Homeland Security

by Verathuum

Chapter 2

Fluttershy awoke because she was used to the nocturnal animals keeping her awake, even though she really did enjoy the nice rest.

“Well, I guess I better see how those two are getting along,” she thought knowing she wouldn’t return to sleep for a while. She got out of bed and looked out the window. She noticed neither of them was there, and that there was a piece of ply wood over the fence: a temporary fix. She also saw footprints leading into the forest. “Oh no,” she thought, “I should have told them cockatrices live in the forest!” Fluttershy quickly got dressed and ran outside to track down the Germanes, also noticing the chicken tracks which told her why they went into the forest in the first place.

With a few minutes of running she stopped in a clearing and found her chicken. “Elizabeak, how many times to I have to tell you to stay in your pen?” she asked the chicken as she picked it up. There was a rustling beyond the clearing slightly, and she went to investigate; against her better judgment. There stood something that surprised her beyond comprehension: a cockatrice turned to stone. “What could have done that?” she thought to herself.

She was about to investigate closer, but suddenly there was another rustling behind her and she turned around. There stood another cockatrice, although this one was not stone. It approached Fluttershy and her chicken slowly, as if it knew it had trapped them. Without hesitation, Fluttershy covered her chicken’s eyes and glared angrily at the cockatrice, which glared back at her, trying to turn her to stone.
* * *

A figure stalked about in the forest. He was dressed in a combat skin aligned with orange lights and a black mirrored helmet, mostly standard Florian apparel. A mirror was the only surefire way to kill a cockatrice, forcing it to turn itself to stone, and his helmet was the perfect defense from the one that had tried to attack him just a minute ago. He recalled the bird-snake as it jumped from the bushes, about eye-level with the crouching Florian. He had quickly raised his helmet over his head, which the cockatrice stared at. He shut his eyes and counted to ten as he was told in school; the cockatrice staring at its reflection, turning itself to stone. Suddenly, he heard a noise and spotted a pink-haired girl with a chicken, standing before a cockatrice. His curiosity got the best of him, and he silently walked up behind Fluttershy, noticing her feet and calves turning to stone, and the cockatrice was beginning to wince in fear of her.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Fluttershy angrily asked the cockatrice as though it would answer, “Just because you can turn things into stone doesn’t mean you can go around bullying small animals! You should be ashamed!” Her legs stopped turning to stone, and the process seemed to be reversed: soon her legs and feet were back to normal and the cockatrice was running away scared.

This was too hilarious for the Florian, and he accidently began laughing. Immediately Fluttershy turned around using the same glare on him, and he immediately stopped laughing and fell over onto his back.

“And you!” Fluttershy yelled at him while giving him the stare, “Just because you can use your helmet against a cockatrice, doesn’t give you the right to bully those poor creatures!”

As she continued her verbal onslaught, the Florian could do nothing but back himself away from Fluttershy, crawling away on his back until he ran into a tree. He stood himself up trying to find a way around it, but never taking his eyes off of Fluttershy. He had never experienced such fear despite the terrible creatures that lived in Auflorsung, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her, furthering the torment and fear that her gaze gave him.

“Now you go over there and find a way to turn that cockatrice back to normal, and don’t ever let me catch you in this forest again!” Fluttershy yelled at him before timidly turning around and walking back to her cottage.

The Florian, nearly in tears from fear, stared at her as she walked away unable to comprehend what just happened. Without hesitation, he quickly turned around the tree and ran as fast as he could away from Fluttershy. He found a spot hidden away in some bushes and removed his helmet. He buried his face in his hands to relax. “Why didn’t my helmet work on her?” he thought silently to himself.