Fluttershy and the Wild Stallion
Part 3: Daunting Doctor Dictations

Mossy awoke in a strange, non-smelling place. It didn’t smell like earth, or water, or fire either. He couldn’t hear birds, or the sound of trees. It had a sterile, nothing-smell that made him uneasy. His eyes slitted open and he moved his head a bit to toss his mane. But, it gave him a wave of dizziness. The earthy-brown stallion whimpered in confusion as he peered around.

The hospital room was a pleasant, muted green color with a lamp, a side-table, a bed, and a window to look out of. The tile floor was shiny and spotless, and the little radio to one side of the place was off. Fluttershy was seated next to the bed, her muzzle in a magazine at the moment. She heard him whimper, and looked up with interest. “Ohh, hello there. You’re awake?” she smiled in a gentle and motherly way. Her large, expressive eyes seemed to soothe the stallion, and he lay his head down again. Right away, sleep took him again.

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Someone was handling his mane. He didn’t… his mind was fuzzy. He blink-blinked rapidly to try and see who it was. “Burrs and leaves and tons of gunk, how’s this guy ever taken care of himself?” Mossy wanted to protest and the tugging, pulling, brushing that his mane was enduring. It didn’t feel good, not at all. He could feel hair being pulled out of knots, and excess that was already loose coming out. He liked his big long mane, thank you very much! It didn’t need to be pawed at. He nickered angrily, bicycling his hooves a bit. But no, he was too weak to fend off his attacker.

“Nurse Redheart, how’s the patient?” a male voice made Mossy startle a little. Another stallion! What if he was the alpha? What if he decided to bite him until his throat closed? Mossy hid his muzzle under the flap of the sheets, squeezing his eyes shut and whimpering again.

“He’s a lot dirtier than I thought. His mane must have years of extra hair in it. It’s like he’s never brushed!” the female voice said while Mossy looked up at her glassily. He couldn’t quite bring her into focus, but she was a white thing with a pleasant voice. Woozy still, he closed his eyes again.

=-----=-----=-----=-----=

“And then after I asked him his name he… uhm… well…” it was the yellow mare again, this time with a gaggle of other females. He could tell they were female by their shapes and faces. Mossy blink-blinked a bit while his favorite kept talking. “Well I ran off, I guess, before he could answer.”

“Y’know, come to think of it he is kinda a blank slate.” Applejack said, looking down and smiling when she saw Mossy’s eyes open. “Hey thar partner.” She said, sympathy in her tone. “Yer in the hospital, don’t worry. Nurse Redheart and Doctor Pain are takin’ good care’a you.”

Mossy eyed her, then the yellow mare, then the four others that had gathered in the strange place he was lying in. A herd? Had he been accepted into a herd? His heart swelled with joy. He nickered a little, nosing up and down at them. He leaned with his head to get at the yellow mare first. She saw him trying to leave the bed and quickly sidled over so he wouldn’t. She put a dainty hoof on the end of his nose, and he stopped struggling. He seemed content when she touched him, even just a little.

“There there,” Fluttershy smiled in a quiet way. “You’ll be okay.” Rainbow Dash glanced at Rarity, making a head-gesture at Fluttershy and waggling her eyebrows. Rarity cocked an eyebrow, studied the two, then glared sharply at Rainbow. How dare she make such insinuations! Rainbow grinned silently. Twilight glanced over, catching the silent conversation. She cocked her head, then shrugged.

Content in the silent bliss of a mare paying him some attention, the stallion lifted his head just a little. His long, now clean mane waterfall’d down about him. His mane had been scrubbed and trimmed, lending a rather handsome look about him. The dark green hair moved like a silky curtain laying down by gravity, free of burrs and other debris. “Pb-b-b-b-bht.” He shuffled his lips a little, blinking at the gathering curiously. He wanted to know them all. He wanted to know them and smell them and play with them too. He’d been alone for so long, now he was surrounded by lots of his own species! And he was… he was tired still…

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“Patient ‘Blank Flank’ seems to be steadily improving, despite the heavy poisons that were imbibed into his system he seems fairly resistant.” A stallion was pacing back and forth, speaking as a pencil wrote on a clipboard for him by magic. The brown stallion leaned and checked the medical chart, flipping back a few pages. “We’ve been keeping him on strong vitamins and a few other supplements while the rest works its way out of his system. Having approached day five in our search for his identity, we’ve found nothing so far.” The doctor stopped, turning to look at Mossy. “Oh, hello! Good morning!” he stepped forward and smiled in a friendly way.

Mossy turned his ears back, afraid of being bitten or something. The stallion before him had a big chest, he was probably strong. Weak as he was, mossy wouldn’t be able to defend himself if he decided to attack. He lowered himself submissively, hoping for mercy from the big strong pony.

“Er,” the doctor saw his frightened expression. “It’s alright, I’m a doctor. You’re in a hospital.” He came close and settled next to the bed. Mossy hunched a little like he was expecting to be struck. “Hey.” The doctor said in his most soothing voice, cocking his head. “You’re fine. You’ll be fine. You don’t have to be afraid.” He whispered softly. Mossy looked at him, blink-blinking expectantly. “Here, try one of these.” He leaned to the bedside table, producing a mint candy from a little dish next to him. He unwrapped it and pushed it gently at Mossy.

Mossy Mane sniff-sniffed at the offering. It smelled like yummy leaves! He worked his lips and wrapped it up into his mouth before long. Crunch-crunch-crunch. Why, it tasted like yummy leaves and it crunched like yellow grass! That had to be the best thing ever! He found himself smiling. This strange stallion wasn’t so scary after all, if he had such nice-tasting things. Mossy’s ears turned into a friendly forward position, and he cocked his head.

“Do you have a name?” the doctor asked. “I saw you have no cutie mark, and the ponies that brought you in said you never spoke to them before you vomited and passed out.” He pushed his small glasses up his muzzle, looking at Mossy critically. “If we could get your name we could look up your medical history and help you more.” There was a long, awkward silence between the two stallions. “Hello? Maybe you’re mute… or deaf…” he rubbed his chin a little. Leaning, he made a snap-snap-snap motion with his hoof every which way. Mossy’s eyes followed the sound. “Not deaf. Open your mouth, say ahhhh!”

Mossy saw the stallion open his mouth , and jittered back a bit. He was gonna bite him, he knew it! He pulled at the sheets, hiding himself.

“Oh hey now.” The doctor chuckled a little. “No need to be shy.”

“Sorry?” a new, smaller voice came from the doorway, and both stallions turned to look. “Oh, I th-thought you meant me. Sorry…” Fluttershy stood in the doorway, a book under her wing and a saddlebag at her side. “I was just coming to visit, b-but if you’re in the middle of something I can come back later.” The poor mare hunched a little, looking to one side and half-hiding behind her mane.

“Actually, I think I could use your help!” the doctor’s expression brightened. “He’s kind of shy, you see, maybe you could coax him out for me?” he gestured to Mossy, who was hiding his head under the blanket and shivering a little in fear.

Fluttershy’s pupils dialated, “Ohhh, you poor thing.” She mumbled, coming forward and setting her book down. “You must be terrified, waking up in a strange place surrounded by strangers…” she tugged gently at the sheet, trying to make him emerge.

Mossy’s ears turned at the sound of the soothing mare’s voice. His face and nose slowly emerged, and he looked up at her. He beamed. The yellow mare had returned! He almost didn’t notice the doctor rather forcibly pressing his lips open and checking his mouth, then his ears, and some of his other body parts. The soothing presence of the yellow mare entranced Mossy, and he felt very docile. He lay his head down, ears perked, looking up at her like he expected to be petted.

Fluttershy chuckled just a little, pinkening in the cheeks. “Ohh, well you’re not so bad, are you?” she cooed, patting the top of his head.

“He’s not said anything yet, but I don’t think he’s deaf. I’m also puzzled about his lack of cutie mark as well.” The doctor backed up when his little examination was done. “I’m a little concerned, to be honest. Maybe he hit his head, or suffered some other injury?” he looked at Fluttershy like she might know.

“I’m not sure.” Fluttershy said softly, looking to one side. She related everything that had happened since they’d met, even the… the pooping bit.

The doctor took it all in thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “Well, with no name or information it’s going to be hard to keep him here. Not even a cutie mark for the Equestrian database. Insurance, and all that.” He sighed, looking sympathetically down at Mossy. “I’ll have to show him out when he’s all the way better.” He flicked his eyes to one side. “Oh speaking of which, it’s time for his medicine. We’ve been flushing his system out for days now, I’m glad you’ve been so dedicated to visit him—we’ll need a distraction since he’s awake.”

“A distraction?” Fluttershy wondered aloud, stepping up to the bedside. Mossy smiled, laying his head down again in a submissive way.

The doctor went to the nearby cabinet, producing a syringe with something in it. “Yes, just a quick something to keep his system strong while he waits out the poisons.” Fluttershy gulped at the needle, then looked down at Mossy. “Just keep him focused on you, it’ll be fine I promise.” He smiled his most winning bedside-manner smile.

The yellow mare looked down at Mossy. Well, he had saved her from the river and all that. The least she could do was help him recover from his own calamity. “Uhm… hi there.” She said conversationally. Extending a wing like a curtain between him and the doctor, she coo’ed softly. “Who’s a… uhm… good patient?” it came out like a meek question. “You are, that’s who.” She smiled lamely, red in the cheeks.

The brown stallion moved stealthily, syringe in his mouth and going around behind Mossy. The patient was content with the mare next to him, and very calm when she was nearby, it seemed. He watched the green-maned mute streeeeeetch out over his pillows, then look adoringly up at his visitor. Now was his chance, right when the muscles went slack. “This’ll be quick.” He took the protection off of it, putting it in his doctor’s jacket. Checking the needle’s use by spurting a bit of medicine from it, he nodded his satisfaction. Lifting the sheet a little---

When the needle touched him Mossy whinnied in panic at the sting of pain, striking out wildly with his back hooves! The doctor caught the assault in the face with a shout, sprawled out on the tile floor. The nurses stared at their boss for the next week, for the stallion had the most beautiful black eye any of them had ever seen.

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Mossy fidgeted in his bed, not yet strong enough to leave but still very active. He peered around with interest and wonder. He could see the sky outside through the portal in the wall. Cocking his head, he leaned and tugged on the sheets a bit. He liked the sheets, they were soft and smelled nice. A nice white-clad mare came in now and then to change them, and he certainly didn’t mind seeing more ponies. It was so odd, he’d been alone for ages and now there were ponies all around him.

He nickered a little, looking at himself. They’d been doing things to him while was asleep or knocked out. His mane was gorgeous, and he’s fur had been brushed quite a bit as well. Tilting his head and inspecting his hooves, he found them clean and even-feeling. Sure, he’d jumped in a fiver a few times to get clean, but nothing beat one’s own natural scent and the scent of whatever one had been doing. Shoving one’s head into a berry bush did make one smell sweet for awhile, after all. He wasn’t sure what he smelled like right then, but it was sweet and reminded him of the color white. He nibbled on his leg a bit to see to an itch, then peered about some more.

Mossy looked at the end table, at the lamp. Leaning, he sniff-sniff-sniffed at it until his nose pressed against the switch and the light flicked on. He spooked, rearing up and out of bed until he crashed to the ground with a shriek. A nurse rushed in, “What?! What’s wrong?!” she swept around the bed to help him, but he was staring at the lamp. “You don’t like the lamp?” she asked at his back-turned ears. Leaning with a huff, she flicked it off. Mossy smiled at his savior, clambering back onto the bed with her help. “Don’t worry, big guy, we’ve got you covered. Nothing bad will happen while you’re here.”

The doctor soon came in, this time with Fluttershy at his side. “I’m so glad he’ll have somewhere to go until his situation comes to light. Thank you, miss Fluttershy.”

“Oh, well, he saved me first, at the river.” Fluttershy said softly, blushing. “If he’s got amnesia, or something, it’s only right that I take care of him until he remembers things.” They’d had a long, detailed discussion and they’d arrived at the scenario of amnesia…. That made him mute… and forget about technology like electricity… it was sketchy at best but one thing was certain. The green-maned stallion was the most calm when Fluttershy was nearby. She could care for him for a bit while they got all of this mess sorted out. “Come along uhm… you.” She said softly, smiling in embarrassment that she didn’t have name for him yet. Hopefully he would remember that first… if he had amnesia. She gestured a little, and he worked his way to his feet.

Hobbling along, the mute stallion stared at her. Was it time to go someplace else? His alpha mare had come to take him someplace else, so she was in charge. Mossy followed her closely, and they left the hospital with waving nurses behind them. He nickered a little, walking close side-by-side with Fluttershy. She was safer than them, and not all white. The whiteness of the place he’d been in scared him a little—so the mares that were there did the same.

“Oh, yes, you’ll be fine.” Fluttershy widened the gap between them a little as they walked down the path. Personal space, and all that. She looked at him a little curiously out of the corner of her eye. He seemed perfectly content to follow her wherever she went, for his smile was wide and his steps long. “I really should think of a name for you, until we find your real one.” She said softly, looking over at him. “Can you say my name?” she asked him when they stopped at a decorative fountain.

Mossy looked at the flowing water and the statue above it. He was really thirsty. But no, the alpha mare had not stopped to drink. The water must’ve been bad. She must’ve sensed it, and not drunk to show him it was bad. What a good herd leader she was, this yellow mare! He adored her all the more for her wisdom. Heeding the female leader’s warning, he avoided the innocent water like the plague and even put her between himself and the bad water.

“Huhm?” Fluttershy looked at him, and tried to speak a little more firmly. “Fluttershy.” She put her hoof at her breast, holding his gaze with her own. “Flutter. Shy.” She said slowly. The stallion cocked his head at her. “Fluttershy.” She tried again.

Mossy worked his mouth. She was communicating, and gesturing to herself. It meant something, he knew it did. He perked his ears and listened while she spoke, tilting his head. His intense eyes watched her beautiful lips move, and he tried to emulate the sound. “Flutter-butter-butter flubber…” he spilled out of his mouth, eager to impress her. It wasn’t right, but it was close. Fluttershy startled a little. So he did have a voice! She smiled at his innocent attempt at her now. “Flubber-bubber-flutter-ubber!” He shook his head up and down a bit to toss his mane, looking proud of himself. He tossed his muzzle up and down while flapping his lips, making wet flopping sounds. Fluttershy stared, but he liked the attention. See? See? He could make good mouth sounds too!

End of Part 3

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