"Thanks for coming with me to walk Gummy, Fluttershy," Pinkie said to her Pegasus friend.
"Oh, you're welcome," Fluttershy happily replied. "Harry was needing some exercise too, anyway. Weren't you, Harry?" she said, patting the enormous bear following her on the head. Pinkie Pie held Gummy, her baby alligator's leash and let him do most of the walking while Fluttershy practically had to tow her bear Harry. The bear easily dwarfed both ponies and yet the soft-spoken yellow Pegasus holding his leash exuded complete control over him.
"Hey Fluttershy," Pinkie asked, looking back at the pair. "Isn't it kind of... dangerous to take care of a bear?"
"Not at all. Harry's just a big ol' softy, yes he is!" Fluttershy said, rubbing the bear's belly. His leg began tapping like he was enjoying it. "He just likes to rough-house sometimes!"
"They don't sell bears at the pet store in Ponyville. How did you find him?" Pinkie asked.
"Well, one day I was checking on my bees and I found him going through one of their hives, trying to take their honey. I told him it wasn't very nice but he wouldn't listen to me! And when I tried to stop him, he tried to fight me but I won and he ran back into the woods," Fluttershy said, scratching Harry's neck. It was clear the large bear had not just tremendous respect for Fluttershy but also genuinely was affectionate towards her. He behaved like a tame kitten as she played with him.
"The next day, he came back to try to steal their honey again but when he saw me, he turned and walked away. I felt sorry for him though so I went and got him some honey from my cottage. We've been friends ever since!" she explained.
"Wow," Pinkie said, marveling at the simple explanation. "You're really brave, Fluttershy." Most ponies she knew would've turned tail and ran when they saw a bear in their backyard; bears were dangerous animals. Pinkie was amazed at Fluttershy's courage.
"Oh, anypony would've done the same thing," Fluttershy said modestly.
"Yeah," Pinkie said, thinking. "I'm really not sure about that."
Fluttershy turned and the two started walking again. "How did you meet Gummy?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, that's a funny story!" Pinkie said. "It was just after the war and I was renting a house on Long Island next to a mansion that had a party every Saturday night..."
Pinkie Pie's story continued as the two walked with their pets down the Ponyville street. It was late afternoon and all the buildings were bathed in a lustrous orange glow. The sunset as the two ponies reached Fluttershy's cottage at the edge of the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy did her best to both pay attention to Pinkie's story and keep an eye on Harry in case he got distracted. It was strange; despite having asked about Gummy, Fluttershy was sure Pinkie hadn't even mentioned the alligator's name or any name Fluttershy knew since she'd started telling her story.
"... and it turned out the guy WAS Kaiser Soze the whole time!" Pinkie concluded as they reached the steps of Fluttershy's house.
"Wow, Pinkie," Fluttershy said in astonishment. "That's amazing."
"Well, thanks again for coming for a walk with me and Gummy. We enjoyed it, didn't we Gummy?" Pinkie asked, holding up the small toothless reptile. His purple eyes stared blankly back at her.
"Thank you, too. It was fun. I'll see you tomorrow, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, taking Harry into her cottage.
"See you tomorrow, Fluttershy!" Pinkie waved as she walked away with Gummy. The sun went down as the pink pony and her toothless reptile walked back to Ponyville. The streets were silent and empty as they made their way back to Pinkie's house. Only the stars above and the occasional street lantern provided any illumination for the two. Some of the houses had lights on in them but the curtains were pulled. The town was already asleep.
A noise drew Pinkie's attention to the side of the building. It was too dark to see what had made the noise; Pinkie looked in the direction as they both walked past, giving it a wider berth.
"Kind of dark out here, isn't it Gummy?" Pinkie asked, feeling her own tension mounting. The alligator kept his face forward as they continued walking. A small, dark figure ran across their path in front of them. Pinkie stopped for a second, pulling on Gummy's leash. She sighed; it must've just been a cat.
Pinkie's home was towards the middle of town. While she could still find it easily, the darkness made navigation difficult. In hindsight, it would've probably been better if she hadn't stayed out quite so late but Gummy had been enjoying the walk. Pinkie decided to pick up her pace as she walked home. Soon, the pink mare was in the lead and Gummy was practically being dragged through the dirt behind her.
They turned the corner to the street Pinkie's house was on. They were almost home; Pinkie was eager to get back inside. Another noise drew her attention across the street to a space between two buildings.
"What was that?" she turned, still walking. "Let's get home quickly, Gummy." Now the pink mare actually was dragging Gummy behind her. The small alligator kicked up a trail of dirt as his body scrapped the road. His expression remained stoic as the leash carried him through the street. He hit something in the road and his neck slid out of the leash.
"Gummy!" Pinkie turned and shouted, feeling his weight slip from the leash. The alligator tumbled but recovered quickly. Pinkie ran over to him but the alligator scurried away from her.
"Gummy, where are you going? Come back!" Pinkie shouted. The baby alligator ran into an alleyway between two buildings. He ran up to a trash and started nudging it with his snout. A small lantern hanging from the roof gave the alleyway some illumination. Pinkie was thankful something had caught his attention and caused him to stop or she might've chased him through the town.
"What are you doing? You know you shouldn't scare me like that!" Pinkie scolded the lizard. She walked over to him and gently picked him up. She patted him a few times and then turned around.
"Nice night for a walk, isn't it?" a voice asked. Pinkie didn't recognize whoever it was. Her heart hit her throat.
A tall figure stepped into the light of the lantern on two legs. It wasn't a pony; Pinkie could tell that right away. Up until now, she'd only heard about the mysterious creatures known as Diamond Dogs. She couldn't find the words to respond to him.
"That's a pretty lookin' alligator you got there," the dog said, taking another step forward. His voice sounded almost reptilian itself.
"Wh-who are you?" Pinkie asked, frightened. She cautiously took a step back from the stranger.
The dog ignored her question. "If I'm not mistake, that's a rare Toothless Ginger Gator. Am I correct?"
"Umm... I-I just call him Gummy..." Pinkie said. Her tail bumped into the trash can startling her. The dog took a few more steps forward and flashed a toothy grin.
"It's dangerous to be out at night, especially with such a rare animal. Maybe I should hold onto 'Gummy' to keep him safe."
Pinkie was beyond nervous now. "Ponyville? Dangerous? Pfft, Ponyville's the safest place there is!" she said continuing to back out of the alley, terrified.. The dog didn't come any closer; he just stood at the end of the alleyway, grinning.
"There are a lot of towns out there but there's no place safer than-" she bumped into something else behind her. She turned quickly to see a black griffon with a tan face standing at the other exit to the alley. He smiled.
"I'm so-sorry, I didn't see you the-" Pinkie said to the new stranger, her voice overcome with fright.
This new one wasn't playing around. "Give us that gator!" he shouted and lunged for Pinkie with both claws out. His talons missed Pinkie and Gummy narrowly and he fumbled for the leash that dangled down for a second. Pinkie backed away to center of the alley realizing she was trapped.
"Give us the gator now, girly. And this won't have to get ugly," the dog said, still blocking the other end of the alleyway. "You're not getting away. Make this easy and just give the lizard over to us."
Pinkie panicked. She quickly jumped on top of the trash can and tried to reach for the roof of the building. She pushed Gummy on top of the roof and tried to grasp the edge with her hooves and pull herself up. But the griffon and dog were faster.
"No you don't," the griffon said. He grabbed Pinkie by the waste and tossed her on the ground.
"Run, Gummy, Run!" Pinkie shouted to the gator. The dog simply walked over and pulled on Gummy's leash that was dangling from the roof top. He smiled back at Pinkie.
"I told you not to make this difficult. Stuff her in the garbage can," he told the griffon. The griffon reached down to pick up Pinkie again.
"Looks like you and 'Gummy' have reached the end of your rope," the dog said, holding Gummy's leash. "Eh he he he he," he laughed. Pinkie Pie closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable.
"Who would've known we would find something so valuable in the garb-" SMACK! Pinkie heard the sound of something hitting into the griffon's beak and he dropped to the ground.
Pinkie Pie opened her eyes. Standing between her and the griffon was a yellow Pegasus she'd seen only a few minutes ago.
"Fluttershy!" Pinkie called to her friend, relieved to see her.
"Another one?" the griffon asked, rubbing the side of his face. "What is this? Some kind of-" Fluttershy walked over to him, not saying a word. He rose his claws to defend his face. The yellow Pegasus used both her hooves to grab him by the arm. She rammed the griffon into the wall. Taking him by the back of the head, she pulled him back and slammed his head beak-first several times against the brick building and then released him. He staggered back on all fours, disoriented and in pain.
The dog just stood and watched the display, almost stunned. "You okay Stork?" he asked.
"Fluttershy..." Pinkie said, amazed at the display. Her yellow friend returned to all fours herself.
"I'm fine! I can handle some upstart Pegasus!" he walked over to Fluttershy, wings out in a display of dominance. He put up both is claws. "You think you're pretty tough sucker punchin-" he never finished the sentence. As he reached out to strike Fluttershy, the mare blocked his claw with her left hoof and smacked him the face with her right. Blocking his right claw, she delivered a quick jab with her left. Before the griffon could even turn back, Fluttershy used her wings to spin around and smack the griffon in the head with both back hooves and fluffy, soft, pink tail.
It was kind of overwhelming for the griffon. Being pummeled by hard hooves and in between brushed by velvety pink softness. He didn't really feel that much of her tail as it brushed over his face; just the tips and the knowledge that it did brush against him. That knowledge was quickly followed by the mare's other yellow hind leg which put a crack in his beak. He tasted blood. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground. He landed in a heap to the side of the alley.
The dog's mouth was agape. "Holy-"
"Let go of the leash, please," Fluttershy said, her voice still high but stoic. The dog looked back and fourth between his companion and the yellow pony.
"Look, I don't-"
"Let go of the leash, please," Fluttershy said again, her voice slightly sterner in tone. The dog backed away but didn't release the rope holding the alligator. Fluttershy stepped closer.
"If you don't-" the dog started to say something else when Fluttershy just walked over to him. He raised an arm to shield himself. The yellow Pegasus took him by the shoulder and smashed him into the side of the building, too. She pulled him back but didn't let go of his head. She slammed him into the wall again and again.
"Let go of the leash," she said, smacking him into the wall a fourth time. The dog's grip finally let go of the small rope but Fluttershy didn't relent. She smacked the dog into the wall twice more and then pulled him back. Grabbing him by the other shoulder, she tossed him to the ground. The two assailants lay next to each other, faces broken and bleeding.
"Leave and don't come back," Fluttershy said to them. It didn't look like either were in any condition to move and wouldn't be for a while. Fluttershy spread her wings and took to the air. She flew to the roof, retrieved a scared and confused Gummy and hovered back to the ground in front of Pinkie Pie.
"There, there," Fluttershy said, petting Gummy with her hooves. "Here you go, Pinkie. He's a little frightened but I think he's all right. Are you okay?"
"Fluttershy! That was amazing! That was like... the most amazing thing I've ever seen! You took out both of them in like seconds!" The two creatures on the ground both gurgled something incoherent.
"Oh, it was nothing really," Fluttershy said. "I had to help you. They were being mean."
Pinkie was astonished the way Fluttershy was acting. She just took out a dog and a griffon. For a single, timid mare, that was mind-blowing for Pinkie to witness.
"Thank you so much, Fluttershy!" Pinkie exclaimed as the two walked out of the alley. "What were you doing here anyway?"
The two turned the corner to see Fluttershy's bear standing, waiting for her.
"Harry snuck out. I forgot to tie his leash in and he must've wandered back into town," Fluttershy explained. "I followed him all the way here when we found you two."
"Wow..." Pinkie said. "Well, thank you both so much for saving me and Gummy. If you hadn't been there, I'd be stuck in a garbage can and they would've gotten away with Gummy!"
Fluttershy smiled. "What are friends for?"
"What are we going to do about those two?" Pinkie asked about the assailants.
"Oh, they won't hurt anypony now. We'll tell the mayor about them in the morning," Fluttershy said. She turned around and started to leave with her bear.
Pinkie Pie thought for a moment. "Hey Fluttershy, you and Harry wanna sleep over?"
Fluttershy turned. "Sure. I think Harry likes Ponyville, don't you Harry?" she said, rubbing the bear again.
Pinkie smiled. She was happy just to have Fluttershy walk her all the way home in case the two pet thieves had any friends. The two of them walked back to Pinkie Pie's house. Occasionally, Pinkie looked over to Fluttershy. There wasn't scratch on her despite taking down both a dog and a griffon. She looked so sweet, so harmless. And yet a bear was obediently following behind her. Pinkie Pie realized there was a lot more to her friend Fluttershy than meets the eye.