The discovery
Fluttershy put away the camera's that had been set up to record the interview. She had just finished interviewing a baker about a challenge that they had accepted: baking 1,000,000 cookies. Normally, it might not have been a challenge, but they were tight staffed, and people were going to be coming in all week.
"Hey Fluttershy! You're going already?" the boss asked, coming out of the door.
"Yes," Fluttershy said.
"Ok. Oh, when we complete this challenge, feel free to come over and get some cookies! We're going to have a ton of cookies. Maybe even 2 tons!" the baker exclaimed happily. Fluttershy smiled.
"I'll see if I can!" she said as she shut the doors to her van. She opened the door to the drivers seat, climbed in and shut the door. Man, I wish there was another way to get a ton of money, she thought to herself as she started the car. These animals need a lot of stuff to stay happy. She continued through the streets of Manehatten and decided to get some quick take out, and stopped at a small pizza parlor. She got a little parmesan for the slices she got, paid, and started driving down a back road, which was quicker to her house. Until she thought she heard someone scream. She slammed the brakes (fortunately no one was behind her) and started listening for another scream. About ten seconds passed, and Fluttershy started to think she had just imagined it when there was another scream. It was coming from an alleyway ahead of her. She grabbed the neared thing near her protection, which just so happened to be the plastic plate she had used for her pizza and then grabbed flashlight. Man, why do I have to be so nice? she thought as she turned the corner. She started to hear what sounded like crying, and she advanced even more. Suddenly, there was the sound of punches landing, and after a couple of seconds, some laughter.
"Oh man, he totally did not see that coming!" a voice said.
"Yeah!" coursed some others. Oh! Vigilantes! Tho could make good news! she thought as she turned on her flashlight. What she saw freaked her out. So much so that she fainted. The last thing she saw was a pair of green, three fingered hands catch her.
"So, who do you think she is?" a voice asked. Fluttershy was starting to wake up, and that had been the first thing she had heard.
"I don't know! Does she have a wallet on her? She might have an I.D or something," another voice asked. She could feel herself being moved, and a hand slipped into her back pocket. Oh, god. Should I move? Fluttershy thought.
"I think I found it!" yet another voice said. Ok, maybe not right now! Fluttershy thought. There was some flipping.
"It says her name is Fluttershy." There was some more flipping. "Looks like she's a reporter."
"Ok, that's nice, but what happens when she wakes up? Or if Master Twilight comes back?" one of the voices asked.
"Then she would say that we should tell her," said a new voice. The others gasp. There was some shuffling.
"Master Twilight, we did not know you would be back so soon," one of them said.
"Rarity! You should know that if you guys bring a topsider down here, we must tell them!" Twilight said.
"Are you sure?" asked Rarity.
"Yes. You brought her down here because she saw you and fainted, right?" Twilight asked. There was a slightly awkward silence for a few seconds until one of them finally spoke.
"Yes. But she did have pizza!" one of them said. Twilight sighed.
"Pinkie, you and your pizza. Anyway, we should wait until she's awa.... how long have you been awake?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy stopped breathing for a few seconds.
"I know you're awake, you know," Twilight said.
"Ok! Yes, I am awake, please don't hurt me!" Fluttershy cried as she sat up. What she saw almost made her faint again. Who she was looking at were the 4 humanoid turtles from before, wearing different colored masks. But this time they were bowing to a humanoid rat. So she did the only thong any sane person would do. She screamed. After a few seconds, she stopped and just stared at them, breathing heavy.
"So, I suppose you want to know how we became like this don't you?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy nodded.
"It's actually really quite simply. We were animals at a pet shop, but we got thrown out, and we landed in this strange goo-like stuff, and we mutated," Twilight said.
"And you fight crime?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yes," Twilight said.
"Ok. No offense, but when am I going to get to go home?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know. I think I heard Rarity saying that you were a reporter. Is that true?" asked Twilight.
"Yes," said Fluttershy.
"Then I'm not sure if we can let you go," said Twilight. Fluttershy jumped up.
"Why not?" she asked, starting to freak out even more.
"Because you might report us to the press, and then people would come down here and experiment on us, or put us in a zoo," said the one wearing a red mask.
"Ok, good point, but I need to take care of my animals!" Fluttershy said.
"You take care of animals? Twilight asked.
"Yes. Why?" asked Fluttershy.
"That might come in handy. Ok, Rainbow Dash, escort Fluttershy to her house so she can bring these animals and whatever they might need," Twilight said.
"Ok," said Rainbow Dash, the one wearing the red mask.
"You want me to bring my animals here?" Fluttershy asked, confused.
"Yes," said Twilight.
"Ok, but I must say that it may take more than one trip to get them all here," said Fluttershy.
"Ok, just bring them!" Twilight said.
"Are you sure? Some of them can be kind of wild, and may take a while to get used to you," said Fluttershy.
"You think that's bad, wait until you know these guys more!" said Twilight.
Rainbow Dash had to blindfold Fluttershy and carry her back to the surface, partly because Fluttershy didn't know the way back, and partly because they didn't trust her enough to tell her the path to the surface. As Rainbow Dash carried Fluttershy, Fluttershy noticed that there was an always present bad smell, almost like sewage.
"Are we in the sewer?" Fluttershy asked.
"Is it really that obvious?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Oh frick, I don't think I was supposed to tell you that!" Rainbow Dash said as she removed the sewer grate and put Fluttershy on the ground.
"Did I really guess right?" asked Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash sighed.
"Yes. By the way, you can take the blindfold of," she said. They got in the car, and Fluttershy started the van. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were driving in a slightly awkward silence.
"So, how old are you?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash looked confused.
"What?" she (at least, Fluttershy thought she was a she) asked.
"What, you don't know how old you are?" Fluttershy asked in surprise and partially alarmed. How does someone not know how old they are? she wondered briefly before thinking Twilight probably didn't know it was important.
"You don't know when you were born?" Fluttershy asked.
"Is that important?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Usually. Eh, maybe Twilight knows," said Fluttershy. They continued to Fluttershy's house in silence, and when Fluttershy parked the van, Rainbow Dash asked "So, you want me to help?"
"I thought it wasn't safe to let other people up here see you," Fluttershy said.
"Normally, yes, but if anyone asks, I can just say that I'm wearing a turtle costume as like, a mascot for something," Rainbow Dash said.
"Ok, if you're sure," Fluttershy said. She opened the door to her house and was greeted with various welcoming animal noises. When Rainbow Dash stepped in, they started freaking out a bit.
"Oh come on! She's ok! she's not going to hurt any of you!" Fluttershy managed to yell over the noise. To Rainbow Dash's amazement, the animals started to calm down, although they still seemed uneasy around her.
"Ok, into your mobile homes!" Fluttershy said. The animals started climbing into various cages.
"Mobile homes?" Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy blushed.
"I don't like calling them cages," she explained as she closed and locked the doors. She picked up a couple of cages and opened the door to her house. She got to her van and put the cages down so she could open the back.
"You need help unloading this stuff?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to Fluttershy's recording equipment.
"Sure," said Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash started grabbing equipment and took them back into the house. When she was done, she reentered her house and picked up a couple of cages for the van.
"Oh, thanks for the help," Fluttershy said.
"You're welcome!" Rainbow Dash said as she placed the cages into the back of the van. They continued placing cages into the van for a while in silence until Fluttershy asked "Do you remember it?" Rainbow Dash placed another cage into the van.
"Remember what?" she asked.
"Mutating," Fluttershy said. "If you don't mind me asking, of course! You don't have to answer!"
"Don't worry, it's ok. I sort of remember, but it's really more of a feeling. Like suddenly becoming smarter, bigger, more powerful," Rainbow Dash said. "By the way, how many pets do you have?"
"Oh, I have a ton," Fluttershy said. "Don't worry, there shouldn't be too many cages left, and if we put some of the cages up front, we won't have to return!"
"Ok! No offense, but I'm still a bit uneasy about trusting an topsider, but you seem ok, and Master Twilight seems to trust you, and I trust her judgment," said Rainbow Dash.
"Ok. So, just a few more mobile homes, and we're done! And then we need to get the feeders," Fluttershy said.
"Nice!" Rainbow Dash said as she picked up a few more cages to take to the van. Fortunately, there was enough space for all the cages, so they didn't have to put any of them up front. Then they started getting the feeders and other stuff they needed. They managed to get some of that into the back, but then they had to start putting them up front. Then they drove back to the sewer and Fluttershy turned to Rainbow Dash.
"Do I have to put the blindfold back on?" she asked.
"Nah, you already guessed where we were based. Besides, it'll make taking the animals and other equipment down," said Rainbow Dash." They picked up the animal feeders/waterers and started their treck back down the sewer. After a while Rainbow Dash stopped and pulled a pipe on the wall. The wall started opening up, and led them into a new part of the turtles home that she had not seen.
"Wow, how big is this place?" she asked.
"Pretty big. By the way, there is an entrance to an abandoned/forgotten about subway station, just so you know," the turtle Twilight had called Rarity said, appearing out of no where. Fluttershy jumped.
"I surprise you? Sorry," she said. "So, you got all your animals?"
"Yes, and the equipment," said Fluttershy.
"Nice. Set the stuff you're holding down anywhere, and lets go get more," Rarity said. "Just let me get the others."
