Fluttershy jumped straight up a few feet, the thunder still ripping out through the sky right above her. She fell back down against the huge pile of moss as thunder soon followed. "Oh, goodness," she said, glancing back down into a skinny patch of oaks inside the Everfree Forest, "The poor little bunnies can't still be out. Not now." She trotted along, ducking past tree after tree. She let out a breath straight up, blowing the rain out of her eyes for just a few blissful seconds.
Her eyes flickered across another grassy clearing. Under the old stump over there? No. Under that pile of bushes there? No. Oh, dear, bunnies. Please. Make a noise. Something. Fluttershy's heart seemed to pound like a drum as she pictured losing them for good. She might even come back in the afternoon to see them hurt or even worse.
Her ears shot up, a little whimper making it out of the cacophony of rain. Fluttershy sped across the clearing to a rotten old log. She tucked her head into a hole and made out a wall of solid white fluff. "Oh, please, if you don't mind," she began, nudging the end of the log open, "Hop onto my hooves. I'll carry you out of here." The three little bunnies scurried over, pausing a moment as another belt of thunder went through the air. "Please!"
Fluttershy hopped into the air, beating her wings fiercely. It didn't feel right. She could just feel the danger around her, coming on so strong that the pitter-patter of rain on her body might as well have been punches. She knew that she'd have to hurry back home and soon.
"Jinga tu parlea chelsea," called out a voice from straight above them. Fluttershy looked up, seeing nothing but rain pouring down endlessly amongst the treetops. She heard something else, sounding very unlike whimpering and more like amusement.
I can't carry anything else. Oh, no. I just have to go. "I'm, uh, very sorry," Fluttershy answered, still flying right out of the forest, "I'll be right back for you, my new friend... I promise..."
*Boom*
Lightening and thunder erupted in a solid ball right atop Fluttershy. The burst knocked her down against a mass of dandelions, her wings and hooves waving about to hold the bunnies safe and close. She found himself wiggling about in a sea of yellow. She threw her head back up, and she saw the sky turn an ominous greenish black. The treetops seemed to melt into the sweeping color, moving down like a blob of jelly pouring across toast.
She opened her mouth to scream, but she immediately heard a gust of warm wind. She blinked. She threw herself back up on her hooves.
"What... what happened..." she asked, barely believing her eyes. The sky appeared as sunny and clear as she had ever seen in that dangerous forest. The sun shone out into the piles of flowers, raindrops evaporating all around her. The bunnies wiggled out and sat out in the blank grass in front of her.
The tallest one waved a paw in the air, wiggling its yellow and white striped head in confusion. It pointed off at a huge maple tree besides them. Fluttershy shrugged. The rabbit looked totally frustrated, its cute little face curling. It hopped up and down as it pointed once again.
"I guess... you're safe now..." she said, walking off into the grassy clearing, "Go ahead and scurry home, then... if that's okay..."
The rabbit smacked its paw on its face, groaning. It nudged against its two shorter compatriots, which bolted off towards the main forest path. Fluttershy stepped closer, and she finally looked out at the tree that the rabbit pointed to.
"I don't see any--"
A green flash of light exploded out from behind the tree. The wood seemed to twist and burn, pure energy coming from behind it. Fluttershy covered her eyes, peeking slightly over the hooves to see some odd fuzzy thing running up and down the back of the tree. Oh, no. It's got to be something horrible. It's going to try and eat me or scratch me or...
A yellow and green blur bounced out through the air into Fluttershy's hooves. She found himself knocked down again, her wings curled about in moss. She blinked, taking a breath.
"H-h-hello..." she muttered. She gazed out into her belly at the little creature. Oh, goodness, it's so... so... so... CUTE!
"Tang?" it replied.
It looks like a penguin, a chicken, a baby dragon, and a raccoon all mixed up into one. "Nice to meet you," she said, and she reached out a hoof. I guess I've seen my fair share of odd things in the Everfree Forest, but it... She ran her eyes from the creature's long, jet black feet-- stretched out into little ovals sort of like ducks feet-- up its short, stubby legs. The thing suddenly grew a few inches as she stared, more and more leg length coming out of absolutely nowhere.
It stepped a little bit sideways, its feet seeming to bend until Fluttershy realized that it had a pair of flesh-colored slippers on. Fluttershy's eyes flickered upwards along the weird greenish yellow combination of fur and feathers on its body to its huge face, locked in a bouncy, happy expression with a snaggletooth. The thing blinked, white feathery crests moving down along its huge eyes, and extended a paw slowly.
Fluttershy took a deep breath as she held out her right hoof into the air. The creature's bluish black eyes lit up as its paw made contact. Fluttershy immediately felt ripples of something magical shooting up her sides. It didn't feel bad per se, but it sure felt weird-- almost like having crumpled paper rub all over her body. She couldn't help but stare at the five digit paw, sticking out of the feather and fur mix on its arms, that enveloped around the tip of her hoof. Are these those 'hands' that Lyra keeps bugging everypony about? The contrast of that fleshy thing on my hoof... where did this thing come from?
"Pare abrogranda terry atoo?" it asked. Fluttershy stared back blankly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't understand a word of what you're saying," she replied. The creature nudged to its side, waving both its left leg and left arm in the air. It bounced around in a circle. It put both hands against his belly, and it wiggled its rear end.
Fluttershy's eyes wandered over to the thing's tail twisting in the air, looking black and green striped like some kind of mutant cat. She opened her mouth to say anything, but she had no idea how to even begin. She just watched the thing dance and mutter. Oh, what a mess this is! I need to stop staring at it. It's probably lonely and trying to find its home. Or something. I need to find out how to communicate. If only I could write something.
The creature went on moving about, clearly trying to gesture something. Fluttershy looked off blankly as it mimed picking up a box and then smashing it against the ground over and over again. She stepped over behind it. She suddenly spotted something small and shiny.
"Oh, a collar!" Fluttershy called out. She reached down and held it with a hoof. She located a tag, smiling. That turned into a frown, seeing what looked like nothing but random scratches in the metal. She flipped the tag over, and she grinned from ear to ear. "Oh, I... I can read this side. Your name is: Sweet Jane?"
"SWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTT JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNEEE!" the creature sang out. It's squeaky feminine voice, sounding something like Sweetie Belle with a bad cold, transformed into something strong. Fluttershy flashed back to the last time Octavia sang at the new town square opening.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Sweet Jane," Fluttershy said. She went on reading. "This says that you're from: The Factory... 231 East 47th Street... Midtown Manhattan... New York, New York..." She saw Sweet nodded with each word, so Fluttershy finished. "It also says that you're the property of a Mr. Lewis Allan Reed?" Sweet shuddered with excitement at the name, feathers rubbing up all across Fluttershy's body.
"Lou," the thing moaned.
Lewis Allan Reed? What a weird name. That has to be the oddest name I've ever heard. I wonder if Midtown has anything to do with Manehatten? Sweet snapped Fluttershy out of her deep thoughts by hopping into Fluttershy's hooves, cradled right on her like Angel Bunny would. "Oh, I guess I have to talk to Twilight. She'll know how to help you get home," Fluttershy said. "Let's go, Jane."
The creature let out a grunt, wiggling its eye crests.
"Uh... let's go... Sweet?"
The creature burped.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'..."
Fluttershy bounced up and sailed into the air. Sweet moved about across her chest over to her neck. She flew up above the Everfree. Wow, I wonder what Twilight will think... OW! Fluttershy bopped about on the air, pains shooting up around her head. She glanced over and saw Sweet innocently whistling, hands in the air. Weird... Fluttershy turned her head back over to look out at Ponyville. She tossed around in the air as the patter started again.
"Please!" She turned out and glared at Sweet for bonking her head like a set of drums. "Stop that... if you don't mind..." Fluttershy said, trying her best 'teaching face' that she used with the baby animals. Sweet shrugged. Fluttershy turned about through the air, aiming over at Twilight's library.
She glanced on her back one more time, seeing Sweet becoming more and more engrossed with Fluttershy's tail. Sweet rubbed it deep into her feathers, stretching it around her neck like a fashionable sash. Fluttershy made a happy sigh as she landed behind Twilight's place, eyeing the back entrance.
Fluttershy could scarcely open her mouth before Sweet jumped off of her back and rammed against Twilight's side door. Sweet let out an angry sigh at the lack of response. Just a second later, she extended out her fuzzy arms and rubbed them along the door. Sweet jittered in place before scraping its arms against the door faster and faster, digging into the wood like fleshy saws.
"Dear, maybe we should wait a few moments for Twilight to come by," Fluttershy said, leaning up against the wall. Sweet stopped for a moment, looking back blankly with those huge, insufferably cute eyes. "She'll be here in a..."
"Scroob!" The creature seemed to grow a foot taller in a split-second, feathers rubbing against the door.
"Moment?" Fluttershy tried to finish. Sweet flipped around and plopped its mouth against the door handle. "Oh, that's... odd..." Drool suddenly poured out of Sweet's mouth, a puddle forming below the door. Fluttershy held a hoof behind Sweet's head as the creature sucked harder. Its teeth clinked against the metal. "No, please... don't do that... don't be a naughty bird..."
Sweet flapped its arms around and let go of the handle, hopping straight up onto a little sign on the wall. They locked eyes. "Bird? Bird?" Sweet suddenly stopped and looked down at itself, perching atop Twilight's door in a very-bird like position. Sweet shrugged before saying, "Zynga nanoob es... 'Bird'? Zynga! Es... warhol." Sweet pursed her lips and spoke slowly, spittle dripping out. "W-ar-hol..."
"Yes, please, Miss Sweet the Warhol... come down if you don't mind..." Fluttershy said, hearing somepony come up right behind the door. "Come down, before..."
*Creak*
The door suddenly swung open. Sweet tumbled off of the wall and plopped right onto Twilight's head. Twilight managed to let out a "Hi, Fluttershy" for a few seconds before Sweet grabbed her mane and wrapped it around her eyes. Fluttershy winced as Twilight backed up into the living room, twisting her head around.
Fluttershy sped over to Twilight's side, the purple unicorn jerking around and smashing into a table followed by a chair followed by a pile of scroll-filled boxes. Sweet leaned up, pulling her mane even harder, and nibbled a little bit on Twilight's left ear.
"If you don't... uh... mind... please..." Fluttershy said, putting back on that motherly expression. Sweet popped her mouth off of Twilight and hopped onto the top of a nearby bookcase. Twilight wiggled her head around, brushing against her ears with her hooves.
"What in Celestia's name was that?" she asked.
"Sweeeeeeet Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannneee!" the warhol called out. The pegasus and unicorn glared upwards as the creature playfully rubbed its rear end against the wall behind it, dust flying everywhere from atop the bookcase.
"Something tells me I'm not going to get much studying done today," Twilight muttered.
