//------------------------------// // How to Train a Shark // Story: How to Train a Shark // by Flying Fantasy Horse //------------------------------// Twilight pulled the book off of the bookshelf and brought it over to her table. The book was slightly heavy and a little fat, but it wasn't anything she couldn't manage. She set the book on the table top and pulled a chair up. She hopped on the chair and flipped to the first page. Excitement filled Twilight as she started to read. It was the fourth in a science fiction series, and she was awaiting the book ever since it arrived on her doorstep. However, she had been to busy to read it. Finally, she had the time to sit down and enjoy it. Spike was out with one of his friends that he recently made, so that left Twilight all to herself in the Golden Oaks library. Before Twilight could finish the rest of the first page, she heard a knock coming from the front door. A little disappointed, she got out of her seat and walked to the front door. She opened the door to see her friend Fluttershy at the door. Twilight smiled and greeted her. "Hey, Fluttershy. What's up?" "I'm doing alright, thank you. Um, I was just wondering if you could maybe do me a small favour. Unless you're busy, in that case I could just come back later..." Fluttershy said, trailing off. "No, it's alright. I had nothing better to do," Twilight said. It was partly a lie, but she could start the book another time. Besides, friends were important and Twilight wanted to keep that friendship by helping her friends. "So what is it that you need?" "Well, I know that you have a lot of reference books, and I was just hoping that I could maybe borrow one, if that's okay with you," Fluttershy said. "Of course, Fluttershy! You are always welcome to come in and get a book from the library. Come inside!" Twilight leaded as Fluttershy went inside. "So, what kind of book were you hoping to get? "Oh, I was just looking for the books on animals. Do you know where that section is?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight motioned for Fluttershy to follow. Twilight led her to a shelf of books. "This section of books should give you the right one. Just come to me if you have a question." Fluttershy thanked Twilight, and Twilight went to attend to another stack of unorganized books. As she sorted the books, she stole a couple quick glances at the books that Fluttershy was pulling out. Twilight knew that maybe it was a little rude, but she couldn't help but feel to do it. From what Twilight could see, she was looking through some reference books about animals. It surprised Twilight that she would need such a book. Maybe she found an animal that she never saw before, Twilight thought. The next glance that she took surprised her a little. Fluttershy pulled out Dangerous Sea Creatures, Volume 2 and flipped through the pages. Twilight knew that the book held the contents to many creatures like the sea serpent. But Twilight couldn't piece together why Fluttershy would need such a book. The only conclusion that she could come across would be if she actually found some sea creature on the shores of the beach or something. Fluttershy closed the book and started to trot over to Twilight. The unicorn quickly turned back to her books, pretending she was busy. "Twilight, I found the book I needed," Fluttershy said. Twilight nodded as she sorted out the books. "Good! So all you need to do is give it back in a week. Please don't damage it of any kind, that's one of my only books on..." Twilight started to say before trailing off. "...dangerous sea creatures." "Okay. Thank you for the book," Fluttershy said as she walked out of the Golden Oaks library. The door slammed behind her, leaving Twilight dumbfounded. Twilight turned to her books and stared at them. She couldn't think clearly. Why would Fluttershy want a reference book on dangerous sea creatures? It didn't add up to her. She was completely lost in thought that she didn't hear the creaking of the stairs coming from Spike. "Hey, Twilight! Is there something wrong?" Spike asked. Twilight snapped from her thoughts. "No, there's nothing wrong. Hey, have you ever found something so strange that it just left you lost in your thoughts?" Spike raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" "Well, Fluttershy came into the library today and got a book about dangerous sea creatures. How do you react to that?" Spike rubbed his face in deep thought and shrugged. "I dunno. Do you think there's something going on?" "I'm not sure. But I do not want to get into her business." "Maybe you should check on her, so you can make sure she's okay. It wouldn't hurt to just look, right?" "Alright, I guess. Let's go!" Twilight and Spike travelled to Fluttershy's house. It wasn't in a hurry, but they sped up their walking speed just to be sure. Before they knew it, they were at the door of Fluttershy's house. Twilight and Spike took worried glances at each other. "I don't know, Spike. Maybe we're just making a big deal out of nothing," Twilight said, unsure of what to do. "Well, we're here anyways. We might as well go in and see what's up," Spike said. Twilight looked at the door and took in a deep breath, preparing for whatever was on the other side of the door, if there was anything at all. She lightly tapped on the door. The door opened slightly ajar, much to Twilight's surprise. Twilight took a glance at Spike. Spike nodded, motioning for her to go in. Twilight opened the door more and quietly entered. The front of the house lead into the living room, which didn't look out of place at all. There was some animals running around the room and out of their cages and a horrible odor loomed over the room. Twilight and Spike looked all over. Nothing seemed to be wrong here. Maybe it was just my imagination, Twilight thought. "Hey, Twilight! Look over here!" Spike called over. Twilight twirled and followed Spike. Spike was kneeling down, looking at something on the floor. Twilight took a look at it and raised an eyebrow. It was a large puddle of water that was flowing around the spot. The water trailed on into the kitchen, where the small river seemed to be flowing. Twilight and Spike looked at each other with worried glances and walked into the kitchen slowly. They poked their heads through the open doorway and gasped in unison. In the middle of the kitchen was a very large glass fish bowl, only the fish wasn't a regular fish. Instead, a big looming shark stared menacingly at the two intruders. Twilight and Spike screamed as the shark charged at the two. Instead of the sound of ripping flesh, it was replaced by a loud bump. The shark had bumped on the glass, much to the relief of the two. Fluttershy came into the kitchen with a bag full of fish food. Fluttershy dropped her bags and gasped. "Twilight? Spike? What are you two doing here?" "We were a little worried about you because of the book you borrowed. And now I have a real reason to be worried," Twilight explained, keeping her eyes on the shark, which was swirling around the large bowl. "You're worried about Vince?" Fluttershy asked. "Vince?" Spike questioned. "I figured it was a fitting name. He looks like a Vince doesn't he?" Fluttershy said. Spike backed away as the shark stared right at him. "Yeah, it's fitting." "How in the world did you get this sha- I mean, Vince?" Twilight asked. "I found him at the beach one day. He was so friendly and sweet, I had to take him in," Fluttershy explained. Twilight twitched; that was almost exactly what Twilight had previously predicted. Twilight didn't actually know that it was the case. "How are you supposed to take care of him? His bowl is as wide as your kitchen!" Twilight exclaimed. "Don't worry. This is only temporary. As long as I install a pool in the backyard, it'll all be okay," Fluttershy said. "Um, Fluttershy? Do you realize how absolutely insane this is?" Spike exclaimed. Fluttershy rolled her eyes as she grabbed a wooden ladder. "Don't be silly. I'm raising a bear, for heavens sake. Nothing bad has happened to me," Fluttershy said. "Yet, anyways," Spike muttered. Fluttershy grabbed a bag of fish food and carried it on to the ladder. Twilight tensed as the ladder wobbled. "Fluttershy? Are you sure this is safe? Vince is one of those sharks that's in the book," Twilight said with a worried tone audible in her voice. Fluttershy continued to go up the ladder. "I know what I am doing. I have raised animals for years, and I have never found an animal that I have had a problem with," Fluttershy assured. Fluttershy got to the top of the ladder and poured the bag over the bowl. Vince surfaced and munched on the food. The cracking sound of the ladder sounded off. The ladder wobbled, and one of the legs broke off without notice. "Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled. The ladder gave way, making Fluttershy off balance. She fell back first into the water, splashing it on to the floor. Spike was engulfed by water and sent him to the floor. Twilight gasped as Fluttershy started sinking into the water. The shark circled around the pegasus slowly. Twilight flapped her wings and flew atop the bowl. "Hey, you! Get away from her!" Twilight yelled. Despite her yells, the shark started slowly at Fluttershy, who was still sinking. Twilight hesitated going in; Twilight wasn't very keen on sharing a pool of water with a shark. The shark closed in on Fluttershy, making Twilight gasp. Nothing happened at first. Twilight was sent back as a splash of water came rushing to her. Twilight pounded to the floor. coughed and knocked some water out of her ears. She looked at the water bowl and could not believe what she saw. The shark was at surface, carrying Fluttershy on it's back. Fluttershy was hugging the shark in a sweet embrace. Spike came over to Twilight with a towel and handed it to Twilight. "Huh. You don't usually see that everyday," Spike said. Twilight smiled. Dear Princess Celestia, I learned today that if something looks wrong to you, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's wrong to the other side. If you don't look into both sides of the problem, you won't be able to solve the problem itself. And while you may not agree with the other side at first, a little debate will make you see things that you never would have thought to look. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.