No matter how hard your day had been, a simple walk through nature always managed to calm you. Be it a long day at the office, a stressful day at school, or perhaps something in-between, there was nothing quite like a walk through the wood, or a stroll beside a stream. Today, Fluttershy, though unstrained and unstressed, found herself doing both. For near the outskirts of the town of Canterlot, there was a secluded woodland, which she herself often came to whenever possible. And here she was again, walking through an often-trod path, with the sound of water close by. A smile came to her as she gazed upon the tiny stream that flowed parallel to her chosen path, watching the occasional fish jumping out of it with delight. The trees swayed with a gentle breeze, and all over, there was nothing that seemed tiring, stressful or alarming. It was, for lack of a better word, a paradise of calm in a sea of hectic life. But, unfortunately, that sense of peace and quiet did not last forever, as the animal lover found, to her slight surprise, that somebody now called out to her.
"Fluttershy!"
Turning, Fluttershy's smile, which had faded a little after hearing her name called out, returned in earnest. For there, running towards her, was none other than Twilight. She too smiled, and as soon as she'd reached her colleague, the former Crystal Prep girl took a moment to catch her breath, before standing tall once more and speaking happily.
"I wanted to catch you before you got in too deep here."
Nodding, Fluttershy turned to face her fully, her hands clasped in front of her as she responded.
"Of course. What's on you mind?"
Considering that, Twilight took a moment to put her thoughts together, before finally speaking to her friend.
"Well, I just wanted to thank you for your help. I was getting so worked up about the play that...quite frankly...I was getting a little nuts there for a bit."
Raising her hand to her mouth, Fluttershy giggled a little.
"Oh, it's no bother. When you have as many friends as I do, it's easy to get them to help out every once in a while."
As if to emphasise her point, a tiny little bluebird flew in and, stretching out her finger, Fluttershy watched as the feathered friend landed upon it, letting out a sweet little song. Twilight, naturally, couldn't help but be impressed by this.
"I know we all have incredible abilities at this point...but I'll always be astounded by yours in particular."
Smiling wider than before, Fluttershy gave a brief nod.
"Oh, yes, it truly is wonderful, isn't it? I've always loved animals, but now I can spend time with them like never before."
Scratching the side of her cheek, curiosity came to Twilight soon afterwards.
"The ability to talk to animals...it’s quite something. It could revolutionize everything we know about the animal kingdom. The information we’d be able to learn could completely upend generations of studies on the matter.”
A brief laugh came to her before she continued.
“But perhaps it’s best to keep things small for now. For instance, when we first got these powers...did you ever use them for anything in particular when you got back home?"
Seeing the little bird finally fly off, Fluttershy once more looked to Twilight, giving her a nod in confirmation.
"I did. I went to Angel."
And speak of the Devil, that very rabbit now appeared onto the scene, jumping up from behind Fluttershy and landing on her shoulder, much to Twilight's surprise. Fluttershy, for her part, was simply happy to have him there, and used her finger to scratch under his chin, which, naturally, delighted the rabbit a great deal.
"When I got home after Camp Everfree, I started talking to him, and I must say, he was quite surprised to be able to communicate with me."
Twilight giggled a little at that.
"I can imagine. What did you talk about?"
Fluttershy looked back to her before answering that one.
"Oh, all sorts of things. For one thing, he apparently didn't like the variety of lettuce I'd been giving him. He also wanted a larger enclosure, and also gets very jealous when I spend time with other animals."
Then, before Twilight could respond to that, a small squirrel turned up, and looked up to Fluttershy with utter adoration, as small animals usually did. Fluttershy herself was pleased to see this diminutive critter, but Angel, echoing his owner's words from moments ago, let out an angry hiss, scaring the squirrel back into the tree it had come from. Twilight, seeing the squirrel go, looked back to Angel with a raised eyebrow.
"You know...you might want to try and get him to stop doing that."
Fluttershy, looking to her pet herself, frowned slightly.
"Yes...it's been an on-going problem."
Folding his paws, Angel looked away, clearly indignant over that remark. Tucking her hair behind her ear, Twilight looked around them, thinking on something to keep the conversation going. Then, in the end, she simply elected to talk about the very thing she'd come over here about in the first place.
"Well, Angel aside, your other animal friends were really good to me. I swear, I hadn't had a sleep that good in ages."
Giggling again, Fluttershy answered that.
"In truth, I was a little glad you needed their help. So many people viewed the animals here as pests, or even as dangerous. So it's always nice when I can try and help people to see them differently."
Hearing that, Twilight's smile widened a little.
"Well, they certainly changed my view of them."
But, her smile faded somewhat in that moment.
"Although..."
She scratched the back of her head in a somewhat nervous manner.
"...would it be possible for you to...you know...not have skunks near me when I'm sleeping next time?"
Fluttershy placed a hand to her mouth, letting out only the barest of gasps.
"Oh my! Were Spunky and Plunky not soft enough for you?"
Twilight opened her mouth, and it was clear to anybody that she would have wanted to comment on a somewhat different issue than what Fluttershy seemed to think she wanted to talk about. But, after all the help her friend had given her, and just how relaxed she felt even after all this had happened, Twilight instead just sighed, giving a warm and friendly smile to her once more.
"Actually...never mind. They were very good pillows."
Giggling again, Fluttershy's smile returned.
"Well, it's like I always say. When in doubt, bring in cute animals."
Twilight returned the laugh.
"In that case, I'd say you've got the market cornered, Fluttershy."
Then, in a move that most would consider uncharacteristic of Fluttershy, she gained a slight smirk to her lips.
"Well, if nothing else, its always handy to have a lager and very strong bear as a friend, wouldn't you say?"
Naturally, Twilight seemed a little unnerved by such a comment, and seeing that rather terrified face, Fluttershy could keep the charade up no longer, and so let out a long laugh.
"Sorry, I was just joking."
Relieved, Twilight let out a long sigh, joining in on the laugh soon afterwards.
"Oh! Right! Of course. Silly me!"
Smiling sweetly, Fluttershy then looked away briefly, before looking down to her shoulder, where Angel still sat. As before, the animal carer scratched his chin slightly, speaking softly to him.
"Besides...why bring a scary bear when you’re all the vicious animal I need?"
And in that, what else could Angel do, but simply take pride in that statement?
