OUT OF THE WILD
The bush is trembling, hard, and Wildheart can practically see the scared bunny beneath it, trying to conceal himself. She knows why he's afraid; she can smell it too, the scent of bear and thick, wet fur. But she can't help him.
Not today.
The bear is what's worrying her. He has a jagged scratch down his face that's still bleeding, even though it looks to be a few hours old. And his eyes are cloudy, dazed, befuddled by magic. It's got to be a hunter, Wildheart thinks to herself. No Ponyville pony would do such a thin...would they?
She takes a step closer to the bear, careful to tread lightly on her left hind leg. "Hey," she whispers, trying to pull the creature out of its magic-induced trance. "Wake up. You're gonna be okay."
The bear snorts, but otherwise pays no attention. Wildheart pauses. Maybe it's worse than I thought.
Hunters are rare in Equestria, but there is always the odd pony who wants a trophy or a prize or something to sell for spare bits. Wildheart has run into plenty of them before. She carefully sets down her saddlebag, though the bear is in no danger of running away in his condition, and pulls out a strong length of white cloth and a parcel of herbs. "Hey," she says again. "This might hurt a little, but it's gonna help that cut on your face, okay? Hold still."
There's now ay the bear could move, but Wildheart comes around him until she is at the perfect angle to reach the cut. With gentle hooves, the Earth pony lowers the bear's massive head and massages a bit of the herbal poultice into the torn skin, brushing hair and dirt lightly out of the way. Luckily, it's not infected yet, and the bandage goes on and ties securely around the bear's ears.
There's nothing she can do about the magic sickness, not now, and not with her limited knowledge of magic. Wildheart's not a unicorn, and without medicine, only time will heal this bear's injuries. There's someone who might be able to help the healing go faster, but Wildheart is too scared - too shy - to approach her cottage, even though it's just outside of the forest the mare calls home.
"Hey," Wildheart repeats. "Can you stand?"
The bear doesn't seem to hear her, but Wildheart wasn't expecting him to. She pats the bear's ruffled fur and reaches for her saddlebag. "You're coming with me," she says soothingly. "I don't know how you got out of that hunter's way, but I'm not letting you get back into it."
And with slow but sure hoofsteps, Wildheart leads the bear out of the clearing, not knowing that somepony else is making their rounds through that part of the forest.
Not knowing that in exactly three minutes, somepony else would have been able to help.
Written for the Ponyville Challenge Forum: Story of Life.
Prompt: Your OC is named Wildheart. She has a fiery red coat, and a mane of yellow and orange curls. Her tail has been cut short and she walks with a permanent limp, gained from her trip through the Everfree Forest as a child. Her Cutie Mark is that of three claw swipes, surrounded by a bright pink heart.
She currently lives on the outskirts of Ponyville, and has only recently moved there. Her goal is, eventually, to set up a refugee for animals that have lost their homes - either due to an upsurge of magic, deforestation, or pollution leaking in from the larger cities. She doesn't think very highly of herself, even though she's a very capable pony. Her knowledge of surviving in the wilderness surpasses most others.
Hey guys! This would have come out sooner, as I wrote it in December, but I kept forgetting to transfer it from my iPad to my computer. I hope you like it anyway! And check out Running For Another's Dream's forum, Ponyville Challenge Forum. It has lots of good prompts and story ideas.
Peace out,
- Twi