Contingency Plans

Name: Fluttershy Breeze

Age: 20

Height: 4 ft 5 inches

Weight: 142 lbs

Residence: Cloudsdale (previous), Ponyville

Occupation: Weatherpony, Veternarian/Animal Caretaker

Physical Attributes: Yellow coat, pink mane, cutie mark of a three pink butterflies, slight physique

Titles: Element of Kindness, National Hero

Description: Fluttershy is an exceptionally kind and caring friend, known for her good heart and gentleness. Her kindness is so great that she was even able to teach Discord the ways of friendship, a feat I thought impossible. Initially, Fluttershy's kindness was counterbalanced by immense shyness, however over time Fluttershy has learned to overcome her natural shyness and become more assertive to point where she can stand up for herself or her beliefs.

In addition, Fluttershy's special talent gives her a magical connection to animals, to the extent that she can even interpret their speech (as long as they are semi-sentient... it is much harder for her to interpret insects or purely instinctual creatures). She tends to easily befriend and control any animal she meets, with the exception of antagonistic animals like the cockatrice. In this case, Fluttershy will use a power known as "The Stare". She will adopt a stern unflinching look and proceed to stare at the target much like a mother would do to a naughty child. This stare quickly evokes feelings of guilt in ponies and animals, and can lead to quick submission. The only being to suffer no ill effects from the stare is Discord, possibly due to his inability to *feel guilt because of his chaotic nature.*

Possible Counters: While Fluttershy herself is not a physical threat, she often has several large animal friends (and a bad tempered rabbit) near her at all times, making direct attack inadvisable. Furthermore, Fluttershy has several "pseudo-weaknesses" that are important to note. While Fluttershy's shyness may seem like a weakness, it is actually very hard to exploit in terms of containment, as it makes her more likely to run and get help. This also makes kidnapping one of her animal friends as bait counterproductive, as Fluttershy will probably get reinforcements rather than run in alone. Another mistake ponies make when dealing with Fluttershy is to mistake her kindness as her simply being naive and gullible. Discord made this mistake, thinking he was exploiting Fluttershy's good nature while in fact she used this as an opportunity to get close to him and instill friendship in his heart. And of course, once she threatened to take her friendship away, Discord had no choice but to fall in line. In short, Fluttershy is much more perceptive and intelligent than she pretends to be at times.

That is not to say she doesn't have real weaknesses. Due to her experiences at Cloudsdale Flight Camp, Fluttershy has a deep fear of rejection.  This is most likely what caused her to form closer bonds with animals rather than other ponies. If she were to feel rejected and unwanted by her animal friends, it would leave her both defenseless, and emotionally crippled. One effective strategy would be to place some sort of animal repellent (undetectable to ponies but detectable to the higher senses of animals) directly on Fluttershy's body, either by tricking her into cuddling an animal previously coated with the repellent, or through use of a spell. Either way, it would cause Fluttershy's animal friends to run away in fear, and leave her too distraught to call for help.

"Please Angel?" Fluttershy asked with a note of sadness in her voice. The rabbit turned away at the offered bowl of food and tapped his foot impatiently. Fluttershy sighed. "Okay I'll make you your salad." Fluttershy said patiently. "But you have to eat all of it, understand?" Angel nodded eagerly and hopped away, leaving Fluttershy to her task.

She began gathering ingredients and setting them on the table. "Hmm that's weird." Fluttershy observed as she looked into her kitchen cabinet. "I could swear I just bought asparagus two days ago. Did one of you eat it?" Fluttershy asked in a gentle but slightly accusatory tone. The various small animals crawling around the kitchen vigorously shook their heads. She shrugged "Looks like I'll have to get more."

Fluttershy grabbed a small coin purse from the counter and tossed it into her saddlebag, setting off for the marketplace. As she trotted outside, she waved a hoof at the large brown bear peacefully laying in her garden. "Hello Mr. Bear!" she greeted cheerfully. The bear grunted and lifted a paw in acknowledgment. He turned over on his stomach and yawned, stretching his limbs to relax them. Fluttershy giggled and went on her way. She hummed a melody and trotted slowly, taking her time to enjoy the beautiful late afternoon sunshine.

Her melody was interrupted by a loud barking sound. Fluttershy turned around and saw brown puppy jumping up and down behind her. "Aw!" Fluttershy cooed as she picked up the small dog. "You're so cute!" The dog licked her and rubbed it self against her coat. For some reason the puppy's fur felt strangely sticky, but Fluttershy dismissed it as sweat. "Do you have an owner little guy?" Fluttershy asked the little dog.

"That would be me." a deep mare's voice said. An exotic looking black unicorn with a neon green mane trotted up, looking pleased.

"Oh I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy apologized. The puppy wriggled out of her grasp and bounded back to its master.

"It's fine, he just can't resist love and attention." the mare sighed. "You could say he feeds off it even." She smiled amicably.

The cute puppy barked at her playfully, making an adorable expression with its eyes. Fluttershy smiled back. "I'm glad you have such a loving pet. You know my special talent is communicating with animals... but for some reason I can't understand him. He must be very unique." she complimented politely.

Fluttershy thought she saw a small flicker of panic cross the mare's face. "Oh I'm sure there are more of his kind. Anyway we really must be going. See you later!" The mare waved a hoof and trotted off, the dog following close behind.

Waving a hoof, Fluttershy continued her errand. After buying her asparagus, she trotted home quickly, as she didn't want to leave Angel hungry any longer. Poor Angel wouldn't eat anything until she made him his special salad, and it was important he didn't miss a meal.

As she trotted into her garden, Fluttershy noticed Mr. Bear resting comfortably in the grass, with his eyes half open. As she walked by Fluttershy waved again with a smile. Mr. Bear sniffed twice, and his eyes shot open. He quickly got up into a defensive stance and growled threateningly. "What's wrong?!" Fluttershy asked in alarm. Mr. Bear growled angrily and bounded away into the Everfree forest, leaving Fluttershy feeling hurt. His growls translated to words Fluttershy didn't want to even think about. She didn't know what she had done to upset him so much but she wiped the tears from her eyes and trotted inside. Before trying to find her bear friend she had to make sure the other animals were okay. "Angel?" she called. No response.

She trotted further into her cottage, calling out the names of her animal friends. Pushing open the door to the living room, Fluttershy heard loud squeaks of panic. All her friends hid behind the furniture, cringing away from her. "Please what did I do?" Fluttershy asked, crying. The animals fearfully backed away as she walked further into the room. A small tapping sound behind her caused Fluttershy to turn around. Angel was holding open the door, waving his tiny paw frantically as all the animals in the room ran out. "Angel?" Fluttershy asked tearfully. The rabbit looked at her angrily and shook his fist, hopping out of the room and slamming the door behind him.

Fluttershy broke down sobbing, sitting curled up on the carpeted floor. "B-but why?" she cried sniffling. Nopony cared about her anymore. She had been kind and gentle, had given up everything for her animal friends. But they still rejected her. She'd always be rejected no matter what. What did her special talent mean? She couldn't even make friends with animals, the most sweet, loving creatures in Equestria. Why would anypony want to be friends with her? She was nothing... just a mat to be stepped on... a chair to be kicked aside.

The door slammed open again. "Angel?" Fluttershy looked up hopefully. "Huh? You're that mare from the market... what are you doing here?

The black-green mare leaned casually against the door frame. "I told you I'd see you later Fluttershy."

"Oh." Fluttershy sniffled as more tears rolled down her face. "It doesn't matter. Nopony wants to be friends with me anyway. I-I'm just a loser."

The dark mare grinned and began to change. She grew taller, her horn twisted and warped, her skin became chitinous and shiny, and withered insect-like wings protruded from her sides. "Exactly. Which is why nopony will miss you when you're gone." queen Chrysalis smiled. Through her stream of tears, Fluttershy saw a green flash before she was enveloped by darkness.