Fluttershy's Critter Capers

by CapNTilfy

Shy Me A River

After settling things between Lemon Squeezy and Striper, Fluttershy walked back to her house. The sun was setting, and it sounded like there were a couple of parties off in the distance. She took the beach chair, folded it up, then put it back in the garage. As she was about to go inside for the night, she saw three raccoons staring at her. "Hi, Smoky! Hi, Softpad! Hi Smoky Jr.!" she said.

The raccoon family chittered.

"Striper? Oh, he's harmless. He's probably just as afraid of you as you all are of him." Fluttershy sighed. Why do skunks get such a bad rep? I mean, I get that if you push them too far they spray you making you smell icky, but once you get beyond that they're really nice... she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Take my word for it. I already helped Lemon Squeezy, and the two are good friends now."

The raccoon family appeared to consider this, then chittered again.

Fluttershy nodded. "Good to know. I hope you three and Striper get along well!"

The raccoon family chittered their goodbyes to Fluttershy, then left. Fluttershy waved goodbye. She turned around to see a whole line of various animals. Fluttershy sighed. This always happens right before I go to bed for the night. Oh, well. "Okay, who's first?"

First up was a rat. It made chittering noises at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy listened intently and nodded. "Well, have you told her how you felt?"

The rat chittered.

"Give it a try. It's better to do so than to ask 'what if'?"

The rat chittered again, then left.

"Next!" called Fluttershy.

Right behind the rat was a dog.

The dog barked and wagged its tail in excitement.

"Have you thought about your sister's feelings?" said Fluttershy, with a stern look.

The dog whimpered and licked its lips.

"I see. Well maybe you'll think before you speak next time. You should apologize to her the next chance you get."

The dog's ears perked up and its tail wagged, then left.

Up next was a squirrel. It blinked, silent for a moment. Then, slowly, it chittered.

Fluttershy gasped and put a hand to her mouth in shock. "Oh...oh my."

The squirrel continued, looking away every so often.

Tears started welling up in Fluttershy's eyes. "I...I'm sorry to hear that. I can't even imagine how you feel!" Fluttershy had yet to experience the loss of a loved one, and she fervently hoped that day would not come any time soon.

The squirrel ran to Fluttershy and the two hugged, Fluttershy cried out of sympathy, and the squirrel cried out of grief.

A few minutes passed, and they let go of each other. They each dried their respective tears. The squirrel chittered.

"You're welcome. You know where to find me when you're feeling down." Fluttershy said with a smile as the squirrel left. "Okay." she said as she regained her composure. "Who's next?"

A coyote was next in line. It whined and shook its head.

"Goodness! Why didn't you say so sooner?" said Fluttershy as she dashed upstairs to grab a medical kit for animals she kept under her bed in case of emergencies. She patched the coyote up, but kept the medical kit just in case. "So who else needs help?"

A pair of Caneighdian geese waddled up and started honking.

"Whoa, slow down! You're both talking over each other. I can't understand a word either of you are saying!"

The geese spoke in turns. Fluttershy nodded as she took in the situation. "Maybe spend some time apart if your fighting has gotten this bad. You know the saying; 'Cooler heads will prevail'."

The geese took her words into consideration and flew off in different directions.

"Next!"

A duck waddled its way toward Fluttershy.

It started quacking, and Fluttershy blinked in disbelief.

The duck continued.

"Um...excuse me?" asked Fluttershy.

The quacking got louder and more frantic.

Starting to become concered, Fluttershy raised her voice. "Excuse me!"

The duck's quacking became more and more intense, frightening Fluttershy.

She took a deep breath, and, using a volume in her voice that surprised all the animals and even herself, shouted "EXCUSE ME!!"

All the animals simply stared at her in shock.

The duck was completely frozen.

Fluttershy snapped back to reality rather quickly and frowned. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. It sounds like you're too far gone."

The duck lowered its head, then flew away. Fluttershy reached out with a hand, but pulled it back. No. There are times when you have to recognize someone's beyond even your help. She sniffled slightly as she wiped away a tear from her eyes. "Next." she said, almost unable to hide the quaver in her voice. The animals were absolutely still, simply staring at her with awe and fear. Fluttershy calmed herself down, despite feeling ashamed of the volume she used to get the duck's attention. It was hard to do, but sometimes tough love is absolutely necessary. she reassured herself. Most importantly, it was the right thing to do. "It's okay, everyone. I'm fine. You don't need to be afraid of me." she said in her most gentle voice.

The line of animals seemed to calm down almost immediately.

"So." Fluttershy said with a confident smile on her face. "Who's next?"

----------------------------------------------

After she finished with all the animals, Fluttershy went inside for the night. She checked her phone to see the time. Wow, she thought. That line was longer than I thought. Things like that almost make me wish I wasn't the only person who could talk to animals. It can be a hard burden to shoulder sometimes. That poor, poor squirrel... Fluttershy fought back tears. I can't remember the last time I heard a story so tragic. She sighed and went up to her room. She changed into her pajamas and listened to soothing music to calm herself down. Always works. Finally fully calmed down, Fluttershy climbed into bed and turned off her lamp on the nightstand.

Comments

[vanilleah]

A pair of Caneighdian geese waddled up and started honking.

Haha! Love the pun, so perfect!

Also, I'd love to hear what oh-so tragic story that squirrel could have had to tell, haha! XD

[CapNTilfy]

8881747
I doubt I'm the first to make that pun. =P

Also, the squirrel lost a loved one. That was in Fluttershy's thoughts throughout the rest of the chapter.

[vanilleah]

8882266
Ah, okay :) Also, I know I say this a lot, but I love where this series is going! Keep up the great work!

[OmniFox]

Good thing no animal's water wasn't broken.

[CapNTilfy]

8883414
I did think about that as I wrote about the coyote, but I decided against it.

[Jjordan]

I'm just curious what the duck said that fluttershy couldn't forgive.

[CapNTilfy]

8903837
The duck got itself into a problem that could have easily been fixed but intentionally made it worse. It was asking Flutters for help. It's not that she couldn't forgive the duck, she just realized that even if she did help the duck, it wouldn't learn its lesson.

[raven618]

So, about the duck.

How many shoe boxes are we going to need?

[CapNTilfy]

9576227
Forty-seven and a half. Any more would be extreme and punishable by law.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

The geese spoke in turns. Fluttershy nodded as she took in the situation. "Maybe spend some time apart if your fighting has gotten this bad. You know the saying; 'Cooler heads will prevail'."

Never heard that one before.