Fluttershy Visits the Zoo
Fluttershy loved visiting the zoo. It was the highlight of her month. She wished that her friends could come along, but she didn’t want to bother them; they probably had important things to do in the morning and needed their sleep. As she drew closer to Ponyville Zoo she savoured the night air and admired the half moon; Princess Luna had done an excellent job tonight.
But of course, what was a visit to the zoo without all the proper items? She turned to Angel, who always accompanied her on her trips. He laid down the large duffel bag he was dragging and unzipped it.
She nodded at him and whispered, “Okay, Angel, Twilight always says we should double check everything before doing anything, so let’s go over the checklist one last time. Snacks?” Angel drew out several baggies containing fish, vegetables, and other food for animals. “Check. Water?” Angel held up some bottles of water. “Check. Flashlights?” He took out two flashlights. “Check. Nets and ropes?” He laid the various nets and ropes at her hooves. “Check. Ski masks and gloves?” Angel had already donned his and handed Fluttershy hers. “Check. Black paint?” Angel was ahead of Fluttershy this time, and was already painting over the mare’s cutie mark. “Check. Chloroform, rags, and tranquilizers?” Angel held up the bottle in one paw and the unsoaked rags in the other, nodding to the blowgun and darts still in the bag.
“Alright, I think that’s everything!” Fluttershy said, donning her mask. “Now remember, Angel, the seals and sea otters like being around water so we’ll liberate those last. The servals before that, and the monkeys before that. We’ll do the treefrogs and harpy eagles first, okay?” Angel nodded, looking around to see if they were being watched. He knew the zoo had horrendous security, but he was always nervous before a run. So many things could go wrong, but Fluttershy was not one to be dissuaded; she had already put on her gloves and was holding her flashlight in her mouth, softly humming a cheerful tune. He shrugged, packed up the bag, and dragged it with him after Fluttershy as she flew toward the zoo.
Breaking in was easy enough; just had to fly over the gate. Getting out would be more difficult given the chain and padlock around the front gate. Angel, at least, had the sense to bring the bolt cutters, which Fluttershy thanked him for. He stood lookout as Fluttershy cut the chain with a snap and clang which seemed to be louder than usual against the night’s silence and Angel’s already jumpy nerves. Fortunately, nopony came in those tense few seconds. Angel breathed a sigh of relief.
“Come on, Angel, we have to be quick,” Fluttershy whispered, stowing away the bolt cutters and hovering off toward the tree frog exhibit as her diligent accomplice hopped after her. When she reached the tree frog display she tapped softly on the glass, smiling. “There, there, you poor dears, all cooped up in that itty-bitty case,” she whispered as she flew over the display and began scooping up the few frogs (she was glad she remembered the gloves this time), “Auntie Fluttershy’s gonna take you someplace where you can hop around to your widdle hearts’ content.”
Angel rolled his eyes--the cottage was large but not that large, and he didn’t want a repeat of the last time they tried to ship a container of exotic fauna to Zebabwae (he still had nightmares about trying to lure the hyenas into the box with himself as the bait)--but that was neither here nor there. Fluttershy laid the frogs down on the cobblestone outside of the container, whispering “Come along now, we have to free some more of your friends,” and they hopped after the mare obediently. Angel could never understand how she did it.
The rest of the night proceeded according to plan. The flying squirrels put up little resistance and the dingoes were easily lured with the dog biscuits and fish, although the servals had to be darted before they could try to make Angel a hoppy late-night snack. Little by little, the “liberated” menagerie grew. The animals followed obediently behind Fluttershy as if she was truly leading them to a promised land, with the exception of the unconscious servals, which Fluttershy dragged along.
Angel was edging around the seal pool when he heard hoofsteps. He turned to Fluttershy and held up a paw for her to stop, then peeked around the corner. Sure enough, a late-night zookeeper was making his rounds and drawing closer to them. Angel turned back and motioned for Fluttershy to go around the cages away from him, waving his forelegs in the pattern used to signal emergency plan 9C. Fluttershy wordlessly nodded, mouthing, “I’ll be right back,” to the group of animals, and darted around the cage.
Angel took a deep breath and waited. Right when the zookeeper was about to round the corner, he hopped out. The earth pony zookeeper blinked, and looked down at Angel. “Now how in the world did you escape and find that get-up?” he said, scratching his head. “Well, don’t worry little guy, we’ll have you...”
The zookeeper trailed off as he noticed the mass of animals behind Angel--frogs and birds and cats and monkeys and just about everything else. “What in Celes-” was all he could manage before he was grabbed from behind and a hoof holding a damp rag covered his muzzle. He only struggled for a second before his consciousness faded and his body fell limp.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Zookeeper,” Fluttershy whispered as she gently laid the unconscious pony on the ground, “But these animals need me. I’m sure you’ll understand. Just get some rest now.” She dragged the pony away and hid him behind some shrubbery. She nodded to Angel and flew over to begin leading the animals once more. Getting the seals and sea otters proved to be slightly slippery but none too difficult, and with their checklist completed, the pegasus and rabbit corralled all the animals to the front gate.
“Now let’s get you all home nice and quick into your new beds,” said Fluttershy as she led the exodus through the night. “You all must be very tired. Don’t worry, you have a much better home now.”
“Thanks for lettin’ us use your place for tryin’ our hooves at bein’ pet groomers, Fluttershy!” Applebloom said, covered head to hoof in stray dog hair in Fluttershy’s living room.
Sweetie Belle nodded, brush in mouth, while Scootaloo waved around a pair of shears just a tad too freely. “Yeah, you always have the coolest collections of animals!” she said.
Fluttershy shook her head, eying those shears with apprehension. “Oh, it’s no problem girls, I--I’m sorry, Scootaloo, could you put those down please? Thank you--I just like helping animals is all.”
“A whole lotta animals,” Applebloom said, trying and failing to shake some of the stray hair off of her coat. “Ah ain’t ever seen somepony with so many; it’s like yer house’s a zoo!”
Sweetie Belle spat out her brush. “Oh hey, did you guys read the news today? Apparently, somepony broke into the zoo last night and-”
“So, who wants cookies? I have cookies in the kitchen. Why don’t you girls have some cookies? They’re chocolate chip!”
