Fluttershy and Spike were cuddling on the bed again the next morning. The camping trip was actually kind of fun with the stories and the singing. Angel might have hated the idea, but everyone didn't care about that. They all thought that it was fun.

"Thank you for doing this camping idea, Fluttershy." Spike politely said to her.

"Aw, you're welcome." Said Fluttershy while blushing. "I was just trying to keep all of us happy on a rainy day. The stories were wctually fun."

"Yeah they were, we're they?" Spike said

Fluttershy giggled and gave Spike a small loving kiss on his left cheek, making him blush and swirling his two fingers around ln a circle. "Soooooo.... what fun thing should we do today?" Spike asked, trying to focus less on that kiss.

Fluttershy then remembered something, like a favor. "Oh I forgot." She quietly exclaimed.

"What?"

"I promised Sunflower and Zoo Wrangler that I would help their animals at the zoo." Fluttershy replied. "Would you like to help me, Spike? If that's okay with you."

"Yeah I would love too!" Said Spike excitedly.

Fluttershy smiled. Since she Is one with animals, she is an excellent help as a volunteer at the Ponyville zoo. The zookeepers, a married couple named Sunflower and Zoe Wrangler have good relations with Fluttershy and call her their favorite helper. "Let me go tell all my critter friends before we leave, okay Spike?"

"Okay." Spike replied happily.

It was a good thing that he and Fluttershy fed all the animals earlier, for they would go really hungry if the two left the animals while they were unfed.

All the animals made their own sounds to Fluttershy in response after she told them all about she and Spike volunteering at the zoo. "Angel, you're in charge while I'm gone, okay."

Angel made a salute pose saying that he will not disappoint Fluttershy.

"Okay, Spike." Said Fluttershy. "Let's go."

Spike hopped on her back and she made her way to the zoo. While walking, Spike asked Fluttershy "hey, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Spike?" Asked Fluttershy.

"You don't mind me riding on your back, do you?" The baby dragon asked

"Oh, of course I don't mind." Fluttershy replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I... i was just curious." Was all Spike said.

"Oh, well I don't mind at all." Fluttershy smiled at him, as she said that and looked forward again as she was walking

"Okay." Spike said.

A sly smile appeared on Fluttershy's face while Spike wasn't looking. She slowly, and sneakily used her tail to touch Spike on his dragonhood, tickling him with her soft blanket-like tail.

The baby dragon blushed and giggled lightly. Fluttershy giggled seductively at his reaction. "That tickles." Spike said, feeling his dragoon hood becoming hard from her tail tickling

"Gootchie gootchie goo." She seductively whispered in a sing song tone. She rapidly flapped her eye lids, trying to look even more pretty for Spike.

The baby dragon looked a little embarrassed moving his eyes left and right with nervousness. He became a little more accustomed to it since the last time that happened to him. He became a lot more relaxed. "I love you, Fluttershy." He said

"I love you too, Spike." Fluttershy replied softly, wrapping a small portion of her tail around Spike.

"So... Fluttershy, should I just watch? Or what can I do to help you with the work?" Spike asked curiously

"We'll see when we get there." Fluttershy replied. It was a little silent for a little while, and it felt a little awkward.

"Uhhhhh.... Wanna play a game?" Spike asked unsure what to do know after this conversation.

"Sure." Said a fluttershy. "I spy with my little eye, something.... Green."

***

It was normal and peaceful in the town of Ponyville. The zoo wasn't far from the two lovers now. Fluttershy and Spike eased their game of "I Spy" just a moment ago as they entered the town.

"Do you think that the zoo owners will let me help you?" Spike asked a little nervously. "What if... what if I just make it worse?"

"Don't say that, Spikey-Whikey." Said Fluttershy while walking. "They would always like some extra help taking care of animals. Besides, I am sure you would make a great help for everypony."

"Aw, well..." Spike flushed. "Guilty as charged."

At last, they reached the zoo. It was packed, and loaded with visitors just going in to see the animals. On the positive side, however, the line was not very long, and they wouldn't have to wait to be first.

When Fluttershy was next, the ticket lady recognized Fluttershy, and did a happy gasp of joy. "Oh, Fluttershy deary." She said. "Come on in. Zoo Wrangler and Daisymay were just expecting you."

"Thank you Ticket Booth." Fluttershy kindly replied. "I just hope I am not late."

"Nonsense." Said the ticket lady. "You came just in time, sweetie."

The yellow pegasus turned Spike around to show the ticket mare the extra volunteer. "This is Spike, I hope you don't mind, but he will be helping out too"

"You don't say." Said the ticket lady, even more happy. "Of course you can help Fluttershy in the zoo, deary." She said to the baby dragon. Spike smiled at her answer.

Fluttershy smiled and went through the gate with Spike still on her back, and she entered the zoo. The zoo wasn't... Overpopulating the whole zoo exactly, it was just filled with many visitors, interested in the animals.

"So where do we find Daisymay and Zoo Wrangler?" Spike asked

"Hmmmm... Usually, I would just find them over-"

"Fluttershy! Yoo-hoo." Called a female voice. It was an indigo earth mare with a pretty looking daisy as a cutie mark, along with a straight, lime like green mane and tail, almost as identical as Blossomforth's . The Stallion next to her, was a orange-red pegasus, having a lion's paw as a cutie mark. His mane and Tail were light yellow, and both looked really long, almost like Shining Armor's mane and tail, but longer.

"Ah, hello Zoo Wrangler. Hello Daisymay." said Fluttershy, noticing the married pair.

"Just in time to help out with the work." said Zoo Wrangler. He and his wife noticed Spike, who peeked from behind her to get a better look at the zookeepers.

"Oh, who might this cute little guy be?" said Daisymay, walking up to Spike. She was trying to get a closer look at him and observed him.

"I'm Spike." he answered.

"Well, nice to meet you, Spike." said Zoo Wrangler, walking up to Fluttershy, next to his darling.

"Wait, you're princess Twilight's assistant, aren't you?" said Daisymay recognizing what Spike was.

"That I am." Spike said.

"Well what might a lad like you be doing out here with Fluttershy?" asked Zoo Wrangler.

"Well... you see.... Spike and I... are.... meant for eachother." Fluttershy said nervously.

The married couple made a really happy gasp with Daisymay saying "Oh, Fluttershy, I am so happy for you." She looked at Spike with the same smile. "And congratulations to you too, Spike."

"Ah, well." Spike blushed.

"So, I brought him here to help us. If that's alright with you." Said Fluttershy

"Hmm. I don't know, Fluttershy." Said Daisymay, not sure if that is a good idea.

"Yeah, I mean Spike going in the pens with you? Don't you think that's kind of dangerous?" Zoo Wrangler added

"Don't worry. Spike will be safe with me." Said Fluttershy, gently nuzzling Spike's face. "After all, the animals have no problem with me at all. I'll just tell the other animals that Spike means them no harm"

"Yeah, you're right." Said Zoo Wrangler, admitting that Fluttershy was right about her statement. "What do you think, honey?"

"Hmmm... Okay." Said Daisymay, finally agreeing to let Spike in the pens with Fluttershy. But, in a more cautious voice while she placed a gently hoof on his shoulder, she said to him "but Spike... Please be careful. I don't wasn't you to get hurt."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Said Spike, dismounting from Fluttershy's back. The couple smiled at the baby dragon at his response.

"That's good." Said Zoo Wrangler.

Fluttershy smiled back and walked around the zoo, trying to see what pen she should do first. Then she said "well, how about we do the lions pen first."

Spike gulped and looked a little horrified "lions? But- but- but- do they... Eat other animals?" He said with a small gulp. He really wasn't expecting something dangerous like the lions to come first.

"Oh Spike. It's okay." Said Fluttershy. "These lions may sound a bit scary, but they are really sweet once you get to know them."

"Easy for you to say." Spike said with uncertainty. "Of course all animals love you, because you're like... Mother Nature."

Fluttershy gently lifted his chin so that she can look at him. "And they will like you too. They just need to see who you are, and what you're like. Besides, I'll be with you."

"Yeah, at's true." Said Spike. "O...okay. I guess I can give it a try." He felt a little more confident, because indeed, Fluttershy was one with nature, and could tame any wild animal that could be very dangerous.

"Great. Let's go." Fluttershy walked to the lion pen, and slowly opened the back door. Spike was still a little unsure, for he was starting to become a little scared.

"It's okay." Said Fluttershy softly. "I'll be right here."

The baby dragon gulped and slowly walked through the back door. As he entered the habitat, he saw five large lions. Three males, and two females. The largest male had a handsome black mane, and was a little bigger than Fluttershy herself. The two other males were a little smaller, and both had handsome brown manes. The two lioness' were just relaxing on the grassy, and rocky terrain of the habitat.

The large black-maned male looked over and saw Fluttershy and Spike. He was surprised, and so happy to see her. He gave out a loud roar of happiness. The other lions looked, trying to see what he roared at, and they too saw Fluttershy.

"Hello, my friends." Said Fluttershy. All of the lions slowly walked towards the yellow pegasus, licking and nuzzling her with great affection. "Oh yes. I'm glad to see all of you too." She said, gently rubbing their bellies one at a time.

Spike became a little more afraid, for the lions were only a few feet away from him now. Just then, the largest male stopped his interaction with Fluttershy, and looked at Spike with curiosity. Seeing that he stopped, the rest of the pride started to notice Spike as well.

The largest male slowly walked over to the baby dragon. Now even more terrified, Spike, almost completely paralyzed, slowly backed up, but every time he stopped back, the lion would approach him even more with every back-step the baby dragon took. Finally, Spike felt his back touch the wall of the pen. Realized that there was no way out, he began to shake with fear, waiting for something to happen to him already. The lion bent his head down a little, for he was indeed bigger than Spike. Just then, he felt the lion sniffing him. It felt a little bit more powerful than the average wind that Ponyville would get. It only made Spike shake more violently with fear.

What Spike didn't expect was that the lion smiled at him and licked his face. Spike began to laugh fro. The licking. "Stop it." He laughed. The lion then nuzzled Spike's small body with affection, like he a d his friends did with Fluttershy. The other lions came up to him, and looked at him. It took a little while, for they wanted to know what he exactly was, but they all joined in on the licking and nuzzling,

"Aww, look. They like you already." Said Fluttershy.

After a little while, all the lions stopped their licking and nuzzling and gave Spike some space. Fluttershy was right, they already like the baby dragon after all.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Said Fluttershy

"No. You're right." Said a spike. "Sorry if I didn't believe you before."

"It's okay." Fluttershy replied sweetly.

"Do these cool lions... have names?" the baby dragon asked curiously.

"Oh yes." she walked to the small pride so that she can introduced Spike to them. "This is Maliki." she pointed to the largest male with the black mane. He roared a hello to Spike in response. "This is Kibwana and Hodari. They are brothers." she referred to the other two males. The siblings roared happily to Spike as well, but it was not as deep as their leader's roar. "And this is Kibibi, and Imara." The two lioness' roared at Spike a hello too.

"Nice to meet you all." Spike said. The big cats crowded around Spike again, nuzzling him one at a time like regular house cats. In fact, they were all behaving like house cats. Spike giggled as he was feeling their fur brushing against him again.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Asked Spike.

"Hmmm.. Well, you can help me feed them, and give them baths." Fluttershy suggested. "Oh and... Clean up after them."

"Okay." Spike said cheerfully. "I don't mind that last part."

Nopony loved cleaning up after pets, animals, or livestock, but they know they have to, to keep their places clean.

***

During the cleaning and feeding, Spike and Fluttershy did some fun things with the big cats while they were doing their voluntary jobs. Maliki would pull Spike with his massive paw and lukled him into some hugs. while Kibwana and Hodari would roll around the grassy floor of the pen with Spike, making small roars of affection. Finally, Imara and Kibibi would lay down with Spike relaxing on Imara's stomach to relax. As a matter of fact, Spike would rest on the other lions too. just looking around the habitat out of curiosity. After he stopped for a moment, he felt something soft and cuddly gently brushing his leg, and he saw a fluffy tail held high. He looked where it came from, and their was a lion cub.

"Holy shit." He thought in pure amazement. "Aww, hey there little fella." Spike addressed to the cub. He felt the young baby purring against his leg, and sometimes felt his dragon face. All of a sudden, he saw a few other cubs coming out of small opening, or more like a hole or a small cave with a large log on top of it. Three more cubs have popped out of their little hiding spot, and they all approached Spike, very curiously to know what he was. It took a little while, but the rest of the cubs grew use to Spike, coming around him nuzzling their heads against his legs. "Hehehe. Stop that." Spike laughed.

He felt something breathing on his head, and he looked up to see what it was. It was Kibibi and Imara, the two lioness'. They had to be mothers for these little cubs in the habitat. Spike began to worry a little, because he knows how protective many animal mothers can be when somepony tries to interact with their baby. Someponies, watching through the habitat began to worry that Kibibi and Imara might attack and kill Spike to protect her cubs, however, Spike received some friendly licking from the lioness in return However, Fluttershy saw what was happening and went to see what was going on. Finally, she saw the cubs interacting with Spike.

"Aww, how cute." Said Fluttershy, noticing the cubs. "I forgot to tell you about their babies, did I?"

"It's fine, Fluttershy." Said Spike. "The thing is, do Kibibi and Imara mind me interacting with the babies, and... Who do they belong to?"

"Of course they don't mind." Fluttershy replied. "If the cubs trust you well enough, the grownup lions trust you to."

The baby dragon smiled.

"Oh, about the cubs, two of them belong to Kibwana and Kibibi, two of them belong to Hodari, and one belongs to Maliki and Imara." Fluttershy introduced.

"What happened to Hodari's mate if he has two cubs?" Spike asked curiously.

Fluttershy's face turned from cheerful to saddened. "She died of an unknown disease a few months ago. Her cubs were a month old when she passed."

"What?" He said, a little shocked and saddened. He bowed his head in remorse. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Thanks, Spike." Said Fluttershy. She gently pulled Spike into a hug with her wing and gave him a hug. The baby dragon smiled and hugged her in return.

After the two broke, Spike asked "so... What are the cubs names?" Spike asked

"Daisymay and Zoo Wrangler are still thinking about it. These cute babies are still young, you know?" Fluttershy answered.

"Good point."

"We'll, looks like this habitat is clean, and the lions are already fed." Fluttershy walked up to the alpha lion and said "it was nice to see you again, Maliki, and everyone else. Yes it was, yes it was." She felt the Leon's tongues licking her face for affection. The lions turned their attention to the baby dragon, and Maliki pulled the baby dragon in for another hug. The rest of the pride joined in. Spike was touched to be hugged by fierce creatures such as lions, and felt like the lions welcomed him to their pride, witch they did.

"Okay. It was nice meeting you guys," Spike said to the pride. They all roared at him happily in return, definitely sounding like they welcomed him to their small family. Spike and Fluttershy went out the back door which they came in, and went back outside the habitat. Spike was really starting to enjoy working as a zoo volunteer, and felt much more relaxed about the animals.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Said Fluttershy.

"No, that was.... awesome." Spike replied. "Where do we go next?" He asked.

"Well, there's the painted dog." Fluttershy suggested.

"Great, let's go." Said Spike. He and Fluttershy made their way to the zoo's painted dog exhibit. Spike honestly, didn't know what a painted dog looked like. Until he saw the seven Zebrican wild dogs in the habitat. "Oh yeah. I've seen them before." He remembered. As they entered the habitat, they all squeaked with happiness seeing Fluttershy. The small pack ran up to Fluttershy, wagging their tails happily like any other dog.

"Oh yes, it's so good to see you, to" Fluttershy playfully babytalked to the dogs. "oh yes, who's a good boy, who's a good boy?" was what she would say to some of them. They were not as big as the lions are, for they were a little smaller than Fluttershy, but a little bigger than Spike of course. They all closely examined Spike after they were done with Fluttershy and they all sniffed him with curiosity. They all warmed up to Spike, and licked his face while they playfully pranced around while squeaking at him like pet dogs. Spike laughed and would play with some of them too, rubbing their bellies, and playing fetch with them.

After that, Spike and Fluttershy both cleaned up after the dogs and fed them. They were more hyper than the Lions were. Thus, another habitat was done. Fluttershy and Spike kissed eachother on the lips after they finished, very affectionately.

More than one hour and thirty minutes later, Spike and Fluttershy were finished helping with helping the animals at the zoo. Daisymay and Zoo Wrangler met them again

"Well, Spike." Said Daisymay. "We definitely thank you for helping us with the animals."

"Yeah, we can always use more guys like you. Why don't you come visit us again sometime, then we'll see what you could do for us."

"Sure. I would love to!" Said Spike cheerfully with a wide smile.

"Well, we might as well be heading back home. " said Fluttershy. "It was nice meeting you again."

"The same with you, Fluttershy. " said Zoo Wrangler.

"Daisymay nodded a yes and said to the baby dragon. " It was very nice to see you, Spike."hope to see you gain some time."

"You sill." Spike replied. "I promise."

Fluttershy said bye to her good friends and went back home to the cottage with Spike waving at the two zookeepers.

"Thank you for.helping me, Spike." Said Fluttershy kindly.

"Ah don't mention it." Spike replied while flushing. "Should we... kiss?" He asked

"Um, I would rather prefer if.we were outside zoo, and then. We'll kiss."

Spike nodded in agreement and after they were out of the zoo, and halfway back to the cottage, Spike got off of Fluttershy, and he said while he was in front of her. "I love you, Fluttershy."

"Oh come here, my little helper." said Fluttershy tenderly. She pulled Spike close to her, and the two kissed for a long period of time in a field filled with flowers.

***

Fluttershy opened her front door and said "we're home." In a sing-song voice. All the animals. Were happy to see her back home, along with seeing Spike back too. "So, what would you like to do now, Spike?" She asked the baby dragon.

"I'm wiped out." Said Spike with a yawn. "I'm going to take a nap if that's okay with you."

"Okay." Fluttershy gave him a kiss on his cheek, and whispered "sleep well."

As soon as Spike went upstairs, a sly smile appeared on Fluttershy's face, and she licked her lips.

Author's Note

I hope you all don't mind this chapter. sounds like Fluttershy has got a special treat for Spike I the next chapter. What will that be? Find out on the next chapter.