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Coming To Bear
By TangyTangoCreated: 2022-11-03 17:39:06
Updated: 2022-11-15 05:57:22
Expiry: Never
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>Fluttershy lands on a branch, vigilantly observing a nearby pasture
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>She’s just begun chasing a very obviously injured bear through the dense brush of Ponyville’s outskirts
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>The bear’s tenacity when it came to evasion was the real issue
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>Deadly as the bear’s claws are, the Ponyville woodland expanse wasn’t the most navigable terrain, and she risked running the bear into the Everfree
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>Something even the most capable animal would perish to, and it was the true thing she feared
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>Local woodland creatures have been of minimal help, while she could understand them, her new-found ability when it came to cross-species communication wasn’t straightforward
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>The ways in which woodland creatures communicated were…
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>Different
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>A woodpecker hooks itself upon the tree, hammering away at the trunk
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>Fluttershy can hear his subtle mumbling
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>”Food of wood”
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>It’s like the desperate and hungry ramblings of someone that urgently needs to brush up on Ponish
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>But why would an animal ever have to bother with the formalities of typical speech?
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>Fluttershy wraps her wing around a nearby branch, shaking it lightly to catch the woodpecker’s attention
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“Do you mind having a c-”
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>”Pony, shake branches, talk”
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“I- have you seen a grizzly bear anywhere?”
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>”Bear eat us”
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“Yes I’m aware, but he’s in desperate need of assistance”
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>”Why help bears when bears eat woodpeckers?”
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“Because it’s the right thing to do”
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>”Not for me”
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>The woodpecker simply returns to pecking at the tree, this time in far louder strokes, rendering Fluttershy’s attempts at speech worthless
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>She wouldn’t bother with a labor in futility
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>Using her demure wings, she glides gently to the grass below
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>If the woodpecker won’t help, then she’ll simply find another creature
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>Moving through the grass, she’s looks down at her flank
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>It’s been a mere two weeks since she’s received her cutie-mark
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>Nopony cared, nobody except for the singular vet in Ponyville
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>Shame she isn’t much for social interaction
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>Only one creature cut her slack when it came to chatting, a bunny that very frequently ransacked the young Carrot Top’s stand.
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---
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>You are Carrot Top
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>And you are in full pursuit
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>That damned bunny has finally met its match, falling perfectly into your trap
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>Down a narrow alleyway lies a rudimentary net that you laid out earlier that day
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>Seconds before this little devil lands into your trap, another party intervenes
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>”Little bunny, are you okay?”
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>It’s that crazy yellow filly
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>freaking blow-ins from Cloudsdale
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>She better not mess this up
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“Catch that bunny!”
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>The bunny is now a mere hoof away, all it’ll take is a…
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>Swooping down, the yellow filly takes the rabbit into her hooves, hovering above the ground
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“Give that rabbit here, that little jerk has been eating all my supply!”
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>Helplessly you jump up and down directly below the flying filly, nearly falling to the ground in your attempts
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>The filly holds the rabbit to her ear, appearing to listen along
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>”He’s telling me you want to eat him.”
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>Crazy
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>Nopony can speak to animals
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“Horse feathers, you’re just crazy!”
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>Clutching the rabbit to her chest, the pegasus grows visibly nervous
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>”i can understand…”
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>Her voice is a hushed whisper
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“Nuh-uh! I can understand him as well as you, and I understand he’s a rabbit trying to destroy me!”
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>The rabbit blows a raspberry
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“Oh you son of a-”
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>Going for another dive, you actually fall this time, scraping your shoulder pretty bad
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>Your eyes well up with tears, looking up at the filly, she seems torn
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>Torn between a stupid rabbit and helping the young filly
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>lifting off the ground, she lands on a nearby roof, nuzzling the little creature
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>You begin to lightly sob, the pain building
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>The yellow pegasus simply flies away
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>Woodland freak…
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>Fluttershy idly stands in the field, looking forward at the treeline
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>Surely he went in there, right?
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>Only one way to find out, not like the wildlife would be any help
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>Animals love speaking to themselves, it’s not always coherent
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>Some take coaching
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>Some spend time amongst ponies
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>Some of those animals become pets
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>Talking to pets is the same as ponies…
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>She doesn’t enjoy that.
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>Pets bring bits to translate their feelings with owners though, and bits bring food
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>Food brings more animals to interact with
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>In a mere two weeks, these critters of prey have become her whole life
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>Never a predator though
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>Not because of her own fear, though the strength of predators may be threatening
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>Rather it’s the predator's fear
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>Never getting close, their nature conditions them to see everything as a possible threat
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>No matter Fluttershy’s offerings, they’d stay tucked in the treeline
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>Out here the strongest are the most fearful
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>Making them the bravest
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>Continuing onwards towards the treeline, Fluttershy spots a clump of distinctly black hair snagged upon a branch
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>Taking it into her hooves, she examines the tuft
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>It’s a younger bear
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>To the laypony’s eyes, it would surely be a black bear
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>Fur can be deceiving
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>Fluttershy knew better than that though.
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>The bear /had/ to be a grizzly
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>Placing the tuft back on the ground, she noticed a distinct lack of food in her saddle bag
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>As if in a cosmic play, right then a deep rumble is heard from Fluttershy’s stomach
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>Still, she stumbled along
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>Through the thickets and thorns, her fur was pierced and her skin was cut
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>Still, she brushed the pain aside
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>The sky steadily turned overcast, an imposing black cloud above Fluttershy
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>Still, she prepared for a deep soak and continued onward
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>The day dragged onward, her soak turning to a horrible chill
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>Still, through slow movements, she continued onward
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>Her teeth chattered, her muscles screamed in agony, her coat was weaved throughout with agitating stickers, and she could hardly see the way ahead through the darkness
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>Still, she continued onward
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>She continued until she couldn’t
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>And couldn’t was waiting eagerly
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>Fluttershy collapsed in the wet mud, the pleadings for rest finally taking hold
by TangyTango
by TangyTango
by TangyTango