Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the characters of My little pony: FIM. The franchise belongs to Hasbro! I do own Moonlight Dusk the Wolf-pony, though.

Moonlight shadow


Fluttershy watched with a smile as the little foal/pup she found earlier splashed around and played in the wooden bucket filled with water that qualified as perhaps his very first bath. She couldn't help but nuzzle his side lovingly as he splashed the water around, getting the floor all wet and getting some on a certain white little bunny rabbit.

Angel bunny scowled angrily at the fact that he was now dripping wet. He tapped his big right foot on the ground and his droopy ears dripped wetly.

The yellow Pegasus grinned apologetically at the little bunny rabbit before turning her attention back to the little foal-like pup.

The infant yipped and burrowed his paws beneath the soothing warm liquid and he looked up happily at Fluttershy, his little pointy ears perking up and a smile fixing on his pony muzzle although his little canine fang was flat against his lower jaw. His tail was even wagging beneath the water.

Fluttershy smiled compassionately as she grabbed a fuzzy towel from a nearby wooden chair on her right and she reached down to scoop up the wolffish colt and bundle him up in the white towel she carried. It didn't surprise her that the foal was a tad squirmy upon the towel coming into contact with his slender fuzzy body.

She wrapped the towel around the wriggling foal and hugged him to her chest, rocking him a little to calm him down, and she looked him right in the eyes and smiled with the biggest yet most adoring grin ever.

"There we go," Fluttershy said softly "now let's just get you dried off."

Without another word the almost flightless Pegasus proceeded to cover the pup up in the towel and roughly scrubbed her hooves against every inch of his tiny flailing body in an attempt to firmly get him truly clean and more dapper even though multiple queries were spinning through her mind.

Who would abandon an innocent infant?

Who would leave her with the responsibility?

What should she do with it?

How would her friends react?

Fluttershy's heart froze momentarily. Her friends, they had to know about her discovery! They did have a right to know, besides they could probably assist her in taking care of the wolf-like pony puppy. Plus she didn't want Rainbow Dash or Rarity to freak out when they see a sweet little creature wandering around her house.

She dwelled on the idea inside her head and had a bit of a self-berate.

(It is rather late and every pony is probably asleep by now, however I think it would be best to show them now so the Princess can be informed of this too. Besides I'm not tired yet and I don't think the baby is either.)

One look at the pup proved her theory correct. The little wolf-like pony was very energetic and was basically bouncing on its paws and hooves.

Now that the poor thing was out of the confines of his blankets, it was revealed that the front legs had paws whilst the back legs had very skinny hooves. Its intense hyperactive attitude actually made Fluttershy question whether the pup actually was meant to sleep during the daytime instead of night or if this was a result of total bliss.

Making up her mind, Fluttershy bent her neck down and picked up the little pony/wolf pup by the scruff of his neck and proceeded to carry him in her mouth for a moment before dropping him in one of her saddlebags.

Whilst stuffed inside the makeshift pouch of the saddle bag, the little foal's tiny underdeveloped yet roughly feathered wings began whirring and buzzing in excitement.

Smiling at the colt's enthusiasm, Fluttershy made her way out the door but not before grabbing her pink scarf off a nearby coat hanger and wrapping it around her own neck to brace herself for the cold snowing breeze outside.

As she exited out the door, she turned to face Angel Bunny and told him with her soft voice "Angel, I'm leaving you in charge of everyone else while I'm gone. I'll be back soon to tuck you all in."

The bunny simply nodded as if to say 'whatever' and Fluttershy left out the door on her way towards her friend, Twilight's, castle that stood in the very middle of Ponyville.

Fluttershy rapped a hoof rather urgently on the door, knocking against the fine wood. She also bounced a little on the rest of her legs as if to keep the little furball she carried in her saddlebag calm and quiet so it wouldn't cause a loud racket that could wake every pony else up.

She felt a twinge of nervousness tie her soul up in knots. What if her friends disapprove of the little discovery she had made earlier? What if they overreact? What if-

Fluttershy shook these thoughts away, forcing a stern expression on her face. She shouldn't be thinking these thoughts these were her friends and she knew them better than anyone so she should have a little more faith in them. So, she breathed in and let out a sigh to relieve the stress her brain was undergoing.

It was then that she heard the door unlock from the inside and it slowly creaked open and thus allowing some light to shine in through the dark snowy evening. A rectangle of light stretched along the floor and grew increasingly wider as the door opened just as wide.

Fluttershy peaked through the gap of the door so she could see who was responding to her knocks and she was a little bit surprised to find that it was Twilight whom had opened the door and she didn't look the least bit sleepy save for some dark half moon circles and slight bags under her eyes.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, surprised "What are you doing up at this hour?"

The yellow Pegasus secretly looked over her shoulder to check on the little bundle of fur she carried in her saddlebag and saw that he was just about falling asleep inside the bright pink bag that matched the owner's radiant magenta mane and tail.

She focused her eyes back on the lavender Alicorn princess and replied timidly "I'm sorry for waking you u-up, Twilight, I-I just needed to show you s-s-something."

Fluttershy waited for something bad to happen but nothing of the sort did. She felt a gentle wing wrap itself around her and encouragingly push her along inside to the warm comforts of Twilight Sparkle's castle. The Alicorn softly led the element of kindness through the endless halls and corridors until the both reached a very familiar room.

It was a gem of a room with marble floors and crystallised walls and in the centre of the room stood a round glass table with a very familiar star etched in the very middle of the surface. There were also a few chairs surrounding the round table with some engravings etched in the headboards, taking shape of each of the mane six's cutie marks.

Slowly trotting over to the seat with her cutie mark, Fluttershy seated herself down but minding her saddle bags as to upset the creature resting inside them. She couldn't take that risk with the wolffish Pegasus foal who had crept into her heart and besides, she wanted to introduce the little guy slowly and in a calm environment.

Settling herself down, Twilight reached a hoof up towards her crown and adjusted its position a bit so it could be perched perfectly atop her head without it catching in her navy blue fringe with magenta stripes.

"So, Fluttershy," the intellectual Alicorn began patiently with a light conversational tone that fitted her new role well "What brings you here tonight?"

The animal lover Pegasus fiddled with her hooves and eyed her reflection in the floor with a slight interest. She avoided eye contact with one of her best friends and meekly muttered something quite incoherent, something which somewhat made Twilight confused.

"Er, can you repeat that?" Twilight requested.

Fluttershy repeated what she muttered a bit louder but it still wasn't audible.

"Ifndzalonfol.."

"Still can't hear you." She leaned in closer to look into Fluttershy's timid turquoise eyes. She couldn't hear a word the animal-loving-Pegasus was saying but she was mumbling so much that the words she spoke sounded jumbled up and illegible.

She watched with a keen interest as her friend hung her head and exhaled, still averting her eyes away sheepishly whilst she repeated in her normal volume of voice "...I found a lone foal."

Twilight stared at her friend with wide eyes filled with disbelief. Did she just hear what she thought she heard!? She watched with amazement as Fluttershy craned her neck to reach into her saddlebags, lifting the pink flap of one of them with her muzzle, and picked up a little sleeping furry form before setting him down on the table in front of her.

Fluttershy smiled gently as she lifted a gentle hoof and proceeded to lovingly stroke one of the creature's fuzzy little ears that flicked at her touch. As she petted the tiny hybrid, running the bottom of her hoof along his thin and near-emaciated little stomach, she couldn't help but murmur a sweet-as-pie little tune whilst her friend watched in awe.

Shakily raising a hoof, Twilight asked while trying to smooth the fear from her voice "What the hay is that?"

Fluttershy softly rubbed her muzzle against the pup's cheek fur with her eyes soft and filled with compassion. She even grasped one of his paws in her hoof before she gave an answer in a hushed voice "I found him near the Ponyville real estate building, he was all alone."

Twilight nodded in understanding. Honestly, she too would take a defenceless infant home with her should it have been abandoned and if nobody else was willing to take it but she would have at least checked it off at the proper authorities first before doing anything rash.

But she raised a brow and asked the question anyway "But why not take it to the orphanage or to the proper authorities?"

Fluttershy still clutched the baby's paw gently and gave a small look of momentary worry. She didn't answer verbally. She released the tiny paw and once again reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a familiar looking note that she clutched in her mouth before laying it down on the surface of the table.

She pushed it towards Twilight who pulled the note towards herself before leaning in and giving it a read. Moments later she glanced back up at the Pegasus with confusion flashing inside her eyes, a somewhat perplexed frown fixed on her face as she asked after a few moments of silence "...A friend of yours?"

Fluttershy shrugged in reply, recounting what happened inside her head as she recalled the events of this morning when she went out to feed her outdoor animal friends.

She put a hoof to her chin and looked upwards as if in deep thought, her face twisting in an equal amount of thoughtfulness.

"I don't know, I found this letter taped to my door this morning. There was no name so I can't tell you who this is from..." Her face lit up in realisation "...Although, I would have to wonder if this could be a friend of mine from Cloudsdale."

Twilight arched her head to one side. Cloudsdale? That could only mean that whoever the mother was to this lost little wolf colt would have to be a Pegasus, this theory would have to be supported by the fact that the specimen itself had a pair of wings only Pegasi can sport.

But still, did Fluttershy really have friends during her childhood in Cloudsdale?

The Alicorn didn't even have time to ask since her friend had already answered her question with a uncharacteristically wry smirk as she furrowed a brow "I may have been terribly shy but that didn't mean that I didn't have any friends."

Twilight smiled and agreed with a curt nod. She shouldn't be surprised to hear that, Fluttershy was a very sweet and kind soul who could make friends easy without that small flaw in the form of her shy nature. But from what the yellow Pegasus mentioned once in the past about being bullied relentlessly, she couldn't have had many friends otherwise they would have stuck up for her that fateful day instead of Rainbow Dash.

Speak of the devil, the rest of the mane six slowly filed in with looks of disbelief stamped on each of their expressions -except for Pinkie Pie, of course, who simply bounced towards them with a cheerful grin and she hummed a merry little tune whilst she timed her carefree bounces just right so each landing could synchronise with the melody.

Rainbow asked with a tilt of the head and a look of shock, her attention focused entirely on the fuzz ball laying on the table in front of Fluttershy "Just what the hay going on here?!"

"Indeed, we need an explanation!" Rarity added.

"Ah' couldn't agree more!" Applejack conceded.

Thus, Fluttershy explained everything about what had transpired this snowy evening. She felt it only right to tell them and she didn't hold back any details as she shed some light on the situation and why there was a foal with wolf-like qualities laying in front of the pink-maned mare that was curled into a furry brown bundle.

She explained about the letter, the specific time, the author and the fact that she was thinking about adopting the little pup.

That last subject actually shocked everybody.

Rarity exclaimed with shock "WHAT!? You cannot possibly be thinking of keeping that thing?"

Upon receiving a hurt yet stern look from Fluttershy whom held the foal close as if to make him feel comforted even though he was thankfully still asleep and didn't hear that hurtful comment, the marshmallow unicorn kind of regretted what she said and decided to fix it much like how she would fix up a damaged dress.

"What I mean is, darling, are you sure? Raising a foal is stressful work!" Rarity amended, gesturing to the furry bundle in Fluttershy's forelegs.

Rainbow Dash added "Besides, why YOU? You already have tons of responsibility with those animals of you're's!"

Fluttershy looked down at the wolffish little infant she saved, pity beginning to drown her turquoise irises like a huge amount of water filling up a dam. Rainbow had a point and that fact was undeniable. She had a lot of responsibility and a foal would only add to the mix. She felt her heart sink into her stomach when the little thing had begun to stir as if it could sense that the mare he snuggled up to was pondering on wanting to keep him.

Opening his large eyes, the pup/foal wagged his tail and waved a paw aimlessly in the air until it grasped on to Fluttershy's hoof. He gurgled sweetly as he nuzzled the yellow Pegasus affectionately much like a wolf pup or lion cub would do to their mother. He even let out a cute little yip and panted much like a dog with his long tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Fluttershy found herself smiling at this adorable little display and she giggled, tickling the little one under the chin softly.

Looking up, Fluttershy responded to Rarity's precious question with a renewed determination flashing inside her eyes. She gave a single nod and grinned with narrowed eyes "Yes, I'm sure."

It was then that Pinkie decided to join in as she looked over the Pegasus' shoulder and bounced excitedly on the spot. She was desperately trying to reach down and scoop up the pup although Fluttershy kept a very protective hold on the young wolffish Pegasus colt. She didn't want to frighten the poor thing.

Fluttershy sighed a bit and, once again, nuzzled the dog-like baby pony.

Standing up from the seat, she proceeded to put the pup down on the floor but before she could Rainbow Dash raised a skeptical brow at her Pegasus friend and she folded her forelegs across her chest to make it seem like she was very suspicious of the tiny furry creature that her friend was so determined to take care of.

"Fluttershy, for all we know that thing could be dangerous! It has the potential to be a killer when it grows up!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, gesturing to the little furball with two outstretched hooves. She was hovering in the air for a minute until she landed at Twilight's sensible chastising.

"Rainbow, don't be silly, does he look dangerous?" The Alicorn tried to reason.

Fluttershy put the pup/foal down on the ground and watched as he crawled towards the cyan pony without her knowledge since she was occupied trying to deter her friend from being so naive as to put trust immediately into a cute thing. They already went through something similar and didn't want a repeat.

The wolf-like colt crawled to Rainbow Dash and even grabbed hold of her fore right leg, starling the rainbow-maned pony out of her wits as she tried to take flight and make the creature let go but found that surprisingly the little infant's grip was much stronger than her willpower.

"Uuugh..." The rainbow pony fearfully backed away slowly whilst the little pup held on to her with a grin.

Whilst Rainbow was trying to get herself away and weaken the infant's tight hold on her, she calmed down when the creature barked happily and wagged his tail while releasing her and sitting in a dog-like position and patiently sat there.

The blue Pegasus gradually started realising that there really was nothing to fear. She didn't know why but there was something about this creature that calmed her soon after she got (not that she'd ever admit it) frightened and that sweet little look on his face actually made her tough heart melt a little.

The foal was cuddling her leg now, making Rainbow calm down considerably.

She gently fell to the floor and looked at the curious little ball of shaggy brown fur with the little waggly tail. Rainbow Dash hesitantly bent down and picked up the pup/foal in her forelegs and held it out at arms length as if he were a contagious illness that could strike within instants.

She kept her eyes glued on to the admittedly cute equine/canine hybrid and her eyes widened when the little guy lunged at her and licked her snout affectionately, his little tail wagging like there was no tomorrow. He even yipped and barked sweetly, much like a puppy should, and this basically won the cyan blue Pegasus' heart.

"Erm...good boy?" She awkwardly petted the little guy on the head, now feeling a bit more comfortable around him.

Fluttershy gently took the now yawning foal back into her own hooves and she looked down at his little face. She leaned in and planted a little kiss on his forehead and she proceeded to walk out of the castle and take the little infant pony wolf pup home. But before she did, she turned to face the others.

"Don't worry, girls, I'll make sure you all meet him properly tomorrow." She gave a yawn of her own and she rocked the unnamed puppy colt in her forelegs, clearly noting the looks of disappointment being sent to her by Applejack and Rarity and especially Pinkie Pie.

Twilight nodded in understanding. Fluttershy had been through a lot tonight and she knew that what her friend needed now was rest. She smiled and softened her gaze at the almost flightless Pegasus "Alright, Fluttershy. You take the...foal...home and get some rest and we'll figure everything out tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement. That seemed like a fair compromise to make although Pinkie Pie had to ask something really quick as she bounced on the spot.

"So what's the funny, furry silly-Billy's name?"

Fluttershy's face dropped. She hadn't thought of that! Of course she needed to name her new foal something but she didn't know what to name him but she thought that it should be something associated with the night. She rattled her brains for such a name and, after several moments of thinking, a light bulb went off inside her head and she blurted out the very first name that came to her mind.

"His name will be Moonlight Dusk, o-or Dusky for short."

She hid her face behind some locks of hair frightfully, her ears pinning back in embarrassment. Before anyone could comment on the name the yellow mare with the butterflies cutie mark took off out the door and ran on home to her cozy little cottage by the Everfree Forest.

Everyone else watched after her, feeling both concerned and exited for a new member in their gang.

However it was then that a baby dragon trailed down the stairs and sleepily rubbed his eyes, a yawn eliciting from his throat. He had obviously just woken up from his slumber as he wandered down the stairs and he stopped and looked at the rest of the mane six...or mane five as of right now.

"Ugh...What'd I miss?"


A/N: Hello. Sorry this chapter sucked and everyone was out of character. I worked hard on this chapter so please go easy on me and please, please, please give positive reviews and if there are any problems then let me know.

Thanks.

Next chapter we'll either see Dusky's first day of school or how everyone else in Equestria will take to him. Let's see what happens next!

-Chloemcg