Animal Lover

Fluttershy sat in her cottage, alone, her head buried in her hands as her mind raced in an attempt to process the words of the letter she had just read. Though nopony else was with her she still valiantly tried to fight back the tears that were sure to start falling any moment, and after a brief futile struggle the first few droplets fell from her eyes.

'What am I going to do? All those animals... they're depending on me.' she thought.

Though her mind was consumed with the contents of the letter, she dared not look at it again; the harmless letters printed on paper seemed like a venomous snake ready to strike if she dared look at it again. The sole other creature present in Fluttershy's cottage, the little bunny Angel, hopped over and glanced at the letter despite being unable to read the writing scrawled in front of him;

Miss Fluttershy,

It is with great regret that Rich's Barnyard Bargains will be unable to continue donating to your cause. Due to the financial hardship that Rich's Barnyard Bargains has found itself in this year we have had to cease funding many of the charities in our wonderful community, and we hope to reinstate our community services at the soonest possible time.

Sincerely,

Mr. Rich

Everypony in town knew that Filthy Rich's company was far from being financially in trouble; in fact, the large bargain store was building a massive new complex in Manehattan that was due to open sometime in the spring, but the cost of construction most likely had the accountants scrambling to save as many bits as they could in other areas.

Free money to other ponies was of course they first place they had cut.

Fluttershy didn't blame Filthy Rich or his company for her current predicament; it wasn't in her nature to start blaming anypony for her own troubles. But blaming anypony was far from her mind... her main focus was also now on how to raise the needed bits for the animals of Ponyville that were due to arrive in just a few weeks. It was upon her shoulders alone to prepare homes for the animals before they awoke, and of course some of the shelters needed repairs or renovations, which all cost bits. Filthy Rich had been one of her biggest contributors by far, both in bits and free supplies, and his support was extremely vital to her task.

But now, without his help, Flutterhy wasn't sure if she would be able to accomplish her job. The beavers needed their annual supply of wood, not to mention all of the birdhouses were in need of a new coat of paint. Then there was of course the shelters for the smaller mammals that needed to be rebuilt, plus the chicken coop needed a new roof...

"What am I going to do?" she wondered aloud. The silence that responded to her reflected her own ideas; nothing. There was no time for her to visit one of the larger cities to attempt to raise more bits and she felt terrible even thinking about asking her friends to pitch in or donate more bits than they already had. Most ponies in town would be too busy with their own Winter Wrap Up tasks and chores to pitch in or help raise funds, leaving Fluttershy alone in her duties.

Just when Fluttershy thought that giving up was inevitable she felt something soft against her leg. Looking down she saw Angel gently hugging her in reassurance. Fluttershy couldn't help but smile through her teary eyes; Angel may act spoiled at times, but he was always there for her whenever she was at her lowest.

"You're right, I can't give up so easily." she said to her silent partner. "We will find a way to help every single animal that comes back to Ponyville."

With renewed determination Fluttershy quickly donned her winter jacket and boots in preparation to head out to the market to solicit help. Another tug at her tail just before she opened the door caused her to stop and look back, revealing her bunny dressed up in his own small sized winter parka and hat.

"Oh, do you want to come and help, too?" she asked.

Angel Bunny nodded and hopped outside and he was soon followed by a happier Fluttershy. As they made their walk to the center of town Fluttershy glanced around at the snow-covered landscape and took in the peacefulness. In just a few weeks everypony in town would be busy bringing Spring back to Ponyville, and while Fluttershy did the snowy season she much more preferred the warmer seasons and all the friendly animals that came with it. It didn't take her long to reach the town market, the small collection of stalls and booths still busy even in the snowy cold. Every face was familiar to her; Applejack and Apple Bloom were mainly selling jars of applesauce while another familiar vendor was selling winter vegetables. Even Pinkie Pie had a small booth to hand out somehow-still-hot samples of goodies that could be bought over at Sugarcube Corner.

Fluttershy paused momentarily at the sight of everypony. Though she knew everypony in town she was still slightly apprehensive about having to talk to so many ponies. 'What if somepony is having a bad day and I make it worse for them? What if they no longer want to be friends with me? Oh my, and then other ponies may get mad that I bothered that pony...'

A none-too-gentle kick from Angel Bunny brought Fluttershy back to reality. She looked down and met her bunny's stern gaze while he tapped a foot impatiently. "You're right, Angel." she said to him. "I have to do this. This isn't for me, it's for all the animals, and they're all counting on me."

The answer seemed to satisfy her companion and they both set off together. Fluttershy's courage and confidence remained steady as she approached the first pony she saw; a stallion named Lucky Clover.

"Oh, hey Fluttershy. What's up?" he asked as he saw Fluttershy approach him.

Despite her earlier confidence, Fluttershy immediately began to panic and lost her train of thought. "Oh, um, well... I was wondering, if you wouldn't mind, um... I mean..."

Fluttershy sighed heavily as she finally reached the other end of the market. It had only taken her about 90 minutes to speak to almost everypony in the marketplace but she was still far from reaching her minimum requirement. Applejack had offered the use of some extra lumber and tools her family had at the barn, and Pinkie Pie and the Cakes had generously donated just over 100 bits from their sales that week. A few other ponies had donated a few bits here and there, but the shy pegasus was still about 200 bits away from what she needed. There was no point in trying to revisit the market anymore as well; Fluttershy knew that the ponies who did donate gave her the most they could, but they had their own families to take care of as well.

"Come on, Angel. Let's go home." she said, disappointed that she wasn't able to secure all the funds she needed. Angel simply nodded, the cold bunny knowing very well that Fluttershy had indeed tried her hardest. Since it was still early afternoon Fluttershy decided to take a stroll around town before taking the long way home. She thought of possible alternatives to her problem but could only conclude that she would have to have some animals relocate to different locations.

"Hey!" a voice suddenly called out.

Fluttershy couldn't help but shriek in surprise as Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her; the athletic pegasus fuming over something. "Oh, Rainbow Dash, you scared me. I-"

"Have you seen that scum Thunderlane anywhere?" Rainbow interrupted, glancing around frantically as she spoke. "Tell me you've seen him!"

Fluttershy gulped. "N-n-no, I'm sorry..." she managed to stammer.

Rainbow released the scared pegasus and let out a moan of disappointment. "Darn it! I can't believe that jerk would... when I catch that asshole..."

"Um, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy timidly asked. "What, um... what did Thunderlane do that got you so upset?"

Rainbow's face reddened in embarassment. "Oh, uh... he has, uh, a video of... me. And I need it back quick!"

Fluttershy cocked her head, not quite understanding the problem. "Oh, well, you could always have another copy made so you both have the video." she tried to offer. "Twilight can do it quickly, or Vinyl-"

"No!" Rainbow Dash blurted out as quickly as she could. "No one else can see it or even know about it!"

Fluttershy immediately recoiled from the loud outburst, causing Rainbow Dash to facepalm herself. "Look, if you see Thunderlane, let me know where he is as quickly as you can. And don't tell anypony else about this! Promise me!"

Fluttershy nodded. "Of course. You're my friend, after all."

Rainbow smiled in satisfaction before zipping back off up into the sky, racing off to hunt down the gray pegasus stallion. Angel Bunny simply looked up at Fluttershy and shrugged before continuing on his way home. Fluttershy followed her pet, her mind confused as to why Rainbow Dash would have a video of herself or why Thunderlane would have it. 'Whatever it is, it's really important to Rainbow Dash.' she figured.

It took the duo almost a half hour to finally return home. Just as Fluttershy was about to open her front door, Angel yanked her tail once more to gain her attention.

"Huh? What is it?" she asked.

Angel pointed anxiously towards a set of relatively fresh hoofprints that went around her house before hopping off, following the trail. "Wait, Angel!" Fluttershy called out, but her pet ignored her and went off to investigate. Gulping in worry, she eventually followed the trail herself, telling herself that the hoofprints probably belonged to the mailpony. However, as she rounded her house and entered the backyard she saw that the trail led directly to the chicken coop, with Angel Bunny standing beside it and pointing to it.

"Hello? Is somepony in there?" she called out, refusing to come any closer than twenty feet from it. She paused for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief as she heard no response. 'Perhaps it was just a prank from Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie... yes, that must be it.'

"Come on, Angel, let's go back inside." she said. However, Angel Bunny refused to move from his spot, pointing again at the chicken coop. When he saw Fluttershy beginning to turn away and head for the back door he quickly darted inside the chicken coop and swiftly kicked out at the large mass that was hiding inside.

"Ow!"

Fluttershy's mane stood up on end as she heard somepony cry out in pain. She quickly darted behind a snow-covered bush to hide, only peeking out from her hiding place to see if Angel was okay.

"A-A-Angel?" she barely whispered.

Another shout of pain came from the chicken coop before a gray pony quickly emerged and fell to the ground, Fluttershy's bunny quickly following behind him. "Hey, get away from me!" the pony said, scampering away from the pet bunny.

"Angel, stop. You're scaring him." Fluttershy said, finally poking her head out from the brush.

Her heart rate finally lowered to almost normal once she saw what pony was hiding in her chicken coop. "Thunderlane? Why were you hiding in my chicken coop?" she asked as she finally emerged from her hiding place.

The gray pegasus stallion flicked his tail to shoo the small bunny by his legs away before brushing off his clothes and facing Fluttershy. "Hiding? Haha, no, I wasn't hiding. I just got lost, that's all."

Fluttershy looked unsure of his answer. "Okay... well, um, Rainbow Dash said she was looking for you. She shouldn't be too far off, I can go get her for you if you-"

Fluttershy didn't even have time to let out a surprised 'Eep!' as Thunderlane quickly scooped her up and rushed her into her house. He dumped her on the couch before he rushed over to shut the door and close all the curtains as quickly as he could, barely allowing Angel Bunny to squeeze inside as well before he locked the front door. "She's not here, is she? Did you tell her where I was? Did you?"

Fluttershy quickly shook her head no as Angel bounced over and onto her lap. "No, no of course not. But, um, she said you have something important that she needs back." she said as she stroked Angel's head gently.

Thunderlane glanced around extremely nervously. "Video? What video? I don't have any video of her."

As Fluttershy stuttered in response Angel hopped off her lap and quickly scampered up Thunderlane's leg. Before he could react at all, Angel managed to force Thunderlane's phone out of his pants pocket and quickly scampered back to Fluttershy.

"Hey!" Thunderlane yelled out, reaching out to try to stop the bunny but it was too late. It only took Angel a few seconds to search Thunderlane's phone to find what he had been hiding, and with a smirk the small bunny showed the screen to Fluttershy.

Her face immediately went red. "Oh... my..."