Chapter 1: The Everfree Library
The forest was quiet – a little too quiet. It was a little unnerving, considering the creatures that were said to lurk in the foliage. The only sound that could be heard was the hoof steps of a very timid pegasus, slowly making her way along the roughshod path. The boughs of the trees above made it very difficult to see the forest floor, day or night. As “luck” would have it, it was currently the latter. Here and there the moonlight could be seen filtering down through the leaves, but it was still dark enough to make somepony who was not used to the forest stumble and easily lose their way. Still, Fluttershy was determined, if not a little bit scared…alright, maybe a lot bit scared…but she trudged on in her quest.
“Mr. Squiiiiggles…” she called out softly, “come out, please. I really need to take you back home before you get lost. It’s getting awfully late, and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you-” a bird’s wail echoed in the distance, piercing the otherwise silent scenery. Gulp.
Fluttershy continued her search for her lost animal. She had so many back at her cottage that it was straining to keep track of them all. But of all animals to go into the Everfree Forest, who would have thought it would be one of her slugs? She had thought it would be fairly easy to find such a slow creature, but so far she had had no luck at all. Fortunately, the little dear had been leaving a convenient slime trail that was easy enough to follow, but he was surprisingly swift. The ooze was becoming increasingly hard to see as the darkness increased, but Fluttershy had a feeling that Mr. Squiggles was close. At least, she hoped he was, because walking while having the shivers is not too easy. She knew from experience that the Everfree Forest was certainly no place for a pony, let alone a defenseless creature; dangerous monsters are known to lurk about, especially at night – manticores, timber wolves, and cockatrices to name just a few. If poor Mr. Squiggles hadn’t gone off all by his lonesome, she would have avoided the forest as if her life depended on it…and it might.
Fluttershy was able to handle herself a couple of times in the Everfree Forest, but she wasn’t so sure about tonight. Something about the forest was a little…off. She couldn’t explain it, but it seemed as though the entire wood was standing still. There was very little noise, apart from the occasional bird or twig snapping, but nothing that sounded particularly dangerous. She went into the forest expecting to hear growls and roars, and thought she might have an unfortunate meet up with a potentially dangerous monster, but so far…nothing.
Maybe I’m just getting lucky…Fluttershy thought to herself. After all, her and her friends back in Ponyville had made the trip into the Everfree Forest plenty of times to see Zecora, and they usually did not see anything then. Even so, she couldn’t shake the feeling something was going to…
“Oh!”
Fluttershy looked down at the trail she had been following, to see it had arrived at a very…questionable location. Mr. Squiggle’s slime seemed to lead up to a random tree in the forest. Fluttershy looked up at the tree, and saw that the trail stopped at the tree’s base.
“Mr. Squiggles?” Fluttershy repeated fearfully, “are you here? Can you hear me? Come out, little guy, I have a nice warm bath all ready for you back home. So please come out…” She doubted Mr. Squiggles was up the tree, but there didn’t seem to be any other place he could be, unless…
Oh, what if something got to him? He’s so slow, anything could catch up with him easily…except me, I suppose...Fluttershy looked at the ground and poked at it with her hoof sadly. She didn’t want to even think that he might be gone…Poor Mr. Squiggles…he was the bravest slug in the world...She placed one hoof at the end of the slime trail that Mr. Squiggles left. As she applied the pressure, she noticed that the ground underneath the tree was giving way a little.
“Huh?” Curiously, she pushed harder against the ground near the tree. The ground gave surprisingly little resistance to her hoof. With hope renewed in her heart, Fluttershy peered inside to see if she could make anything out, perhaps something slug-shaped? No such luck, but she did realize – with a certain degree of anxiety – that the hole she eventually made was just big enough to fit something pony-sized.
Fluttershy hesitated a bit, naturally sensing the danger of entering a mysterious hole in the ground in the middle of Everfree Forest at night. She reasoned that if the above-ground area of the forest was really, really dangerous, then what in Equestria could lurk below it? Fluttershy began to step backwards, away from the opening under the tree, when she remembered why she dared go into the Everfree Forest alone. She stopped backing away, and stood there on the path, staring at the opening.
“Mr. Squiggles needs me,” she said firmly, “I can’t let him be in there all alone and scared! It may be dangerous…and scary…and dark…no! I have to go, I must!” she finished, defiant of her fear. She stepped over to the hole, and with one gigantic surge of courage, she…closed her eyes and poked her head in through the hole. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and tried her hardest to see inside, doubting the moonlight could make it underground…but nevertheless, from this new angle, she could indeed see a light, albeit very dim, in the distance. Wait, distance? How deep was this hole, anyway? She could barely make out a passageway underneath her, and, sure enough, a shiny, thin slime trail, certainly made by Mr. Squiggles, lead off through the passageway. Just where is Mr. Squiggles going? Fluttershy thought to herself.
The pegasus managed to squeeze herself through the hole at the bottom of the tree, and began to traipse cautiously down the corridor. The walls inside were made of dirt, but the soil itself seemed to have been built to last. There were roots growing out of some of the sides and the rounded roof, but other than that, no real wear and tear could be seen. As she approached the source of the light, Fluttershy wondered to herself: If there was light in this dark cave, then, could it be possible?
“Could somepony be living here?” she thought aloud. She felt a strange combination of comfort and trepidation as she approached the light. It turns out that the light was being cast by a lantern in the corner of a room at the end of the passage. Fluttershy peered around the corner to see if there was anypony…or anything inside the room along with the lantern. There wasn’t anything living, but the rest of the room took Fluttershy by complete surprise.
“Woooaahh…” she stood, mouth agape, as she gazed upon the most enormous library she had ever seen. Her friend Twilight Sparkle’s library home was one thing,and the book depository at the Crystal Kingdom was exceptional, but this was something else entirely. Books, everywhere, no matter which way one looked or turned, there were books. All types of books – hard-cover books, soft-cover books, ringed books, gigantic tomes, tiny booklets and more. Fluttershy hadn’t even moved from her stationary position and she could see all kinds of reading material. Most were on shelves, packed all the way to the ceiling, but there was a fair share that were hanging loosely on the floor, or precariously off of shelves, but still managing to remain standing somehow. The entire place seemed very old, with a noticeable layer of dust coating just about everything around.
Unfortunately, Fluttershy realized that she did not have the time to gaze in wonder at what she had just found, and instead opted to continue her search for Mr. Squiggles. Fortunately, the layer of dust, practically like snow, made it extremely easy to follow the slime trail Mr. Squiggles had left. She followed the trail further through the giant library, her way being lighted by more lanterns that were strangely still lit, despite their apparent age and the clearly long-forgotten state the place was in. She followed the trail all the way to the back, where a wooden door stood in front of her. The ooze lead under the door, and Fluttershy’s heart skipped a beat as she realized her trek may finally be at an end. She put her hoof gently on the door, and pushed softly…only for the door to fall off of its hinges and crash onto the hard stone floor. Fluttershy winced at the sound, and stayed with her hoof up in the air for a moment before putting it down and taking a good look into the room before her.
It was much smaller than the grand library she had just come from. This room, too, however, was filled to the brim with books. It had a respectably-sized desk in the middle of it, with a chair sitting behind to accompany it. But what stood out the most was the rather large book on the center of the desk. It had strange patterns on it that Fluttershy couldn’t help but be curious about, but when she stepped forward for a better look-
“Mr. Squiggles!” Fluttershy cried with utter joy, “I’ve found you at last!” There sat Mr. Squiggles, right on top of the giant book. “I’m so glad you’re safe!” she said happily, but then she took on a sterner tone, “But do you have any idea how worried I was? I even came out into the Everfree Forest to find you…when we get back home, I’m going to have to teach you to never leave like that again mister. Now come on, little guy, let’s go home.” Mr. Squiggles stared at her blankly. Fluttershy didn’t want to grab him and his squishy slug body in fear of crushing him, tender as her grip usually was. Instead, she decided that the best course of action was to take the book he was currently…“standing” on?
She picked up the book, along with Mr. Squiggles, with her hooves, and it was then that Fluttershy got a better look at the book in question. She was rather surprised when she saw the title: Everything You Didn’t Know About the Animals of Equestria. The picture was of a very large group of animals standing all in a group. The strange part was that Fluttershy didn’t know any of them! They all looked so strange to her, but they also looked so cuddly wuddly and adorable, that she couldn’t help but wonder about them all. She put the book in her mouth, Mr. Squiggles in tow, and began her journey back to her cottage in Ponyville. She did wish she had brought a saddlebag with her, but she could endure it if it meant bringing her slug back home safely. Not only that, but she knew that Twilight was going to absolutely love her discovery! An enormous library, buried underground! At first, the thought had filled her with fear, but the only thing she could think of now was Twilight’s smiling face when she heard the news and then saw it for herself. Of course, there was also the matter of the book she now held between her teeth. Just imagine, Fluttershy thought, all of the animals that I don’t know about, all in this one book! Quite a find, if I do say so myself. She smiled contently, temporarily forgetting about the dangerous trip back home. But her journey had been a complete success, and then some! She had found Mr. Squiggles, safe and sound (more or less), and in the end, that alone was worth the trip.
Fluttershy, a spring in her step, made her way down the corridor to the entrance of the hole in the ground and, very carefully, hoisted Mr. Squiggles and the book, as well as herself, back up through the opening beneath the tree. After that, it turned out to be a rather routine trot back to Ponyville. She even flew a little of the way since she was in such a good mood! She returned to her cottage, gave Mr. Squiggles a bath, as well as a slightly stern talking-to, and then they both went to bed for a good night’s rest…
Back at the library, shortly after Fluttershy and Mr. Squiggles had left, one by one, the lanterns began to dim, as the library underground was once again cast into total darkness, as it had been. If anypony were there to hear it, they might have heard a faint whisper, so soft that it could be the whisper of a whisper. If anypony was around to hear it, it would have sounded something like:
“Finally…”
Author's Note
Attempt number one at successful fanfiction writing. But don't let that stop you! Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged! But whatever you do, I hope you enjoy the story!
Chapter 2: In the Middle of the Night
Floating. Fluttershy felt like she was floating. But that’s not right – she hasn’t lived in Cloudsdale for years now. Even then, the clouds mostly stayed put, and she didn’t think she was a sleep-flyer… She attempted to goad her eyes into opening.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” she asked herself. She slowly peeped her left eye open, just a bit. She saw a very clear sky, full of stars. Certainly not the warm confines of her cottage… She immediately closed her eye shut again. The worst that could happen is that she was somehow floating hundreds of feet off of the ground on a rogue cloud that had somehow gotten loose, made its way into her house, picked her up, and is now whisking her off to Celestia knows where and she’ll probably never see any of her friends again and she’ll be lost forever and AAAAHH!
…But wait, do clouds even go rogue? She never recalled a single incident of that happening, so maybe things aren’t as bad as she thought. Her mind began to consider other possibilities; maybe Rainbow Dash is playing a prank on her? Could be, but Rainbow Dash’s pranks are typically played when ponies are awake, and after all, Fluttershy couldn't remember a time where she’d been the victim of Rainbow’s pranks. Curious, indeed. So that rules that out. Still, that doesn’t explain what she’s doing perched on a cloud. A cool breeze blew through her mane as she pondered her situation, keeping her eyes locked tight for fear of seeing how far down she was. Being a pegasus and all, she did have wings and could simply fly down from the cloud and back home, but when Fluttershy gets scared, sometimes her wings have a tendency to... umph! Argh! Yup, stiff as two yellow, fluffy boards taped to the side of her. A pity she's afraid of heights. What to do?
“I just have to be brave,” Fluttershy muttered to herself, devoid of much confidence in her ability to do so. Still, saying it out loud gave her the courage to at least attempt to open her left eye again. She peeked slowly, but surely out of her eye, and, unsurprisingly, the clear night sky, scattered with stars, uncountable and twinkling, folded out before her. At least, she thought, there was no present danger other than being very high up, and so she dared open her other eye to fully enjoy the starry splendor. Maybe that would calm her nerves enough to get her wings working properly again. So, with both eyes now staring intently at Luna’s lovely canvas, she spread her forelegs out on the cloud and just gazed at the stars above.
Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t really taken that much time to stargaze, even though she had plenty of time to. She was very happy staying put on the ground thank you very much, and although she did fly quite often, traveling by hoof was more her style – it always has been. When one is so focused on the ground, it’s not difficult to take everything higher up for granted perhaps. The ground is wonderful; it's always there when you need it, it would never move unexpectedly, it's very dependable, and it always takes you where you want to go, provided you make the effort. Fluttershy loves the ground! But this? This is nice too; the relaxing breeze caressing her mane and coat, the stars shining gently above, and the moon in all its glory, glowing for all to see. Looking at it was shockingly soothing, and Fluttershy felt much better simply letting all her fears drift away on a cloud of their own.
But this can't last forever, of course, and Fluttershy needed to face the fact that she had to get back home somehow, and drifting too far would just get her more lost. First, she needed to find out where she was, and that would mean… gulp… looking down. It’s not that she wouldn’t be happy to see the ground again – it's always there, after all – it’s just all that… not ground in between that makes her stomach churn. Especially if her wings still don't work. She decided to test them before she looked. She tried the muscles that got her wings flapping; they were stiff at first, but not completely frozen. That’s a good sign, Fluttershy thought. She moved her feathery appendages through the motions, bit by bit, until they were able to move freely again. Phew, that’s a relief. Now for the hard part. Fluttershy slowly moved towards the end of her white, cushy, makeshift bed. She found that she couldn’t open her eyes to look at the horizon, and instead decided to look at the ground first and foremost. Maybe that would let her take off more easily. The closer she is to the ground, the better, as far as she's concerned.
She crept herself closer to the edge of the cloud, if clouds even have edges for that matter, and tipped her head over the side, making sure to keep her balance. When she was sure that she could see the ground from where she was going to be looking, she counted to herself: 1… 2… 2 and a half… 3!
“...Oh.”
She had opened her eyes wide, and had expected her wings to freeze again as she was certainly to gasp in horror and shove her head inside her hooves… but none of those things happened. Instead, she almost laughed out loud! Here she was, completely fearful of having to trek miles and miles back to Ponyville after surviving the longest drop she could imagine, but here she was, floating on a cloud a mere three feet from the ground! The good ol’ reliable ground, open wide with a welcoming embrace. She could even see her cottage from here! All that worrying, and for nothing, too! Boy, did she feel silly. She chuckled to herself. That wasn’t nearly as bad as she thought; what an active imagination! She felt herself collapse backwards onto the cloud in a sigh of relief.
As she was lying there, she did wonder how she managed to get onto this cloud in the first place. Maybe she was a sleep-flyer after all? Surely she would have noticed sooner? Oh well, it’s a mystery she would just have to solve later, after a proper night’s sleep back at her cottage. Some of her nocturnal animal friends might be wondering where she went, after all. She decided to get off of the cloud and return to her cottage. She figured she would leave the cloud there and ask somepony if it was theirs in the morning. Eyes closed and a smile on her face, she daintily and fearlessly skipped off of the cloud, and descended the three-foot drop to safety.
“I hope Rainbow won't be too jealous if it turns out I am a sleep-flyer,” she wondered aloud, “I’ll bet she would want to find a way to fly while she was asleep!” She laughed as she fell a little bit, but then stopped when she realized she was not touching her beloved ground after a few seconds.
Fluttershy quickly looked down in shock as what was once a simple three foot drop now appeared to her as an endless abyss below. NO! She tried to flap her wings in desperation, but to no avail. Her wings were frozen to her sides again, paralyzed with fear and panic. The gentle breeze that had once flowed smoothly through her mane was now a ferocious maelstrom, whipping her mane violently, and making her tail sting her back with its throes. She screamed and thrashed her legs, hoping for somepony to come save her from the horrible fall into nothingness, the terrorizing blackness she was careening ever faster and ever nearer to. She looked around desperately for anything she might be able to grab onto, or focus on to calm herself enough for her wings to work, but what she saw, or rather, didn’t see, made her fear grow. No longer was the moon shining above, nor were there any stars dotting the clear night sky. She could not even spot any clouds. Simply an endless horizon above the bottomless ravine where she would surely meet her end. She began to cry at the thought. She looked down at her fate, blacker than the darkest of nights, sinister even, threatening to swallow her up forever. What had happened to the friendly ground she once knew and so cherished? Had it been devoured by this shadow?
Then, as Fluttershy was staring at the darkness, she saw something shiny… no, not shiny. Glowing? Glowing red… a dark, foreboding red. Two of them. Spaced just far enough apart: eyes. Glowing crimson eyes, slowly opening. Below them? No, say it isn’t so… teeth too? This can’t be! Sharp as spear-heads, dozens, no, hundreds of them – and she’s falling straight into them! The beast below roared with savage hunger as Fluttershy fell towards its open maw, her eyes shut in panicked denial. This can’t be the end, it just can’t be! The beast’s roar was close now, and she braced for the impact, wings useless, face wet with tears. With one last shriek, she expected her end…
An end that didn’t come. Fluttershy opened her eyes slowly and expected to see nothing but darkness, but instead she saw the familiar, frowning face of one of her most cherished animal friends: Angel Bunny. He was dressed in an adorable little nightcap, and was tapping his foot impatiently, almost as if to say “what’s wrong with you? Can’t you tell what time it is? There are some animals who are tryyyying to sleep here! Geez!” Fluttershy, recovering slightly, grinned apologetically, and Angel hopped away.
“Wow,” Fluttershy whispered, “what a crazy dream. I’ve never had one so vivid before. Too bad it was so terrifying…” She saw that she was in bed, safe in her cottage home in Ponyville. She was a tad cold, though. Oh! She saw she had bucked the blankets off of herself while she slept. Not so surprising considering what she had just been through. She was still shaking a little. It had been more horrifying than she ever thought her nightmares could become… she needed some tea. It was still the middle of the night, and she needed something to calm her nerves.
Fluttershy made her way quietly down to her kitchen, and started up her fireplace, putting a kettle with some water over it. She pulled a comforter over herself and laid down on her sofa, waiting for the water to boil. It had been such an eventful day! She was glad to finally be able to relax. Speaking of which, she couldn’t seem to get that horrible imagery out of her head…those piercing red eyes, those awful teeth, and that roar… she made the cup in her mouth vibrate just thinking about it. She looked around for a way to distract her mind from her nightmare. Birdhouse, potted plant, window, coffee table, giant book… Aha! Of course! The book of animals that she had discovered earlier would do just the trick! She loves animals, and if the book’s title was to be trusted, this was going to be a real treat.
“Let’s see,” Fluttershy said as she opened the hard-cover binding, “Everything You Didn’t Know About the Animals of Equestria.” Now, Fluttershy's never one to brag, but she knows her animals of Equestria, and if there is a book that can stump her, she would be rather surprised. She brought over a jar full of fireflies for light, and opened up to the table of contents. It was expectedly straightforward, but with a shockingly diverse array of subjects, some of which confused her: Likelihood of Food Preferences Over Several Specimen Chains, Stretching and Yawning Algorithms for the Basic Narwhal, and… Punnett Squares Postulating the Possibilities of the Powerful Puffin Program? What was all this? Well, Fluttershy thought, I suppose if somepony wanted to make an entire book dedicated to things nopony else knew about the animals of Equestria, that’s how they would do it…
Confusing as the chapter titles may be, Fluttershy decided not to waste such a unique find, and started reading the first chapter. As she got more into it, she realized that despite the weird names that the chapters have, the actual content isn't nearly as indecipherable as she had thought. She was finding it relatively easy to understand what the book was saying, and was learning so many new things about different critters! She never knew birds’ migrating patterns were directed by magnetism, or that the average dog’s mouth was possibly cleaner than hers! ...Ew… I’m going to need to brush my teeth better from now on, she thought, thinking of Applejack’s dog, Winona.
The minutes passed, and Fluttershy was engrossed in learning everything she apparently missed while taking care of her precious animal friends. She figured, that with this new knowledge, she might be able to take better care of them. Though all of her animals did seem rather happy with her, it could be that they were just being polite about all of these specific details. She wanted to make them all as happy as could be!
The hours passed and as sunlight peeked its way through Fluttershy’s cottage window, it found her still reading away, a smile on her face as the morning birds chirped, the roosters crowed, and the boiling-over kettle full of water was forgotten, as well as her tea.
