Fluttershy's Nature Show, Season Two

"Okay, it's ready!" calls Twilight. "We're rolling."

As the camera pans up to Fluttershy, the pegasus looks just a little bit unsure. "You said that last time, too. Did you make sure there was film in the camera this time?"

"Fluttershy, sweetie, this is a digital camera. It doesn't use film, it uses digital data stored on a Secure Digital Card."

"I'm just asking. You were so frustrated when it didn't work the first four times. I just don't want to waste your time, is all."

"It's working now," grunts Twilight. "Trust me."

"I trusted you the last three times. I just worry about how upset you'll be if we end up los--"

"WERE NOT GOING TO LOSE THE FOOTAGE THIS TIME!!!"

Fluttershy nods. "Okay."

"Good. Now, where did your friends go?"

Fluttershy turned and pointed to a copse of trees. "They ran off over there when you started yelling."

Twilight sighs behind the camera and starts walking toward the trees. To her amazement, they all hop up and run away.

"What!?"

The camera lowers a bit. "You probably scared them. They're a skittish bunch. Here, let me go talk to them myself, and we'll take it from there. Why don't you check to make sure the recording is working while I bring them back over?"

The screen goes black for a few seconds, then clicks back on in a new position.

"Are we rolling?" asks Fluttershy.

"We are rolling," answers Twilight. "Our earlier discussion is even deleted, so nopony's going to know what was said."

"Oh, good," breathed Fluttershy. "I don't like ponies thinking I like to argue."

"Anyway, I'll cut this out. Go when ready."

Fluttershy takes a deep breath and places her hand on the tree. "It has always been amazing to me when animals were capable of hiding in plain sight. It's an ability that I wish I had, sometimes. Most times, actually. I'm not trying to stand out like a peacock on full display. Rather, being as invisible as a leaf mimic has always appealed to me. So when animals can disguise themselves as sticks or leaves or rocks, I always see it as a cool ability."

She turns to the tree and keeps rubbing. "Cool-looking tree, isn't it?" She smiles. "What would you think if I told you that this tree was actually home to thousands of tiny beetles that look like little green fronds? I bet some of you would believe me. Little green friends that look like little green fronds." Her face turns serious as she looks toward the camera. "Unfortunately, you've just been lied to."

As her gaze turns back to the tree, the camera zooms out, and it is revealed that the tree is changing form into some kind of deer-like structure.

"Holy shit," murmurs Twilight from behind the camera.

"Language, please," urges Fluttershy. "You can silence that part, right?"

"Yeah, but... I've never seen one of these transform before..."

Fluttershy turns back to the deer and moves her hand away from the red spot beginning to poke out of its belly, opting for his chest, instead. "This is a Cerpress. It's the closest-known relative of the Timberwolf, despite looking almost nothing alike. Only a few creatures, just shy of a dozen, can transform into trees like this. This is, of course, not counting the countless subspecies of them. Last season, we looked at all kinds of timberwolves, with the vast majority being oak and maple. We did see some juniper timberwolves, though, and those are the ones that share the most in common with the cerpress."

The cerpress tries to push against Fluttershy, not trying to move her out of the way, just trying to press himself against her. He lets out a loud bellow that causes Fluttershy to blush.

"What'd he say?" asks Twilight.

"Oh, um... I'll tell you later. When the camera is off." Wiping her face and taking a deep breath, Fluttershy composes herself. "So, let's take a moment to talk about their name. Cerpress sounds like Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of Tartauros. Well, it has nothing to do with that. You see, the Latin name for deer as a collective is "cervine," much the way horses are equine, cats are feline, and dogs are canine. You will also note that the coniferous trees they turn into are similar to that of the cypress trees. Cervine and cypress are then portmanteaued into a single word."

"I didn't even know that," snorts Twilight. "Makes sense, though..."

The deer vocalises again, and Fluttershy giggles. "Unlike their wolf-like cousins, the cerpress are very docile and not at all aggressive. Most injuries related to them are from ponies trying to fell trees and swinging at them with axes."

"Is that really common?"

"More often than not, they'll jump out of the way, but in the worst ones, it's usually just a swift kick. The greatest damage they can do is with their antlers, but that's almost always when under clear attack, and not just a passive walk-up."

As the deer vocalises once more, Fluttershy's chest starts heaving as her face turns red, and the cerpress tries to pull her in closer, wrapping one rooty, mossy hoof around one of her legs, almost like a hug.

"Uh..." Fluttershy moans, looking away from the camera. "U-unlike most d-deer, they don't... Th-they don't shed their antlers for winter. If they tried to blend into their surroundings, they'd..."

"Are you alright?" asks Twilight. "You seem to be having some issues."

"I'm f-fine," she answers, holding up her hand. "I just... Can you bring me some water?"

"The water's all in the cooler, back at the cart. That's a ten minute walk there, and another ten minutes back. That's going to be twenty minutes."

Fluttershy shifts in place. "I guess I ca-- I can keep going."

A sigh is heard from behind the camera. "I can leave the camera here so I won't have to carry the equipment. I'll just stop the recording."

The picture suddenly becomes blurry, then returns to focus on Fluttershy's face.

"Don't strain yourself, now," calls Fluttershy after her. "We have a whole week out here."

A minute or so later, the cerpress pushes Fluttershy forward, flipping up her skirt. She's not wearing any panties. He bleats out one last time as he climbs on top of her.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time," she answers back. "You smell nice, too."