Chapter 1
Fluttershy squinted, thinking quickly while her lip quivered. “It… It’s an- an- Ursa Minor.” She brushed her mane out of her face as she looked across the table full of books.
Twilight grinned and set the flashcard down. “Right again, Fluttershy! Are you sure you need to practice? I think you know all the animals out there.”
Her horn glowed a soft purple as she shuffled the flashcards and set down the stack on the table. She glanced up at her friend Fluttershy sitting across from her in library.
Fluttershy sighed softly and looked down. “Y-yes. I need to know all the animals, Twilight. I didn’t know what Princess Celestia’s phoenix was, and I made terrible mistakes trying to care for it!” She banged the table with her hoof, scaring herself with the outburst. “Sorry, but I have to know all the fluffies.”
Twilight nodded and flipped over a new card with her magic. The card showed a dark green scaled beast.
“Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked and ducked below the table. “Dragon! It’s so scary, Twilight!” She continued to tremble. A flash above the table distracted Fluttershy.
Twilight peeked under the table and showed her the card again. “Is this better?”
The card now depicted everypony’s favorite purple and green dragon, Spike. Fluttershy blinked for a moment and smiled. “Yes, Spike may be a dragon, but he isn’t scary at all.” She poked her head back up, reluctantly agreeing to keep identifying creatures.
“Manticore.”
"Tortoise.”
“Parrot.”
“Pinky Pie in a chicken costume. Twilight, that doesn’t count.” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes jokingly and smiled.
“Okay, okay! How about this one instead?” Twilight asked.
“Cerberus.”
“Parasprite,” Fluttershy answered rapidly.
“Blue jay.”
“Hydra.”
“Minotaur.” She gasped for breath, waiting for the next card.
Twilight simply smiled and looked back at her. She cleared the entire stack of flashcards with no trouble. “Believe in yourself, Fluttershy. You know animals.”
Fluttershy looked down. “Well, not all of them, yet, Twilight.” She wrapped her arms around Twilight and thanked her for the help in a tiny whisper.
“You can always count on me for help, Fluttershy. You really know your animals. I’ll keep telling you that until you believe me. Until then... I’d be happy to put together another set of flashcards with more uncommon and rare creatures.”
Twilight Sparkle’s eyes lit up with an idea, “Oh! Maybe instead of simply naming the animal, you can name one fact about each. That’d make it more challenging. This is so exciting, Fluttershy! I’ll begin researching immediately!” She turned her attention to her desk covered with dusty manuscripts, muttering about locating a few more books and scribbling notes on a floating scroll.
“Twilight, I – nevermind,” Fluttershy started and looked down. She hit the ground lightly with her hoof. Twilight didn’t hear her. Her friend was deep into the pages of a thick leather bound encyclopedia. Fluttershy lowered her head and turned her ears downward. She would let Twilight keep working. After all, Twilight enjoys research, Fluttershy thought, and I don’t want to be a bother. She pulled the door closed, barely making a sound as she left.
Now outside, Fluttershy looked up at the sunny sky and sighed deeply before plodding towards town to finish her errands for the day. She leisurely trotted across town to the market.
The market smelled of fresh vegetables and fruits. Fluttershy breathed in the scent of fresh greens and bread. She headed toward Golden Harvest’s stall, which overflowed with freshly picked carrots and other root vegetables.
Golden Harvest grinned and waved at Fluttershy, her favorite customer. “Fluttershy! Just harvested these beautiful carrots!”
“Oh, Angel will love a big delicious carrot for dinner!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she looked through piles of fresh vegetables, searching for the plumpest orange root. She had just selected a squat juicy carrot when a thundering crash echoed through the market, startling Fluttershy and other townsponies in the area.
Heads turned in the direction of the commotion — the Carousel Boutique. The shop’s doors flung wide and expelled a flurry of fabric, potted plants, crumpled paper, a dress form, and half-completed ensembles into the street. And then the high pitched screeches began.
Onlookers gathered and watched in shock as the fashionable projectiles fell to the ground. Fluttershy instinctively hid behind the vegetable stand when it all started. Now she peeked out and quickly ducked again, her back turned to the action.
“What in Equestria is going on in Carousel Boutique?”A pink maned townspony exclaimed.
“No idea! I’ve never seen anything like it,” replied a pale yellow mare unable to take her eyes from the ruckus.
The rest of the ponies appeared equally transfixed as the clattering and shrieking continued.
Fluttershy clopped her hooves together in an attempt to gather courage. Her friend was clearly in danger. She attempted to rally her inner voice, “I can do this. I can do this. Maybe I can do this.” Fluttershy gritted her teeth and stamped her hoof. She galloped head first at full speed into Carousel Boutique. She suddenly found herself inside and stopped dead in her tracks.
Rarity, all the while squealing and shrieking frantically, hopped back and forth on her hind hooves atop her worktable. She flailed her arms in a momentary lack of grace. Opalescence clung to Rarity’s side in terror voicing her opinion with a deep, guttural, pathetic meow that only added to Rarity’s over the top behavior.
Fluttershy’s eyes bobbed around the room to find the cause for such a reaction.The shop was in complete disarray. Rarity’s precise and organized work littered all surfaces and floor. Any furniture which had not yet been thrown out the door was tipped over haphazardly. Cloth and ribbon caught on toppled dress forms. Sewing notions, bric-a-brac, buttons, and a few gems were scattered across the shop. Papers and feathers upset during the initial crisis now floated to the ground. Fluttershy wondered if a whirlwind had destroyed Rarity’s shop.
“Fluttershy! Help me! There is a horrible beast in my shop! All my beautiful work is ruined!” Rarity sobbed as Opal made another distressed meow. “I know, darling, Opal, please!”
Opalescence’s ears pressed flat against her head as she let out a disgruntled meow.
“W-what beast?” Fluttershy asked as the courage drained from her expression. She ducked down and covered her head with her hooves.
“The beast is over there! Please, Fluttershy, get it out of my sight! I cannot work in these conditions!” She anxiously shifted from one hoof to the other and motioned to a pile of disheveled patterns. Rarity bit her lip and whispered, “It’s in there.”
Fluttershy uncovered one eye to look.
Rarity moaned, “A horrible creature! It scared my beautiful Opalescence!” Her eyes welled with practiced tears and her lower lip quivered.
The pile of patterns rustled.
Fluttershy gulped loudly.
The patterns rustled again and squeaked.
Fluttershy’s wide gaze locked on to to the pile of patterns as it began to chatter. Fluttershy slowly pushed herself halfway up on her front hooves and wiggled closer to the noise’s source. She recognized the sound.
“Oh. It isn’t a beast, Rarity.”
She leaned in, still erring on the side of caution, and brushed aside the paper revealing a small creature. “Hi there, little one. Why are you in Rarity’s shop? You know this isn’t where you belong.”
A small gray brown mouse peered up at Fluttershy and began a series of squeaks as it told its story.
Fluttershy closed her eyes as she listened and nodded. “I understand. It can be quite cold outside, but Rarity’s shop is not the best place to live.”
She smiled and held out a hoof to the little mouse. “Look, I know a great fallen tree that would make the most wonderful home for you. Let me take you there. Is that okay?”
It squeaked in agreement and scurried up Fluttershy’s extended hoof.
Fluttershy turned her attention back to Rarity. “He didn’t mean any harm,” Fluttershy smiled as she coaxed her friend down.
“That creature scared us to death, Fluttershy!” Rarity put her hoof to her forehead.
“He just wanted a warm place to live and, well, he said your dresses were beautiful.”
Rarity relaxed a little and returned her hooves to terra firma. Opal, now huffing and growling, clung to Rarity’s flank.
“I thank him for his good taste, but he must find somewhere else to go. I have far too much work ahead to clean this place.” Rarity pulled Opal off her leg in a burst of blue magic.
“Rarity, I want to help you clean up. But it okay if I take the mouse to his new home first? That way he’ll be safe and sound — I mean out of your way.” Fluttershy grinned and gave the mouse a loving squeeze.
Rarity instinctively curled her lip in disdain. “Very well, take him to his new home. I’m feeling more myself now, and I can manage until you return.” Her horn glowed blue as she began picking up the patterns, trims, and bolts of fabric.
Fluttershy nodded to Rarity as she left Carousel Boutique. “Okay, Mr. Mouse, let’s go to your new home! It’s just wonderful, I promise.” She grinned and trotted off, the mouse holding tightly to her mane.
The walk to the fallen tree was uneventful. Birds happily chirped, the breeze blew ever so gently, and Fluttershy hummed and smiled wide all the while. The new fast friends approached a small grassy clearing among the trees. The pair could see a storm toppled tree on the clearing’s edge.
Fluttershy announced their arrival and lowered her head to let the mouse down. Pale orange mushrooms and silvery moss sprinkled the top and side of the log. A small patch of purple flowers grew near the mouse’s new front door. The tree had been home to many small animals over the years. Fluttershy fondly remembered the ground squirrel family that moved out a few weeks before. She missed them but was excited to have a new animal to visit when she took this path on her way home.
She grinned and explained, “This is your new home, Mr. Mouse. It’s very well loved, but as you can see, it has so much life left in it! If you can scamper to the east, you’ll find a stream, and there are lots of yummy things like berries and clover to eat.”
The mouse looked around, sniffing the air before he darted into the log and poked his small nose out as Fluttershy continued, “Of course, if you ever need anything, you can ask me! I’m your friend, you know. And here at the forest edge, you won’t have to worry about accidentally scaring Rarity! I think you’ll be very happy here, Mr. Mouse. Just be oh so careful about going into the Everfree Forest.”
He squeaked in understanding and looked at the yellow pony. The mouse extended both paws upwards. Fluttershy smiled at the gesture, leaning her head in towards Mr. Mouse. He hugged Fluttershy with the biggest mouse-sized hug she had ever received.
“You’re so very welcome!” She blushed in response.
Fluttershy watched as the mouse disappeared into the fallen log. She let out a contented sigh at her good deed and let the serenity of the woods wash over her. She could have remained peacefully where she was, lost in thoughts about mice and squirrels, but she promised to help Rarity clean her shop. She lightly stretched her wings.
It was time to head back to Ponyville.
Fluttershy thought for a moment that the day, save the morning’s ruckus at the Carousel Boutique, was continuing its uneventful mood. She trotted along the winding path just outside the Everfree Forest, stopping occasionally to say hello to a bird or rabbit. She enjoyed visiting her animal friends – in fact, if she had more time, she would have stopped to share a snack with the cozy jack rabbit family living just off the path.
She continued on, now only a little way from the edge of Ponyville. Fluttershy felt a sudden shift in the mood of the woods. She didn’t see the usual animals popping up to say hello as she passed. The birds became more quiet and subdued. Even the breeze seemed to stop as an eerie quietness fell on Fluttershy’s ears. She looked around hoping to find a reason for the change — ahead she saw thickets drenched in silence. Fluttershy ventured off the path, ever closer to the Everfree.
She stammered, “H-hello? Is anypony there? Is there a cute little critter hiding somewhere?” Fluttershy’s eyes darted back and forth, scanning the thicket for animals. She laid her ears back and moved closer towards the thicket. Twigs snapped and cracked inside it and sent the color in Fluttershy’s face running and her body squeaked into a dead halt. She held her breath and kept still, one hoof raised, as the rustling continued. The leaves parted as a small, chubby chipmunk hopped into sight.
Fluttershy’s color returned to her face as she breathed out. “Oh goodness! It was just you, Mrs. Chipmunk!” The chipmunk waved and scurried off as Fluttershy wished it a good day. Fluttershy sighed in relief, closed her eyes, smiled, and turned back towards Ponyville.
A loud, throaty noise stopped Fluttershy in her tracks again. Her coat prickled down her spine as she contemplated what creature could have possibly made the noise. It sounded like a cat’s guttural yowl — a now very familiar sound thanks to Opal, a toad’s croak, and the slurp of a thick jam sliding out of a jar all at once. Fluttershy kept her eyes tightly closed and gritted her teeth. She could feel something’s hot breath against her coat as it sniffed her, causing goosebumps to ripple across her already frozen body. Fear overwhelmed the Pegasus. Her legs trembled and fought to keep her standing. Her eyes closed tight.
Whatever it was it hadn’t carried Fluttershy off to be eaten in a dark cave... yet. The smell of maple syrup overwhelmed Fluttershy’s nose and further confused her senses. She slowly opened her eyes, peeking through her own lashes.
Before her was a long reptilian shaped creature. The creature’s legs swung wide from its body like a crocodile. But this wasn’t any reptile she’d seen before. Golden scales clustered around its eyes, mouth, knees, and feet yet various shades of purple fur covered the rest of its body. Its long prehensile tail curled once on the ground to lift the bizarre thing to Fluttershy’s eye level. It made an obnoxious snorty chortle and blinked bright emerald eyes, its third eyelid alternating with its main lids.
Fluttershy’s mouth fell open and suddenly found herself mute. The creature cocked its head and bobbed back and forth on its tail. Fluttershy started to step back, pausing yet again as the creature’s forked tongue rolled out one side of its mouth and licked its own eye. Fluttershy’s whole body shivered in partial disgust and horror.
She gulped. The creature continued to turn its head from side to side without taking its eyes off her.
“Umm. Hello there, whatever you are – I’m not sure what you are. I’m pleased to meet y– Euuugh!” Fluttershy faltered as the creature’s tongue explored its own nose. Unmoved by Fluttershy’s reaction, the creature opened its jaws and ran its tongue over sharp teeth, and then smacked its lips. Fluttershy’s pupils became as small as a pin head.
“P-Please tell me you’re not hungry.”