Fluttershy: I've never heard of them.
Fleur de Lis: Oui. There is reason for that.
Flutterspy
is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic comedy fanfic by Kavonde that's available from Fimfiction.net. As you've probably guessed from the Pun-Based Title, it takes Fluttershy, the gentlest and most peaceful member of the Mane Six, and plunges her into the world of Tuxedo and Martini Spy Fiction.note
Rarity goes to Canterlot to display her latest fashions at the first annual Equestrian Fashion Forum, which is sponsored by Fancy Pants. She persuades Fluttershy to come "out of retirement" to model the new designs, despite her bad experience last time. One of the other designers is Miss Worthy, who brings three models with her (the rules allow only one). A resident of Manehattan and "a relation of old royalty", Worthy is also a bigoted Jerkass who insults Rarity because she takes a dim view of "mud ponies" from rural villages. Although the Forum isn't a competition and Rarity already came with a new set of designs, she resolves to come up with even better ideas just to outdo Worthy.
Fluttershy is surprised, but an even bigger shock is headed her way. While she and Rarity are taking a carriage back to their hotel, it's hijacked — and Fluttershy recognizes the perp as Red Adder, one of Worthy's models! Red Adder attacks her — and then Fancy Pants' girlfriend, supermodel Fleur de Lis, comes out of nowhere to save her! Later, Fleur explains that she's actually a secret agent working for Princess Celestia, and she's here because Fancy Pants and Rarity are both in danger — sort of. Despite his upper class roots, Fancy Pants believes in equality and egalitarianism, and his enemy Worthy is using the fashion show as "an opportunity to prove the nobility's superiority, and to win hearts and minds from Fancy's cause." To help accomplish this, she plans to destroy Rarity's career with the help of her "models", who are actually three highly-trained Ninjas. And since Fluttershy is now involved, Fleur de Lis enlists her as an ally.
So all Fluttershy has to do is overcome her natural resistance to modeling and somehow help defeat Worthy and her vicious ninjas, all while keeping an increasingly suspicious Rarity in the dark.
...Yay?
Tropes:
- Action Girl: Fleur de Lis and the ninjas are all formidable female fighters.
- Animal Theme Naming: Worthy's ninjas all use reptile-themed Code Names, in a probable Shout-Out to Kill Bill.
- Apologetic Attacker: Fluttershy apologizes to Worthy's ninjas whenever they force her to defend herself.
- Badass Crew: Worthy's ninjas.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Fleur de Lis is an elegant, well-mannered pony who also happens to be an Action Girl spy. She persuades the timid Fluttershy to Dare to Be Badass.
- Blow Gun: Worthy's ninjas use them. Fleur de Lis often refers to the weapons with the French term "sarbacane".
- The City vs. the Country: Part of Worthy's animus against Rarity.Worthy: Certainly, a pony so proud of her rural heritage wouldn't put on airs and speak with a false accent just to make herself feel better about her mud pony roots.... Why, one should think that any pony so pathetic as to affect a Manehattan accent to cover her natural one must have some rather severe self-image issues.
- Color-Coded Characters: The ninjas Red Adder, Blue Cobra and Yellow Viper. They all have tan fur, but their eyes, their manes (which have been dyed), and their outfits are all in the appropriate color.
- Comm Links: Fleur de Lis has Fluttershy wear one that's disguised as a pendant.
- Crystal Ball: Fleur de Lis uses them as monitors.
- Evil Brit: Blue Cobra is an Affably Evil Punch-Clock Villain, in contrast with her teammates, but she still qualifies.
- Eye Scream: One of Blue Cobra's Blow Gun darts hits Jet Black in the eye. Played for Laughs.Jet Black: Seriously, if I lose an eye, I am gonna be so freaking ticked!... Then again, I could get an awesome eyepatch...
- Eye Twitch: How Rarity responds to Worthy's insulting speech, along with stammering "Why... you...".
- Fish out of Water: Fluttershy does not belong in the spy world. This is the basis of the plot, and the story plays it for both laughs and drama.
- Forgets to Eat/Sleep Deprivation: When Rarity is working on her second set of designs, she's too busy to eat, sleep or shower.Rarity: Inspiration cannot be ignored, especially when it is fueled by righteous anger!
- French Jerk: Averted Trope, as Fleur de Lis is a kind, polite Nice Girl.
- Funetik Aksent: Used whenever Fleur de Lis, Red Adder or Photo Finish speaks.
- Gratuitous French: True to her name, Fleur de Lis has a French accent and peppers her speech with French words and phrases.
- Karma Houdini: Miss Worthy, sort of. At the end, Fleur notes that "[Worthy] will be free to continue plotting back in Manehattan", although "[h]er reputation will be damaged" and her ninjas have been captured.
- Literal-Minded: Photo Finish, when she tells a model named Jet Black to hurry up.Photo Finish: You! You are next!Jet Black: Keep yer shirt on.Photo Finish: I, Photo Finish, vill continue to vear vhatever garments I vish! Now!
- Multinational Team: Worthy's ninjas. Red Adder is from Stalliongrad, Blue Cobra is from Trottingham, and Yellow Viper is from Okineighwa.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Once Fluttershy is hit by Red Viper's poison joke-tipped dart, she gives the Snakes quite the beat-down.
- Not My Driver: How Fluttershy discovers the spy plot. While she and Rarity are headed back to the hotel, their carriage is hijacked by Red Adder, who explains the disruption by claiming that the original driver is taking a break after almost running over a cat. ("Union rules. Very strict.") When Fluttershy recognizes her, she attacks, forcing Fleur de Lis to step in.
- Office Romance: Fleur de Lis calls her boss Fancy Pants "the love of [her] life", although little is made of it.
- Original Flavor: It's easy to imagine this story as a TV episode.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Invoked Trope when Fluttershy tries to defuse the tension after one of Worthy's insults (see The City vs. the Country above) by acting like Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara. It works because everypony reacts with Stunned Silence.Fluttershy: Celestia, I do not need this stupid little drama right now! Like, come on, ponies! I am trying to, like, focus and, like, channel "the magics" and stuff! You are, like, totally killing my mojo here!
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Miss Worthy, all the way. At least one of her ninjas, Red Adder, agrees with her; when she's asked about class divisions, she gives a speech about how "[It] is the right and privilege of the strong to rule over the weak".
- Sequel Hook: The conversation between Fluttershy and Fleur de Lis at the end of the story hints that there might be future adventures. And the very last line is a Wham Line: "Fleur returned the smile, and decided not to tell [Fluttershy] about the other Snakes."
- Spell My Name With An S: Kavonde uses the spelling Fleur de Lis, although the Expanded Universe (the only place where the character has been named so far) uses the deliberate misspelling Fleur Dis Lee.
- Spy Catsuit: Worthy's ninjas sometimes wear them.
- Stealth Expert: Pretty much every spy in the story, and Fleur is helping Fluttershy become an even better expert at stealth.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: After the Not My Driver situation above, Rarity asks Fluttershy what all the ruckus was about. Fluttershy assures her that "Absolutely no ninja fights happened on top of the carriage."
- Talking the Monster to Death: As in canon, this is Fluttershy's usual response to a threat. Fleur de Lis correctly warns her that this approach won't work with Worthy's ninjas.
- Took a Level in Badass: Played With. As shown in canon, Fluttershy is capable of being a great warrior, but only if one of her Berserk Buttons is pressed. Fleur de Lis' training is intended to overcome this.
- Unstoppable Rage: When Fluttershy is hit by Red Viper's dart in the final chapter, it removes all of her angry inhibitions and she attacks the Snakes without mercy.
- What Would X Do?: Fluttershy is trapped in the theater's storage room with Yellow Viper. She imagines how the rest of the Mane Six would react, and realizes that most of their solutions wouldn't work for her. Desperate, she uses Pinkie Pie's method — dressing up in the old costumes and pretending to be a hostile ghost—because it's Crazy Enough to Work.
- No-Sell: However, Yellow Viper is not convinced.Fluttershy: Well, it would have scared me.
- No-Sell: However, Yellow Viper is not convinced.
