Facing the Feathered Kind
Ponyville was a simple town that had a lot going on. Occasionally, the odd beast from the Everfree Forest would show up, and from time to time an enemy from ages past would show its evil face, seeking to threaten all of Equestria with whatever evil schemes and dark powers they wield. On a very lucky day, things just seemed normal so that the town’s citizens can get going with their lives. The occasional musical moment would carry itself in the air, the idle chat of ponies mulling around the marketplace or trying to get somewhere would make a newcomer think that nothing bad would ever come to this part of Equestria.
But this town has seen it all. It has become quite the disaster magnet, mainly because of the six local and national heroes of Ponyville and wider Equestria. Ponyville was the residence of Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony, each representing the true magic of friendship. However, even though they are heroes of the land, they still have lives to lead. One tucked away, quiet corner of the town was where one of the Element Bearers lives.
Fluttershy lived on the far edge of the town, near the Everfree Forest. She was currently enjoying the herbal tea that she bought from her favourite tea shop in town. Occasionally, a certain Spirit of Chaos would come round for their weekly tea party, but today, she had other guests in her quaint cottage, and one was especially important.
“I must know where you get your tea, Fluttershy. It truly freshens one’s spirit after a long trip sightseeing their own kingdom,” Princess Celestia smiled as she took another dainty sip from her teacup. Princess Twilight Sparkle was next to her, wanting to hear all about her time away ruling Equestria.
Princess Celestia, along with her sister Luna, rushed back to Canterlot Castle from their hike together at the top of Mount Filly-Mane-Jaro. The reason for their vacation ending so abruptly was that Twilight was having some difficulty controlling an amulet that allowed her to raise and lower both the sun and moon, ending up to her breaking it with a screw. Celestia and Luna were able to rectify the problem and were proud that the Royal Swanifying Celebration went down as a success in the end.
The Element Bearers were keen to get to know what they’ve been up to during their time away from royal duties, resulting in the six ponies, Twilight especially, barraging the Royal Sisters with endless questions. This then led to the events of today, where Princess Celestia was now having tea with Fluttershy and Twilight in her cottage.
“I’m glad that you learnt something about being with somepony close to you, especially your sister,” Twilight smiled, “Me and Shining Armor have had our share of fights over the years growing up, but he is still me B.B.B.F.F. no matter what.”
“Zephyr can be just as much as a problem, but we love and support each other,” Fluttershy added her piece of thought, “I helped him realise that the only barrier blocking him from reaching his goal was himself. And now, hopefully, he won’t drop things that easily.” At that, Celestia gave a small chuckle, causing Twilight and Fluttershy to look up from the teacups towards Celestia with confusion.
“You weren’t there of course,” Celestia explained, “But Zephyr Breeze was briefly enrolled as part of the royal guard during this whole Sibling Supreme heist for the crown. He left right after the role, which I read from a scroll on my desk from the guard captains that evening if I recall.”
Fluttershy grumbled to herself, whilst Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“I am going to have a strong word with my brother after this tea,” Fluttershy grumbled. It was then that the clock struck the hour. Fluttershy looked up to her grandfather clock and her eyes widened slightly.
“Oh dear, I didn’t know it would be this late. I have to feed the animals!” Fluttershy set her tea aside and scrambled to get her animal food from the kitchen.
“Oh my, I’m so very, very late. All the animals are very particular about what they want and when they would like to have it.”
“I’m sorry we delayed your feeding time with your critters,” Twilight apologised.
“No, no!” Fluttershy reassured, “It was nice having too with all of you and-“
Celestia raised a hoof to silence a rather flustered Fluttershy.
“Why don’t we help you feed the animals with you,” Celestia suggested, “It will save some time and a way of saying thank you for all the tea you have made for us.”
Fluttershy looked at the fridge filled with vegetables that needed cutting, water bowls to be filled and various fish and worms to be fed to the predators and birds. She turned to the two alicorns and nodded her head in agreement.
The next half an hour was filled with Celestia and Twilight being quietly ordered by Fluttershy over what to do and how to feed her animals. Twilight used her magic skillfully to cut the fresh fruit and vegetables and place the right amount in the correct bowls to feed to the mice, chipmunks and rabbits, Angel eyeing his share of fruit and veg like a food critique.
Celestia, being the thrill seeker that she is on her vacation, was happy to cut the fish for the otter family living under the bridge near Fluttershy’s cottage, along with going outside and feeding the birds nesting in the trees or birdhouses. Fluttershy was happy to talk to the animals, checking to see if every critter was happy with their share, double-checking with Angel. Soon every creature was well-fed and bowls were empty. Fluttershy had only one more task to do. She trotted over to a corner of the living room where large bags of seeds were.
“Finally, we are going to the back of my house to feed the chickens,” Fluttershy smiled as she held the large bags in her hooves.
The moment the word ‘chickens’ left the yellow pegasus’ mouth, Celestia felt a chill down her spine. It was the sort of chill she hadn’t felt since Discord stole her tail. Trying to maintain her perfect princess image, she tried to keep her signature smiling face despite the dread of what she was about to meet.
“Lead the way, Fluttershy,” Twilight smiled, unaware of her former mentor’s distress. Celestia just stood in place. She wanted to make some excuse to leave, tell them that there was some paperwork waiting for her in her private chambers, or maybe excuse herself because of some trade negotiations that need to be addressed.
“Princess? Is something wrong?” Twilight asked. So focused on finding excuses to leave, they were outside and looking in through the open window.
“Sorry, Twilight,” Celestia simply smiled, “Everything’s fine, Twilight. I was just…Lost in thought. That was all.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight raised an eyebrow, “You’re legs are beginning to shake.” Celestia looked down at her legs, only to find them shaking like a branch caught in a strong wind. With all her inner strength, she composed herself to a more regal appearance.
“Yes, Twilight,” Celestia smiled, or at least tried to. A small bead of sweat tickled its way down her head. “Everything is alright.”
Twilight gave her former teacher a strange look, looked over to Fluttershy, who shrugged before trotting around her cottage to the back. Celestia fought with herself again with what she was going to do. However, knowing how sharp Twilight was, spending so much time as a foal with her to know every cue and signal, she had to play along and hopefully, things won’t go south.
Taking a deep breath which she usually does when addressing the unruly nobles of Canterlot, we braced herself as she followed the other two ponies round the back. She caught up with them at the edge of the chicken coop. Celestia’s eye twitched as she saw a fair number of chickens busy pecking at the ground. When Fluttershy showed them the bags of seeds, the chickens perked up and ran over to the edge of the fence.
“Celestia?” Fluttershy smiled lovingly at her chickens. Celestia inwardly dreading what the pegasus’ next request was.
“Would you like to go into the coop and feed them? I don’t want to create a mess outside the coop and to give them as many seeds as they want.” Fluttershy asked, oblivious to Celestia’s growing discomfort.
It took all of her willpower to not magical teleport, fly or gallop away. Celestia just put on her smile and nodded. Fluttershy handed her a small hoofful of seeds to Celestia, who, with solid hooves, received the small pike of seeds and straightened herself as she approached the gate to the coop. The chickens were waiting for her expectantly. She mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen. A dozen chickens went racing to her at the sight of food, causing her to jump like a great height, her wings helping great a larger distance.
Twilight and Fluttershy were in shock to find Celestia above on a tree branch, quivering like a stranded cat not knowing how to get down. Twilight was the most puzzled out of the two of them. She glanced between the chickens, now having some seeds to eat, to the quivering shape of Celestia before it clicked.
“Celestia?” Twilight asked slowly, “Are you… Afraid of chickens?”
From high above in the tree branch, Celestia nodded her head slowly.
The ruler of Equestria, who raises the sun, was afraid of chickens? Twilight’s sanity nearly broke at that.
“What?” Fluttershy said surprised, “How did you become scared over something as sweet as a chicken?”
Celestia smiled warily as she flew cautiously down, staying well away from the chicken coop.
“It all started when I was invited to the Spring Festival at Chicoltgo,” Celestia started, “Unfortunately, a cluster of newly hatched chicks was rather fond of me.”
“You mean that they were imprinted to you?” Twilight asked. This earned a rather puzzled look from Celestia.
“It’s a form of infant learning behaviour that helps them recognise their parents when they hatch,” Fluttershy explained, being the animal expert. Twilight looked impressed at Fluttershy’s textbook knowledge.
“If that was the case,” Celestia continued, “Then they thought of me as their mother. I didn’t mind the chicks at first, but when their actual mother saw that they were following me around, she didn’t take it too well. She ended up chasing me around the fair in annoyance.”
“Could you just simply use your magic to restrain it?” Twilight deadpanned.
“I tried to teleport it back or levitate it, even used a barrier around me,” Celestia sighed, “But the Tartarus-damned thing wouldn’t stop pestering me and I didn’t want to hurt it.” Fluttershy gasped at such language spoken to a common animal pet.
“It got worse with the press releasing my mishaps the following day, ‘.Princess Celestia: Loved by Ponies and Chickens alike.’ It was the joke of the season. I couldn’t escape it for a long time. To this day, the sight of a chicken just brings back bad memories of that incident involving one very angry one.” Celestia had a sad look on her face whilst recalling her mishap with chickens.
“I’ve heard of cases of alektorophobia before, but not this severe,” Twilight had her signature thoughtful look on her face. Upon seeing Fluttershy’s and Celestia’s confused faces, she elaborated.
“Alektorophobia is the irrational fear of chickens,” Twilight explained. Celestia shook her head at Twilight’s knowledge. Old habits are hard to get rid of.
“The chickens are here are very understanding and I have known them for a very long time,” Fluttershy smiled at her chickens, “If you want to keep your distance from them, I’m fine with that-“ Celestia raised a hoof.
“No thank you, Fluttershy,” Celestia stated, “I think that now I am with good friends, I’m confident that I will not let this challenge get the better of me. I have faced Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Tirek and my own sister, but I’m not going down without a good go at this.”
Twilight admired her former mentor’s attitude. Then an idea clicked in her head.
“We could do exposure therapy!” Twilight exclaimed, earning puzzled looks from Celestia and Fluttershy.
“It’s a kind of treatment to help those with irrational fears,” Twilight explained, “Since the chickens are there, Celestia can gradually be introduced to them, starting with outside the coop, then with one of us holding a chicken near her, and then she can have a feeding or stroking one.”
Fluttershy and Celestia looked at each other, then towards the chickens. Taking a deep breath and steadying herself, Celestia turned to Twilight.
“I’m ready to overcome my fear,” Celestia smiled, “And with you and Fluttershy by my side, I feel a lot more confident.”
Celestia marched with more confidence towards the chickens, Twilight by her side as she ran through a mental list on how the session would run.
“Okay,” Twilight began, “Stage one would be you simply looking at the chickens in the coop. Fluttershy will be in there to continue feeding them, giving you a look at their behaviour and reassuring them over what happened. They still need to be fed.”
Celestia watched as Fluttershy told her chickens about what had happened, which the chickens simply nodded and continued pecking at the seeds Fluttershy spread across the grass. Celestia was just content to watch them from a distance and a fence between them. She observed their behaviour, enjoying their food and being accompanied by their carer.
“Are you ready for Stage 2?” Twilight asked. She had been observing Celestia’s demeanour, glad to see her relaxing. Celestia gave an un-princess-like gulp and nodded.
“I’m ready,” Celestia said with a determined face.
“Fluttershy, could you bring one of your chickens over. Maybe tell them what you’re going to do with them?” Twilight called from across the coop. Fluttershy went over to a white chicken, told her what she was bout to do and picked her up. Placing her comfortably on her back and trotting over to a nervous Celestia and smiling Twilight.
“Princess Celestia,” Flutter introduced, “This is Eliza-Beak. She is really friendly and won’t hurt you. Isn’t that right, Eliza-Beak?” The chicken Fluttershy called Eliza-Beak gave low clucks as a sign of hello, quiet enough to not spook the Princess. Celestia gave a smile, strained smile of her own, along with a small wave.
“Hello, Eliza-Beak,” Celestia smiled back.
“Very good!” Twilight encouraged, though it spooked the chicken too much to make a loud cluck. Celestia held her breath back at the noise and tried to steady herself. She didn’t want to panic herself and the chicken in front of her.
“That’s it,” Twilight patted Celestia’s back, take it nice and easy, “I’ve read all the books on how to do therapy and psychological sessions in my free time.” That caused Celestia to chuckle and calm down. Of course Twilight would have done that.
“Of course for many ponies, exposure therapy can take many sessions,” Twilight added, “Do you want to stop there, or move onto the final stage?”
“Let’s do this,” Celestia gave a determined smile.
Fluttershy nodded and opened the gate. Celestia took a deep breath and walked into the encloser. She gave the Princess another pile of seeds and walked over to the eager hens. Shaking, she opened her hooves to the chickens and they pecked away at the seeds in her hooves. A feeling of relief washed over the Solar Princess as she observed them enjoying their fill of food.
“That’s it,” Twilight applauded her.
“The student has become the teacher,” Fluttershy commented as she applauded as well.
“I guess there was nothing to be afraid of, to begin with,” Celestia smiled down at the hens, “I guess I needed to understand them to work with my fear.”
Soon all the chickens were fed and well, Twilight and Fluttershy helped out towards the end.
“So, Twilight teased her former mentor, “Do you think you managed to overcome your fear?”
It was at that moment Fluttershy held out another chicken in her hooves. It gave a loud cluck, causing Celestia to jump back in surprise. Fluttershy and Twilight giggled, and soon Celestia joined in.
“Baby step, Twilight,” Fluttershy reassured, “Baby steps.”