Sins of Harmony
Volume 1.5: Untold Tales
Chapter 4: Fluttershy, Nature's armoury.
June 4th 1005 ANM
Manehatten harbour
In front of the timid pegasus mare, the large ocean freighter, packed with cargo, bound for Sydnaye, loomed ominously before her. A small boarding ramp for the crew, and handful of passengers, was where she waited.
Packed light, with only 1 suitcase of things, Fluttershy anxiously waited at the busy ferry docks. The docks bustled with forklifts, workers and activity of all sorts, while she waited for her would-be companions before boarding the massive ship before her.
She had been invited on a Wildlife survey in Dingolia, documenting the various animals in her case. Others would document the plants, and a handful would also be assessing the populations and stability of the animals along with her on the expedition.
Her status as part of Twilight's circle of 'advisors' had, like Rarity and the others, escalated her skills to more notice. Her animal care knowledge had gained much greater notice over the last 2 years, enough that the International Conservation Society recommended her for this survey.
A cough sounded, and Fluttershy turned to see a male Dingo, followed by an Earth pony couple and a female Orang-utan. The Male Dingo, obviously the one in charge, smiled as he greeted her:
"G'day miss Fluttershy. Glad you could make it."
He gestured up the ramp, as the others smiled at her as they began walking up the ramp:
"Lets get going then, I'll get your bag!" He said enthusiastically.
As the Dingo lifted the bag over his shoulder effortlessly, she quietly said: "Oh no, its not a problem, I can-"
He was already halfway up the ramp, waving to urge her aboard.
"'Sigh', come on Fluttershy, think of the opportunity."
She trotted up the ramp, ready to embark on the voyage.
June 23rd 1005 ANM
Sydnaye, Dingolia
After nearly 3 weeks aboard the cargo ship, the survey team using what cabins were to spare on the freighter, they had arrived.
After getting their documents signed for, allowing the survey team foreigners entry into Dingolia and the Oceanic Alliance, they had found some taxis that would take them to their starting point.
After a one night stay, they were aboard a small cargo aircraft, bound for the southern territories of Dingolia.
Other teams would be doing work across Dingolia, but they had assigned places all over the country over the next month.
On the trip, Fluttershy had seen the large case that their Dingo leader, Wez, was carrying. She'd asked, and he said it was full of medicine.
In particular, anti-venom, morphine and bandages.
June 25th 1005 ANM
Scrub plains, southern territories, Dingolia.
Fluttershy was amazed as she watched the Kangaroo mother sniff about on the ground, searching for food amidst the undergrowth.
"That's 3 mothers in these 4 square miles. Looks good." Wez commented. The female Orang-utan wrote down the numbers on the clipboard, when a whisper came from behind them:
"Wez. Cassowary, to the right."
Quickly looking over, Wex saw the pony height bird, like a smaller ostrich with a blue scales head. He balked, and said: "We're too close. Back away, I think its seen us."
As he said this, the female Kangaroo noticed the Cassowary also, and promptly hopped away with urgency.
The Cassowary snapped its head to see the leaving Kangaroo, and then saw the 5 of them in the brush, 30 metres away.
As it slowly edged towards them, Wez said sharply:
"Okay, we've wandered into its territory, we're leaving now!"
He turned, leading them off:
"Wait, it may be friendly!" Fluttershy urged.
"If that bird gets too close and gets angry, it will rip your stomach out! We're in its territory, it isn't gonna be happy!" Wez urged her onwards, and as Fluttershy looked again, she saw the Cassowary was approaching too fast now to be curiosity.
They were gone before it charged. They were fortunate to encounter it, as they were hard to find in this part of the territories. A sign of recovery.
July 4th
The last date of the Southern territories land based exercises, as the tallies of the local fauna more easily found they needed, such as the Kangaroos, Wallabies, and even the Cassowaries, had been completed.
They had been given orders by the conservation committee of Dingolia's government however, to have a crack at a survey of a few species of snake, that had been elusive in the area to the last team sent.
They had already encountered a few snakes, namely the commonly seen, and highly feared, Eastern Brown Snake, and a few tiger snakes.
Today, they had been tasked with searching for two snakes in particular, ones that went to great length to stay hidden. The Woma Python, and the Death Adder.
They had split up, with Wez going with Fluttershy, and his female Orang-utan assistant, Maila, to go with the Earth pony couple.
They searched burrows, logs, and rocky outcroppings, prime hiding spots.
"Okay, any there?" Wez called.
Fluttershy shone her torch in, and gasped as a web was illuminated inside the cave. The Funnel Web Spider reared angrily as it sensed her outside the rocky outcropping entrance, but she recoiled in surprise as she called:
"No snakes. But there's a spider in here!"
"Let me see!" Wex rushed over, shining his own torch inside.
"Ah, good find. Funnel web, rare down this part south. If that's there, no snake deeper in." He concluded.
Fluttershy heard Wez's radio crackle, and Maila's vice sounded over it.
"-Found a male Woma Python, dead. Killed by a cane toad it ate, we dissected it just now."
"Dammit." Wez muttered.
"Cane toads? I've heard about them." Fluttershy remarked. Wez said:
"Yeah, invasive species, destroying local ecosystems. Poisonous skin, no wonder the one they found died. They're up there with rabbits on the invasive species kill list."
"Kill list?" Fluttershy wondered.
"They're destroying the local habitat, and those nasty toads kill animals, pets and livestock. We have to cull as many as possible to stop ecosystem collapse." Wez shrugged. He wandered away from the rock pile, while Fluttershy remarked:
"Its horrible. Having to kill them so others won't die. They don't know they're dangerous."
"I know, but they didn't come here naturally. Imperial influence from the old days brought invasive species to places they weren't meant to reach worldwide. Even here, where Dingolia's famous for having more killer animals than elsewhere, we're at risk."
Fluttershy looked about, seeing a burrow that might be a suitable Death Adder hiding spot.
"I think an Adder might be in there."
Looking around, Wez saw the burrow too, getting out his pole:
"Right. You have a bag ready. I'll poke around and try and entice it out, if there is one."
Once again, they searched for the elusive serpent.
July 15th, 1005 ANM
Southern Kingsland, Dingolia
The light helicopter flew them over the river, carving through the flat rocky terrain like a giant crack in a concrete pavement.
They'd flown 90 miles upriver, and were deeper than most people went. Due to her good eyes, Fluttershy was perfect for this observation role.
Having proven herself, Fluttershy had been picked by Wez to come with him and Maila on a small crew journey into southern Kingsland, in Northern Dingolia.
The pilot began to lower and slow the helicopter, as he brought it in to land atop one side of the surrounding terrain. Beneath the cliff drop, the river curved here in a small pond, with a spit of land extending from a rainforest oasis nearby.
Near the spit of land, a wrecked boat had been abandoned.
They had been called here after the 2 survivors, of 5, had been rescued from the edges of the jungle. The claims of a very large crocodile dominating this part of the river were worth investigating.
And reports stated this bend in the river was its prime hunting spot.
Having set up at the cliff edge, they had a watch on the river bend, where the water slowed and swirled around it and the spit of land. Around it, where the jungle didn't reach down to it, the cliffs surrounded it.
"Alright, keep an eye out. If anything comes to the river's edge below, watch it. That croc hasn't been seen for a few weeks." Wez said.
Fluttershy looked through the binoculars, noting the calmness of the water in the river.
The helicopter had left them, their camping equipment enough for them. If needed, they could call it up at will, and it would be here within 1 and a half hours.
Maila relaxed in her watching chair. It was ironic she used a bird watching type chair for croc spotting.
July 17th, 1005 ANM
Dawn
"Oi, Fluttershy! Wake up, we see it! The croc's in the river!"
Darting awake, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Fluttershy followed Wez out of her tent, to where Maila was keenly watching through her binoculars near the cliff edge. The thin dawn light illuminated the river just enough to see things.
"Must be on its last stint of nocturnal hunting." Maila commented.
"Yeah. Cor! Look at the size of 'im! Any idea how big he is?" Wez said in awe.
Fluttershy looked down, lightly inhaling as she saw the crocodile's head in the water. It was barely visible, just 20 metres from the shore, where on the spit of land, a wild animal, a sort of halfway species between a Wallaby and a Kangaroo, a Wallaroo, was taking a drink.
The crocodile's head disappeared from view, sinking quickly.
All was silent, and the Wallaroo lifted its head slightly as though it saw something.
It bent down to take a drink.
The water in front of it exploded forth, and a mountain of scales and teeth came with it.
Up above, Fluttershy was shocked at how quick it had struck, the seething mass of scales and muscles grabbing the poor Wallaroo as it dragged it thrashing into the water. A few quick death rolls in the water, and soon it stopped spinning.
The water began to still, while the crocodile swam upriver, the dead Wallaroo hanging in its jaws as it made its way upriver, presumably to its den to store it for later.
Wez was stunned, and he made a call:
"Chopper, its Wez. We saw the croc, but we need a lift down into the river bend. How quick can you get here? ...1 1/2 hours? Great, okay!"
He hung up the satellite phone, while Fluttershy said: "Wait, you want to go down there?"
"If we can stand where that Wallaroo was, with one of us left behind to keep perspective, we can gauge how big the crocodile was by using ourselves as measuring sticks. We're measure the Wallaroo, then the croc in turn."
Fluttershy balked, asking: "Can I stay and do the watching? Please?"
"Its best that I do it. I've got better eyes than any of you." Maila said apolegetically.
"She's right Flutters, we can go down there. Don't worry, the croc won't be hunting much during the day, not when he'd got a big 'ol Wallaroo to feed himself." Wex clapped Fluttershy on the wings playfully.
"Tell you what, I'll go closer to the river if you want." Wez offered.
"Oh, thank you. I just don't want to be in too much danger in case he comes back."
"Flutters, if he comes back we won't know until its too late." Wez said. She didn't know if he was joking, but he was definitely telling the truth.
July 17th 1005 ANM
Southern Kingsland, Dingolia
River bend pond
Mid Morning.
Having been lowered on a rope winch each, the helicopter hovering low to let them land on the spit of land in the cove, Wez and Fluttershy now acted as living measurement markers.
The helicopter pilot had landed back on the cliff top, but was keeping the helicopter ready for startup.
Fluttershy nervously stood still where she was, while Wez stood just a few feet from the water's edge. In the sand, they could both see the Wallaroo's tracks as it had come to drink.
The dirt had been thrashed a bit where the croc had dragged it in just a few hours ago.
High above on the small clifftop, Maila made sketches and input data into a calculator she had.
She had the size of Wez, an Fluttershy, and how far apart they were. Now she could calculate the rough size of the Wallaroo, and Crocodile, to within a foot.
All the while, Fluttershy gazed at the distant ruined boat wreck further down the dirt beach. They had briefly stopped by, but found the hole that began to sink it had been made before it hit the beach.
A call came, and Maila called in:
"Okay, judging by your sizes, compared to the Walaroo, which was about 1 metre long. Crocodiles have a 1/6 ratio of head length to body length. This one's head looked to be just about the Walaroo's length head to tail. Based on this, the minimum, and conservative body size estimate of the crocodile is 5 and a half metres, though maybe more."
"Blimey! 18 feet! Or more!" Wez exclaimed. He looked back at the water, suddenly more conscious. He then looked at the boat, muttering aloud:
"That boat was shorter than it."
Fluttershy knew it too. She asked urgently: "Okay, now can we leave before he comes back?"
"Sure darling! We only needed size anyhow. If that croc could take out that boat itself, I don't wanna stick around."
Within a few minutes, they had been winched up into the helicopter and back up into the campsite at the cliff edge.
July 21st
Fluttershy had departed the Sydnaye harbour aboard another freighter, this on slightly faster than the first. She headed back on her own, going her separate ways from the others on the survey expedition, and the encounter camping site in the last few days.
She had sketches of animals, some photographs, and a glowing report on her expertise and assistance in the field, despite her confidence issues in one or two cases.
Even so, she'd learnt a great deal about nature, how not all things were intractable like the animals she approached often back home.
First thing she would do would be to give Angel a big hug, as he was in a country where rabbit were more natural, and not atop an invasive species kill list.
August 4th 1005 ANM
Ponyville, Fluttershy's cottage
Early Afternoon
"Whoa, these pictures are amazing." Rainbow Dash commented. Fluttershy passed around the photographs of the trip, as all her friends had gathered. Spike was not present however, as he had taken up a job at Sweet Apple Acres, helping harvest the apples with his enhanced strength. It was a low paying job, but he also had taken it to ease some burden off the apples in their first bucking season harvest after their granny's death.
A few photos were passed around of the Death Adders she and Wez had eventually found, and she frequently used hoof gestures to show how big they were.
Then came few photos of the infamous crocodile gorge cove, along with a few edited ones she'd been given.
"Hey, this is the same photo as before, just altered."
"Yes. They were recording the attack on that poor Wallaroo, and they took a frame to use as a more accurate reference for when we went to stand on that same beach a few hours later, where it happened." Fluttershy commented.
"Ooh, I get it. You know how big you are, so you can know how big that other thing was as if it was where you are then." Pinkie said excitedly.
"Yeah, pretty much." Fluttershy said.
"How big was it in the end?" Twilight asked.
"19 feet, no more than 20. Big enough to attack that boat and the people on it." Fluttershy nervously said. She still could feel how tense standing on that shore had been.
Rarity said with some dramatic flair: "It must have been terribly frightening to be in the lair of such a large creature."
"It was. But Wez was there the whole time, even though he said it would likely go for me because I look like an easier meal." Fluttershy admitted, embarrassed slightly.
Pinkie brought out Gummy, her pet, toothless alligator. She said excitedly as she held Gummy to her face: "You think Gummy here could get that big?"
Gummy stared back, blinking once before resuming staring. Applejack said cautiously: "I'm not sure we'll want to know if he does."
"I wouldn't think so. Alligators don't grow as big from what I know. But, Gummy has grown noticeably over the past 3 years." Twilight mused.
Indeed, Gummy had grown a bit. Now, when Pinkie stuffed him into her mane for storage, there was always some part of him that stuck out, usually his tail. And when Spike had volunteered to pet-sit for a couple of ponies, including Pinkie's he'd said that Gummy's usually 'affectionate' bite had actually been a little bit sharp last time.
But for now, Fluttershy was glad to be back in more familiar wildlife and settings. She admitted to herself that Dingolia, even though nature was just doing its thing, was the epitome of an arms race in nature. Every day she dealt with an animal that could kill her in one way or another, whether it be witness, tracking, or even capturing on a few occasions. She didn't have the nerve to do that for a living, not like people like Wez.
It wasn't just animals that the environment they grew up in shaped. But she felt no shame. Even among more hardened nature countries, even in the great Southern Landmass countries of Zebriopia and Mambibia, Dingolia was notable hostile to even some hardened people from those hardened countries.
It was no wonder that people joked that Dingolians would be able to conquer the wildlife of the world if they wanted to, and that the only reason they didn't was because it wasn't anywhere near as challenging to do so as in their own homeland.
A little crack at Australia's lethality of nature. I figured Fluttershy, like the other Mane 6 members, would gain notability for being part of Twilight's group. And being an animal expert, who better to have on such an endeavour?
Review/critique as one would.
As I said, no official start on Volume 2 until after this coming Thursday at the earliest. University work and all.
