//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Canis Ezo Kage // by BioChemicalWolfGear //------------------------------// Birds chirping woke me from my dreams. My mind wasn’t ready to wake up quite yet, so I laid there in a blissful state where time seemed to pass quicker to me as I slowly began to wake up. I winced every time a bird chirped, as the invasive morning sound pierced my ear drums and began to force me to become more aware of the world around me. I tried to reposition myself to find the blanket that my tired mind and body imagined around me. I rolled onto my back and my ears found the flowerbed below me. My back legs were splayed outward while my forelegs were curled up against my chest. I tried to open my eyes only to be assaulted by the sun's golden light. I growled in irritation, and rolled to my side. I opened my eyes now that they were away from the sun. The ground below me had blue flowers that I now called Poison Joke, after Twilight’s explanation of my relationship to them. My ears twitched in annoyance toward the sun as I tried to get in a few more minutes of rest and closed my eyes again. But the tweeting of birds singing their morning songs, made my rest difficult to acquire. I opened my eyes all the way while suddenly feeling wide awake. I rolled upright, so all four of my paws would be on the ground, into a prone position. I rose to my feet and looked around the flowerbed of Poison Joke that seemed to mingle with the trees at the edge of the clearing. An occasional oak tree was placed in the middle of the flower field that covered the tree canopy in leaves to make the clearing darker. I looked up at the sun and found it was still early morning. I decided it was time to go to the cottage, since all the animals would be up by now. Or at least the birds would. I started walking toward the Northwest, where I knew the cottage would be from where I am. My journey was peaceful, and the forest was peaceful. As I went into the forest, I passed by some healthy, but stubby-looking, oaks. I began to smell the lingering scent of what I thought was moss. I looked around, and chose not to stop as I continued toward my destination. I saw some green moss on the trees where light was coming through the leaves. Strangely enough, the moss was actually trying to point toward the light, rather than a source of moisture. But then the forest began to darken the farther I got and I saw something curious on the trees of the stubby oaks. I halted in my tracks and panned my head left and right. I then turned around while keeping track of where I was going, so I wouldn’t lose the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage. On the healthy and stubby oak trees was red moss that started to glow when in the shade. I didn’t notice it before because it blended in very well with the shadowy but still light area. I had a strong sense of forboding when I saw it, and it made my mind race. Entire trees were covered in the moss. I was slightly awed, but mostly confused by the purpose of such an adaptation. Was it to create contrast and make a natural glow for no reason? Or was it for a more sinister purpose? I realized the color almost looked like blood, only lighter. I began to theorize like I always do when I’m either bored, or really interested. “How does this help the moss? Wait, it’s lighting up a shadowy area and making it harder to blend in. What if this is an area that’s used to hunt and kill, and the moss aids predators in finding prey? Nah, that’s ludicrous, the only way that’s possible is if there’s a creature that actually assists in doing that… Wait. What happened to the birds?” I pointed my ears in all directions searching for the sound of birds. I took a whiff of air to see if I could smell them. I could clearly smell the lingering scent of birds, but I could also smell a lot of blood. But the blood was almost masked in a way, you could only smell it if you had my sense of smell. I didn’t like that one bit. I took another whiff to confirm my suspicion; I was confused when I smelled a newer scent that wasn’t there before. I couldn’t pin down what it was but it smelled close… very close. I looked up in reaction to the scent and I almost yelped in fright when I came face to face with an arachnid. A very big arachnid. It was larger than me, by at least two feet, and its legs were played out to stand on the trees branches. When it saw I noticed it, it dipped its jaws down and lunged at me. But to my luck a branch snapped where it placed its front right leg for support. It fell to the side and face planted into the dirt to my left. I only now had the time to react and I ran in the direction of what I thought the cottage was with lightning speed. I heard the loud stomping of the eight-legged monstrosity coming closer to me with little resistance, as it weaved in and out of the trees. I ran for my life, but I knew it would get me if I didn’t do something fast. I noticed my running pace was faster than I thought I could go, I realized this was the same speed I had when chasing prey, or running from the Timberwolves. I looked around for anywhere to go that would allow me free passage and hinder the arachnid long enough for me to escape. That’s when I noticed the forest getting darker. The shadows became more prominent, and I heard rustling of the tree canopy to what I assumed was wind. The strange event only took up ten percent of my mind, while the rest of it was trying to think of a way out of danger. I began wondering if I could make it to the cottage before it caught me. Perhaps I could find some help in defeating the arachnid with Barry. I then subtly noticed some movement to my left, as I rounded a chokepoint of bushes. I saw the bushes part to expose a small path large enough for me to fit through. Without thinking, I took a sharp left and ran toward the opening. I saw it starting to recoil and just as the leaves started moving closer to each other I was able to pass it. It seemingly slammed shut and I took a chance to look back to hear the arachnid slam into the leaves and attempt to climb over it. It took it two seconds to climb over the bush, but I took its confusion as an advantage as I quickly hid behind another nearby bush. The loud rustling of leaves as the arachnid moved out and over the bush gave me white noise, so I could quickly jumped into a bush without being noticed. As I sat in the bush, I hastily jumped into I very slowly turned around, so no noise would be made as I turned. I stopped when I realized how risky that would be and I opted to just sniff the air. I could smell the arachnid and he was very close by. Just a few meters from the bush I jumped into. I heard it’s legs step on the dirt ground and realized it’s long legs might actually be mere inches from me, but my angle was away from the arachnid and I couldn’t afford to move or I’d give away my position. After what felt like hours, the arachnid moved off. I could hear it’s movements as he walked away back toward the red moss covered trees. I waited five minutes before deciding to move again. When I did my mind exploded with questions. “Why did the bushes move? How did I reason the relationship between the moss and blood? Why did the branch break?” My mind was plagued with questions and I tried puzzling out some answers. “Ok, first the branch broke. If the spider-thing knew how to balance itself and was probably there for weeks waiting for something to come along, so how did it make a mistake on misplacing its footing? Is there something wrong with it? Is it diseased? No, I might have smelled that if it was… if sickness gives a scent… why would I think that?” I stopped in place as I thought harder. “I’m acting differently. In the library I hid without reason, and revealed myself to learn how to hypnotize Twilight. That was like something telling me to do it. The same thing happened when I reasoned that blood is required for the moss and… I assume the spider is what brings the blood to it. But how did I think of all this? Why did I think of all this? Do I have an instinct in my head that’s giving me information?” I reasoned. I began to feel slightly uncomfortable. I looked around the forest and discovered the shadows that helped me escape were no longer there. “Did the forest help me? Why?” I walked up to a tree and looked at it intensely. I stared at the tree for a minute, before I gave it a whiff to see if there’s anything unusual. Nothing came to mind when the scent came back as just an ordinary tree. I looked around trying to see if there was any indication of something that would make sense for me. Nothing gave clues or even hints as to what just transpired only a few moments ago. Even the bush that the arachnid climbed over was just as normal as the rest of the forest. I began to feel uncomfortable and tried to find the sun to get my bearings. I was in luck as the leaves now let enough light through for me to see the sun. I was off course if I wanted to go North West. I was heading directly west. I decided to go straight north, because the distance I covered while going west may have been a bit more than necessary to find the cottage. I continued my pace as I listened to my heartbeat and made my way north. The sounds of the forest returned and I began to calm myself as I heard the birds tweeting. I was subtly reminded of yesterday’s incident after all the adrenaline settled down. I picked up my pace even though I knew I was out of danger, but I kept a wary eye above me and constantly checked my surroundings as I moved. As I continued north, I began to see the edge of the forest. My mouth curled to a smile when I saw it. I was happy I could finally have a day filled with socializing and potentially clearing up the water between me and the birds. I eagerly approached the forest edge and saw Fluttershy’s cottage in the distance. I would have missed it if the house wasn’t elevated. The roof would have made it blend in very well, except for the obvious and odd slope it would be at. The birdhouses and accessories around the house were another give away. I got to the forest edge with little trouble as my path seemed almost clear of obstructive bushes. I stopped on the edge of the clearing and looked at the cottage. I frowned as I remembered the hidden battle the animals were undergoing. The battle to survive and live happily, but the birds mustn’t be having much trouble, considering they live in the trees or the clouds. Although I feel sorry for anyone who meets that arachnid that chased me. I began to step forward and as my silent paws touched the grass I began to notice the activity in the yard. As I started walking I smelled the many animals that were grouped up in the yard. I silently approached the pink fence and began to wonder why the animals were all in line. I couldn’t see the other side of the wall of animals because most of them are large enough to hide a bear. In fact I saw Barry there standing at attention. I got half way across the field when I noticed something odd about the group of animals. They were all standing in line, biggest in back and smallest in front. But nothing smaller than me was amongst their ranks. I saw bunnies look on with curiosity, along with some birds. In fact I now noticed no birds were a part of this line up of animals. A few strange looking four legged animals I’ve never seen before were a part of this group. I picked up my pace and I caught a glimpse of pink hair in between the spaces of the animals. My immediate thought was Fluttershy organizing the animals for some reason. As I got closer to the fence I heard an eagle caw loudly. I looked up to see the same eagle from last night. He gave me a court bow from his high perch and returned to standing tall and proud. “His ego must be massive... I’d like to make a massive ego and cloud joke, but so far I don’t see any way I should hate him for his pride.” I mulled over in my head. I came up on the fence and looked around. Some of the animals were watching me approach. The birds seem neutral about it and only a few turned their heads to watch me. Some rabbits hopped over to the fence and waited under it. Most of them looked young with some older, but they all watched me intently. It was the bear in the group of lined up animals turn his head toward me and catch a glimpse of me. He turned back and growled something I couldn’t make out to whoever was in front of him. I saw something fly above the wall of animals. A familiar pink mane and tan coat hovered above the wall of animals with a curious expression. “Fluttershy?” I thought to myself. I was correct when I saw her full body hover over the animals. Her face quickly became a warm smile and she held her wings out, so she’d slowly drift to the ground. I got to the gap in the fence and walked into the yard. I was close enough to identify the animals as something I recognized. But there were a few oddities in there that I didn’t expect. There was a deer, with two stubby antlers and it had the scent of some freshly cut flowers that just barely covered a deer scent. There was a Goose-moose or something… yeah, it looked like a moose with duck legs and a Goose head. I tilted my head at the Platypus that was surprisingly larger than me; and I had to stare at the Pink Flamingo at the front of the group who was the only bird present. Barry so far towered over each of them. But my attention was brought to the front of the group that I couldn’t see. Most of the things in back were herbivores in nature, like the large Anteater that somehow was standing on its hind legs to see over the animal in front of it. I wanted to go in front of the group to get a better look but I was stopped by a rustle in the grass. I looked down to see a small mouse trying to hide from me. He noticed my eyes were on him and tried to remain perfectly still. I took a whiff of air and noticed the smell of at least three other mice around me. I turned my head to the left and saw two brown mice trying to use the grass to hide itself. I looked further left and noticed a white mouse in the small flowerbed. “Oh, you guys got better. But I still noticed all four of you, even though I was distracted by the group over there.” I pointed at the group with my paw as I looked between the four mice. They all rose out of the grass and flowers. The one not using the grass to hide himself scowled, probably in disappointment. All four of them moved in front of me in a line. I sat down and gave them a smile. I began to smell the familiar scent of the mother coming off of the small white one. She looked at me with an approving smile and was first to speak up. “So, we did better?” She asked. “Well, actually considering I only noticed you because you made noise, then no you did worse. I actually discovered you the first time when I looked in your direction.” She scowled and huffed in disappointment. “Hmmf. Shame.” Her smile returned. “I thought for sure you weren’t coming back though. What changed your mind?” she asked. “I never said I wasn’t coming back. Besides I don’t deny free food.” I told her in my growls. She smiled sheepishly. “Oh right. Well anyway, I was going to tell you about the meeting that’s going to happen today. Angel announced it and we’re discussing you. But in the meantime, I was hoping to have a conversation about your ability to hypnotize animals.” she said eagerly. I gave her a thoughtful look before responding. “It’s something I can’t teach. It’s my eyes that have this power. I can control it like a unicorn can use magic…” I paused with what I thought was a quizzical expression. “Was that a good analogy?” I asked. The mice looked between each other in confusion, then back at me and the mother spoke up. “What’s analogy?” She asked with a quizzical expression. I rolled my eyes. “Never mind. So yeah, I can’t give you this ability, and I can’t teach it. It’s just something I’m born with I guess,” I noted apologetically. The mother looked disappointed. “Ugh. All right. Oh wait, I haven’t introduced myself have I?” She questioned in shock. “Oh right! I haven’t got a name for you. What is it?” I asked. I felt more comfortable talking about something more mundane, rather than my hypnotism power. “Muriel. My names Muriel.” she replied happily. “Oh wow, just like on Courage the Cowardly Dog! Best cartoon ever!” I smiled to myself. “Nice to meet you Muriel. You already know my name, I assume.” I said warmly. She smiled widely. “You’re Hushed Sha-” “Hushed!” Fluttershy called from on the other side of the wall of animals. “Hushed come here!” Muriel and I looked in Fluttershy's direction, then back at each other. “I’d rather stay and chat.” I commented in a posh voice. She chuckled. It wasn’t a laugh or a giggle, but it was a chuckle to let you know that your joke was received and was somewhat comical. “Oh I don’t mind. If Fluttershy needs you, then you’re needed for something really important.” She said happily. “Ugh very-” I was cut off. “Hushed! Where are you?” Fluttershy asked as her head poked up above the group of animals. “-…well.” I growled irritably. This time Muriel began to giggle like a little British girl. This was actually pretty adorable, considering it consisted of squeaks. I rolled my eyes and stepped over the four mice. I only now noticed the other three didn’t seem to want to speak. Perhaps they were back-up in case something bad happened? No, Muriel approached me yesterday without anyone else beside her. Maybe they just wanted to prove themselves capable of better stealth. I ignored the issue and continued to approach Fluttershy. She saw me coming toward her and she smiled warmly as her head disappeared behind the group of animals. I kept to the right of the group as I came closer to it so I’d walk around to their right. I was closer to the right than the left, so it made more sense to me. As I rounded the group, a few of the four-legged creatures looked at me and jumped in surprise after noticing I was a wolf. I was surprised none of them turned to look at me in the first place other than Barry. I looked at the front of the group and was honestly surprised to see some animals smaller than me in the front. More importantly, I noticed the group of animals consisted of some aquatic creatures. I saw a single beaver amongst the ranks. One that I was familiar with, too. I was about to rush him before he noticed me but I halted when I heard. “No. Not him.” chimed in a pony with a disapproving groan. I looked in the direction of the voice, and beside Fluttershy was none other than Applejack. Applejack was giving Fluttershy a disapproving glare. “Ah will not associate with that wolf!” Applejack pointed an accusatory hoof at me. “And so, the drama begins...” I had half a mind to back away slowly and disappear in the shadows. But against my better judgment, I just sat down where I was and watched them argue. “But Applejack, he likes you, and he’s been good with other animals. He’ll get along with Winona and Apple Bloom just fine.” Fluttershy me defended softly. “Ah know. But he took mah hat! Ah don’t want those kinda shenanigans on the farm! Ah got werk tah do, an’ if he’s goofin’ off someplace while we need ‘im herdin’ the cattle, then it’d be a waste ah time.” she gave me an unimpressed look. “Wait, Cattle? Meat? Ponies eat meat?” I tilted my head in confusion. “I think that’s a little unfair to Hushed, Applejack. Maybe you should give him a chance?” Fluttershy continued to defend me. “Ah don’t think so, Fluttershy.” she asserted in a calmer voice. “He ain’t no dog. An’ wolves are harder tah train than dogs. Besides, ah don’t know if he’d start splittin’ up the herd an’ start huntin’ mah cows.” she looked back at Fluttershy “Cows? Steak? Ok, well why aren’t I getting any? All I got is some smelly dog foo-… oh.” Fluttershy looked almost horrified. “Oh Applejack, I don’t think Hushed would do that. He’s been very friendly with the other animals here. I’m sure he won’t hurt them if he’s well fed.” she offered as a response. “No means no Fluttershy. Ah ain’t gonna bring a wolf ontah mah property without a good reason.” Applejack added with a tone finality in her voice. Applejack redirected her attention to the group of lined up animals. My attention was drawn back to it as well, but I saw Woodcutter waving to me frantically trying to get my attention. I was happy but also sad at the same time, because I didn’t sneak up on him. I stood up and wagged my tail while making an excited whining noise. I ignored the odd looks some of the larger animals gave me and I began to feel a little uncomfortable from the attention. I found that odd, since crowds weren’t hard for me to overcome. But I ignored my nervousness and sprinted around the group. Woodcutter saw this and his eyes widened in horror as he saw me approaching quickly. I could tell he wasn’t sure whether or not to go into flight mode because I was his friend, and also a beaver killing predator. In the end, he couldn’t make up his mind before I was right on top of him and licking his head. I didn’t really care if he was clean or not. Most of the animals I’ve eaten up until now I didn’t clean before I feasted. Woodcutter began to freak out for a second before he realized what was going on. He then tried frantically to get me off of him. The force of my snout plowing into him left him on his back while I was trying to drown him in what little slobber my tongue had. “No! No! Down Hushed! Down! Please stop!” he tried to sound angry, and failed. Succeeding only in making him sound unappreciative. I suddenly stopped and replied. “Ok.” and looked at him innocently. He took a moment to catch his breath and he rolled over so his stomach would be on the ground. He then pushed up and turned around to look me in the face. He put his hands on his hips and gave me a glare. “Hushed.” something timid behind me said, but I ignored it. “Seriously? You sure you’re a wolf? You’re acting like a dog.” he asked irritably. “Nice to see you too Woodcutter.” I replied happily. “Yeah yeah. It was nice to see you up to the point where you tackled me,” he folded his arms in irritation. “Hushed.” came the voice a second time. I ignored it again. I shook my head. “Yeah yeah. So why do you want to help Applejack with herding cows? Actually how will that help you?” He rolled his eyes. “I honestly don’t want to.” he answered irritably. “Fluttershy asked me to help make a pen for the cattle or something. If I did it she’d let me build wherever I want rather than where she thinks is safe.” he explained thoughtfully. “Oh, and I heard what happened with the birds.” He said apologetically. I scoffed. “Yeah. I’m not all that mad about it. I think Angel is going to do something about that soon.” I told him. “Ahem!” I spun around to see Applejack giving me a death glare while Fluttershy was looking away sheepishly. “Get!” Applejack shooed me. “What? You can continue, I won’t bother you.” I told her, before realizing I was attempting communication with Applejack, who had no idea what a single noise that came out of my mouth was. She trotted to me and put her hooves on my side. “Will yah just go. Scram. Move.” Applejack tried to be more forceful, by pushing me aside. I gave out a short, low growl. “Hey, don’t be pushy.” Fluttershy flew between us and gave me a serious look. “Hushed, we’re very busy, now please go over there while I finish here. Then I’ll feed you.” She pointed toward the cottage, and then she rounded on Applejack. “Applejack. Please stop trying to control my animals.” she asked of her friend with a softer tone. “Hushed can’t be pushed around, or he might get mad, and he’s the only wolf I’ve been able to take care of.” Applejack seemed a little uncomfortable from the scolding. “Aw shucks Fluttershy ah’m sorry. Ah didn’t know yah value him.” she replied sheepishly while avoiding eye contact. “Seriously? Being a wolf sucks sometimes. It’s like I’m being treated as a pet. Actually that’s exactly what I am to them…” I let that depressing thought sink in, as my movements became sluggish. I snapped out of that thought and walked away from the group of animals and the two ponies. I looked back at Woodcutter and he quickly gave me a thumbs up. I smiled to him and headed toward the cottage. I trotted without any issues and I stopped when I was two meters from the front door of Fluttershy’s cottage. I was at the point where I could see the front door, and the backyard. I waited and watched as Applejack and Fluttershy shared some back and forth. I barely noticed the small buzzing noise that came from the higher points of the cottage down to my level on my right. I turned to look at the source of the buzzing, and came face to face with a small green hummingbird. For some reason, it looked like it was smiling. I could see feminine features in its eyelashes. But when I saw them I tilted my head in confusion but held my smile regardless. “Helloooooo theeeeere! I am Honey, how ‘bout you!” she exclaimed in sing-song tweets. I looked at her with a bewildered expression and a tilt of my head. I was actually side swiped by the sing song and happy attitude of the little green hummingbird. Only yesterday birds of all types were offended by me eating first. But this hummingbird seemed to like me, as if it never happened. “Is she here to apologize for yesterday?” I thought to myself. “Did you hear me silly wolf? I never took you for an oaf.” she tweeted happily. I smiled to myself when she began to rhyme. I decided that I’d mimic her sing song attitude for the fun of it. I haven’t had the chance to have fun for a while now, and singing might be pretty refreshing for me. “Hiiii! Helloooo! Hooow are yoou? I’m Hushed Shadoooow. Whooo are yooou?” I howled my O’s to give a sing song version of my words. I then noticed how loud that was and I looked around to find any unwanted spectators. I returned my gaze to the little hummingbird that continued to sing to me. “Ha, you didn’t hear! But my tweets were so clear! I’m Honey! How do you dooo?” Honey sang back. I felt as if she was trying to sing to me. But I enjoyed what she was saying, and I continued to play along in hopes to continuing our high school musical. “I’m fiiiiiiine Hooooow ‘bout you?” I howled back. “Happy and Good! But please don’t go into the wood.” she said innocently. “It’s dark and scary. No place for a dog to be unwary.” She warned in an ominous tone. “Wait what? I’m a wolf though.” I said dropping my sing song imitation. “I don’t need to be careful, I’m the hunter.” “Oh wow that’s cool! How often do you… drool?” she finished awkwardly. I now became somewhat suspicious of her. But I noticed that last rhyme is a little more forced than the others. The last one sounded like an attempt at keeping the rhyme alive. I shook my head in amusement. A movement at the corner of my eye caught the large group of animals spreading apart and I saw Woodcutter and the large Anteater creature accompanying Applejack along the path to Ponyville. I looked back at my singing company and thought for a moment. She seemed to be avoiding eye contact after her mistake, and waited for my delayed response. I was momentarily distracted by Fluttershy speaking to some other animals and realized how little time I had if she grabbed my food. But I was determined to learn more about the culture of birds and it’s relation to rhyming. I had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with singing. I then began to analyze the situation like I’ve always have. “Is she trying to do what I heard the bird do yesterday? She’s trying to speak in rhyme and just did a poor job of it. Is it against her culture to do that? Is it a respect thing? What’s the importance of rhyme?” “Why are you rhyming?” I asked with a tilted head. She looked back at me with an odd look. She then her head around our immediate vicinity looking for eaves-droppers. She then got closer to me and landed on my head. I subtly took notice of Fluttershy trotting slowly toward us while conversing with Angel. He seemed to be doing very dramatic hand movements that made everything he tried to say easy for me to understand from here. It was almost like the animal equivalent of yelling. “We rhyme because we need too. It’s tradition for ‘the coming of age.' We learn early on how to rhyme, but once we begin to rhyme fluently we’re considered adults. All the birds my age and older do it better than me, and sometimes I get made fun of for making a mistake.” she explained out of rhyme. “Ok, that explains her behavior when she slipped up. And she’s braver than I think she even knows. From what I get, speaking out of rhyme is frowned upon… brave little bird.” I smiled to myself. “I think I should help her.” “Listen, I’m not all that good with rhymes myself. But I know a few tricks with rhyming, if you want to hear them.” I offered while keeping my head as still as possible while she was perched on it. She shuffled around on my head. I assumed she started rubbing her beak with a wing but I couldn’t tell by looking at her. But the movement I felt on my head and the fact I felt her wing brushed up against the fur on my head made me assume she had to move it in front of her. If that’s not her using physical movements to represent her thoughts then it’s obvious she’s about to pounce on my nose. “…W-well… I guess I can accept your help. You’re not a bird, but you rhyme ok.” she responded a little unsure. “It’s all right, I want what’s best for you. Anyway, do you know what a sonnet is?” I asked. “Um, no.” she responded in what I can now call 'youthful confusion.' “Ok, well where I come from, there are these things called sonnets that break up the meanings of poems. Such as this. AABB and ABAB. Those are the rhyming patterns for sonnet.” “Wait, I don’t get it.” She said with confusion in her tone. “It’s basically rhyming. There are a lot more types of sonnets but I only really remember that structure. I think ABBA was one. Oh right then there’s ABAB CDCD EFEF and vice versa.” I added, not realizing she was rapidly falling behind in the conversation. “What do you mean by AB?” she asked. I lowered my ears in embarrassment.“Oh right. Well when I say I I’m talking about a sentence. Like for example, sentence A will rhyme with the sentence after it. So that means the first sentence and the second are rhyming so they are both called “A”. I paused to consider how to continue the example. “Oh wait I get it! A rhymes with A, and it’s because the sentences rhyme?” “Uh yes! Very good. Now you can have it so the first sentence rhymes with the third. Oh usually sonnets are made up of four sentence pairs. There usually isn’t a fifth unless you’re using a different type of sonnet. So sentences rhyme like AABB and ABAB. I think you’ve done two sentence rhymes, and that’s probably what makes you out of practice.” I explained. We were interrupted by a timid voice getting my attention. “Hello Hushed.” chimed in a voice to my left. I slowly turned my head to the left to see who spoke, and I figured out it was Fluttershy. At first she seemed apprehensive at my slow head movements but when she spotted the little hummingbird on my head she put her hoof over her mouth and began to snicker at my situation. Angel was at her side looking at me with a raised eyebrow. Their presence wasn’t really welcome at this moment, as I was trying to teach a subject I barely even knew myself… Ok, maybe it was a little welcome. She stopped silently laughing at me and looked me in the eye with a content smile. “Well if you’re done then, I’ll make you breakfast. How’s that sound?” she asked with a certain loving tone that you’d normally hear from someone when they talk to their dog. “It really doesn’t help my self-esteem all that much, to be spoken to like a common animal.” I thought to myself. I gave Fluttershy an unimpressed look, or at least the best I could pull off. But I decided I should be mature about it, as this was her cottage and she technically was a superior being than me. If I was able to speak in English then I would ask her politely to not talk to me like that. But I’m going to have to deal with that for now, because I don’t exactly want her to run to Twilight to tell her that I attacked her for no reason. I mean I couldn’t really act aggressively for a mistake like that anyway. It’s a little uncalled for. “Can I stay here for a little longer? I’m having a conversation.” I told her. She put her hoof up to her chin in consideration. But it was really different from what I saw her do before. She looked a little confused and slightly tilted her head to the side. “Umm… I’m sorry?” she asked, her face showing confusion. “Ok what? I couldn’t have been any clearer.” “Hey Hushed.” I looked down slightly and noticed Angel with his arms folded. “She can’t understand animal remember? She needs to listen for your tone, and watch your body movements. The hummingbird on your head keeps you from moving your head around when you say stuff.” he informed me with an unimpressed look. “Oh right, sorry Hushed.” Honey said to me apologetically. She jumped into the air and began to hover above my head. Within a few seconds she flew over to my right side with a little innocent smile on her face. I turned back to Fluttershy and repeated myself. “I’ll be right there. I’ve still got things to talk about.” I told her with a smile. “Ok, whoa I can move my lips?” I thought to myself as I noticed the sensation of muscles I haven’t used often. “Wait hold on, I’ve used these before. Why’d I only notice now?” I thought to myself getting sidetracked. “Ok Hushed. I’ll call you in when I’ve got your food ready.” Fluttershy replied with a smile. “Come along Angel.” she said to the white rabbit. Angel shook his head furiously while his arms were crossed. Fluttershy stopped and looked at him with a confused expression. Honey and I watched Angel’s reactions to Fluttershy. I was confused as to what he was trying to do so I continued to watch. “Angel?” Fluttershy asked. Angel responded by repeating the head motion. “Well, all right, you can stay out here. But I’ll be inside if you need anything.” Fluttershy added to Angel with a soft frown. Angel nodded his head and Fluttershy smiled. She turned around and trotted to the front door of her cottage that was only a few feet away. When Fluttershy opened the door Angel had already rounded on me. “Ok Hushed, the meeting is scheduled to start in fifteen minutes. Barry is the security bear, so if he asks you to do something, you do it.” Angel commanded. The door shut to my right and I looked over to see that Fluttershy went inside. Angel got my attention by continuing his currently one sided conversation. I turned back to him. “We need you on your best behavior. Also, we will be hearing from a few other third parties like the large and small birds. Librarian will be there too, so he’ll represent you as a guardian for the sanctuary.” Angel explained with a serious look. “When there, you’ll be given a few questions to answer before we trust you.” his expression turned even more serious and he leaned forward threateningly. “And you’d better answer truthfully, or we’d banish you. Barry will throw you so far you’ll end up in Whitetail Woods.” “Hey I’m not here to cause trouble, you know.” I barked in irritation. Angel held up his paws toward me. “Hey hey, take it easy!” he expressed with a calmer expression on his face. “You’re going to be asked a few things. Answer truthfully and don’t get mad. The birds might use that to their advantage, to make you look bad and get rid of you. They almost got Barry like that, so you should keep that in mind.” he folded his paws again. “But the meeting will start soon, so I suggest you be at your best when it’s ready ok?” I tilted my now free head and gave him an unimpressed look. Honey’s hovering made a small buzzing in my ear and was beginning to get annoying. But my relief came quickly as she flew over to Angel and stopped to turn back to me. “I’ll be at the meeting. Don’t keep me waiting!” Honey added trying to get back into her rhyming scheme. Her smile was the last thing I saw, before she flew off toward the yard at a quick pace. I felt a little lonelier after she left. Angel looked at me and I looked at him. “Well I don’t have much more to tell you.” he continued sheepishly. “Just keep yourself safe for now and don’t get yourself into trouble. I’ll see you at the meeting, after your meal.” Angel turned around abruptly and hopped off toward the yard. I watched Angel hop off to the center of the lawn. There was a group of animals, including Barry, setting up three podiums. The cottage was bustling with activity and I stopped to ponder what the experience would be like. Then I realized that this was very weird for animals to do in the natural world. I began to think I was stuck in a Disney movie. “Hold up a sec.” I thought to myself. “Just a few days ago, the animals were acting like I expected them too. They acted just like animals. Now they’re acting like they’ve got their own secret society. Is there a tidbit of information that I’m missing here?” I watched in wonder of the animals doing strange things that I didn’t expect them to do. That is, until I was interrupted by a sweet timid voice. “Hushed, your bowl is full of food.” I turned toward the cottage door and saw Fluttershy sticking her head out with a warm smile on her face. I was momentarily confused as to how she was able to move the door without making any noise, but I pushed it aside as me concentrating too much on the animals doing strange things. I started at a slow pace towards Fluttershy while I began to drift off in thought. My padded paws kept me from being noticed as I walked along the pink fence on my right that kept me from the drop off. The door was a simple three meters away from me. When I got closer, Fluttershy pushed the door open wider and stepped aside for me to clear the frame unhindered. I cleared the door and the lingering scent of zoo blasted my nose. I looked around the oddly bright room and noticed the animals were all vacant. In the center of the room, was a bowl full of dog food and was thankfully adjacent to another bowl full of water. I scanned the room as my paranoia seemed to demand it. I trotted forward while idly looking about the decorative room with a calm vibe about the place. Without any animals to cause commotion, the place looks like it was built to be tranquil. The chirping of birds made it all the more peaceful. The floorboards creaked as I walked over them. I stopped in front of the bowl and took one more look at the room before lapping up the water with my tongue. I shifted my head to the left and chewed at the dog food in the ceramic bowl filled with food. The moment I finished my meal Fluttershy spoke up behind me. “Hushed, the meeting is going to start soon, don’t be late.” she added sweetly. A wave of confusion crashed over my mind and I momentarily lost control of my body. I swiveled around violently and gave her the most dumbfounded stare that my face could create. Fluttershy was leaning up against the door with a huge smile on her face. She started to giggle at my befuddled state for a few seconds before catching her breath and explaining her involvement. “It’s ok Hushed. I knew about the meeting, when Angel told me about it. I helped them get the podiums that the leaders of each animal clan will meet at. I’m going to let them decide what to do with you, and I’m sure you’ll do fine.” she reassured me. “Besides, you already know three of the clan leaders.” I tilted my head in confusion. “Who are they? I know Librarian is one. Well I think.” Fluttershy looked confused. “Wait what where you...saying?" Her expression lightened in realization. “Oh you mean Owlowiscious, Twilight’s pet. Yes, he’s the bird in charge of keeping my home safe and leading away Timberwolves, when they get too close. He’s recognized by other birds as their leader, and after a year of moving in he became a clan leader. The others are Angel, Woodcutter, and Xain.” Fluttershy explained. “Who’s Xain?” I asked. Fluttershy rubbed her left hoof with her right one and avoided eye contact. “Well that’s the robin you hypnotized.” she replied awkwardly. But her response was almost immediate. “…I need a turtle.” “But he’s the only one, other than the mouse leader that you need to worry about. So it could go either way, and since two clan leaders like you, you could easily become one of them. Barry started off with less influence, and he still was voted in.” Fluttershy explained. My face widened into a smile, I knew I had this in the bag if Woodcutter, Librarian, and possibly Angel were on my side. All I’ve got to do is make a good impression on the others and they’d keep me from being banished. Fluttershy turned out the door and got three meters away before she turned back and looked at me with a content smile. “Come on Hushed. They’re waiting.”