Fluttershy started the day bright and early, around seven o' clock, feeding the local animals breakfast and tending to the few that needed some care. It was her only real duty, after all, and she never had any problem doing it.
And normally, she'd take the time to watch one of her friend's pets if they happened to be busy that day and couldn't take care of it themselves. Fluttershy simply adored having her friend's pets over for the day. It gave her the chance to bond with them, as well as get to know them a little better.
Lately, Rarity had been in-and-out of Ponyville for Fashion Week, and asked Fluttershy to watch over Opalescence - her cat - until Fashion Week was over.
Fluttershy happily obliged and took Opalescence under her wing. The cat seemed to like Fluttershy more than Rarity, for some reason, which made caring for her easier for Fluttershy, but a pain in the flank for Rarity. Whatever the reason was, Rarity made sure Fluttershy knew that it was okay with her.
Fluttershy finished pouring out some food for the little critters she fed daily and went to the kitchen to fix up something for Angel.
Angel was picky when it came to the food he ate. Fluttershy made special meals for him, otherwise he wouldn't eat, and she didn't want him to starve.
When she fluttered into the kitchen, Angel was there on the counter, scowling at her, his arms crossed, his rear-right paw thumping noisily on the counter-top.
Fluttershy smiled innocently at him, knowing what the scowl was all about.
"Oh, sorry Angel. I had to feed the others first. You know, they get kinda hungry out there," she explained to him as she gathered together some salad stuffs. "Just think of it this way - at least your food will be fresher."
Angel didn't flinch, but instead continued his mean-mugging of her.
Fluttershy made his salad in a large bowl, then placed it in front of him. "Here you go, Angel bunny. Eat up."
He kept his angry stare on her as he pointed wildly at the animals in the living room.
Again, she knew exactly hat he was upset about, and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Angel, but you know I have to feed them first. They live outside, in the cold, hard, dangerous world. You live in here with me. You'll just have to accept that. Now eat your food before it goes bad," she admonished him, giving him a motherly look.
Angel began hopping up and down, ranting and raving.
Fluttershy gasped. "Angel bunny, you watch your language, mister!" He stopped hopping and stood there, glaring at the bowl of salad. Fluttershy pushed the bowl a little closer to him. "One more chance, or I'll give you what I gave them for breakfast."
He blew a raspberry at her and started eating.
Fluttershy smiled. "Good boy. Now, I'll be back soon, I've got to go get Opalescence. Keep and eye on the others for me!" she called out to him as she went out the front door.
Angel stopped eating and gave the animals in the living room a devious grin.
He'd keep an eye on them, alright...
Fluttershy trotted happily the whole way to the Carousel Boutique. It was a bright, warm, sunny day, a perfect day. Hopefully it would be this nice the next day, as she and Discord had their weekly picnic.
Fluttershy reached Rarity's shop and walked in, the bell above her head ringing, signaling her entrance.
"Rarity? I'm here for Opalescence!" she called out, heading up the stairs - and right into Rarity. They both collapsed on the staircase, dazed.
"Ugh," Rarity groaned rubbing her head. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I was just about to bring her to you. I'm glad you showed up though. It'll save me so much time," she said, holding out a hoof and helping Fluttershy up.
"Oh, well, I just thought I'd come by and take her off your hooves early. You've been working so hard on your gown lineup lately," Fluttershy explained, following her friend up the stairs.
Rarity lead her into her design room, glancing around the room for her cat. "Oh, yes, of course. It's been wonderful coming up with such magnificent pieces of art. I just hope I can make a good impression."
Fluttershy smiled. "Oh, I'm sure you will."
Rarity looked back and beamed at her. "Thanks, darling. That means a lot." Then she scanned the room, again, looking for Opalescence. "Now, if I could just find that little prissy feline..."
"You mean this one?" Fluttershy asked.
Rarity spun around to see Opalescence rubbing up against Fluttershy's forelegs, purring loudly.
"Yes, that one," Rarity said, pouting.
Fluttershy smiled at Rarity. "Alright, then. I'll let you get back to your dresses. See you later, Rarity." Fluttershy turned and made her way down the stairs.
"Thanks again, dear!" Rarity called down the stairs to her.
"You're welcome!" Fluttershy replied.
"Bye!"
"Bye!"
Fluttershy slipped out the door and headed back to her cottage.
Fluttershy finished mixing up some food for the cat and set it down on the floor in a small bowl. "Here you go, sweetie. eat up."
Opalescence pranced up, sniffed the bowl, and stuck her tongue out, pushing the bowl away.
Fluttershy sighed. "Not again." She pushed the bowl back in front of Opal. "Please? I made it special, just for you," she pleaded, giving the cat a huge, toothy grin.
Opal turned away.
Fluttershy's smile faded. "This isn't normal. Opal never passes up a meal like this." She scratched her chin with a hoof thoughtfully.
Opal padded out into the living room while Fluttershy tried to figure out why she wouldn't eat. "Maybe she's not hungry. Maybe she's mad at me." She gasped. "What if she's...sick?"
Fluttershy zipped into the living room, searching for her friend's cat. "Opalescence...? Where'd you go, sweetie? I have something for you," she said, picking up a thermometer off the table. "Come here, baby..."
Suddenly, a half-dozen mice scurried under her in a panic.
"Oh! Where are you going? Was it something I said?" Fluttershy watched them go into the kitchen. Behind her, she heard a cat yowl.
"...Opal?"
The cat bolted between Fluttershy's legs, heading straight for the kitchen.
It suddenly occurred to Fluttershy what was happening. "Ahhh! Opal! Come here you bad, bad kitty!"
As soon as she entered the kitchen, the madness intensified. Opal was rushing around the room chasing the mice, knocking over things like glasses and pots and pans, and hopping up and over others, relentlessly pursuing the poor mice.
Angel stood on the counter, nonchalantly watching the whole thing and giggling in a high-pitched chirp every time Opal knocked something over.
"Meowr!" Opal growled furiously as two of the five mice split off and escaped into holes in the walls by the baseboards. She continued after the others, right past Fluttershy, and straight for the front door.
Fluttershy gasped. "W-wait! Come back!" She followed the crazy pursuit out the front door to her front yard, where she watched them scampering around in circles.
Opal tried to leap on a slower moving mouse, but missed when it changed direction suddenly.
Fluttershy let go of the breath she was holding.
The race continued on down the cobblestone path leading toward Ponyville, leaving Fluttershy gasping to keep up, as she was chasing after them on hoof.
"Wait up! Stop! Please! Mice aren't for eating!"
As they made their way into town, ponies started noticing the drama and watching in curiosity, but not really making any effort to help.
Fluttershy was appalled. "Somepony stop them! Ah, she's going to eat a poor mousy!"
It was then that Rainbow Dash decided to stop her friend for a conversation.
"Sup, Shy? What are ya up to?" She asked, flying over in a loop and landing in front of her.
Fluttershy raced past her, causing Rainbow to shake her head in confusion.
"Sorry, Dashie! I'm a bit busy right now - AH!" Fluttershy yelped as the cat and mice sped right under her and into the middle of the street, where carts were being pulled, laden with goods.
Rainbow caught up with her panicked pegasus friend, flying beside her. "What the heck is going on?"
Fluttershy hopped over a ditch and resumed chasing the animals down the path. "Opal is being a naughty kitty and trying to eat some poor mousies! Please, help me stop her! I couldn't live with myself if she ate - OH, NO!"
Opal chased the mice directly into the path of a stallion pulling a load of fresh, sopping wet mud. The horse had little time to react, jumping to the side to avoid stepping on them, but the cart kept going - and pulled him with it.
"Wah!" the stallion cried out as he and the cart careened - straight into a shop selling valuable vases.
Fluttershy and Rainbow looked away as the cart collided with the shop and made a deafening crash.
Meanwhile, the chase between Opal and the now down to two mice continued in the direction of The Golden Oak Library.
"Rainbow! This way!" Fluttershy urged her as they took off after the animals.
Opal followed the mice as they squeezed through a hole in the side of the library, barely enough room for the cat, but after struggling for a few seconds, she managed to get in.
Fluttershy and her friend burst into the library, finding Twilight and Spike standing in the middle looking terribly confused by the sudden intrusion. It appeared that Twilight was practicing some sort of new spell.
"Fluttershy? Rainbow Dash? What's going on?" Twilight asked, concerned at her two friends' gasping for breath.
Fluttershy was now trotting around the room, scanning shelves and looking under furniture. "Ohhhh... Opal has been chasing some mice I was feeding earlier all over town, and they just came in here. Help me find them, please?"
Twilight nodded. "Okay. Just let me try this spell once more now that I think I've got it."
Fluttershy rubbed her forehooves together nervously. "Oh - okay... "
Twilight spun around and faced a small rock centered on a flat, black pedestal beside Spike. He gave her a nod and she started up the spell, her horn glowing brightly.
Just as she prepared to cast it, Opal and the mice came out of nowhere and scurried directly in the path of Twilight's spell.
Fluttershy freaked and hopped on Twilight. "Wait, stop!"
Twilight cast the spell halfway through the tackle, causing it to go haywire and bounce all over the library. It finally landed smack-dab into Spike's surprised face.
The resulting flash was enough of a distraction to stop even the mice, and they all watched in awe to see what had happened.
When the light subsided - Spike was a gemstone.
A big, green and purple gemstone.
"AHHHHH! SPIKE?!?" Fluttershy screeched in horror.
Opal used the temporary distraction to pounce on one of the mice. It leapt out of the way just in the nick of time, and the two split up, one going out the cracked front door, and the other back into the wall. Opal chose to go after the one out the front door.
Fluttershy glanced around the room as Twilight tried to figure out how to reverse the spell. She caught a glimpse of the chase as they left the library and headed off somewhere else.
"Sorry, Twilight! Sorry, sorry, sorry... " she apologized ceaselessly as she went after the animals again. Rainbow grinned apologetically at Twilight and went off with Fluttershy to continue the chase.
Twilight looked back over at Spike the Gemstone. "Spike if you can hear me, things are gonna be a little hard for you until I can figure out how to reverse this. Don't move." She turned to the shelves and began searching for the answer. Within a few minutes, she gave up. "I'll be back Spike. I'm just going to help them and I'll be right back to fix this, I promise." Then she trotted out the front door.
Meanwhile, the chase across town went unabated, save for the fact that it was now only one mouse that Opal was terrorizing. They'd run almost to Sweet Apple Acres, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash not far behind.
Opal chased the frightened mouse into the barn, where Applejack and Pinkie Pie had a huge collection of sweets on display, layering three huge oak tables.
Fluttershy and Rainbow burst into the barn, startling to two earth ponies.
"What in the hay... ?" Applejack protested as the cat and mouse went under the table, hissing and squeaking loudly.
Fluttershy ran up to the ponies, waving her hooves frantically. "Opal is trying to eat a mouse! Oh, please help me stop her!"
AJ raised an eyebrow. "Surely ya can't be serious. Opal doesn't eat mice."
Rainbow pointed a hoof under the table at the randomly scurrying mammals. "Tell that to her and her soon to be lunch."
Fluttershy squealed, covering her eyes and trembling.
AJ sighed. "Awright... Pinkie, would ya get mah lasso from the shelf over there?"
"Sure thing!" Pinkie exclaimed and hopped over to a line of shelves along the wall. She yanked a rope off with her teeth and ran it over to AJ.
Opal then cornered the mouse in the back of the barn. It had nowhere to go, but straight into the maw of Rarity's supposedly lady-like cat.
Opal growled fiercely.
Fluttershy ran and hid behind Rainbow Dash. "I can't watch!"
AJ readied the lasso and prepared to toss it around Opal - but in a split second, the mouse ran halfway up the wall and past Opal, who meowed in surprise. The mouse made it past it's captor and out the doors of the barn.
AJ was impressed. "That little mouse has some serious will to live."
"Come on, we have to follow them to stop them, sillies!" Pinkie said enthusiastically as she bounced out the barn doors.
As they all went back outside, Twilight was just arriving.
"Have you guys caught them yet?" she asked.
Fluttershy bypassed them all after the still ongoing cat and mouse chase. "Opal! Come here! Please... ?"
AJ glanced at Twilight. "That would be a no," she replied flatly.
Twilight turned back to watch as Fluttershy trailed behind the troublemaking kitty. "In that case, let's help her out, because I've go to go fix Spike."
"What?"
"Long story," Twilight answered. "Let's just get this over with."
With AJ using a lasso, and Twilight with her magic, within moments, they were able to corner the cat and the mouse up against the side of the barn.
Opal was cornered, but she herself had the mouse cornered. Just as AJ swung the rope at her a second time, Opal promptly snatched up the mouse and shoved it in her mouth.
"Uhhhhhh... " Fluttershy groaned and fainted.
Fluttershy opened her eyes a few moments later, laying on a bale of hay, her friends staring down at her.
"Did... Did you catch her? Is the mousy okay? Please tell me he's okay... " she asked, shivering at the thought of the mouse being hurt.
AJ nodded. "Yup. An' the cat's safe too," she pointed a hoof at a cage nearby, which housed a very unhappy Opal.
Fluttershy sat up and wiped her brow. "Oh, thank goodness... "
"What started the chase anyway?" Twilight asked, looking around at the others.
"I don't even remember... And the truth is, I don't want to... " She sighed and went over to Opal. "I'm just glad nopony or no animals got hurt."
"Yeah," Rainbow agreed. "Except Spike got turned into a beautiful rock."
"SPIKE!" Twilight shouted suddenly and zoomed out the front doors of the barn in flight.
"What was that? A rock?" AJ inquired, raising an eyebrow.
Pinkie shrugged. "Beats me."
Rarity had just returned from the train station. She'd let Opal go early without warning Fluttershy of her new... Habits. So she walked over to the shy pony's cottage, but she wasn't home. So, instead, she went to go inquire of Twilight where she might be.
Upon entering the library, she realized nopony was there, but there was this amazing, big, colorful gemstone on the floor beside a tipped over pedestal.
"Hmmm... " Rarity got out a little chisel and broke off a few pieces. "I'm sure Twilight won't mind if I borrow a little of her big rock."
She placed the pieces in her saddlebag and trotted off to find one of her friends.