It’s a peaceful day at Fluttershy’s animal sanctuary. Otters splash in the river, alligators bask in the afternoon sun, and branches gently rustle as you gingerly lift a bird’s nest from its perch.
“You’re sure your animal friends don’t mind our… inspection?” Caramel inquires as she examines the fibers of the nest.
“No, I explained the situation to them.” Fluttershy calls from a nearby tree. “They don’t mind as long as you don’t break their nests while you’re looking for this ‘Page of Fate’. And it does sound like an important sort of mission.”
“Yeah, really important.” Caramel says. “That’s why we want to check every possible place for these missing Pages. After all,” she adds in an undertone. “I’ve seen a lot of birds stealing string and paper and stuff to build their nests.”
“Yes, they told me that it adds a nice cushion for…” Fluttershy’s voice trails off, and her eyes seem to unfocus for a moment.
“Fluttershy? Are you okay?” Caramel calls out.
“I… I don’t know.” Fluttershy says, rubbing her eye with a hoof. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy, I thought I saw - oh!” Suddenly, Fluttershy’s entire body glows with a soft yellow light, and she tumbles out of the tree in surprise. In a flash, you and Caramel rush forward, barely catching Fluttershy before she hits the ground.
“What-what is this?” Fluttershy gasps, but even as you watch, you and Caramel begin to glow as well. All around you, the sanctuary shifts and morphs; trees become lampposts, the grass becomes a brick road, and the scent of sweet wildflowers gives way to a tangy salt spray. And as soon as it begins, the radiant glow vanishes, and you find yourselves standing on the edge of a bustling coastal city.
“What in the world?” Caramel whispers, glancing around in shock. And you find yourself wondering the same thing; this city is completely unfamiliar, but the presence of earth ponies in the distance suggests that you’re still in Equestria.
“Oh goodness, where are we?” Fluttershy says as she climbs to her hooves. “Do you think this has something to do with that ‘Page of Fate’ you were looking for?”
“Must be.” Caramel agrees. “But where did it take us? And why?” Just then, an apple core flies through the air and hits you squarely on the head. You turn to see a garbage can spewing its contents all over the street, and over the commotion, you hear a soft chattering noise.
“Goodness!” Fluttershy stands up and runs over to investigate the can. “Excuse me, could you please stop making a mess?” Immediately, the trash stops spewing forth, and a raccoon peeks its face out. At least, it looks like a raccoon, but with a unicorn’s horn on its brow.
The raccoonicorn glares at Fluttershy, chattering and shaking his paw in her face.
“Oh, I’m sorry to interrupt your… work,” Fluttershy apologizes. “But if you need food, I could help you find some nice berries or-!” The raccoonicorn chatters more insistently.
“You’re not hungry? You’re… protesting?” Fluttershy furrows her brow, as you and Caramel hang on every word. “Because Hitch won’t meet your demands?” She glances at you, but you can’t make any more sense of it than she can. “But who is ‘Hitch’?” The racconicorn snorts and points down the street, where a stallion is busy scooping litter into a can.
“Oh, well… thank you.” Fluttershy nods to you, and leads you and Caramel down the main street. It’s a curious town, with tall geometric buildings on one side, and an open ocean on the other. Is this what coastal cities in Equestria look like?
Caramel weaves past banana peels and old cups, and walks up to the litter-picking stallion.
“Um, excuse me? Are you ‘Hitch’?” The stallion turns and glances at you curiously.
“Oh, hi there!” He sighs. “Yeah, I’m Sheriff Hitch. Welcome to Maretime Bay!”
“Well, um…” Fluttershy shuffles her hooves nervously. “We heard that you were having trouble with these, um, raccoonicorns, and we were wondering if we could help.” Hitch’s face lights up immediately.
“Oh yeah, totally!” He cheers. “You must have seen my notice!” You, Caramel and Fluttershy exchange glances.
“Your… notice?” Caramel asks.
“Yeah, I hung it outside the police station. You can’t miss it.” Hitch explains, gesturing toward a nearby building.
Curiously, you walk over to the crudely drawn poster and read:
ANIMAL EXPERT WANTED!
Urgent need for ponies skilled in taming rowdy animals
To help deal with racconicorn infestation!
See Sherriff Hitch for details.
As you finish reading the message, you take a closer look at the paper, which seems to glow slightly. Suddenly, you realize that it’s the missing Page of Fate! Well, that explains how you got to Maretime Bay…
Immediately, you run back to Hitch and ask where he found the ‘paper’.
“Huh? Oh, I just found it on my desk.” Hitch says with a shrug. “I know it’s kind of dirty, but I was in a hurry.” You and Caramel glance at each other, and nod.
“Well, if we help you with the racconicorns,” Caramel suggests, “Can we keep the poster?”
“Uh… sure.” Hitch says, a little confused. “So, do you have any special animal-handling skills?”
“Well, I can talk to animals.” Fluttershy says. “I get along with them quite well, actually.”
“Yeah, and if that doesn’t work, you have your Stare.” adds Caramel. “She just glares at misbehaving animals, and they obey her.” Hitch looks at Fluttershy with a renewed interest.
“An animal-taming stare, huh? That sounds perfect! Do you think you could-?”
“No no, I’m sorry, but I don’t use the Stare except for emergencies.” Fluttershy cuts in. She turns to watch a group of raccoonicorns marching past, chanting in some sort of squeaky protest. “But um, maybe we could just try talking to the racconicorns? I’m sure we can find a compromise.”
“Nah, I tried that already.” Hitch sighs. When you look confused, he continues, “Oh, I can talk to animals too. But they won’t listen to me! I’ve told them time and time again that they can’t get what they want by throwing garbage all over the place.” Fluttershy frowns at the racconicorn mob.
“Well, I can understand that.” She says. “I’ve dealt with a lot of misbehaving animals, too. But sometimes you need to be the first to extend a friendly hoof.” She walks over to the racconicorns, and starts up a friendly conversation.
“Agh, no, that won’t get us anywhere!” Hitch groans and charges the racconicorns, who run for cover. “Please, just use your Stare to get rid of them!”
“No, I couldn’t!” Fluttershy protests. “If you’d just give them a chance-!”
“No way! They’ve turned our city into a dump! We need to teach them a lesson!” He chases the raccoonicorns down the street, with Fluttershy in close pursuit.
Caramel looks to you, devastated.
“What do we do now?”
You frown at the lampposts and tables covered in garbage. It’s a disgusting sight… but then you look at the racconicorns. They’re just wild animals that want a space for themselves, is that so wrong?
“Wait, wait!” You call after Hitch and Fluttershy. “I have an idea!” They turn to look at you, as do the raccoonicorns.
“We need to clean up the garbage, and the racconicorns want their space. So how about this: if the racconicorns agree to clean up their mess, we’ll give them their own little park?” Fluttershy and Hitch stare at you, then at each other.
“You know… that actually makes sense.” Hitch says. “I could arrange a designated area in the park up the street. Maybe even a jungle gym!”
“And now you don’t have to clean up the streets all by yourself!” Fluttershy added. “You see, Hitch, you can talk to animals, but it’s just as important to understand them.”
“Yeah… I guess I got a little carried away.” Hitch sighs. “I’m sorry, guys. Can you ever forgive me?” The racconicorns looked at each other, then back at Hitch, and nod. Then they run off, returning the litter to its cans. One of them turns to Hitch, chattering brightly.
“A swing? And a bridge?” Hitch muses. “Sure thing, buddy. Hold on, let me get my notebook.” You, Caramel and Fluttershy follow Hitch back to the station.
“Oh hey, can’t forget this!” He pulls the poster off the wall and holds it out to Caramel. “Thanks for your help, everypony. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Well, just remember to lead with kindness.” Fluttershy smiles as Caramel grasps the Page. The ‘animal handler’ text vanishes, and in a flash, the three of you are returned to Fluttershy’s sanctuary.
“Well, I’m glad we could settle that peacefully.” Fluttershy says.
“And we got the Page back!” Caramel chimes in. “Thanks for your help.” Fluttershy smiles as a trio of sparrows land on her head.
“Well, if there’s ever an animal in need, you know who to call.”
You look around you, at the once-beautiful city littered with orange peels, grease stains and candy wrappers. This kind of behavior can’t continue.
You and Caramel run after Hitch and Fluttershy, and call for them to stop.
“Fluttershy, I know you mean well,” You say. “But Hitch is right. If this keeps up, ponies might get hurt or sick with all this garbage in the streets. We need to send the racconicorns away.” Fluttershy frowns at you, then at Caramel, and knows that she’s been outvoted.
“O-okay.” She sighs. “I’ll go and deal with them. Ahem, excuse me?” The racconicorns look at her curiously. “Could you all gather around? I need to… show you something.” The racconicorns eagerly surround her, and with a reluctant sigh, Fluttershy unleashes her Stare.
You feel a chill down your spine as the racconicorns shriek and cower in Fluttershy’s presence.
“Wow… that’s amazing!” Hitch chuckles as the frightened racconicorns turn and run to the edge of town. “They won’t be coming back for a long time!”
“No… they won’t.” Fluttershy sighs, wiping a tear away.
“Well, a deal’s a deal.” Hitch trots over to the station and pulls the poster off the wall. “Here’s your poster. Thanks for your help!”
“Our pleasure, Sheriff.” Caramel says. “Good luck with the cleanup effort.”
“It’s fine, I have friends who can help.”
As he passes the poster to Caramel, the text evaporates from the Page, and the familiar ‘morphing scenery’ sensation overtakes you. In an instant, you, Caramel and Fluttershy are back at the sanctuary with the Page in hoof.
“Well, I’m glad that’s over.” Caramel sighs, and smiles at you. “Thanks for helping to settle that argument, and getting the Page back. And Fluttershy…” She turns to Fluttershy, who looks crushed.
“Those poor little animals…” She sighs.
“But Fluttershy, they were destroying the city-!”
“I… I need a little time alone, please.” Fluttershy turns and steps into her office, closing the door.
“I’m sure she’ll be okay.” Caramel says with a frown. “Sometimes doing the right thing means making tough choices.”
