The Element/Alicorn of kindness goes to Kitten Island to help some adorable animals in need.
Fluttershy (Princess Fluttershy, recently) is one amazing pony. She taes care of dozens of animals, stared down a dragon and a fair-be-damned cockatrice. She's overcome obstacles that many ponies might quail at.
But when a distress call comes from a foreign island, Fluttershy's services would be called upon again.
Crossover with Kitten Sanctuary, set somewhere within the events of The Great Alicorn Hunt.
Contains: lactation, pesky aliens and adorable kitties. Rated C for Cute.
Fluttershy, the recently ascended alicorn of Kindness, was taking care of the animals still at her home.
She sighed in contentment. After all of the chaos of the adventure she had been on, she needed this. A little time away from searching for nascent alicorns was just what the doctor ordered. She was practically glowing as she moved through the area, taking care of each animal in turn.
At length, she was eventually finished She stood on a hill, looking over her miniature realm. And she sighed happily. "Ahh.... naure is so wonderfukl. Thiis was what I missed the most while I was away."
Her pet, Angel Bunny, hopped over to her. <'We missed you too, Fluttershy. I missed you. Pleeeeease don't leave us again?'>
"You know I can't promise that, Angel. Who knows when something could- "
Suddenly, a small rift opened and out of it popped a yellow and black spotted cat with a red ribbon on her tail floating on a platform that was hovering in the air.
"-come up." Fluttershy finished.
<'HELP! We need your help!'> the kitten exclaimed.
"Why? What happened? Who are you, anyway?"
An arm with a speaker lowered from the playform.
"Allow me to explain. I am Maisy(1), and I come from Kitten Island. We've been under siege by pesky aliens from another planet!"
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that -by definition- what makes them aliens?"
The kitten on the platform actually blushed.
"Er, yyyyes. But that's beside the point! They've kidnapped most of my friends."
"Oh dear!" Fluttershy exclaimed,
"We don't know why they're doing this, but we're in danger! I used an artifact that we have, which sought out the most eligible candidate to aid us. Will you help?"
Fluttershy clacked her front hooves together. "I'll do it! Just a moment!"
Reaching into one of the saddlebags she was wearing, she brought out a compact kit and opened it, exclaiming, "Conference call!"
Immediately, the compact mirror grew to become a full length mirror in front of her. Within the different facets were the five of her best friends.
Twilight was the first to speak. "What's wrong, Fluttershy?!"
Fluttershy stepped aside to admit the hovring kitten to the conversation. Having already analyzed their language from Fluttershy's first words, the speaker dropped down again.
"We're in a mess of trouble over on Kittten Island. Your friend was kind enough to volunteer her aid."
While the other four were stunned, Twilight was in full nerd mode. "Amazing! A fully functional antigravity generator! With a self-autonomous translation protocol built in? Fascinating!"
Rainbow Dash deadpanned, "In laymare's terms, please, egghead?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's a floating platform that automatically translates languages as just one of its functions."
"Oh."
Fluttershy spoke, "They're being captured by a bunch of aliens and they need my help! I won't be able to go on any missions for a while."
"But darling! There are still more alicorns to find! Equestria needs you too!"
"Maybe so, but that's more important than urgent. These kittens need my help now! I can't -I WON'T- leave them high and dry in their time of need! That would violate everything that I am!"
Twilight processed this and returned to Fluttershy with a smoldering look. she spoke with a voice that showed a hint of the blazing fury that the purple mare currently was feeling. "Do it. Save those kittens! And kick those aliens to the curb."
Fluttershy returned a similar look. She spoke her next words with such cold fury that a normal pony might burst into flameon the spot. "Oh, believe me. I intend to."
It would be said that at that moment, every pony remotely talent-linked to animals bowed. When asked why later, they would say that it was just the thing to do.
Rarity herself took on a more determined countenance. "I'll send a few of my best through, dear. You might recognize them; they're experts in defemse, relaxation and design. I'm sure that they'll be of use."
Three mares stepped onto the scene.
"Octavia? Aloe? Lotus?"
The three mares bowed briefly. Aloe was the first to speak. "Ve are at your shervice, prinzess."
Fluttershy smiled and said, "Glad to have you. Alright, listen. We have an island full of adorable creatures that need saving. I'll need your help to take care of them. Can I count on you?"
The trio bowed again. "You can, Princess Fluttershy." they said in unison. They the stepped through the gateway (with aid of Rarity's magic).
With that, they marched through the portal, off on a new adventure.
Upon their arrival at the island, the four ponies discovered that they were very different from before they left. In fact, they were feeling unusually defined. In their world, most of their fellows were pastel coloured and a little... cartoonish, for lack of a better word.
Here, on Kitten Island, they stood out in vibrant detail. Here, Fluttershy's coat was clearly a lemony yellow, while Octavia was now a deeper shade of gray.(1) Aloe and Lotus were a striking watermelon pink and celeste blue.(2) Their colours were so sharp that it almost hurt to look at earh other for a moment.
Maisy too was more vibrant of colour. The cat herself meowed a few times. For the benefit of the three non-animal-empathic types, the speaker dropped down. "Come on! The first trap is nearby!"
Nearby was the first puzzle, which was stacked high with large coins, yellow or blue gems, pieces of wood, and containers of food, all of which were stacked in sqares of energy. Inside the trap was a miserable-looking gray kitten with two purple ribbons on her tail.(3)
Almost instinctively, Fluttershy lit her horn and switched around two of the squares, the contents of which disappeared.
"Those are supplies stolen from our sanctuaries." Maisy Spoke. "When you match three or more of them, the energy field is disrupted and that returns to the nearest sanctuary. The coins and gems can be used to buy more decorations and other fun things for us there."
Briefly, a word appead in the air before it disappeared again: "Convenient!"
The assembled indivduals blinked twice before going back to the puzzle.
At length, the puzzle was solved. Maist's platform put shades over her eyes. "You may want to cover your eyes." she Said.
Following the floating kitten's advice, the four ponies covered their eyes just as the puzzle burst apart with a blast of energy, allowing the gray kitten to be freed.
Fluttershy smiled. The other three ponies tilted their heads in confusion.
Maisy rolled her eyes and an arm from her platform tossed a collar with a bell toward the gray kitten, who slipped it on.
"Oh! That's better!" the collar translated, "I'm Samantha. Nice to meet you! Can we go home, now? This is way too much excitement for me."
Maisy's platform opened a portal that led to the nnearest sanctuary.
Octavia raised a hoof. "Two questions."
"Yes?" Maisy Answered.
"Un: how many uses does that thing HAVE?!"
Maisy Spoke, "20, that I know of. Possibly more."
"Deux:" Octavia continued, "Why didn't you just slip one of those translating collars on yourself instead of relying on that speaker??"
Maisy blinked twice, then facepawed. The platform, at her will, slid one on. "It hadn't occurred to me before." Maisy said, her whole coat turning pink with embarassment.
Three more puzzles followed, the ponies matching the blocks in unison. Being able to fly, Fluttershy both used her magic and her hooves to switch the upper ones around, while the three earth ponies jumped and swiped to match the different blocks, freeing one tiger striped kitten with a hat(4), one pure white cat(5) and one lead coloured cat wearing two pink bows on her ears.(6)
After the fourth kitten was released, it was starting to get dark. Maisy suggested, "Perhaps we should just search for more supplies before calling it a day."
The ponies agreed and the five were setting off to a nearby area. There they found ruins from an ancient civilization.
Maisy said, "In ancient times, these lands were ruled by king Tutenkhatten. These must be ruins of that civilization. Though as 'ruins' go, they're in surprisingly good condition."
Lotus approached the not-so-ruined ruins and examined them closely. When Aloe joined her in that task, the bond between them enhanced their efforts(8).
At length, Lotus said, "Eureka!! The runes on zees "ruuins" 'ave a speycial enchantment on 'dem!"
Aloe nodded. "Yaes! Eyv'ry hondred years or zo, they are reshtored! Fashinayteen!"
Supplies were hidden throughout the area, but with the four ponies working together, they soon found all of it and then headed for the Forest Sanctuary.
Upon getting there, they found the freed kittens playing around happily, ecstatic to be free. Going to the dispenser at the back of the sanctuary, the ponies bought a seemingly neverending container of kitty treats and a set of brushes, as well as a set of banners, which automatically set themselves up. But having had to deal with a certain pink mare frequently, they learned that sometimes you just have to overloook these things.
The four sat down with one of the kittens and began tending to them.
Octavia herself chose Lionel and began brushing him. "Roll over please, dear."
Lionel said, "Octavia, was it? I think that this is the start of a beauuuutful relationship...."
On the next day, Fluttershy awoke feeling uncomfortable. REALLY uncomfortable. Her face was flushed and she was in a full on sweat.
Molly padded over. "What's wrong?" she queried.
Fluttershy shook her head. "I-I-I'm not sure."
Molly tilted her head in thought. Then she touched the yellow mare's underside. "Ah. I see the problem." She touched a bit further along. "You've been holding this a long time, haven't you?"
Fluttershy looked both ways briefly. "Holding what in?"
Molly shook her head. "I'm a mother myself. Multiple times, really. It's not hard to tell."
Fluttershy's eyes widened. "You don't mean-?"
Molly laughed. "No! No! Emphatically no! You aren't pregnant."
Fluttershy sighed. "That's a relief. So what is it?"
Molly replied. "Easy. You're producing milk. Possibly of a kind we can drink.(1)"
Fluttershy's eyes widened again. "What?!"
Molly said, "Close your eyes. Search for something within you that you haven't felt before. A tightness within you."
Fluttershy did as instructed. Eventually, she found the knot. "I feel it!"
Molly noded. "Now release it- SLOWLY."
Gradually, Fluttershy began to release the knot within herself. As she did, unbeknownst to her, her teats began to show themselves. Gradually they grew larger. And larger. And larger....
At length, Fluttershy worked the knot free and breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked down.
Sure enough, she was sitting upon a gold mine of kitten food.
Molly explained her hypothesis. "You said that you're the... 'alicorn of kindness', yes? When you ascended, you must have been given the ability. to give of yourself even more." she licked her lips, but schooled herself. "Now that there are lives depending on you, you must have started cooking up a storm in there."
Sure enough, the other kittens walked over sniffing. "Something smells gOoOoOd." Samantha said. Getting to the motherlode of milk, she was the first to have a taste.
Fluttershy meeped. Her entire coat started turning hot pink, so greatly flustered was she! But still, she could hardly say that this was unpleasant....
Aloe was also up by this point and upon seeing the scene said, "Oh, my! She's gone into pet-me-plis!"(2)
Molly scolded the other kittens. "Hey, hey, hey! Give the mare some space."
Fluttershy wrested enough control of her emotions to say, "It's... alright. I-I want to... help you as much... as possible."
By now, Lionel was also taking sips. He paused to speculate on the flavour. "Buttermilk with honey. Delectable!"
Molly sighed. "Oh... what's the use. skooch over."
At length, Fluttershy was drained sufficiently (some stored in bottles, some taken from the tap) to allow her to walk again, knot closed once more.
With that, the party went back to the rescue mission. Sleep would not come quickly if they'd tried.
Nearby, they saw a couple of aliens trying to set up a new kitten trap.
Suddenly, the area got warmer. Octavia and the spa sisters looked back to see Fluttershy fuming with rage. The three made sure to step back. WAY back.
Fluuttershy herself was beginning to glow, an aura of golden and pink energy springing to life around her. (3)
"YOU!" the furious princess boomed, the royal caps lock firmly on, Stare turning into Glare. If looks could kill, the alien would have exploded by then. "HOW DARE YOU!" Each slow step she took forth caused the ground to shake slightly. "HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST BARGE IN HERE AND STEAL THESE DARLINGS FROM THEIR HOMES, YOU DISGUSTING FIENDS!?"
Fluttershy started throwing various objects at the floating menaces with pinpoint accuracy. The aliens babbled in their language as they tried to escape the onslaught. With nothing tending to it, the trap collapsed in on itself.
The other mares had to hold the seething alicorn down to prevent her from flying right after the escaping aliens. Carefully, Lotus booped her on the muzzle. She immediately went cross eyed for a few seconds, getting the pony version of a hard reset.(4)
Fluttershy shook her head. "Ugh. What happened?"
The three other mares exchanged glances before Lotus spoke up. "Let's poot it thees way, my lady: remind os not to get on yoor bad shide. Eyvar."
Having released several more kittens, (namely George(1), Charlie(2), Sid(3), Moppet(4), Leita(5), Lizzie(6) and Violet(7)) the first sanctuary was buzzing -er, purring?- with activity. Maisy, sitting next to Fluttershy, said happily, "We can't thank the four of you enough for all of this."
Fluttershy, characteristically, said, "Oh, no! It's our pleasure. If you like, once this is all done, we could find nice homes for the lot of you. I'm sure that there are lots of ponies who would just love to have one of you. I imagine that many, if they couldn't get one, would just.... have kittens!" she quipped.
Maisy looked at the gentle princess with stars in her eyes. "Really?! You think so?"
"I know so!" Fluttershy replied, not missing a beat.
Maisy leaped at her, giving the yellow mare the biggest hug that she could.
The next puzzle allowed for some cash to be gained, along with a present if three of those were matched. This proved to be easier said than done. Unlike previous puzzles, when a match was made, no extra objects replaced them. It wasn't easy, but they managed to finish the puzzle and earn some comfortable beds for all.
The next captive kitten was named Tibbles, apparently. He was a reddish brown colour. After that puzzle was completed and he was freed, Maisy ran over to him and gave him a huge hug. "Tibbles!" she exclaimed.
Tibbles hugged her back, and both started to purr, though Tibbles, oddly enough, seemed to have trouble with it.
Back at the sanctuary, Tibbles looked in either direction before padding over to Fluttershy. "I have something to t-talk to you ab-b-bout. I-i-in private." he said, nervously.
Fluttershy raised one eyebrow in confusion, but they waslked over to a secluded corner of the area.
Tibbles said, "I have.... something of a confession to make. Normally I wouldn't say this, but you've been so kind to all of my friends and..." he paused before continuing. "I'm not actually a kiten. I'm a puppy, from that sanctuary. Apparently the two of us were washed away in a storm and we got stranded on the opposite island. But do't tell the others! If they knew... I might get deporteed, or something!"
Fluttershy gave him a gentle smile, but took on a serious tone. "If they're really your friends, don't you think that they'd understand?"
"Well..." he hesitated.
Snowy spoke up. "Oh, we knew pretty early on."
Tibbles' eyes went wide. "What?"
"Well, you couldn't meow at the start, nor could you purr. Your ears looked different, a few other things. But we never brought attention to it because we knew you harbored those fears."
Maisy put one paw to one of Tibbles' shoulders. "We don't like you just because you're another kitty. You're our friend, Tibbles! Feel free to stay here as long as you like."
Tibbles started to tear up. "Really?!"
"It's okay with me." Snowy said.
"Me too." Molly added.
"Aaaand me." Lionel put in.
Tibbles had tears falling now "You guys.... thanks SO much for understanding. I like it here. I like you guys too."
Fluttershy smiled smugly. "See?"
For a moment, Maisy's eyes went dark. "But mark me. If you harm another kitten outside of play-fighting, you'll find yourself back on the way to Puppy Island. Depending on the injury, you might or might not have an anchor added."
Tibbles addressed the rest. "So long as you guys will have me, I solemnly swear to be the best kitten a pup like me can possibly be."
Maisy said, "That... Is exactly the answer I expected of you."