Next in my Dawnverse headcanon is Fluttershy's family!
No major changes: I tweaked Hex's coat and eye color, as well as Sandy Feather's eye color, and I gave Johari some more stripes. Below is some information about this family in the Dawnverse:
Fluttershy:
Between helping her brother find a new friend in Rainbow Dash, then blaming herself for her brother's abandonment of her pregnant friend and promising to help raise her nephew, plus running an Animal Sanctuary and teaching at The Friendship School, Fluttershy never really had time to herself, especially in the pursuit for a "special somepony". The yellow pegasus tried with a few dates; however, with each stallion grew a distaste, or rather just a persistent feeling that she felt nothing for suitors. With that, Fluttershy decided not to bother with a relationship: she was a busy mare darn it! Besides, Fluttershy did not feel alone with her nephew needing babysitting almost everyday. Besides, other ponies needed her help anyway: one warm night, Fluttershy heard a rustling in her vegetable garden, only to find not a fox, but a small malnourished colt. After weeks of returning the colt to his family, then finding him in her garden the next night, Fluttershy eventually learned that the colt's home life was not ideal, and after a chaotic night of the colt's father being arrested for domestic murder of his wife and the colt needing a home, Fluttershy volunteered to adopt the small colt as her own son. This kindness grew further with the second adoption of a unicorn colt found wandering the Ponyville Rail yard, then the guardianship of her friend Tree Hugger's son, a shaggy pegasus, and finally the adoption of a zebra filly. As a mother, Fluttershy cannot give enough kindness to her satisfaction: between her adopted children and the animals she nurses, Fluttershy is an angel in Equestria. Fluttershy never hesitates to give her children and animals her warm home while she nestles in the chicken coop if needed. Sometimes her kindness exhausts the pegasus, leaving the mare finding herself sick more often than before; however, Fluttershy claims she would catch the plague if it meant helping her children.
Fun Facts:
— Fluttershy always wears her mane and tail in either a bun or braid to keep her hair out of her way while doing chores.
— Fluttershy is sturdier than her frame leads to believe: she has been known to wrestle bears.
— Fluttershy identifies as demisexual: unless there is a deep emotional connection, the mare has no desire for the opposite gender.
Speckle Heart:
Speckle Heart is the first adopted son of Fluttershy. Speckle was half Clydesdale: his father is full Clydesdale, while his mother is a normal earth pony. In his first six years of life, Speckle lived through domestic abuse from his father: the Clydesdale felt that his son, a bastard colt, would never amount to anything, and so the stallion took his own life frustrations out on both his wife and son. Speckle's mother tried all she could to help her son survive the abuse; however, with herself weak from physical, emotional, and mental abuse, the mare could only do so much, leaving the small colt to wander Ponyville in the night for food. Speckle was found one night by Fluttershy as he rummaged through her vegetable garden, and since then the yellow mare took care of the small colt. After an unfortunate night where Fluttershy learned that Speckle's father snapped, killed his wife, and locked up for life, the yellow mare gladly took the small colt into her home as her son, the yellow mare being the only good in Speckle's life so far. Fortunately, Speckle grew up without serious issues from his abuse. The small colt quickly grew into a large teddy bear: Speckle loved listening to other ponies and their problems, often being a warm should to cry on. Speckle even gained his cutie mark in compassion, much to the joy of Fluttershy. As an adult, Speckle is studying psychology so that he may help more ponies through their struggles, just as Fluttershy helped him through his own past.
Fun Facts:
— Speckle Heart is the tallest and largest member of Fluttershy's family.
— To those who do not know Speckle, the stallion looks tough; however, he is not so secretly a huge teddy bear.
— Although the stallion did not suffer any physical or deep mental issues from the abuse in his youth, Speckle suffers from some PTSD. Speckle breaks down whenever confronted by large and loud stallions. This does not happen when confrontation is for the defense of another pony.
-Speckle uses his bangs as a security blanket: not too many ponies have seen Speckle's eyes.
— Speckle sleeps with a teddy bear that Fluttershy gave him their first Hearts Warming holiday together.
Hex Mind:
Hex Mind is the second adopted son of Fluttershy. The unicorn colt was found by Ponyville Social Services wandering around the Ponyville Rail yard with no recollection of his past: all he knew was his name. After trying to figure out if the unicorn colt had any family around, PSS eventually brought Hex to Fluttershy's cottage, hoping the mare would watch the colt until his family could be found. The PSS claimed the process would take a few months: that was years ago. Eventually Fluttershy just adopted the unicorn as her second son, and Hex did not mind. The unicorn does not mind much anyway: the colt only shows passion for science magic, eventually converting Fluttershy's attic into a make-shift laboratory. Although Hex shows affection for his make-shift family, the unicorn seems to only show friendliness to one other pony: the Apple child Macoun "Mack" Apple, both stallions bonding over science and discovery.
Fun Facts:
— Hex Mind is the shortest stallion in Fluttershy's family (Sandy Feathers will be barely taller by his stallionhood).
— Hex has occasional bouts of memory loss where he will forget where he is and what he is doing. Only Hex's family and "Mack" manage to help Hex during these situations, and they are events of incredible embarrassment for the unicorn.
— Although Hex cannot remember his actual parents, Hex claims they must be powerful unicorns, for where else did he get his talents? (the reality is a little different…)
— Hex is completely blind without his glasses (similar to Velma in "Scooby-Doo")
— Hex is almost never without a book floating right next to him.
Sandy Feathers:
Sandy Feathers is the third adopted son of Fluttershy, although not technically legally. Sandy Feathers is the biological son of Fluttershy's friend Tree Hugger and an unknown stallion. Tree Hugger loves her son dearly; however, her nature retreats and days of being "in the void" are not an ideal situation for a young colt, even if the colt is as much of a nature enthusiast as Tree Hugger. Without a second thought, the green earth mare brought her son to Fluttershy to babysit whenever the mare was on a retreat. As the colt grew older, the retreats grew longer and more spontaneous, leaving Fluttershy to decide to try and gain guardianship of the sandy pegasus so the colt could have some stability. Tree Hugger agreed, leaving her son in Fluttershy's hooves. Sandy himself is a nature buff, spending most of his days being with the animals of Fluttershy's sanctuary and among the trees. More often than not, Sandy does not return to the cottage until the evening, often sporting twigs and leaves in his mane and sharing stories of how he either rescued a baby eagle or followed an ursa major into her cave.
Fun Facts:
— Sandy Feathers always wears a hemp necklace with a bird feather tied onto it: the bird feather changes frequently, depending on which bird gifts Sandy with one of their feathers.
— Sandy talks, acts, and thinks like his mother Tree Hugger, although he somehow picked up a slightly Horstralian (Australian) accent from out of the blue.
— Sandy nor Tree Hugger know who Sandy's father is: Tree Hugger was too much "in the void" (aka stoned) to remember her lover. Tree Hugger claims she remembers the lover's eyes, of which Sandy inherited.
— Sandy seems to have the same animal talking talent as Fluttershy, and so will spend most of his time talking to the animals. He likes talking to birds the most.
— Sandy has been known to march in protests to protect the environment, even chaining himself to trees about to be cut down.
Johari:
Johari is the adopted daughter of Fluttershy. Johari originally hails from West Marefrica (Africa in MLP I guess?) where unfortunately her parents passed on due to illness. Somehow, Johari jumps from orphanage to orphanage, eventually making her way to Ponyville where Fluttershy hears of the little zebra desperate for a home. In being new to Ponyville, Johari is awestruck by her new world, resulting in moments of shyness. However, when Johari first started primary school, the zebra filly instantly made friends. Johari also became quick friends with Zecora, the only other zebra in Ponyville. Zecora, hoping to help her new little friend out, decided to serve as the filly's "aunt" and guide, teaching her of her Marefrica roots.
Fun Facts:
— Johari will grow to be the tallest member of Fluttershy's family, growing to be as tall as older brother Speckle Heart.
— Johari keeps a blank journal to record her new world: Johari loves drawing the strange birds such as bluejays and robins, and often asks brother Sandy Feathers to help her communicate with these beautiful creatures.
— Johari does not remember her biological parents nor does she know why she moved from place to place. From her nomadic early life, Johari never really kept anything material until she moved in with Fluttershy.
— Johari loves asking questions to every pony she meets, often asking too many questions at once and rambling on about her newest "discoveries".