Chapter 1
Fluttershy's Cottage
The moon sank slowly into the distance, while the sun began to rise like it did since it was made. Rays of light shone down upon the little cottage just outside of Ponyville, home to Princess Twilight Sparkle. The cottage yard, surrounded by bird houses of all shapes and sizes, looked like it was being eaten by the landscape. In the backyard, there was a chicken coop, an apiary, several dog houses, and a pig pen. Within the chicken coop, the head rooster woke up like it usually did and walked out of its little nest to perform his daily morning ritual. It gave out a loud cockle–doodle-doo, and that was just enough to startle the mistress of the cottage, Fluttershy.
Fluttershy was a quiet pony, who mostly kept to herself. When she would try to speak her mind-a very rare occasion indeed-she would be stuck trying to find the right words to ensure that no pony would be offended.
Another, more obvious quality of Fluttershy’s was that she had a fondness for all creatures. Her passion for these creatures gave her great joy because it allowed her to share her love and be loved at the same time. But of course, she was also considerate for other ponies too; always helping them in any way she could, as well as just being an all-around, kind-hearted pony.
Once, she traveled with her best friend, Twilight Sparkle (a unicorn who, at the time, had just moved to Ponyville) on a quest to rid Equestria from the wrath of an evil princess named Nightmare Moon. While on the journey, they were threatened by a menacing creature with the body and head of a lion, teeth like a shark’s, and wings like a bat. This terrifying beast was known as a manticore.
Before slaying the beast, Fluttershy, being observant as she always was, noticed a big thorn in the monster’s paw. She gently pulled it out, and the beast became as tame as a kitten. Once the sinister Nightmare Moon was destroyed, Fluttershy received the magical element of kindness for bravely helping the innocent manticore.
Fluttershy’s life was never the same after that; she went on missions for Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria. She faced off against dragons, shape shifters, and dangerous foes who wanted to see nothing more than Celestia’s downfall. After countless quest, her friend Twilight eventually grew wings and became a well-known princess. It was a very exciting life for our dear Fluttershy, but if you asked her yourself, she would tell you that she prefers a simple, quiet life over one of thrills and adventure.
When the rooster crowed, Fluttershy told herself that it would be today’s only excitement. She stretched her hoof up and got out of her nice, comfortable bed, hoping to spend a peaceful day with her friends and animals. After making her bed, she walked down the stairs to get a bag of chicken feed for her chickens.
She picked it and suddenly a creature appeared with a faint poof! The creature stood about five feet tall, with the face of a goat, an antler of a dear, body of a snake, the paw of a lion, the talon of a hawk, the leg of a lizard, the leg of a hawk, and a mighty dragon’s tail. This mishmash of an obscenity went by the name of Discord.
Discord’s history is convoluted at best and unknown at worst. He just showed up out of nowhere one day and attacked Equestria. What made Discord different from any other threat, however, was that he could literally bend space in time with simply the flick of his wrist. He strived to make everypony’s life a living nightmare, making houses float and rendering the laws of gravity completely useless. Things got so chaotic that Princess Celestia, alongside her sister, Princess Luna (who would later become Nightmare Moon), turned the foul beast into a statue. However, it wasn't long until Discord broke free from his stone prison and resumed his reign of tyranny and chaos over Equestria. He would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for the help of a very special somepony named Fluttershy.
Through her compassion and kindness, she was able to befriend the beast, making him promise to only use his powers for good and not for his own enjoyment. Ever since then, Discord lived for Fluttershy’s friendship and, for the most part, he had kept true to his word. He still got a kick out of causing some chaos now and then, but with one stare from Fluttershy the joke was all over.
Discord gave out a loud yawn and said “Good morning, Fluttershy.”
“Why, good morning to you too, Discord,” said Fluttershy in a relaxed tone. Just then, Discord’s stomach morphed into a mouth with sharp teeth. It gave out a loud ROAR just before morphing back into its original shape.
“Sorry about that,” Discord apologized. “I am COMPLETELY famished! Why, I’m starving to death!” He then proceeded to fall down to the ground and explode into a pile of bones.
“Not now,” informed Fluttershy. “First I have to feed the chickens, then the pigs, then the otters, then the…”
“But what about me?” exclaimed Discord’s skull, his jaw flapping up and down.
“If you’re that hungry, why don’t you just feed yourself?” asked Fluttershy. At this, Discord transformed back into his original form and groaned.
“Because that would make sense!” he replied, exasperated.
Fluttershy rolled her eyes; he used this excuse all the time.
“Well don’t worry,” she said very calmly. “Once I feed the animals, I’ll make us both some breakfast.”
“Well, all right,” said Discord sluggishly. “Today I would like my usual; a two slices of french toast, with strawberries on the side.”
“What happened to the ten layered waffle sponge with cantaloupe on the side?” asked Fluttershy, amused.
“Just trying to be unpredictable, that’s all,” he shrugged. “See you in a bit, my busy bee!”
With a twitch of his fingers, Discord disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Fluttershy would never get over Discord’s spontaneous personality. Shaking her head, she picked up the feed, placed it on her back, and headed for the door.
Right when she about to open the door, she heard a small thumping sound. She turned her head to see a little white rabbit with crossed hands and a face of pure impatience. This little white fuzz ball was Fluttershy’s pet, Angel Bunny. His name was rather deceiving, though, as he could be anything but angelic at times.
“Good morning. Angel Bunny!” greeted Fluttershy.
Despite her warm greeting, the rabbit was still not amused. Aware of his attitude, she said in a peaceful tone, “You must be hungry too, right?”
The rabbit nodded its head and rubbed its belly, which gave an expected growl.
“Well, you’re going to have to wait,” said Fluttershy. “First, I have to feed the chickens, then the pigs, then the cows, and then…”
Angel Bunny fell face first into the floor, groaning.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get to you soon enough,” Fluttershy reassured.
She went outside and called out each chicken by its name. One by one, they came out of their spacious chicken coop, which Fluttershy herself had made. Once all of the chickens poured out from the chicken coop, Fluttershy lined them up and poured a reasonable amount of chicken feed in front of each hen, chick, and eventually, the head rooster.
“Eat up now,” Fluttershy cooed. “We need to get those bones and muscles big and strong!”
When each chicken finished their morsels of breakfast, they went about their normal routine. The chicks would wander off in several directions, and the mother hens would be in quick pursuit. Meanwhile, the rooster strutted about, proclaiming his authority by flirting with all the hens in the group.
Next, Fluttershy went back into her cottage to grab the food for the pigs. Unlike most pig owners, Fluttershy believed that pigs deserved better than garbage and slop mushed together. So each day, she would cook a fine meal for the pigs, and then she would use the garbage as compost for the garden.
Unlike all the other animals living with Fluttershy, though, the pigs couldn’t care less about what they were given to eat. As long as their stomachs were full, they were happy.
After she gracefully and carefully placed the pigs’ dinner into the feeding troth, Fluttershy went to feed the cows. Experience had taught her that cows prefer everything to be even, fair, and balanced, so every day she would make sure they were all given an equal amount of hay.
Once Fluttershy finished feeding all of the farm animals, she started taking care of all the other mammals who took sanctuary in her cottage. From the aardvark to the wolverine, she fed them all.
Then, she started feeding all the rest of the birds, from the abert’s towhee to the zone-tailed hawk. To Fluttershy, feeding the birds was the easiest part because all she had to do was to put a large amount of bird seed on the ground, and the birds were content.
After feeding her feathered friends, Fluttershy went back into her cottage and started working on making breakfast for herself and Discord. While Fluttershy diligently cooked the French toast, Discord appeared in a puff of smoke right next to the dinner table.
“Well, it’s about time!” Discord said in a huff. “I haven’t had anything since midnight!”
“Sorry about that,” Fluttershy replied. “You know me: the animals come first.”
“And what about your friends?” Discord asked cocking an eyebrow.
“My animals are my friends too, just like you and the girls,” Fluttershy remarked. “Furthermore, I think if you were my friend, you would have helped me feed the animals.”
“Well… I…” Discord said in a stutter. “I had more important things to do.”
“Like what?” asked Fluttershy grinning.
Oh you know, thinking… and plotting… and… stuff,” Discord explained.
“Right, sure,” Fluttershy replied patronizingly.
Once the four slices of toast were done, Fluttershy picked up the pan with her mouth and dropped two pieces of toast onto two plates she had placed on the table beforehand. One plate was for her, and the other was for Discord. Then, she elegantly placed the two plates on her back and walked to the dinner table. Discord was waiting with agitation, due to his supposed hunger. When she got to the table, she leaned to the left and the plates slid from her back onto the table.
Discord’s eyes beamed with joy, and he happily gobbled down the two pieces of sugary bread. Meanwhile, Fluttershy got her fork and knife and politely enjoyed each piece.
Halfway through the meal, Fluttershy cleared her voice and announced “I’ll be going to the PonyVile market to buy some more clams for the otters. I also need to get supplies for the pig pen. While I’m gone I want you to take care of things.”
Discord jaw fell off his face and onto the ground. After scooping it back up, he asked in a stutter “M-M-M-ME?”
“Yes, you,” said Fluttershy matter-of-factly. “I haven’t seen you do anything ever since last Tuesday!”
“I was…plotting and thinking…,” he claimed, trying to be convincing. “You don’t expect the Master of Chaos to work all day, do you?”
Fluttershy had no choice now; it was time to use her secret weapon, her legendary ice cold stare. It was known throughout all of Ponyville that just one angry stare from Fluttershy could make any evil villain repent for their sins and beg for mercy. Fluttershy’s stare pierced Discord’s heart, and his face drooped down.
"Fine.” he replied quietly, admitting defeat. “I’ll take care of the animals while you’re away.”
Fluttershy blinked and smiled victoriously upon realizing that her notorious stare had won yet again.
“Then it’s settled,” she declared. “I’m off to Ponyville! Here’s the list. Please make sure everything is done by the time I get back.”
Fluttershy handed Discord the list, and with one glance his eyes jumped out of their sockets.
“It’s not that bad,” Fluttershy said reassuringly.
Discord stretched his arm downwards, picked up his two eyeballs, and placed them back into his face, sighing heavily.
“Fine,” he said in a huff. “I’ll make sure to follow everything to the letter.”
“Good,” said Fluttershy proudly. “Then I’m off!”
When Fluttershy closed the door to the cottage, she gave a sigh of relief. Normally, she would have caved into Discord’s rebellion, but fortunately, her past experiences had taught her well.
She walked over the small bridge, admiring the calmness of the small moat, the songs the birds were singing, and how the bright sun shined on the trees and grass. It wouldn’t be long until she passed through the peaceful and quiet sanctuary of her home into the robust streets of Ponyville.