An Unstoppable Force of Destruction

"Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Just make sure you stay safe, Mr. Greenhooves."

"Understood, Princess Celestia." Mr. Greenhooves replied hastily, before turning and striding out of the room, humming happily. He stopped when he saw Princess Luna, who stopped to regard him with a friendly smile as he bowed to her on his way out.

"What was that about?" Luna asked as she approached her sister.

"Vacation leave. Can you believe that? Without any warning whatsoever." Celestia muttered irritably. "We're going to need a temporary caretaker for the Canterlot Gardens..."

"I trust you already have somepony in mind?"

"Oh, yes, I've requested for Fluttershy of Ponyville to take on the responsibility, if she is comfortable. Greenhooves wasn't THAT short notice, after all. "

"Fluttershy...the name is familiar..."

"For Equestria's sake, Luna...she's the Element of Kindness! Of course the name is familiar!"

"Ah yes, the pantophobic pegasus." Receiving a harsh glare from Celestia, Luna continued cautiously. "I seem to recall her destroying the garden and part of the dining hall, the last time she attempted to control the animals."

"Oh, you worry too much, Luna. The animals were simply edgy because of all the company. They are really quite docile."

"And your phoenix? Didn't she almost murder him?"

"Element of Kindness, Luna. The name seems to contrast your suspicions of her competence in these matters. I imagine she is thrilled at the chance to make more animal acquaintances.."

"Whatever you say, Celestia."

Fluttershy paced her cottage nervously, occasionally stopping to reread the letter she had just received.

"Oh...what should I do? I don't want to let Princess Celestia down...but..."

The yellow pegasus cast a glance at her animals, who were regarding her with a concerned expression. Angel Bunny rolled his eyes and tapped his foot, evidently irritated by his masters plight.

"I can't do all this work alone! What if I fail? What if something happens to the animals? It would be my fault...and Celestia would never trust me again! What if I'm banished? What if..."

With a great sigh, Angel hopped up to Fluttershy, grabbing the letter and pointing to a passage of writing near the bottom.

"Your own animal friends are more than welcome to accompany you to Canterlot..." Fluttershy read aloud, looking back at Angel. "I....I don't understand, Angel..."

Bringing a paw to his face in an irritated gesture, the bunny motioned towards Fluttershy's animals and back to her. Fluttershy had to contemplate what this meant for a few seconds, before suddenly understanding.

"You mean...you mean you guys would help me with all the other animals in Canterlot?" Her question was met with a collective nodding from her animal friends, the concern in their faces gone, and replaced with supportive grins. Fluttershy was taken aback by the kindness of her animal friends. "But...but, they were so...uncontrollable! I don't think I could deal with animals so...stubborn..."

An insulted look shot across Angel's face, and Fluttershy noticed this, smiling playfully.

"Well...yes, I suppose I have dealt with stubborn animals before..." Fluttershy looked at the faces of her animal friends who were willing to help her, and finally made her decision. "You're right, Angel...Princess Celestia is counting on me...and I won't let her down! Thank you so much, my friends!"

The yellow pegasus tore into the air happily, grabbing Angel and embracing him as she flew. Angel regarded her with a mixture of embarrassment and happiness, while Fluttershy continued to express her appreciation of her friends gratitude, repeating her thanks as she flew upstairs to get her affairs ready for Canterlot.

"Admit it, Celestia..."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Luna." The Princess of the Sun sighed as she walked alongside her sister through the Canterlot Gardens.

"I think you do...I looked through Greenhooves's vacation logs and found that you recommended he took one." Luna turned her head slightly to regard her sister with a suspicious glance. "In other words, it was not short notice at all...so why are you so keen for Fluttershy to come to Canterlot?"

Celestia chuckled, returning her sister's glance of suspicion with one of playfulness.

"What exactly do you think is between me and Fluttershy, Luna?"

"Oh, shut up!" Luna laughed awkwardly. "I wasn't suggesting that! I'm just curious why you would enlist Fluttershy when there are surely more competent ponies right here in Canterlot. And I think the reason is because you know she will fail."

"Luna! What sort of sadistic tyrant do you take me for?"

"I hardly called you that. I simply think you find it funny to see ponies embarrass themselves, as long as it is all in the name of fun. I'm hardly attacking you, Celestia..."

"Oh, I know...But, it just so happens, you're wrong about why I chose Fluttershy." Celestia looked across the vibrant garden, at the beautiful flowers and the birds fluttering carelessly through the air, their multicolored bodies contrasting the clear blue morning sky.

"Well then, enlighten me, Celestia."

"I simply asked her to come because I know she would love to have another chance to befriend the animals here in the Canterlot Garden. Is that such a crime?"

After a few centuries on the moon, it had taken Luna awhile to grasp the concept of a rhetorical question, but since her sister was so fond of them, she decided to answer her directly.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see, Tia...because I am certainly not looking forward to the repairs after the castle is nearly destroyed."

"Yes, because sweet, kind Fluttershy is certainly an unstoppable force of destruction--"

"Oh...umm...I am?" A soft voice cooed out from behind the two alicorns. Celestia stopped talking suddenly, whipping around to face a nearly-crying Fluttershy. "I'm...I'm so sorry, Princess!"

"Nicely done, Celestia." Luna giggled, as her sister frantically searched for the right words to explain what could only be interpreted as an insult by Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was on the verge of tears, and Celestia had reason to believe that if she hadn't been in the company of royalty, she most certainly would have broken down. Behind Fluttershy was a magnificent multitude of birds, mice, beavers, and even a bear, with a white rabbit sitting on Fluttershy's back and gazing at his owner.

"No, no, no...you misunderstand me, my little pony!" She began, attempting to mask her guilt in the form of a regal, dignified voice. "Please...disregard what you may have heard, and understand that me and Luna have utmost trust for you."

"Umm...alright..."

"My, it has been a long time since we have seen each other, Dearest Fluttershy!" Luna cut in, before Celestia could have a chance to speak, and confuse the poor mare any further. "Unfortunately, me and Princess Celestia have some royal duties to attend to. You need only speak to a Royal Guard, and they shall bring you to your quarters promptly."

Fluttershy whispered a nervous 'thank you' as the two alicorns strode from the garden. Celestia turned suddenly and called to Fluttershy.

"Thank you, Fluttershy, for coming on short notice. Thank you for helping us...help you...to help all of Canterlot!" She stammered, still lost for words.

"Smooth, Celestia." Luna whispered between suppressed giggles.

"Oh, would you stop it..." Celestia retorted, and the two alicorns exited the garden, leaving a particularly bewildered pegasus standing amongst the flora.

"Well...that was certainly strange..."  Fluttershy whispered to Angel, who nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I guess we should set up a meeting for all the animals to let them know I'm going to be taking care of them for a few days. I was sorta hoping Celestia or Luna would tell them that, but I guess they're much to busy to be talking to animals."

Angel responded to this with an insulted glare in the direction the Princesses had left, while Fluttershy hunted the courtyard for the best possible meeting place. After a few seconds of searching, she found a tall, lonely branch overhanging a relatively large clearing. She called softly to her own animal friends and in time she had a small audience of familiar animals looking up at her in the clearing. Angel was leaning on Fluttershy's side and yawning.

"Hello, Canterlot Garden Animals! You don't have to be shy...or afraid of me...my name is Fluttershy, and I'm going to be your caretaker for the next few days. Could you maybe join my friends in the clearing, so we could meet each other?" Fluttershy spoke hopefully, her voice a mixture of kindness and moderate assertiveness. After a few minutes of waiting, with no Canterlot animals appearing, she called out again.

"I know you poor things must be scared, but I love all animals very, very much! And I brought some of my own animal friends here to Canterlot, so maybe you can at least listen to them."

To Fluttershy's delight, a small number of birds and critters shyly crept into the clearing, tiptoeing into her line of sight. They began to chatter softly with Fluttershy's animals, before running back into the woods swiftly.

"No...wait...!" Fluttershy called desperately, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm supposed to be 'caretaking' you!"

The pegasus was about to take to the air in pursuit of the animals, when Angel tapped her side and motioned for her to settle down. Fluttershy looked down at him, confused, but he simply motioned towards the clearing, as if telling Fluttershy to watch closely for something.

Sure enough, in time, an even greater multitude of Canterlot animals strode confidently into the clearing, and Fluttershy let out a gentle squee of delight as she hugged her rabbit companion. She was now being observed closely by not only her rodent and avian friends, but by foreign monkeys, magnificent toucans, squirrels, and even a panda bear which easily doubled her in size.

With so many curious eyes trained on her, Fluttershy felt a sudden nervousness overtake her, but cleared her throat and began.

"Good morning, everybody! As you probably already heard, my name is Fluttershy, and I'll be taking care of all of your for the weekend." Fluttershy unfurled her wings and motioned for Angel to hop on her back as she flew down into the crowd of animals, who thankfully did not flee from her as she landed amongst them. She then wasted no time in introducing all of her animals, laughing cheerfully as they befriended each other almost instantly.

"See, Luna..." Celestia said matter-of-factually as the two alicorns watched the commotion from a window overlooking the garden. "They are getting along perfectly fine. If this works out, maybe Fluttershy can assume the role of Animal Caretaker here in Canterlot more often...I'm sure she would love that."

Luna scoffed softly. "Perhaps you're right, Celestia...but I think it is unwise to think that far ahead after seeing her interact with the animals for a mere minute."

"You are too cynical, Luna. She does this every day. She'll be fine."

"You certainly must be disappointed, if that is the case." Luna muttered to herself, although Celestia heard her quite clearly.

"For the love of Equestria, Luna, not everything is a cruel prank with me!" Celestia said defensively.

Luna laughed innocently. "Oh, Tia, I'm just kidding. Stop being so melodramatic."

"Me? Melodramatic? Nonsense!" Celestia replied furiously. "Anyways, I think we should leave Fluttershy to her affairs."

"Agreed. Although maybe one of us should check on her tonight to make sure everything is still alright."

"She isn't a filly, Luna. But I suppose you're right. I'll speak with her tonight."

Fluttershy sang a brief, familiar melody before calling out to her new friends.

"Feeding time! I hope you're all hungry!"

In almost no time at all, the clearing (which Fluttershy had established as her official 'event plaza') was populated by dozens of animals of all shapes and sizes. Fluttershy continued to sing happily as she distributed the various foods to their respectful animals, who devoured it hastily. The yellow pegasus then withdrew her own dinner from her saddlepack, a meticulously made hay sandwich and a salad. She sat down amongst the animals and ate happily.

The sun was beginning to dip of the trees, and Fluttershy realized she had spent most of her day in the courtyard. She hadn't even been up to see her room, although she decided upon arriving she didn't want to impose to much on the hospitality of the Princess anyway. Sleeping in one of those royal, fancy castle rooms made her feel rather guilty, considering she was neither fancy nor royal.

A sudden rustling made Fluttershy jump in surprise, and the mare whipped around to face the noise. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it was just Princess Celestia, but her mind re-entered panic mode when she contemplated why the Princess would be here in the first place. The animals behind her darted into the bushes at the sight of the Solar Princess.

"Oh my...I'm sorry!" The Princess chuckled softly. "I see things are coming along nicely."

"Oh, yes!" Fluttershy said happily. "Thank you so much for asking me to come, Princess Celestia!"

"Nonsense, my little pony, it is you who deserves the thanks." Princess Celestia looked at her sun and back to Fluttershy, and noticed the yellow mare was shivering ever so slightly in the growing night. "The guards took you to your room, I trust?"

Fluttershy shuffled nervously and beat the ground absently with a hoof. "Umm, well, actually...I think I'll be sleeping here in the courtyard tonight."

"Really?" Celestia said with surprise, before realizing that that had sounded nothing like the way a Princess should. "Ahem. Well, it is your choice, but it is rather cold..." Seeing the guilty look on Fluttershy's face, Celestia decided it was probably better to change the subject. "When you are ready to turn in, you may return the animals to their respective sleeping area."

Fluttershy blinked in confusion. "Respective sleeping area? Like...a kennel?"

"I believe so, yes." Celestia suppressed a yawn and smiled at Fluttershy. "Well, I suppose I should return to the castle. Have a good evening, Fluttershy."

"Umm...thank you..."

With that, Celestia turned and unfurled her wings, flying through a large skylight that led to what Fluttershy assumed was the Main Hall. Shortly after the disappearance of the Princess, the animals crept back into the courtyard and resumed eating their dinners. Fluttershy looked at them thoughtfully.

She had heard about ponies keeping animals in kennels before. While she wasn't particularly opposed to the idea, she had always been able to keep her animals close to home using a simple system of respect and trust. She saw no reason why it wouldn't work here, either. Fluttershy flew up to the overhanging branch and softly tapped the wood for attention. When most of the eating animals were paying attention to her, she began.

"So...umm...I guess you're normally used to being kept in a kennel when you go to sleep. However, I think I trust you guys enough to let you sleep here in the courtyard tonight." Angel suddenly looked up at Fluttershy with surprise, and began bouncing up and down, trying to reach Fluttershy on the branch.

"I'll help you in a minute, Angel." Fluttershy whispered gently, before looking back at the rest of the animals, who were chattering happily, some even clapping. When she spoke again, her voice was lined with its familiar kindness, but also of an almost threatening assertiveness. "Just...please make sure you stay here in the courtyard. I'm trusting you guys, but the second I feel that you are betraying my trust, I will not be happy."

Fluttershy smiled and flew back down to ground, the excited chattering amongst the animals all but halted.

"I'm sorry about that, Angel. What seems to be the problem?"

Angel pointed at the animals, and shook his head frantically at Fluttershy. He repeated this gesture several times, until he was sure Fluttershy understood.

"Oh, Angel! Don't be so pessimistic!"

Angel brought a paw to his face and stormed away from Fluttershy.

From Fluttershy's perspective, these animals were hardly untrustworthy. Sure, they were a bit edgy, and they were definitely mischievous, but Fluttershy knew she had gained their trust, and she in turn trusted them.

"I mean...what's the worse that can happen, right?" Fluttershy said to herself as she lied down on the grass and looked up at the stars, letting sleep overtake her.