//------------------------------// // Angel Bunny, Destroyer of Worlds (4) // Story: Pinkamena Diane Pie: Consultant Detective // by Time Pony Victorious //------------------------------// I tried to stay focus on the job at hoof, but that detective was still on my mind. There was something magnetically attractive about her that I couldn’t resist. Something just made me want to go back to her place and just… I don’t know, study her, or something. She’s like some weird exotic animal that I have to find out more about. Pinkamena Diane Pie… “Um, excuse me?” I blinked, looking up and realized that Fluttershy was staring at me expectantly. Those big sad eyes snapped me back to reality and I shook my head, trying to remember what she was talking about. “Oh, yes, of course! Lovely song, Fluttershy, you trained your birds well!” I exclaimed, giggling nervously, hoping she hadn’t noticed I blanked out. Fluttershy smiled shyly, living up to her name, and looked down at her hooves. Happy that I avoided a faux pas, I sighed in relief, until I noticed a snow-white bunny near her hooves, stamping his foot impatiently and glaring daggers at me. I was about to ask why this bunny was glaring at me, but I noticed the tray beside her with teacups. “Um, thank you, Twilight. But I was asking if you wanted some tea.” Blushing, I averted my gaze to the floor, finding my hooves suddenly interesting. I was completely mortified at my insensitiveness and was going to apologize but Fluttershy continued, “The birds, in fact, stopped singing five minutes ago… You were just staring off into space for a while, I was getting a little worried.” Rubbing my face, I groaned under my breath. Great, she probably thinks I’m some silly schoolfilly daydreaming about a crush. “Sorry, I was just… thinking.” Fluttershy nodded, a look of understanding and maternal instinct fierce in her eyes. She picked up the tray and placed it on a table. “Thinking about what?” she asked gently as she strode over to the couch. “Well, I don’t wanna bore you,” I answered, following her and sitting beside her when she gestured for me to do so. “That’s perfectly fine. You don’t have to explain if you aren’t comfortable—“ “It’s about this pony I met earlier,” I blurted out dramatically, laying down on Fluttershy’s lap and startling the poor dear but I was too wrapped up in my things that I couldn’t tell. “She’s so… random! First she explains my entire life story and says she told me that she can do so by looking at the little details that seemingly don’t matter! That’s crazy!” Fluttershy patted my mane gently. “Go on.” “She drives me nuts but I can’t stop thinking about her! You know she’s even a baker? A detective-baker, seriously?!” “She’s also a party pony planner,” explained Fluttershy. “See? See how insane she—“ I blinked and sat up, staring quizzically at Fluttershy. “Wait… you know who I’m talking about?” Fluttershy nodded, smiling softly. “Well, it wasn’t very hard to figure out. There’s only one pony in Ponyville that matches your description.” I nearly facehoofed, the thought that she would’ve been well known in a small town like Ponyville hadn’t occurred and I felt completely ridiculous. Fluttershy hadn’t seemed very bothered by my embarrassment, despite her timid nature, she seemed to have warm up to me quickly. Looking around the unassuming cottage, I noticed a plethora of animals and critters of all sorts. The most intimidating was a giant grizzly bear sitting in the corner, contently sipping tea, and the tiniest had to be the bunny that was still glaring at me like I stepped in his carrots or something. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that Fluttershy took care of animals, why else have her house at the very outskirts of the town? She was in charge of the musical direction for the festivities. I half-expected her to have rallied together a choir of sorts, and she has… Except it was comprised of birds. Staring at the number of birds perched above us, I found it slightly strange that the birds were charged with singing but Fluttershy is an excellent teacher. The birds sounded better than I could’ve imagined, it’s a shame I was so distracted that I couldn’t listen to all of it. “Why birds?” I randomly asked. Fluttershy squeaked slightly and averted her gaze almost embarrassingly, I bit my tongue she was probably asked this constantly why she’d prefer animals over ponies. I could understand, considering sometimes I prefer books over ponies. “Sorry,” I said. “You don’t have to answer.”  “It’s okay…” Fluttershy answered meekly. “I’m used to it.” I would’ve kicked myself if I could. “These little critters, well, they’re my friends just as much as ponies can be,” she answered. To demonstrate her point, her animals approached her for a brief, yet warm, hug. “They aren’t pets, in the traditional sense. They come and go whenever they’d like to and enjoy tea parties. Even though they can’t speak, sometimes they’re easier to understand than ponies.” I nodded, understanding her sentiment. Books were the same way, now that I thought about it. They were straightforward and consistent, even the subtext wasn’t difficult to decipher. There wasn’t any guesswork, no social cues to follow or uncomfortable situations to fall into. Something suddenly shoved my leg, failing to topple me over but it annoyed me nonetheless. Looking down, I noticed the bunny trying unsuccessfully to push me over. With his tiny little paws, it might’ve been cute but his glare was nasty and unpleasant. “Um, I’ve been meaning to ask, but, what’s his deal?” I asked, pointing at the bunny who was throwing some gestures that might’ve been offensive to rabbits. Fluttershy frowned slightly. “That’s Angel Bunny. He doesn’t like you very much.” “I can tell…” Angel was now creating a makeshift spear out of a carrot. “But why?” Fluttershy leaned in to Angel and with a gentle, motherly voice she asked, “Angel Bunny, why are you trying to shiv Twilight? She’s really a nice mare.” Angel spouted out some squeaks and grumbles that was complete gibberish to me, but Fluttershy nodded as if she understood “Uh huh, yes, okay, I’ll let her know.” “Well?” “He says you smell like books and dragons,” Fluttershy translated. “Angel had a bad run-in with a dragon once.” “Oh my, did Angel get hurt?” Fluttershy shook her head. “No, but the dragon is no longer able to fly because of Angel, and he nearly started a Bunny/Dragon war.” I looked at Angel, wondering how a tiny bunny could cause a war but he grinned evilly at me and I understood completely. This bunny was not to be trifled with. “Right…” I stepped away from Angel and smiled warily at Fluttershy. “Let’s go out for a moment, if you don’t mind,” Fluttershy offered gently. I nodded and followed her out of the cottage, sparing a last glance at Angel who gave me one last threatening look. Fluttershy headed for her small little garden in front of her place, it was a humble little plot of land much like the cottage itself. There were a variety of vegetables on full display with a couple of beautiful flowers on a higher level than the food, probably to prevent it from being trampled. I followed her toward her mailbox, Fluttershy was certainly a strange mare, if I could be honest. When I first came to her house, she was painfully shy, barely meeting my gaze and speaking so softly that I couldn’t hear her at all. Once she had introduced me to her bird choir, however, she opened up and became a lot more talkative. It was like a mare with two different sides of the coin; two smiles, so to speak. Anyways, she was standing by her mailbox and looked off into the distance where the Everfree Forest was. “So… About Pinkie…” she began. I resisted the urge to smack myself in the face. I felt ridiculous for freaking out about Pinkie Pie to a perfect stranger, but Fluttershy took it all in stride, something I could easily appreciate about her. “I shouldn’t be flipping out,” I admitted. “But… Ugh, I can’t get her out of my head… Help?” Fluttershy giggled quietly, a sound that reminded me of a dabbling brook. “The solution seems very simple, Twilight Sparkle. Why don’t you just talk to her?” I blinked. For some reason the very prospect of talking to her paralyzed me, it wasn’t the usual social anxiety that I experience, this was a lot more intense. My stomach tightened, my throat felt like it was being squeezed by an angry snake, and my legs felt weak. “Talk to her?” I echoed dumbly. Fluttershy patiently nodded. “She’s a very friendly pony, although her methods are… interesting. There’s no harm in talking to her.” “Yeah but—“ “If you don’t, you’ll never get your job done,” Fluttershy continued. “Just… start by writing a letter.” I thought about it for a moment. “A letter?” “Yeah, you seem like the type to enjoy writing more than speaking. So, just do that.” I nodded as the idea formulated in my head. That was a more acceptable solution than actually talking to her… It was perfect! “Ohmygosh, thank you Fluttershy, you’re amazing!” I exclaimed, picking up the poor pegasus and hugging her tightly. She squeaked something out but I didn’t catch it, I placed her down and ran straight for my house. This was going to be perfect!