“So... Why are we here again, in the animal sanctuary, Fluttershy?” Starlight asked, after having followed the yellow pegasus since she insisted that she follow her for something special.
“Oh, it’s just a little secret for you Starlight, hihi.” She said, clearly trying to hide the copious amount of joy and other emotions she was brimming with just to keep this full-on secret from Starlight, who has yet to know what Fluttershy had planned.
Rolling her eyes, she continued to follow Fluttershy's lead until they reached the sanctuary proper. Taking in a good look at the place all-round, Starlight couldn’t help but admire the design of this place, the plant selection was great, the scenery provided from any view was sure to be beautiful. Although she did notice the lack of different creatures roaming around, once they got to the center of the sanctuary, she got her answer.
...
“Alright, every creature, I’d like you all to meet Starlight Glimmer, um... please say hi to one another,” Fluttershy said as she introduced the animals and Starlight to one another, encouraging the other to make a connection for the process to go as smooth as possible.
Starlight's reception was... mixed, to say the least. Some of them hesitated while others begrudgingly followed through with Fluttershy's request and approached her, the most she would receive would be the flick of an ear from Angel while the rest gave her varying degrees of willingness in their nods of acknowledgment.
“Now, I know some of you know her through hearsay, but let me reassure you all that she has changed a lot for all of us, isn’t that right Starlight?” She said, her question also being followed by a nod from the unicorn.
“Now, I know this is going to be a big favor from you all, but we need to find Starlight a pet! With every creature's help, I’m sure we’ll all be able to find her one that she’ll love for all of your life! Hihi...” She said, jumping up cutely to seemingly make it seem like a surprise and a call to action sort of thing, but the thought was there.
Then, one of the animals, a Blue Jay, flew towards Fluttershy as it seemed to speak to her about something.
“Oh, you mean Twilight? She's still busy with her princess duties, I'm afraid she won’t be returning to the sanctuary anytime soon...” The pegasus said
This seemed to lower the little bird's spirit, one that Starlight noticed, but before she could ask Fluttershy what it was about, the rest of the animals began to mumble in aggravation, seemingly directed towards the little Blue Jay.
“OH, you mean Dr. Fauna? She'll arrive back eventually with the supplies all of you need, just give her some much-needed time.” She said, her words seemingly having a soothing factor as all the animals seemed to be reassured with her claim.
After a few moments of this, Starlight had finally regained her somewhat loose marbles. For all that it was for, a confused Starlight decided to ask for a clarification to what she thought Fluttershy was doing.
“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, cutting in front of the yellow pegasus to look her directly at her eyes. “You want to find a pet, for me?”
“Well, yes, Starlight. Lately, I’ve noticed that you may have gone a little… off, every time we’re busy with other matters, especially if Trixie, Sunburst, or even Maud, aren’t around. So I decided that since all of us, at some point in all of our lives, had a pet that, you too might want to have and experience owning one.” She said.
The smile of ponies like Fluttershy adorned being so cute that it should have been classified as a weapon of mass destruction just for the number of brain neurons it could fry into submission, excluding the fact that it would, in no small fashion, sway millions of hearts to its whim. Regardless of that fact, Starlight was now able to process, although somewhat reluctantly, what Fluttershy’s goal was.
“Why though?” She asked, unable to figure out how Fluttershy was ticking at the moment. “I'm clearly doing fine on my own, and I don’t see any reason why I should own a pet.”
“What reason is there not to own a pet?” The pegasus rebutted.
The unicorn was about to respond, but she saw Fluttershy’s eyes and the commitment that shined in them, so instead, she decided not to fight it and to just allow herself to follow the mare’s lead. “Fine, whatever you say Fluttershy, now, lead the way!” She exclaimed, now with renewed vigor, curios of the conclusion that Fluttershy would stumble upon for her.
And so, an episode-long montage of them trying to find the perfect pairing for Starlight began, there was a big selection to choose from, and with no specifics from Starlight, Fluttershy decided to throw everything she’s got and wait until something sticks. Not the best plan of attack, but even Starlight had seen worse.
And soon enough, the selection would dwindle as Starlight shared more and more about herself, and as they did so, Fluttershy's resolve only grew stronger tenfold as this continued. She had high hopes, and she hoped this endeavor would pay off.
...
After some time and a great deduction of potential pets for Starlight to choose from, Fluttershy had around half a dozen animals that she knew Starlight would, at the very least, consider to be her pet. Not only that, but she also has to make sure that these creatures know what might, and what is, to come after this.
“Right then,” she said, then observing and taking note of the remaining contestants and planning the final stretch. “I think a blank slate is needed for an equal and fair comparison, wouldn’t you say Starlight, after all, you are sort of an expert on that field.”
This small remark tickled the back of Starlight’s head, but she knew Fluttershy could never be as sadistic as too passively remind a pony of their past mishaps, right? Regardless, she shrugs it off as she set her mind back to the present.
“Rrrright,” she said hesitatingly. “Well, I guess we could start with the Fish then end with the Frog if that’s alright?”
“Not at all.” The Pegasus replied.
“Good, good... very good. Ok, um, so... I guess the fish should go, I can’t handle managing an aquarium, with how much workload we have...”
“And the snake would require a special diet and enclosure to stay in, so they’re out too. I'm so sorry mister Snek and miss Aquaria, but both of you have to go...” Fluttershy said, feeling a bit doubtful and bad for this, but nonetheless, having to lead both animals to another part of the sanctuary.
There was no fuss nor muss during this proceeding, and likewise, every creature at the moment took it upon themselves to gather themselves. For Starlight, she knew she had to choose wisely for a pet she could not only manage but also could coexist with Phyllis, for Fluttershy,
“Now, It’s the Pigeon, the Hamster, and Frog,” Starlight recounted. “Hmm...”
“Well, since you spend most of your time either inside the castle or at your office, Mr. Pegeion can’t stretch his wings, and even if he went outside, for the time being, it would be too crowded to do what he… likes...”
‘Agreed,’ Starlight silently thought. Also imagining the pain that could befall not only her and the entire campus but also the flock of Mr. Pegeion, after all, birds of the same feather flock together.
“Well, that leaves the Hamster and Frog… So between them both, I think it would be appropriate if both get a chance to spend time with you, Starlight.” Fluttershy said, forgoing the protest of what could have been two would-be pets and Starlight.
Regardless of that, they all would come to an agreeable arrangement, and by the end of 2 or so days, Starlight was ready to make her decision. It wasn’t an easy one, but she too had her preferences, and no doubt, the pet she would choose would come as a surprise to Fluttershy.
...
“So, are you ready to break the news?” Fluttershy asked Starlight, who was still approaching the sanctuary proper. The scenery of the fairly early morning exemplifies the beauty that truly was the sanctuary and its surroundings that accompanied it.
“Well... Not really, I’m actually a bit nervous.” She responded, her hesitant trot to the pegasus’s direction being a clear sign of it.
“Oooh, there's nothing to be worried about, Starlight, in fact, I’m sure that with whatever decision you make, we'll surely understand your reasons,” Fluttershy said, trying her best to ease the unicorn's worries.
“Well, if you say so.” Came the reluctant response.
And so, they once again entered one of the separated areas of the sanctuary, sitting in patience atop a fairly sized table was the Frog and Hamster. To the surprise of Starlight, although both seemed to be speaking to one another, they both wore an adorable suit, how they managed to make it work was beyond her, but she regardless found them both adorable.
“Ok now, so I think we should do some formalities, after all, this would be an important one for us to remember!” Fluttershy said, beginning her introductions, beginning first with the Hamster and Frog. “As you both know, Starlight Glimmer here will be taking one of you, as her new pet!”
“And Starlight,” She turned around to look at the unicorn. “Here are your candidates! The hamster and the frog, each presenting themselves to be a faithful companion to you.”
“Wow, un... Thank you Fluttershy,” Starlight responded. Making her way to both creatures, she gave them a gentle head pat before she would continue on.
Both the frog and hamster returned the affection they received but promptly waited patiently when Starlight moved back a bit to speak again.
“So, to make this entire thing short, I guess I'll have to tell who I chose, please don’t be offended.” She said, both creatures giving a small nod before she continued again.
“I chose... the Frog!”
A moment was given for Fluttershy to process what Starlight had just said.
“Well, are you going to say anything?” Starlight asked, slowly approaching the yellow pegasus who was still processing what she just said.
“That’s...” A moment of hesitation, before it was quickly responded to. “That’s great! But I also want to ask, why the Frog over the Hamster?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple really, it just boils down to who could better coexist with Phyllis.”
“Phyllis?”
“Yep! The plant that I kept and took care of at my office, that’s her.” She explained, summoning up a projection to show the plant she was speaking of.
“Wow, I didn’t know you were a gardener, Starlight.”
“Oh, it’s nothing that complicated, I just keep her around the office, but I sometimes leave her by the front of the school.” Starlight responded, dissipating said projection as she faced the two creatures.
“As for the reason why I chose the Frog over the Hamster, well, it’s nothing personal, but I do think that the frog would be a better suit with Phyllis. You know, with her needs as a plant, as to avoid traumatizing her and all. Not to mention it would be simpler to manage them both since they could coexist, amongst other things...”
A look of questioning was what adorned the frog and hamster. Both murmured to each other, seemingly shaking in recognition and respect but still looked as though they were unsure of the results, at least until both seemed to ask Fluttershy a question for Starlight.
“Oh, I see, I see, ok, I'll ask her then,” Fluttershy said to the both of them, nodding as she faced the unicorn once more.
On one wing, she carefully held the frog towards Starlight while her other wing pointed to the other section of the sanctuary, where the hamster decided to scurry off to.
“So, Starlight, I guess you could say that it’s more of a question for him rather than for me, but could I ask, how do you plan to take care of him?”
“Hmm?” Starlight turned around, then registered the question and answer it as though it was the most obvious thing ever. “Oh, I’ll just leave him at the school’s front pond with Phyllis, I still have to sort the office first before I could settle on anything else, after that… Well, we’ll see, I still don’t know where to put Phyllis in the new office, so until then, he’d probably accompany her, got nothing against it right, little guy?”
The frog, as if to respond to Starlight’s question, hopped in agreement, seemingly being content to live under the cool shade of plant and near a cold pond. Giving a livid “ribbit” as Starlight continued to speak.
“Oh, and I guess we got to give the little one a name,” Fluttershy said, but before she could ask Starlight for a name, she already got a response.
“Kermit!” She exclaimed vividly, and with a new name, Kermit jumped up to Starlight’s back as they departed.
Parting ways with the yellow pegasus, a new companionship would be formed between the unicorn, frog, and the plant. Although it may be hard at first, they would soon grow to appreciate the company of each other, with the frog and simple plant growing mutual respect, something that Starlight appreciated. Regardless, it was indeed a leap forward.