Fluttershy couldn’t imagine what it felt like to be more relaxed and at peace than she was at this very moment.
That often rang true for her when she was doing what she loved most. Amidst the cacophony of critters speaking to her, requesting her aid, and otherwise making their presence known, the quiet pegasus was quite the outlier, but that didn’t change her appreciation of her environment one drop. In fact, it only enhanced it. This kind of hustle and bustle from ponies likely would have sent her fleeing for privacy, or at the very least left her quieter and more reserved than usual. Around animals, though? She couldn’t even dream up the concept of a greater joy.
Pink mane and tail billowed in the afternoon breeze as Fluttershy did her rounds, diligently checking up on each one of her charges. Hortence the gopher had just returned with food for her family, and the caretaker was quick to tend to the minor injury she’d sustained from falling off of a branch. Lucky the fox was still reeling from a run-in with a burr patch, and Fluttershy’s tender care in brushing his tail out matched the care with which she tended to her own mane and tail. And of course Rhea the rabbit was trying to get out of bed. She always was the busy type. But Fluttershy knew she needed her rest after delivering such a large fluffle of kits. Her tone with the bunny was insistent, but never stern, and it didn’t take much convincing to get Rhea to rest once more. Her husband Ryan could easily scavenge for the whole family, after all.
Every single animal had a need, each unique to its owner. Many could take care of their need themselves. For those that couldn’t, or even those that could but didn’t mind a helping hoof, Fluttershy was there. It was her life’s purpose to make every critter happy, and she was always more than happy to do so.
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Every single animal had a need, each unique to its owner. Some were better at taking care of their own need than Fluttershy could possibly be, despite her best efforts. This held particularly true for animals whose needs Fluttershy was unaware of, and one such animal had her eye on Fluttershy from the moment she had started her rounds.
The snake moved carefully through the bushes, doing her best to make as little sound as possible. Of course, with all the sound that Fluttershy’s animal friends tended to make, it wasn’t terribly hard to blend in and remain unnoticed, even to an ear as sharp as hers. A distracted target was the best target of all, and Fluttershy was absolutely distracted. All that remained was the wait for her to end up alone. Easier said than done, considering the number of animals around, but it would happen, and when it did, Anika would be there.
She was nearly done now. She would be alone soon enough.
~~~~~~~~~~
She was nearly done now. She would be alone soon enough.
Not that Fluttershy was especially desperate to be alone. She truly did love caring for her animal friends. Everypony, however, needed their time to themselves, even endlessly patient and caring ponies like her. As such, Fluttershy was quite happy to trod off into the forest once her rounds were finished. Every day, weather permitting, her trot down between the trees would taper off from the beckon call of caretaking and ease its way into a leisurely stroll down the forest path. She valued this time, peaceful in an entirely different way from the serenity she felt when engaged in her passion but peaceful all the same. The sounds of birdsong disappeared into the distance as she isolated herself from everything and anything, her own quiet singing now the only soundtrack to her tranquility.
So lost was Fluttershy in her own serenity that she didn’t even notice the slight rustling in the bushes just ahead. Anika tended to be a silent hunter, but she was so eager to approach her latest target that she had allowed herself to be careless. Thankfully for her, the pegasus remained unaware. The pegasus that Anika had spied from afar for a few days now was almost within reach. Just a few more hoofsteps and she would be close enough for Anika to reveal herself. The serpent wove her head up through the tougher branches of the bush, tongue darting out in anticipation. Then, when Fluttershy was just close enough, she poked her head out from the bushes.
“Oh!” Fluttershy exclaimed, taken aback by the sudden appearance. She shook her head out, taking a breath to let her heartbeat return to normal. “You startled me! Um, not that I’m scared of snakes...I would never offend your kind like that. You just came out of nowhere!” Now that the initial shock had worn off, Fluttershy found herself quickly falling back into a calm state of mind. Her love of animals extended to all types of animals, and she was no stranger to snakes. Granted, she had never met a snake quite like Anika, but she certainly didn’t know that just yet.
Anika smiled at the pony’s tone. Even when surprised, she sounded as sweet as she looked. Anika gave a quiet hiss in response.
“Oh, I’m glad I didn’t upset you,” Fluttershy said with a smile. “I’ve never seen you around these parts...what should I call you?”
In any other situation, Anika would have been shocked to realize that a pony could understand the nuances of snake language. She, however, was quite well-acquainted with Fluttershy’s abilities, having kept an eye on her as any hunter would with their target. Her response was lighthearted as the pegasus seemed to be. It was important to keep the pleasantries coming. They kept the target unaware. Not that her pleasantness was disingenuous in the slightest; she was really quite fond of her soon-to-be catch.
“Anika,” Fluttershy stated, nodding knowingly. “Oh, what a wonderful name! It really rolls off the tongue.” She gave a demure nod, one hoof coming up to brush her mane out from where it fell in front of her eyes. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Anika. My name’s Fluttershy.”
Anika knew this already, of course. She was quite the smart one. She briefly considered playing dumb, but quickly decided that there was no need. Fluttershy was a kind soul when it came to animals, as Anika had seen in her pursuits. Unless she was given a reason to distrust an animal, she most likely wouldn’t do so. Her trust would be rewarded with honesty–at least for the time being.
“Oh, you know me already?” Fluttershy asked. “Goodness...I guess you must have heard of me from a friend?”
The snake chose to play coy with her response. Trust was important, but her playful nature couldn’t help but rear its head. She opted to slowly sway her head from side to side as she responded. Such actions would lull her target and put her at ease, even more so than she already was.
“Oh, stop it,” Fluttershy said, giggling quietly as a slight blush colored her cheeks. “I’m not that amazing...I just like to help animals.”
Anika nodded, keeping up her swaying as she responded and watching Fluttershy’s eyes following her motions. Some might have criticized her for laying it on a bit thick with her responses, but one couldn’t argue with the results they were getting.
“Oh, you need my help?” Fluttershy asked. “Of course! What can I help you with?”
Anika gave another nod, smiling a bright smile. This one was so polite and friendly...she probably wouldn’t even need to convince her of anything. Granted, she was going to anyway, if for nothing else than a safety net, but she seemed so eager to please that there was a good chance she would offer herself up without any other type of influence. The snake motioned her head towards the nearest tree, then moved towards it, starting to wrap herself around it and ascend.
“Oh, you need my help in the tree?” Fluttershy asked, watching the snake as she made her way up. “Of course!” The pegasus hopped up into the air, gently flapping to meet Anika’s altitude. Her hooves touched down on the branch that her new friend had stopped at, glancing left and right to see what kind of issue there was to take care of up here. Anika looked left and right as well, for entirely different reasons. She didn’t want anybody around to interrupt what was about to happen.
“Um, Anika?” Fluttershy asked, taking a step forward on the branch. “What was it that you needed my help with up here? Because, um, I’m not seeing any...oh!”
Anika had managed to startle the timid pegasus once again, suddenly shifting so that her head popped right into Fluttershy’s sights. Her tongue darted from her mouth once more, her proximity to her new friend resulting in said tongue dancing on her muzzle.
“Oh my, that tickles!” Fluttershy said, giggling softly. “What a playful snake you are!”
Anika began to bob her head from side to side again, grinning as she watched Fluttershy’s eyes follow her movements once more. Fluttershy had no idea just how playful Anika could be, but she would soon. Very soon, in fact, for the two were alone, and it was time to begin. The snake let out a quiet hiss. She usually didn’t bother with verbal requests when she found her victims, but then again, she usually didn’t find a pony who could understand them.
“There’s something in your eye?” Fluttershy asked. “Oh, you poor thing. Let me see.”
Anika smiled warmly as the naive pegasus leaned in to inspect her, watching as she fell right into her trap. As soon as Fluttershy’s gaze was focused squarely on her eyes, she began to concentrate. Slowly, her purple eyes began to change color, their typical hue giving way to vibrant rainbow colors, concentric circles of which began to slowly pulsate and draw the pony’s attention further.
Fluttershy’s head tilted as she began to observe the strange colorations in Anika’s eyes. She was certain that Anika’s eyes were purple when she first looked at them, but the sudden emergence of a twinge of green took her by surprise. She watched that green curiously, only to become further confused as the yellow kicked in. The pegasus focused on those eyes, finding herself smiling blankly as she put all her effort into following the colors. Something about those colors was just so entrancing...her head bobbed along with Anika’s as she sat on the branch and paid attention to the changing colors, not wanting to miss a single one.
And then something clicked in a Fluttershy’s mind, moments before it might have faded away. She’d heard of snakes doing this before, and she’d walked right into it.
A sense of fear began to well in Fluttershy’s mind as she tried to look away from Anika’s eyes. She had fallen so completely for the snake’s trap, and she had to do what she could to fight it, even though she couldn’t manage to look away. She knew what happened to those who succumbed to the snake’s hypnotic gaze, and she had no intentions of the same happening to her.
“N-no...please...” Fluttershy muttered, barely having the willpower to do even that.
Anika tilted her head slightly, watching Fluttershy unconsciously tilt hers the same way. She was in quite deep, but yet she was still able to speak and resist. Anika questioned her resistance, mildly concerned about the pegasus’s mindset.
“I...d-don’t want to be...eaten...” Fluttershy barely sputtered. The colors were invading her mind even more now, and Fluttershy found herself thankful for her experiences with her friends, for they had helped her build her willpower quite well. If it wasn’t for them, she would surely be blank by now.
Anika took this response in with surprise, then grinned a playful little grin. So that was her concern. She should have realized, come to think of it. She kept the colors going, but lowered their intensity, giving a reassuring little hiss to her catch.
“You’re...n-not going to eat me?” Fluttershy droned. The effects of the hypnosis still persisted, but she could feel a bit of her awareness returning to her. “D...do you promise?”
Anika reassured her with a shake of her head, as the tip of her tail moved up to brush Fluttershy’s cheek. The poor thing was terrified, and she couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. She gently insisted to her catch that no harm would come to her if she gave in. It was easy to convince someone of something when you truly meant it, after all.
“O-oh...” Fluttershy responded, still quite dazed from the whole experience. She found herself reaching for the tip of Anika’s tail. Her smooth scales felt so nice and cool...surely a kind and comfy snake like her wouldn’t harm a hair on her head. “A-alright...if you promise...”
And then Fluttershy stopped fighting the colors. Still clutching onto the tail like a security blanket, she gave herself to the colors, letting them fill her eyes as well.
Anika smiled a gentle smile as Fluttershy succumbed to her influence, the fight in her giving way to a calm acceptance and subservience. The way Fluttershy gave her trust so easily to her...Anika couldn’t help but think about how bad she would have felt if she was lying.
Now that Fluttershy's mind belonged to Anika, it was time to take her to her favorite place. Having anchored herself quite effectively to the tree’s branches, Anika rose her head, gently commanding her charge to stand. Fluttershy did so without question, eyes drifting shut as she smiled vacantly. Anika rewarded the pony by petting her head gently with the tip of her tail, and Fluttershy responded as if it was the nicest thing anyone had ever done. Anika regretted her general kindness for the briefest of moments. A more malevolent snake would have wanted to keep a soft, sweet pony like this as a pet. Not Anika, though. She would make a nice pet for a few hours, and then she would release her. If she chose to return to her...well, that was completely her choice.
Anika put these thoughts out of her mind for the moment, starting to advance up the tree branch and beckoning for her charge to follow with a sweet little snake song that only other snakes and Fluttershy could understand. She watched with delight as the hypnotized pegasus walked forward to follow her. Fluttershy was completely asleep, motions driven solely by the power Anika held over her for the time being. The sleepwalking pony followed the snake song obediently, each hoofstep moving her closer and closer to the tip of the branch.
Anika watched Fluttershy’s approach carefully, repositioning herself appropriately to prepare for what was to come. Without a care in the world, not even trying to unfurl her wings, Fluttershy stepped off of the branch. Gravity did what it always did, and the pegasus began to fall, but a length of Anika’s body was right there to catch her mere feet from her dropping point. The pegasus landed belly first on Anika with a soft flump, and the snake couldn’t help but smile. She was so soft! Exactly as soft as she looked.
For her part, Fluttershy seemed entirely unbothered, neither by her fall nor by her new predicament. The pony merely smiled peacefully as she rested her chin on the smooth scales of the snake. This was where Anika wanted her, and she wanted nothing more than to do what Anika wanted at the moment.
Anika regarded her new friend with glee as she slumbered, the tip of her tail gently stroking from the top of Fluttershy’s forehead down to the small of her back. The sleeping pony cooed quietly at her tender treatment, and Anika sighed a happy sigh. Unable to restrict herself any longer, she carefully looped her tail up and around the pony’s rear, then around her own body. Another loop came higher up, and another coil after that. Bit by bit, she ensconced her new friend in coils, until only her head popped out from the maze of scales. Her hold on Fluttershy was possessive, but not overly tight. Tight enough to hold her close and enjoy the softness of her coat, but loose enough to ensure her comfort. All the while, Fluttershy slept, peaceful and happy as could be.
Anika leaned forward, her tongue darting lightly along Fluttershy’s forehead. She had stalked her target from a distance for a while, and she finally had caught her. As Anika rested her head on top of one of the coils that held Fluttershy to her, she couldn’t help but let out another happy sigh. She would let Fluttershy go eventually, of course. But that could wait. For now, she and her temporary pony pet could use a nice sleep.
