Fluttershy's Nature Show

The camera clicks on with a good view of Fluttershy's face. She's wearing a green fibrous robe held on with twisted ropes that have been cut and frayed at the ends. She's also standing in a really weird-looking place, with big, light green trees around her. "Is it on? Can you see me?" She asks. Without any kind of answer, she retracts her hands from the camera. "Oh, good. I was afraid I'd messed something up. And you said the camera could hear both of us?" There's another pause. "I remember. The red wire. So, are we ready?" Her face shows some concern, followed by understanding. "I see. I'll wait, then."

Fluttershy turns and walks away from the camera. There's barely any back to her outfit, it's just a quickly thrown-together cloak of decency from some kind of fibres hastily woven together. As there is no back, it's obvious that she isn't wearing a bra underneath. Her skirt is made in such a way that there are slits along her thighs, but they're also pleated to keep them from kicking up. The dress looked stiff and starchy.

She sits down on a large boulder and rubs her hands together, waiting for something to happen. As she sits there, the background comes more into focus, and the trees start to look really weird. One, which she had presumably cut down, is leaning over in a stack of sheets, shaved down into little strips, and parts of it are woven into cloth and rope, which she had presumably used to make her clothing. There is a little flint knife nearby, which, while she may have made it, she had almost definitely used it.

"Did that do anything?" asks Spike.

There's a brief pause, then Twilight speaks up. "I think so. Can you still hear me, Fluttershy?"

"Loud and clear," she answers. "Ready now?"

"Ready."

Fluttershy hops up and moves in front of the camera. "You can move on your own, right?"

The camera tilts right, then left, then returns to the center. It then moves up and down. It finishes by moving forward and backward. "Full remote camera control," confirms Twilight. "Love the dress, by the way. I was afraid we'd have to wrap you in electrical tape, or something."

"That won't be necessary," smiles Fluttershy. She smooths out the front of her dress and takes a deep breath. "Today, the critters we have come to look at are neither endangered nor exotic, but something you can easily find in your own backyard. As evidence of that, we're actually in Canterlot right now. Twilight's parents have graciously offered us their backyard for this, and we offer them our heartfelt thanks.

"Now, you may be looking around and saying, 'This doesn't look like my backyard.' It probably does, you just have to know how to look at it properly." She places her hand against a thin-looking tree, and lightly pushes. It shakes a bit. "This is a clover." She pulls herself up the stalk a bit, until it sags down to show the white flower petal caldera on top. "You've probably seen thousands in your yard, so you can believe that the creatures you see today are probably just outside your house, or at least in a nearby park."

As she lets the clover swing back up, the camera follows it. The canopy of the forest they're in is covered in cloverleaves, with shoots of grass rising up above it.

The camera pans back down to Fluttershy. "Right now, thanks to a spell from Twilight, I'm roughly the size of a cricket. However, I've been given a few extra protections, as well, as this tiny world can be a little bit dangerous when you're this small."

A low rumbling comes from off to the left, and Fluttershy points to it. "Look, look!" she urges, as the camera turns. A ladybug makes its way across the ground, its legs clicking and creaking as it moves. It stops to look at Fluttershy and the camera, then continues on its way, not feeling endangered.

"So that was a seven-spotted Ladybird Beetle," grins Fluttershy excitedly. "They can be found all over the place. The adults, everyone knows well, though they sometimes have trouble telling the difference with the different types."

"Do you have a favourite?"

"I think the Steelblue Ladybug is the cutest. They're super shiny with lots of armour. Very beautiful to look at, and not just because you can see yourself in their shells, which you totally can. But they look almost nothing like what most of us think of when someone says 'ladybug,' though, so they're often misclassified as being just a random beetle."

Fluttershy leads them further into the grass. "For those of you wondering at home, Twilight isn't down here with me, but upstairs in her old bedroom, monitoring me remotely with a mobile camera. She's perfectly safe."

"I'm here, too," interjects Spike. "Just helping out."

"Also, the reason the grass is so tall is because of today," adds Twilight. "I asked my parents not to mow the lawn until we were done, so as not to cause unnecessary harm to the wildlife just before we came in."

"I think we might want to cut that part out during editing," scowls Fluttershy. "It's good that we don't show the bugs being eviscerated, but can we just not talk about it, either? Kind of a gruesome image you're putting into the kids' heads."

There is a scuttling sound that had been drowned out by Fluttershy's voice, quiet as it had been, but now it's clear as day. Fluttershy turns and moves closer, and there's a line of ants moving back and forth in a small, shallow chasm.

"Are those carpenter ants?!" shouts Twilight. "Those are dangerous to my parents' house!"

"Calm down," instructed Fluttershy. "I'm pretty sure these aren't carpenter ants, but just to be sure, let's see where this line is going." She waves for the camera to follow her and makes her way down the line, following the trail until it reaches a location with matted down grass. What's holding it down is half of an oatmeal cookie, which the ants are slowly tearing apart.

"Just as I thought," nods Fluttershy. "If these were carpenter ants, they would be unable to resist digging into your deck. Instead, they move right past it for the oatmeal cookie. You see? Completely harmless sugar ants. You can tell by the head shape."