//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Fluttershy's Big Adventure 
// by Bookpony579 
//------------------------------//

Fluttershy was awoken by the sound of birds chirping at her windowsill, as usual. She yawned and, after giving a quick thank-you to the birds in the form of some seeds, got ready for school.

As she arrived at the breakfast table, her parents were already there. Like their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Shy were quiet people who liked the simple things in life. Mrs. Shy looked similar to her daughter with a slightly darker shade of yellow skin with raspberry, curled hair and glassed. She just enjoyed gardening, and was often hired as one for her skills. Her husband had light green skin and swirled, grey hair and worked in a factory. They loved their daughter dearly even though her love of animals could be a little overbearing sometimes, as various creatures ranging from squirrels to even a bear often showing up under Fluttershy's care.

"Good morning dear." Mrs. Shy greeted her daughter with a smile. 

"Good morning Mom. Good morning Dad." Fluttershy greeted while sitting.

"Good morning." Mr. shy greeted with a smile too.

While they ate, Mrs. Shy spoke up.

"I just got an e-mail from your brother this morning. He says he's doing really well this time."

"Oh really?" Fluttershy asked skeptically. Zephyr Breeze was Fluttershy's younger brother by about nine months. It was a well known fact among them that Zephyr was even lazier than Rainbow Dash. He was artistic and clever, but liked pushing off his chores to other people. It was so bad that he ended up getting kicked out of every school in the area and that his parents had to resort to boarding school as a last resort. Fluttershy loved him but wished he would just put a little bit more effort into his work.

"Yup! He's really making the effort to turn himself around this time." Mr. Shy said with hope. Fluttershy remained doubtful.

Sensing her daughter's doubt, Mrs. Shy decided to change the topic. "So...what are you girls learning today?" Despite their reluctance when they heard about their daughter being an Element, and the constant worry about the danger and attention she would face, they were proud at her heroics and loved telling about them to anyone who would ask.

Fluttershy's eyes brightened. "Oh! Celestia is allowing us to bring in our pet's today! She's going to teach us about our 'familiars' and why their important to mages.

Her parents nodded, despite not quite fully understanding the lesson as they weren't mages themselves.

"So your only taking Angel in, yes?" Her mother eyed her suspiciously, knowing how Fluttershy liked to sneak in other animals to school even though it was against the rules. Fluttershy just gave her a nervous smile and a weak yes. She hated lying to her parents, but her animals were important to her too.

Once they finished breakfast, Fluttershy said goodbye and stuffed Angel in her backpack (along with some other critters when her parents weren't looking) and headed to school.





"...Alright students, do you have your familiars with you?" Luna asked. On her shoulder was an opossum who seemed to be listening intently to what she was saying. For this lesson, they were out in a field near CHS, so as not to cause a mess from the animals. The girls had their pets ready in the following order:

Twilight, with an owl named Owlowiscious perched on her arm. (He was always very careful about his talons.)

Applejack, with her faithful and energetic dog, Winona.

Rarity, with her (rather prissy) cat, Opalescence. (or Opal, for short.)

Fluttershy, with Angel Bunny of course. (Though he was as far from angelic as you could get without being a full-on demon)

Rainbow Dash, with (surprisingly) a turtle ("tortoise") ....err, a tortoise named Tank.

And Pinkie Pie, with her live baby alligator named Gummy.

After getting confirmations from everyone, Luna continued. "Alright then. Now, while anyone can have a 'pet' in one form or another, a familiar has a few key differences. For instance, while you may have multiple pets, you usually have only one or two familiars at a time. They can be any animal from the classic cat, to even a wolf. The bond between an mage and her familiar is stronger than your bond with your other pets, and in some cases cases even your friends or family. You are connected on a somewhat spiritual and emotional level. Your familiar is here to help you whenever you need it." 

For a demonstation, Luna nodded at her familiar without saying anything and he seemed to nod in understanding. He immediately scurried off into the forest. After a for minutes, he came back with a bright, shiny apple, which he pawed off to Luna before resuming his place at her side.

"As Tiberius just demonstrated, a familiar can sense your thoughts, feelings, and intentions. They can help you with your work and even guide you when you need it. A mage and her familiar are bonded from when they first meet, usually until one of them dies."

Luna then set up some excursuses for the girls and their familiars. While some did great:

"Atta girl Winona!"

Others did not-so-great:

"Come Opal, can you do it for mommy? Please?" This resulted in an irritated hiss before Opal finally completed the task.

But nobody did better than Fluttershy and Angel. Despite Angels stubbornness and bad attitude, he willingly did whatever his master asked of him without hesitation.

"Excellent work FLuttershy!" Luna praised. "You certainly do seem to have a knack for animals."

"Are you kiddin'?" AJ asked jokingly. "Animals love Fluttershy! One time we had a wild raccoon stuck in our attic. Critter wouldn't let any of us come near it without makin' a fuss. But when Fluttershy got there, she had the thing eatin' out of the palm of her hand!"

Fluttershy blushed shyly at the praise. She loved caring for animals for it's own sake. She could always seem to understand animals better than people. Animals didn't judge you, or try to get you to talk. They could seem to look past all that to the person she was beneath.

Luna looked at her phone. "Alright everyone, it's time for us to head back. Remember: while we are allowing you to bring your familiars for this lesson, they are to remain the lair until you pick them up after school, is that clear?"

Everyone nodded and began to head back. Their respective familiars at their sides.

"Wasn't today fun Angel?" Fluttersy asked. The bunny seemed to roll his eyes at this.

"Oh come now. It was nice to see the other familiars again, wasn't it? Oh! Maybe we should have a pet playdate soon!"

"Fine. As long as there's carrots!"

"Of course there will..." Flutershy's voice trailed off and she stopped as she processed what she just heard. She looked at Angel wide-eyed while the bunny just stood there gave her a confused look.

"Umm...did you just say something?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah! I said I wanted carrots! And not those mushy 'processed' ones, but those fresh ones you get at the farmers market. The nice, crunchy ones."

"Oh...ok." Was all Fluttershy managed to say before she fainted.