Fluttershy never liked traveling into the Everfree Forest.
Oh, sure, she’d survived going there plenty of times, and she’d even managed to acquaint herself with some of the native wildlife. But no matter how many times she ventured into the woods, it never ceased to be deeply unnerving. It wasn’t just the fact that it always seemed dark even in broad daylight. It wasn’t just the fact that the trees themselves seemed to glare at her with malevolent intent. It wasn’t even the fact that there were so many dangerous predators that would eat her for lunch.
No, it was the fact that everything, from the animals to the weather to the land itself, operated completely beyond the reach of ponykind’s influence. She’d always thought of the Everfree as unnatural, but if Nissa was to be believed it was exactly the opposite: it was the only part of Equestria that was natural by the standards of any other plane. A place where nature needed no help to take care of itself, just as it needed no caretakers on any other world.
Somehow, that knowledge had only made the Everfree even more unsettling. Out of all the places Zecora could have lived, why did it have to be here?
Thankfully, she managed to reach Zecora’s hut without incident. While she knew there wouldn’t be an incident as long as she stayed on the path, but there was always a chance that things could go wrong. It didn’t help that her overactive imagination kept showing her every single possible way they could, and every single way she could die horribly as a result.
As she approached the hut, she did her best to put those thoughts out of her mind, her wings fidgeting with the straps on her saddlebags in an attempt to find an outlet for her nervous energy. She raised her hoof and gently tapped at the door, sounding out a trio of soft knocks. The door creaked open, and Zecora stepped forward to greet her.
“Ah!” said Zecora. “Fluttershy, with yellow coat, what brings you somewhere so remote?”
“I was wondering if you could help me,” said Fluttershy. “Angel scraped his knee earlier today. Do you have any medicine that could help? He’s much too fussy to go to the veterinarian, I’m afraid.”
Zecora gave a smile. “That I do, my dearest friend. A simple remedy, and the pain will end. Come inside, and you will see. Consider it a gift to you, from me.”
Fluttershy giggled inwardly. It was always a wonder how Zecora managed to come up with a rhyme on the spot for every situation. Come to think of it, that would probably explain why she didn’t like being around Applejack or Scootaloo that much.
As Zecora beckoned Fluttershy inside, she approached one of the many shelves lining the hut, packed to the brim with an assortment of herbs, potions, and bottles. She climbed up a ladder leaning against a shelf and took out a single glass bottle, inside of which was an unidentified mix of herbs, ground into fine leaflets. Carrying the bottle in her hoof, she carefully descended, and passed it to Fluttershy.
“Apply this to the wound with a cloth of cotton, and your pet will find his pain forgotten. These herbs are quite the fine selection, enough to stave off any infection.”
Fluttershy grabbed the bottle and gently placed it in her saddlebags. “Thank you, Zecora. I’m sure Angel will really appreciate this.”
“Whatever you may need, I can always give some. Return whenever you wish, for you are always welcome.”
Fluttershy waved Zecora off as she exited the hut, happily humming a simple tune to herself. She’d already forgotten the perils of the Everfree as she followed the path back home. More than anything, she was just glad to have seen her friend.
The happy thoughts didn’t last the rest of the journey. Halfway back to the edge of the forest, and she saw something that immediately made her stop in her tracks. There, lying on its back on a mossy log, was a creature unlike anything she’d ever seen.
It looked to be a biped, based on its body shape, thin and wiry-looking, like some sort of tree goblin. Its skin was a bright purple color, and covered in bulging veins that ran across its entire length. Its eyes were a pair of bright orange things that were devoid of any visible pupils, and lining its open mouth was a row of dozens of sharp teeth.
But most worryingly of all was the deep, bloody gash across its chest. The creature appeared to be only semi-conscious, and its breaths were weak and shallow.
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy squeaked. “You poor thing! Here, hold still!”
The creature let out a small whine of protest as Fluttershy lifted it onto her back. It was barely any larger than Spike, yet it was surprisingly heavy.
“Don’t you worry,” said Fluttershy, “I’ll have you feeling better before you know it.”
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Bringing a creature from the Everfree Forest directly into her cottage had earned Fluttershy a very disapproving glare from Angel, who had undoubtedly expected himself to be the undivided center of attention. He sometimes seemed to have trouble accepting that Fluttershy had other animals under her care.
Thankfully, cleaning the wound on his knee and applying Zecora’s herbs had been a simple task. Angel winced at the pain, but he seemed to trust Fluttershy’s treatment, and Fluttershy trusted Zecora’s medicine. When she was finished rubbing the herbs against the scrape, it had already miraculously healed. There had to have been a magic to the medicine that made it more than just a simple combination of plants, but Fluttershy figured it wasn’t her place to start prying about Zecora’s secrets.
That left her with the creature to deal with. She’d left it on the couch, its wound wrapped in a simple cloth to stem the bleeding. It babbled weakly as it pulled the cloth and gnawed on it gently.
Fluttershy giggled. “You silly thing, that isn’t food! Here, let me help you.” She gently removed the cloth, disposing of it in a nearby trash can, before pulling out another cloth from her saddlebag. Her wings beat gently to maintain her upright stance as she lifted herself onto her hind legs, holding a cloth in one hoof and the bottle of Zecora’s medicine in the other. Fluttershy poured the herbs on the cloth, then placed the bottle back into her bag as she began gently rubbing the cloth against the wound.
The creature let out a small whimper, the medicine no doubt leaving a stinging sensation. Before long, however, the wound began to close. Within only a few seconds, all that was left of the wound was a simple bruise.
“Feeling better?” said Fluttershy.
The creature blinked wearily, and crawled off the couch to its feet. It looked up at Fluttershy with curious eyes, and began tugging at the cloth slightly.
“What’s that? Do you want this?” said Fluttershy. Her eyes turned towards the now-bloodied cloth. “I’m honestly not sure why, but you can have it.” She held out her leg, holding the cloth right in front of the creature.
Then, to her utter surprise, the creature swiftly seized the cloth from her hoof and ate it. Not just ate it, but devoured it. One second it was there, and then the next it had disappeared into the creature’s toothy maw.
“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Oh, well, um... That’s okay. I was going to throw that out, anyway.”
The creature didn’t seem to be interested in listening. Instead, it walked over to the couch, grabbed its side with its claws, and then took a giant bite out of its side. The stuffing and springs spilled out as the creature hungrily devoured the furniture, massive bite by massive bite. Fluttershy could only stare transfixed at the scene. Before she knew it, the entire couch was gone.
“O-okay, that’s fine!” said Fluttershy. “A-as long as you’re not hungry anymore...”
But the creature didn’t stop with the couch. It crawled onto the side table, grabbed the lamp, and then shoved it into its mouth, devouring it with a single motion. The table was the next to go, being reduced to a few wooden splinters on the floor in less than a minute. She could only gape in horror as the creature then moved on to every other piece of furniture in the living room. First the other side table, then the photo of herself and Discord on top of it. Then the coffee table. Then all of the books she’d laid out on it. Then the lounge chair, and the curtains, and the curtain rod. Then the bookshelf and all of the other books. Then the trash can and everything inside of it. Then the decorations and family photos on the mantle, and the metal screen guarding the fireplace, and the bellows lying by the side, and... well, all of it, really.
“Oh... Oh, no! Angel, what do I do?”
Angel crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the ground, which was approximately bunny-speak for ‘that’s what you get for bringing that thing here.’
Fluttershy gasped. “Angel! Don’t be rude!”
Angel could only roll his eyes in response.
Finally, after the entire room was stripped bare, the creature lay down on the floor, its belly now bloated from gorging itself. A satisfied belch escaped its lips, and it closed its eyes. Loud snores came from its throat as it quickly fell asleep.
Fluttershy closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Oh, my furniture... I just can’t believe it’s all gone. But at least it can’t get any worse, right?”
A very loud smack echoed through the empty room as Angel slapped a paw against his forehead.
Suddenly, the earth began to shake. It was subtle at first, barely noticeable. But the shaking grew more and more intense by the moment, rhythmic tremors occurring in regular patterns. Fluttershy emitted a small ‘eep’ as the tremors grew so intense that she her body was propelled half an inch off the ground every time one of them happened.
Then, a realization struck. They weren’t tremors. They were footsteps.
Fluttershy wanted nothing more at that moment than to hide, to crawl into a hole and disappear until the threat was gone. But she couldn’t. Not when there were so many animals in her home that could be hurt. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, but she didn’t let that stop her. Breathing in and gathering up as much courage as she could muster, she walked over to the front door and stepped outside.
Her body immediately froze in place. There, towering above her house, was a creature just like the one that she’d rescued from the Everfree Forest. The primary difference, of course, being that it was more than thirty feet tall. The creature looked down, its mouth opening to reveal a set of sharp, jagged teeth that were each nearly as large as Fluttershy’s body. Fluttershy dropped to her knees and covered her face with her wings, hoping that it wouldn’t see her if she didn’t move. Her constant shaking made that plan less than ideal, but she figured it was worth a try.
“Mama!”
The sudden cry drew Fluttershy’s attention enough that she almost forgot how scared she was. She peered out from behind her wings to see the creature she’d taken in running out in front of her. The larger creature extended a hand, gently picking up its child and lifting it closer to its face.
The mother creature’s eyes turned towards Fluttershy, then back to her child. “PONY HURT YOU?”
The child shook its head. “Nuh-uh! She nice! Give much food!”
For a second time, the mother creature flashed its teeth to Fluttershy. This time, however, there didn’t seem to be any threat behind the display. On the contrary, she looked... happy, somehow. It was difficult to read emotions from the monstrous visage, but Fluttershy could tell. The mother creature carefully placed its child on its shoulder.
“MUCH THANKS. WE GO NOW.”
As the monster stomped off back to the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Despite everything that had happened, she was glad things managed to work out in the end.
Still, she was going to need some new furniture.
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Fluttershy, Fauna Keeper 4GW
Legendary Creature — Pegasus
Flying
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to creature tokens you control.
3GW, T: Populate, then populate again. (Create a token that's a copy of a creature token you control. Then do it again.)
”Don’t you worry, little ones. I’ll take good care of you.”
2/8