The day of fun at the beach was coming to a close. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy all packed up their things, and started heading for their respective homes. Until Fluttershy felt a twinge in the geode around her neck.
“Wait,” Fluttershy said. “Something’s happening nearby.”
She looked around the beach for any kind of distress, but saw absolutely nothing troubling.
It was Rainbow Dash who noticed anything that was out of place. A short distance from the surf, a small, green tortoise very dear to her heart was slowly walking on the shoreline.
“Tank!” She called to her pet.
The tortoise only glanced over to Dash, not even stopping his slow, steady pace along the shore.
“What in tarnation’s that critter doin’ here?” Applejack wondered.
“How did he get here on those stubby legs?” Rarity added.
Rather than wonder about it, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash jogged over to Tank.
“What are you doing here, little buddy,” Dash asked, not actually expecting an answer.
Tank looked back to Dash, and slowly motioned with his head in the direction he was walking.
“I think he wants us to follow him,” Fluttershy said.
Never one to doubt Fluttershy’s instinctive ability with animals, Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack all followed the tortoise down the beach, the sun setting considerably after only fifty feet.
“Darling, isn’t there a way to make him move faster. I must have aged at least two more years in this sun,” Rarity said, as she applied another layer of sunscreen to her arms and legs.
“It can’t be much further now. Can it, Tank?” Fluttershy asked.
Tank didn’t answer. Just kept plodding ahead.
“Well, wherever he’s takin’ us, this little cattle drive’s gotta end. If I get home after dark, my granny’s gonna go hog wild,” Applejack said.
Fortunately, Tank found a spot in the sand and sat down. After that: nothing.
“Okay, so now what?” Dash wondered.
Tank looked up at Dash, and for a moment Dash swore he was smiling. Whatever it was about, not even Fluttershy could know. Until the sand in front of Tank started to shift.
Something was burrowing it’s way up from the sand. Something very small, with a tiny head, tiny flippers and and a very tiny shell. And it was followed by several others.
“Oh! Baby sea turtles!” Fluttershy gushed at the sight of the adorable marine reptiles.
“Well, it looks like we know what Tank’s doing here. He’s the babysitter,” Rarity giggled.
“Babysitter? I wouldn’t be surprised if this little stud’s the dad of the whole bunch!” Dash proudly proclaimed, as she patted Tank on his shell.
“Actually, Rainbow Dash: Tank can’t be the daddy turtle,” Fluttershy corrected.
“Oh yeah? Why not? You think those water turtles are too good for my little man?”
“No. It’s just that, those are sea turtles, and Tank is a tortoise.”
“So?”
Applejack was all ready to give a brief explanation of the birds and the bees, until she noticed Tank was up to something.
“Hey. Take a look at that,” Applejack said, pointing to the sand.
The others looked, and saw Tank bury himself in the sand so that only his head and the top of his shell was visible. After that, he plowed through the sand, into the mud and through the surf, creating a trail that the baby turtles all followed.
A wave crashed over Tank, and Rainbow Dash picked him up. Once he was safe, she turned him so that he could watch all of the baby turtle flop through the channel he had dug, and let themselves get washed out to sea.
The girls all watched in silence, until the last turtle was safely in the water. Each of them felt a flutter in their hearts. The perfect ending for the day of fun they had.
Seeing Tank look after those babies had given Rainbow Dash an idea.
“Fluttershy, I want to something for Tank,” she said. “Can we go to the pet store and buy a girl turtle? You know, so he has a friend.”
Fluttershy, Applejack, and especially Rarity gasped.
“You’re willing to buy another pet?” Fluttershy asked.
“Sure I am. After watching Tank take care of those babies, I know he deserves to have some of his own. I think he’d really like being a dad. Wouldn’t you, buddy,” Dash said, as she rubbed Tank’s shell.
Tank smiled again. They didn’t even need to ask Fluttershy to know that he was saying ‘yes.’
“Darling, it’s a marvelous idea! Hurry. Let’s all get changed, and go for the nearest pet store before it closes!” Rarity said.
At the local pet store, four young girls burst in, one carrying her beloved pet tortoise.
“We’re not too late! We still have twenty minutes to closin’!” Applejack proclaimed
“We would have been ready earlier, if Rarity would have stopped fussing over her hat!” Dash said.
“Well, pardon me, Rainbow Dash. I happen to think that the correct hat in a nighttime setting is the perfect way to accentuate one’s hair,” Rarity retorted.
Fluttershy wasn’t listening to her friends. She was already plastering her face against every cage, aquarium and terrarium in the room to look at the animals.
“No. I need to focus on finding a mate for Tank,” Fluttershy reminded herself.
She walked over to the reptile department, and looked through the glass terrariums at all tortoises that were up for adoption.
“Hey! Fluttershy found something,” Rainbow Dash said.
She and the others dashed over to the wall of large terrariums, where Dash held Tank up to get a look.
“Dang. Get a look at all them tortoises,” Applejack said.
“It seems our scaly bachelor might have a hard time choosing,” Rarity added.
“See that, Tank? One of them is going to be your new friend,” Dash said. She held him up to one of the terrariums. “What do you think of that one?”
Tank looked into the glass terrarium, and saw a lady tortoise sitting idly by her food dish. When she looked up and saw Tank, she (quicker than any tortoise should move) took an enormous bite of her lettuce, and hid the dish behind her back.
After the display, Tank recoiled and shook his head.
“I think that’s one’s too stingy for him,” Fluttershy said.
“Oh, certainly. After all, nobody likes a selfish prude,” Rarity added.
“Let’s look at the next girl,” Dash said.
She hovered Tank over to the next candidate, and he looked in.
Inside, there was a lady tortoise, who was covered with dust and grime. Her food and water were fresh, but the sand in her tank was unevenly turned about, with pieces of her food left in it, and the rocks in her terrarium were overturned and disorganized.
“Whew! That’s girl’s messier than a hog in a waller!” Applejack said.
Tank readily agreed, and shook his head.
“I’m with you, Tank. That one’s way too messy,” Dash said.
“Let’s try the next one,” Fluttershy said.
They moved to the next terrarium, where they saw a little lady with her head lying in the sand. When she saw Tank, her head perked up, and she blinked at him.
Tank was taken immediately by her. The lady tortoise was a sparkling blue color, with stripes down her back, and flecked with silver scales. Except for the underside of her neck, which was a pale yellow color. Truly, she was the prettiest tortoise he had ever seen.
“I think we picked a winner,” Dash said.
“And such a stylish one too,” Rarity said, noting the gorgeous coloring.
However, this candidate was not what she seemed. And it was first revealed when a flickering, forked tongue passed her lips.
“Huh?” The girls, and even Tank, said at once.
As it turned out, the shell was only a small, plastic housing, as the lady reptile in the terrarium slithered out of it, revealing herself to be a snake. She slithered to the front of the glass, and winked at Tank, before drawing a tiny heart against the glass with her nose.
“I’m sorry, but I think Tank would prefer another tortoise,” Fluttershy said to the snake.
The snake hung her head, and X-ed out the heart, before slithering back into her home.
Fluttershy looked in at the snake, wanting to comfort her, but knew that they had too little time to stall. Instead, they moved to the next terrarium. In there, they saw nothing. Just a few rocks that were laid out.
“Oh. It looks like this one’s empty,” Fluttershy said. “Let’s see who’s in the next one.”
They were ready to move on, but Tank tapped the glass with his nose.
“What’s up?” Dash wondered.
Tank looked into the terrarium, and pointed with his nose to the rocks.
One in particular stood out against the others. A blue rock that wobbled slightly in the back. A tiny head peeked out from around one of the other rocks, and quickly darted out of view.
“Oh no. You don’t need to be afraid. Come out,” Fluttershy bade the terrarium’s resident.
Her gentle coaxing seemed to work, as the tiny, blue head reappeared into view. Slowly, the rest of the creature came into view, revealing a blue-colored tortoise with a matching blue shell.
“Hello. My name’s Fluttershy,” Fluttershy introduced herself. “My friend Rainbow Dash is looking for a friend for her pet tortoise.”
The blue tortoise looked over to Rainbow Dash, and saw her holding Tank in her hands. Slow, even for a tortoise, she walked to the front of the glass, where Tank was pressing his front leg against it.
The blue tortoise looked at Tank’s leg, and slowly lifted her own and pressed it against the glass.
The girls looked on silently, until Applejack spoke up.
“What’re they sayin’?” She whispered to Fluttershy.
“Tank’s telling her about the baby turtles earlier,” Fluttershy answered.
“Yeah, that’s it. Tell her you can be a good dad,” Dash urged her pet.
“She says he sounds like a wonderful tortoise,” Fluttershy translated.
“Of course he does. What lady wouldn’t love a man who can take care of the little ones,” Rarity said.
“And now-- Oh!” Fluttershy began, but quickly stopped.
“Fluttershy? You feelin’ okay?” Applejack said.
The smile on Fluttershy’s face, and the tears in her eyes answered for her.
“He says...He says that she’s his angel,” Fluttershy stammered.
“Awwww!” The others all said.
“That’s it! We got us a winner! Tank: say hello to your new friend,” Dash proclaimed.
The blue tortoise was bought and paid for, and Dash carried both her and Tank out in a glass box.
The sun was almost down by the time they left, and they hurried back to their car. They opened the rear passenger door, and placed Tank and his new lady friend in the backseat. As soon as they were placed, Tank and his new friend scooted closer to one another, and overlapped their necks with each other.
“Oh! Look! It’s tortoise love!” Rarity said.
The girls all looked on. But, Fluttershy had one question. “So, what do you want to call Tank’s new friend?”
Dash didn’t even have to think about it. She gave her answer with no time at all, “Jet.”
“Jet? How’d ya pick that?” Applejack wondered.
“Because, by the time their anniversary comes around, I want them to be able to use a helicopter to fly!”
Everyone had a short laugh at the idea.
Today had been a very special day. It was fun. It was beautiful. It was most of all adorable. Tank’s future was going to be amazing with Jet with his younguns coming to be. And Rainbow Dash was going to see to it that they were all going to have a wonderful future together.
They all loaded into the car, and Applejack had just noticed something. “Hey, Flutters: what’s in that bag?”
Nobody else had noticed, but Fluttershy had lingered in the pet store for a moment after the others left. Now, she was holding a large, brown paper bag with tiny holes in the sides.
“This? It’s, um…” Fluttershy answered.
She opened up the top of the bag, and what came out the top was quite the surprise.
The snake that had its eyes on Tank poked her head out the top, and looked to the backseat, where she flicked her tongue in Tank’s direction.