something? Cute, I guess, but I’d really rather meet the person who saved me than their pet.
Noticing the wolf moving around, the small horse flashed a smile and fluttered over to him. Surprisingly, it spoke.
“Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake! I was so surprised to see a collapsed wolf on my doorstep; I just knew I had to help you.” Her voice was rather quiet, but it had a very soothing, motherly quality to it. The wolf was surprised by the creature’s statement.
“This thing is what saved me?” he muttered to himself. To a normal ear, this would just sound like a low whining noise. But to the little horse’s tuned auditory sensors, the message came across perfectly.
“Oh yes. I found you bleeding out, so I took you inside and patched you up.” The wolf was startled by the response.
“Wait, what? You can understand me? But I’m a wolf! And you’re a… well you’re certainly not a wolf, anyways.” The horse smiled again.
“Of course. Communicating with animals is my special talent. I’ve had it since I was a little filly.” The wolf gave his equivalent of a shrug.
“Well, little horse-thing…” he started, when the horse cut him off.
“Pony.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not a horse, I’m a pony. And my name is Fluttershy. Haven’t you ever seen a pony before?” The wolf shook his head.
“Can’t say I have, Miss Fluttershy. Course, I can’t remember anything from before last night, so if I have seen one, it’s completely gone-zo. Anyway, I appreciate what you’ve done for me, but I should really get going.” Fluttershy let loose a small gasp.
“No! Amnesia and all of those injuries? You’re in no condition to be going anywhere, Mister Wolf!” She pleaded. The wolf stood up to leave nonetheless.
“Nonsense. I’m fine! Couldn’t be-” Before he could finish that thought, he quickly collapsed from the sudden rush of pain. “-much worse. Okay, maybe I’m not in tip-top shape, but it’s nothing a little rest won’t fix. So, if you’ll excuse me.” But as the wolf continued his rather difficult attempts at leaving he turned around to look at Fluttershy, immediately regretting doing so. On her face was the saddest, most pleading look the wolf had ever seen (or so he assumed, considering the whole amnesia thing). He couldn’t stand to look at that face any longer, so he slumped back onto the floor in defeat.
“Okay, fine. Maybe I’ll stay for a little while.” Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief and let loose another smile.
Persuasive little nugget, isn’t she…
“You just wait right here, Mister Wolf. Oh, wait. Do you remember your name?” She asked. The wolf shook his head again. “Well, we’ll just stick with Mister Wolf for now. Anyway, you wait right here and I’ll find you something to eat.” As she scampered of into the kitchen, the wolf laid his head back down onto the blanket.
Could be worse, I guess.
Suddenly, his thoughts were disturbed by a loud thumping noise. The wolf turned around to see the source of the noise and saw a small white rabbit, thumping its foot with an irritated look in its eye.
“Can I… help you?” The wolf asked, cautiously. The rabbit put its paws on its hips.
“Yeah,” it responded, clearly male, “you can explain what you’re doing with my waifu.”

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