Night of the Werepony

by Azure-Spark

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 13995

Fluttershy goes under a few personality changes after being bitten by a werewolf.

EDIT: First and probably only ever, added Author's Notes to address the frequent "Were means man" issue. Please read them before commenting.

"Fluttershy gets bitten by a werewolf from the Everfree Forest, but when a side effect of the changes limits her inhibitions, she starts to wonder if the cure is such a good idea. Even if she does start to behave a little 'differently' otherwise..."

A one-shot story in the spirit and style of an episode of the show itself.

--

Cover image by ~Dragon-Fangx
(With one small edit to fit details of the story)

Published 2012-02-25 06:14:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-25 06:14:02 UTC

Night of the Werepony

Author's Note

For the last time, I know fully well what "were" means in the context of "werewolf" and the like. That said, despite the inaccuracy (that I'm fully aware of), "Werepony" is far more immediately intuitive of a concept to convey than some twisting of old languages (suggestions such as lycequus, hipposwolf, etc.), not to mention it just flows better in general, in my opinion.

Please stop commenting to tell me what werewolf means. Thank you.

Night of the Werepony

Night of the Werepony
[Normal]

A wolf’s howl carried on the crisp nighttime air, followed by a hooting owl. Fluttershy shuddered as she shut her front door.

She carried a basket with her as she flew over toward a hillside burrow nestled at the roots of a tree. Moonlight shone brightly on the burrow. A small family of rabbits poked their heads out. Fluttershy smiled and set down the basket.

“Now, now,” she said. “It’s time for all the little bunny rabbits to get their sleep.”

The family’s ears drooped. Fluttershy tilted her head.

“Pretty please?” she pleaded. The rabbits looked at each other, then back to Fluttershy. She reached into the basket and pulled out a small quilt with a carrot stitched onto it. “I know it’s a little cold tonight, so I thought... w-would this help?”

Angel poked his head out of the basket. He glared at Fluttershy.

“Oh!” She gasped. “I’m sorry, Angel, I didn’t know you— eep!”

Angel grabbed the quilt out of Fluttershy’s hooves.

“Now, Angel,” Fluttershy insisted, “we have to share the blankets...”

He curled up in the blanket and hopped into the basket. Fluttershy hesitated. She gently nudged Angel.

“Please, Angel? The other bunnies will be so cold—”

A distant crack made Fluttershy nearly jump out of her hooves. The family of rabbits fled inside the burrow. Even Angel poked his head back up.

“Th-that sounded like it came from—”

Fluttershy’s train of thought was interrupted by a long, gradual wolf’s howl.

“E-Everfree...” Fluttershy finished in a stammer. She looked toward the ground and shuffled her hooves. “Th-that wolf sounds h-hurt...” she muttered.

Another howl sounded through the air. Fluttershy turned toward her house.

“W-well everyone’s asleep but me now, s-so I think I’ll just go—”

Angel shook off his blanket. He hopped out of the basket and onto Fluttershy’s back. She turned to face him, and he just glared at her.

“G-go back to sleep, Angel, I—”

He crossed his arms and thumped his foot impatiently.

“Well I know that I should, b-but—”

He grabbed her head and turned it toward the forest where they had heard the howls.

“B-but it’s the Everfree F-forest... at n-night...”

Another sad howl rang out. Angel pointed toward it and thumped his foot again. Fluttershy sighed.

“Y-you’re right, Angel,” she admitted. Angel nodded as he hopped back into the basket.

Fluttershy stared at the forest for a moment. Her knees began to quiver.

“A-alright, Angel,” she stuttered. “I-I’ll be b-back later to take you inside. Could you p-please stay here and watch the other b-bunnies for me?”

He waved in acknowledgement from the basket.

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m going, I’m going, I’m— Oh, but what if there’s something dangerous in the way? What if I get lost? What if nopony can hear me scream for help!? What if—”

One more howl came from the forest.

“Oh dear...” She gulped. “I’m coming! I’m coming!” she called out. Her sympathy won out over her fear, and she took off flying into the forest.

Fluttershy trotted carefully through the woods. Every little sound here and there made her jump.
Each one seemed just a little closer than the last.

“C-calm down, Fluttershy,” she told herself. “It’ll b-be fine! I just have to save one little—”

She stepped on a branch. A shiver ran through her. She yelped and darted through the trees as fast as she could.

At least until she ran headfirst into a sideways tree.

She flopped to the ground and groaned. Sitting up, Fluttershy struggled to see through blurred vision. The only thing she was really sure of was the sound of a whimpering canine not too far away. She shook her head, trying to get into focus.

Her eyes ran up the fluffy fur of a huge wolf trapped under an even larger branch. Fluttershy thought she had literally shrunk for a moment. Of course, big or small, any animal was a friend to Fluttershy.

“Oh my!” she said. She flew above the tree to get a better view. “Oh, dear. That must be heavy...”

The wolf stared sadly up at her. It tugged on its trapped leg.

“Please don’t do that!” she insisted. “You could make it worse!”

It stopped immediately.

She took another look around. Her hoof touched her chin while she thought. The wolf watched intently. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

“Oh! I’ve got it!” she exclaimed. She landed next to the branch and dug her nose underneath. Her eyes shut. “Ready?” she asked. She just assumed that the wolf had nodded.

Fluttershy pushed forward and up against the log. Her hooves dug into the soft forest floor, but eventually hit solid ground to help her brace herself. Slowly, the branch lifted up, and the wolf snapped its leg out from underneath. Fluttershy winked open one eye to check, then dropped the log.

“Phew!” she said. She wiped the sweat and dirt from her forehead. The wolf licked her face. She smiled brightly. “Now, you might have to stay off that paw for a while...” she started.

The wolf sniffed her intently. She giggled a little.

“You’re probably smelling all the other animals I take care of,” she explained. “If you want, you could come home with me, and...” The wolf ignored her.

“W-well, I should get back home, it’s past my bedtime, and...” She tried to push the beast away, but it didn’t budge. It really was a massive animal; it almost seemed more like a bear cub than a wolf now that it was free.

“Please, I—”

It stopped sniffing around her leg. Its curious demeanor gave way to a low growl. It licked it’s lips, growling hungrily.

“W-what are you— Oh, you’re smelling the bunnies, aren’t you!” The wolf licked her leg. She giggled and patted its head. “I’m not a bunny myself though. S-sorry.”

The wolf frowned and sniffed again.

“I-I promise I wouldn’t lie to you! Although, I wouldn’t want to get eaten or anything...”

The wolf growled angrily. Fluttershy gasped. She flinched, and the wolf snapped at her.

“Ow!” she cried. She shook the wolf’s jaws off and held her bitten hoof tight to herself. Her lip quivered and a tear welled in her eye, but only for a moment. She jumped into the air away from the wolf and hovered there, glaring intensely at it.

“No! Bad wolf!” she scolded. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you not to bite the hoof that feeds you?”

It stared blankly at her.

“What do you have to say for yourself?”

It barked twice before it ran away. Fluttershy’s jaw dropped.

“Don’t you run away when I’m talking to you, mister!”

She dropped to the ground to stomp, but yelped from the sharp pain in her front-left hoof. She looked at it and gasped.

“No,” she said as she tried to back away from her own hoof. “No, no, no no no nonono!”

Her eyes widened as she beheld a pale white glow coming off of the bite. It seemed even brighter in the shadows of the trees.

“S-so that w-was... oh, no, th-this can’t be happening...” she whispered to herself. She began to sob softly. “Except it can be happening. They do exist after all... Or so I’ve heard...” She shook her head. “I-I have to get home... I c-can’t just stay out h-here...”

She looked at the moonlight hitting the forest floor between the tree canopy and shuddered.

“M-maybe it’s not...” she thought aloud. She hobbled over on three hooves, then stuck her hurt hoof into the light. In a matter of seconds, the hair on her leg started to darken and turn gray while growing longer. Fluttershy gasped and pulled her hoof back.

“O-or it is,” she squeaked. “Or it r-really is a... a w-werewolf bite...”

She stared at the bite. How could this have happened? What would she say to her friends?

A branch snapping reminded her of where she still was. Werewolf or not, she was still Fluttershy, lost in the Everfree Forest. She collapsed on the ground and curled up, shivering and whimpering.

And yet the answer was almost right in front of her. Through the trees, she could see a vaguely familiar hut.

“Zecora! Maybe she’ll know what to do!” she said. She knew the route here felt familiar. All she had to do was make it through the shadows...

Fluttershy froze at the edge of the treeline. Only now did she notice that Zecora’s hut sat in an open clearing, or at least open from the sky. No matter where she looked, Fluttershy would have to go through a few yards of moonlight just to knock on the door.

“Help!” she shouted. Immediately she clapped her hooves to her mouth. Trees rustled around her. She thought she heard a low thump of heavy footsteps. The only things in the forest that didn’t seem to be disturbed by her cry were Zecora and her home.

“Oh, if only it were just a little closer...” she muttered. She shook her head. “I’ll just have to c-come back in the morning, when it’s safer...”

A breeze passed over the basket left on the hill. Angel shivered and curled up tighter with the blanket. By chance, he opened his eyes for a moment. A blur between bushes startled him.

He sat up to watch. There was a clear trail of bushes and hedges leading toward the hill. Something was bouncing between them, on its way toward Angel. He raised an eyebrow and an ear.

Eventually he lost sight of whatever it was. There was a short silence. He stood up in the basket, then—

“Hi Angel, I’m back,” Fluttershy said suddenly, springing out of the bushes.

Angel toppled over, taking the basket with him. Fluttershy’s ears fell back tight to her head.

“Oh, I’m sorry!”

He brushed himself off while he righted the basket. He hopped back in and fixed up the blankets inside.

“I, umm, well I can’t go back inside right now,” Fluttershy said. “I-it’s a long story, but I can’t really go into the moonlight...” She glanced at her hoof, her right ear, and then her tail. It all looked much more gray and unkempt than usual, with tufts of hair here and there puffed out where it shouldn’t be. “Do you think I could make it safely from here to my house?”

Angel shrugged, then flopped down into his basket-bed. Fluttershy sighed.

“Oh well. I’m sure he won’t mind if I borrow—”

She tried to grab a blanket, but Angel swatted her nose with one of his ears.

“Oh, umm... okay then...”

Quietly, she slumped over to the trunk of the tree and curled up there. It was a little chilly, but at least it was in the shade. Besides, after all that running, she was so tired that she could’ve fallen asleep just about anywhere.

“Goodnight, Angel,” she whispered. He waved.

The next morning, Fluttershy woke with a soft yawn. She blinked her eyes open. Her house was in front of her, so she couldn’t be inside.

“Wow, what a crazy dream that was,” she thought aloud. She stood up, yelping when she put one of her hooves down. The sun was out, but she could still see the glow from the bite in the shade.

“O-oh no... that wasn’t a dream,” she muttered. She sighed. “At least it’s morning now.”

Angel yawned and rolled over. Fluttershy smiled.

“Good morning, Angel,” she said. Her tail swayed gently back and forth. Angel curled the blanket over himself again. Fluttershy scooped up the basket in her mouth and trotted over to her doorstep. The shaking of the basket finally woke Angel.

Fluttershy paused at her door and tilted her head. Angel rolled out of the side of the basket. Fluttershy dropped it when she heard the thump.

“Oh, my, I’m so sorry!”

Angel shrugged. He grabbed his blanket from the night before and wrapped it around himself.

Fluttershy turned her attention back to the door. She looked at her hoof, then kicked gently at the door. That failing, she tried to use both of her front hooves at once. She then scratched at the door, flailing her front hooves.

Angel shook his head. He hopped up and pointed to the doorknob.

“Oh... right,” said Fluttershy. She blushed. Angel just rolled his eyes.

It took another couple of tries, but Fluttershy eventually worked the knob and pushed the door open. She set the basket down on a table before heading up the stairs to her bedroom. Angel found himself a chair to fall back to sleep in.

“I guess I’m just tired,” said Fluttershy. “I mean, how else could I forget how a door works?”

She found a hairbrush, then a full-body mirror. Her reflection was a relief. Short of the glowing toothmarks on her leg, she looked completely normal. Well, her mane had a few leaves in it, but that’s what the brush was for.

“Now, I can’t forget,” she said while brushing. “I need to go to Zecora’s right away.” The brush caught a knot between hair and a twig. “Grrr—”

Three knocks came from the front door.

“Fluttershy? You up yet?” called Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy smiled as a reflex. She carefully fixed the knot, finishing her brushing. She set the brush back down as she went for the stairs. A sight in the corner of her eye made her do a double-take.

“Oh, no,” she thought to herself, looking at the reflection of her leg. “I can’t let any of my friends see this. I don’t want them to worry! Even if they could help— no, I-I can just handle this by myself. I just need to make it look like nothing ever happened.” She glanced over at her animal first-aid kit. “No, bandages would just make it look worse...” She looked around her bedroom for another answer. Finally her eyes brightened as they settled on her bed.

Fluttershy trotted quickly downstairs.

“Hello? Fluttershy?” Rainbow called again.

“Just a minute!”

Fluttershy spotted the basket and jumped toward it. She pulled out one of the blankets that had been packed down by Angel. It was green with a sunflower pattern embroidered on it.

“Perfect!” whispered Fluttershy. She draped it on the table, placed her bitten hoof on top of it, then folded and tied it around her leg. It ended up looking somewhere between the makeshift cast that it was and a leg warmer like somepony would wear for a workout. “Even better,” she said. “Now I can just call it a... a fashion statement! Or something...”

“What’s taking you so long!?” Rainbow asked.

“Coming!” Fluttershy trotted over to the door. This time, she remembered about the knob, although for some reason she had to stop herself from jumping on the door again. “Good morning, Rainbow Dash.”

“Yeah, yeah, good morning,” she replied. “Did ya sleep in or something?”

“Hm? Oh, no, I just umm... well does it matter now?”

“I guess not.” Rainbow raised her eyebrow. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Why, yes I am, thank you!”

“Well, good. I just came to remind you— are you wagging?”

Fluttershy looked at her tail. Indeed, it was waving back and forth involuntarily. She lowered her head, her ears pressed down, and her tail tucked between her legs.

“S-sorry...” she whimpered.

“Wait— really!?” Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold it back any more. She burst out laughing, collapsing against the doorframe. “Wow, Fluttershy. Don’t you think you’ve been hanging around animals a little too much?”

“W-well... yes, I mean yes. That’s gotta be it.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes playfully. “Anyway, I came to remind you about breakfast this morning.”

“Breakfast?” Fluttershy tilted her head, raising one ear while lowering the other. Rainbow snickered, but Fluttershy didn’t notice.

“Breakfast at Pinkie’s. Remember, we were talking about it yesterday? All of us, Sugarcube Corner...”

Fluttershy smiled wide and bounced in place. Her tail was wagging slightly again.

“Woohoo! I can’t wait!” she said.

Rainbow Dash jumped back, buckled over with laughter.

“What is with you today, Fluttershy? I’d expect something like that out of Pinkie Pie, not you!”

Fluttershy stopped bouncing.

“S-sorry?”

“Don’t be!” Rainbow Dash put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Now why don’t I get to see this Fluttershy more often?”

“Well I—”

“Hold that thought,” Rainbow interjected. “We really gotta get going. The Cakes aren’t serving the food until everypony gets there. Trust me, we do not want to keep Pinkie waiting.”

“Oh my,” said Fluttershy. Rainbow pushed her out the door. “Wait, Rainbow Dash, there’s something really important I—”

“I’m sure whatever it is, it can wait.” Rainbow took off into the air. Fluttershy ran after her. It took a second, but Rainbow noticed something was missing. “Uhh, what happened to flying?”

Fluttershy paused, then tested her wings. Her right wing flapped lazily, while her left twitched without opening. Rainbow Dash smacked her forehead with her hoof.

“Oh, sorry! I think I can get this,” Fluttershy insisted. She hopped in the air and caught herself with a bout of furious flapping. She smiled as it came back to her, and flew up to Rainbow’s side.

“Are ya sure you’re okay?”

Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow stared skeptically. Fluttershy smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah. Right.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes before leading onward. “Oh, and what’s with the thing on your l—”

“Fashion statement!” Fluttershy blurted out.

“... whatever.”

Meanwhile at Sugarcube Corner, their four friends sat around the table. There was no food, just silverware.

“Ugh!” Pinkie Pie groaned and slumped over her empty plate. “Where are they!?”

“I’m sure they won’t be too long,” reassured Twilight.

“This is Rainbow Dash we’re talking about,” Rarity added.

“But I’m hungry now!” Pinkie Pie’s stomach growled. She smashed her face against the table, shaking the plates around her. “Are you sure we can’t just start without them?” she called to the kitchen.

“Sorry Pinkie, but you know the rules. No one eats until everypony’s present. It’s only polite!” Mrs. Cake’s words were less accommodating than what Pinkie was hoping to hear.

“Puh-lease?”

“Patience, sugarcube!” Applejack nudged Pinkie Pie. “No point in havin’ this get-together if we ain’t all here in the first place, right?”

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “I guess not...”

“Besides,” said Twilight. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are just as hungry as the rest of us. And it’s not like either of them to keep us waiting—” The sound of the doorbell cut her off. “See? That’s probably them now!”

Pinkie Pie perked up and watched the door eagerly as Twilight got up to answer it. Twilight opened the door and smiled.

“Welcome back, Rainbow Dash, and good morning, Flutters— Uhh, Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash watched and snickered softly while Fluttershy sniffed at the welcome mat. It wasn’t until Twilight spoke up that Fluttershy even knew the door was open. She blushed and recoiled.

“S-sorry...”

“Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie shouted from the table. “She’s here! She’s here! Wa-hoo! Now we can eat!” She bounced in her seat and stared toward the kitchen, drooling in excitement.

Mrs. Cake poked her head out of the kitchen. “Oh, good, she really is. Good morning, dear!”

“G-good morning Mrs. Cake,” whimpered Fluttershy. She took her seat in between Rarity and Rainbow Dash. She shifted her legs to hide the leg-wrap.

Twilight leaned over to Rainbow Dash and whispered, “What was that at the door?”

“Don’t ask. She’s been acting funny all morning.” Rainbow glanced over at Fluttershy’s tail, which was oh-so-subtlely waving back and forth against the floor.

“Is she alright?”

“Probably. Either way, it’s better than her usual scaredy-cat attitude, right?”

Twilight frowned. “But acting like an animal?”

“It’s Fluttershy. You know, lives with animals? It was bound to happen sooner or later.”

“Are you absolutely, positively sure? Fluttershy’s been around animals for a long time. Why would she just start with this now?”

“It’s not like it’s the first time she’s snapped. Relax, Twilight. She’ll be back to normal in a day, two days tops.”

“Well... I guess you do know her a bit better than anypony else.” Twilight shrugged. “If you think she’s alright, I’ll trust your instinct.”

The kitchen doors opened. Mr. Cake balanced a platter of food on his back with a little help from his wife. Twilight took her seat.

“Okay, so we have—” Mrs. Cake started.

“Pancakes, glazed donuts, powdered donuts, donut-holes, bagels, sugar-crisp cereal—” Pinkie Pie took a deep breath to finish. “And all of that with your choice of chocolate, blueberry, or maple syrup!” Everypony’s mouth was watering by the end of her speech.

Mrs. Cake chuckled. “And of course, we have milk, orange juice, and a pot of tea on in the back.”

“Oooh, that’ll be for me of course,” Rarity chimed in.

“Well, let’s all take what we want to eat first,” said Twilight.

“I’ll go first!” Pinkie Pie jumped in. “Two powdered, two glazed, a short-stack of pancakes, annnd chocolate syrup!”

“Hey!” said Rainbow Dash. “Save some for the rest of us!” Mrs. Cake was starting to set aside what looked like half the platter just for Pinkie’s order.

Pinkie Pie blushed. “Uhh... maybe hold some of the donuts.” Mrs. Cake pushed only one of each kind of donut onto Pinkie’s plate, then a pair of pancakes. Pinkie impatiently grabbed the bottle of syrup herself, earning her a dirty look from Mr. Cake.

“Since you spoke up, would you like to go next, Rainbow Dash?”

Fluttershy stared at the platter of sweets and pastries. It was just one big reminder of how hungry she was. She had apparently slept in longer than she thought. Her mind drifted into daydreams about how wonderful everything could taste. She finally tuned everypony else back in when Rainbow nudged her shoulder.

Mrs. Cake looked at Fluttershy and giggled. “Well, somepony’s eager this morning.”

It took her a moment, but Fluttershy realized what she was talking about; her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. She quickly pulled it back and shut her mouth tight. Her head lowered to the table.

“I’m sorry...”

“Don’t be! We take it as a compliment whenever anypony gets that excited over our cooking!” said Mr. Cake.

“R-really?”

“Of course!” Mrs. Cake replied. “Now, what’ll it be for ya, sweetheart?”

Fluttershy sat back up straight. “Oh, umm, I’ll just have some pancakes. And whatever syrup you think tastes the best.”

“Blueberry it is.” Mrs. Cake grabbed Fluttershy’s plate and slid a stack of four or five pancakes onto it. She slid the plate along with the bottle of syrup back across the table. “Next!”

Fluttershy looked at the bottle of syrup quizzically. She picked it up and tilted it, but nothing happened. Puzzled, she set it back down and stared at it.

“Do you by any chance want some help?” asked Rarity. Fluttershy blushed and nodded. Rarity smiled. She popped the lid with magic then lifted the bottle in the air. “Just say when,” she said as she began to drizzle the syrup over the pancakes.

“When,” said Fluttershy. Rarity set the bottle down and gently placed the lid back. “Thank you very much.”

“Oh it’s no problem at all. I’m glad I could— Waah!?”

Fluttershy began to dig into her food. Quite literally. Everypony else stopped and stared at her as she swung her pancakes around, trying to bite off a piece. Syrup splattered all over the table. Pinkie Pie was the first to break the awkward silence.

“Ooh, ooh! Lemme try!” she said. Pinkie grabbed one of her pancakes and shook it around in a similar manner.

“Ugh! The two of you, I swear!” Rarity intervened. She picked up her plate as a shield against the flying syrup and pancake bits. “Can we just have a nice, civil bre— Ahh!” She ducked just in time to avoid half of a pancake smacking her in the face. She got back up and glared at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie sunk back in her seat.

“Sorry, Rarity!” she said. Applejack tried to hide her snickering. Rainbow Dash on the other hand made no effort to hide laughter, and fell backwards onto the ground.

Rainbow laughed. “Wow, Fluttershy!” she shouted. She didn’t care in the slightest about the bits of food flying into her mane.

Fluttershy finished eating and got a good look at the table around her. Pinkie was giggling through her food, Applejack and Twilight smiled at her oddly, and Rarity and Mrs. Cake glared at her. Fluttershy cowered below the table.

“I-I’m so sorry... I don’t know what came over me.”

“Whadya mean?” asked Pinkie Pie. “That was fun! I need to try eating like that more often!”

“No you don’t!” yelled Mrs. Cake. “Let’s see how ‘fun’ you think it is after you clean all of this up!”

“... F-fun?”

“Yeah it was!” Rainbow Dash put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “It’s about time you loosened up a bit!”

“I-it is?”

“Well we certainly didn’t expect that out of you on a normal day,” Rarity muttered.

Applejack licked a patch of syrup off of her face between bites of her own donut. “Kinda reminded me o’ Apple Bloom for a minute there. Well, her or Winona...”

Fluttershy averted her eyes from Applejack at the mention of her dog.

“The point is,” said Rainbow Dash. “Maybe if you tried to just loosen up and act all crazy like that more often, it’d be, well, more fun! Right Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie bounced around the table and hugged the two. “Oh, yes, tons more fun! I mean, I’m not saying you’re not normally fun, even though you can be a little quiet and to yourself and stuff, but it’s just good ol’ fashioned plain fun to let yourself go nuts like that! Didn’t that feel so good just now?”

“Well I guess—”

“On the other hoof,” Rarity spoke up. “A lady needs to keep up appearances and proper etiquette.” She gave a sideways glance at Fluttershy’s leg. “Speaking of appearances, what is that?”

“W-what is what!?” Fluttershy double-checked that the blanket was still secure.

“A... ‘fashion statement’, right?” offered Rainbow Dash.

“Yes, th-that’s it!”

Rarity smirked. “Oh, Fluttershy... You know I’m always happy to help if you want to try a new look.” She looked up and scowled. “Even if you did get syrup in my hair,” she muttered.

“Oh, no thank you. I wanted to try to figure something out on my own.”

Rarity’s jaw dropped. Applejack and Twilight each did a double-take.

“W-what!?”

“Oh, it’s nothing,” said Rarity. “I’m not offended, I’m just surprised that you actually said ‘no’ to something like this.”

“See?” said Rainbow Dash. “First she lets herself get a little crazy, then the confidence comes naturally!”

“Confidence?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yes, confidence. Something everypony needs,” insisted Rainbow. She poked Fluttershy’s chest with her hoof. “Especially you.”

Mrs. Cake stood over the two and cleared her throat.

“I hate to interrupt this life lesson, but would anypony not named Pinkie Pie please get out so we can start cleaning the syrup off of the walls?”

Rainbow Dash jumped to her hooves. “Uhh, yeah, about that...”

“Come on everypony,” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” added Applejack. “Let’s get outta their hair.” She herded Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash towards the door. Fluttershy stayed behind.

“I-I can help clean too—”

Mrs. Cake sighed. “Well, Pinkie Pie did say she’d clean up after her friends if we had this breakfast for them...”

“I’d feel bad if I couldn’t help. I sort of have somewhere to be, but I did start this mess...”

Pinkie Pie popped up from behind the counter. “Please can she stay and help? It’ll be so much more fun with a friend!”

“But it’s not supposed to be—” Mrs. Cake started.

“And it’ll go faster with two of us!” added Fluttershy.

“Look, you can help if you want, Fluttershy. But remember, you’re cleaning as Pinkie’s punishment, not playing a game.” Mrs. Cake sighed and trudged back to the kitchen. Mr. Cake’s legs began to shake.

“W-wait for me!” he called after his wife. His balance shifted when he tried to walk. Pinkie Pie hopped over the counter and ducked under the platter next to him. Fluttershy jumped in on the other side. The two of them lifted the platter, and Mr. Cake ran out from underneath. Pinkie and Fluttershy carefully slid the platter off of their backs and balanced it on the counter.

“Oh, well, thanks,” said Mr. Cake. “But you still have to clean up around here.” Pinkie Pie nodded confidently. “Well... alright, I’ll just uhh... go.” Mr. Cake slipped out of the room.

“Umm, Pinkie Pie?”

“Yeees?”

“Can I ask you a question? About ‘fun’?”

Pinkie Pie giggled as she grabbed a mop from the closet. “Well, Fluttershy, you’ve come to the right pony. Ask away!”

“Well... what exactly makes me more fun when I act... well—”

Fluttershy looked back sharply. Gummy had come downstairs, and now was treating Fluttershy’s tail like a chew toy. She whipped around and bent over, glaring at him.

“Grrrr!” She bared her teeth and growled. Her ears pressed back to her head. Gummy blinked.

“Oh, oh, I love this game!” Pinkie dropped the mop and put her hoof to her chin. “Umm... a kitty-cat— No, no, a doggy! A doggy!”

Fluttershy shook her head. “What?”

“Was I right? Was I right?”

“Right about what?”

Pinkie giggled. “Charades, silly! You started growlin’ and snarlin’ like a dog, or I think it was a dog, so I guessed you were trying to be a dog!”

Fluttershy shuddered. “Oh, no, I wasn’t... was I really? I mean, I—”

“You mean you weren’t playing Charades?” Pinkie Pie scratched her head. “Then why’d ya go all ‘grrrr’ at Gummy? Unless...”

Fluttershy gasped and turned to face Gummy. “Oh, no, I’m so sorry Gummy! I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t mean to—”

“Sniffing at the door, eating all funny, growling... I’ve got it!”

“Wait, Pinkie Pie— I can explain—”

“That’s you new thing, isn’t it!”

“... m-my what?”

“You know, it’s part of how you’re getting all wild ‘n crazy!” Pinkie put her hoof around Fluttershy’s neck in a half-hug. “It’s like... ‘Doggy-shy’, or uhh... ‘Flutter-pup’! And lemme tell ya, I’m happy for ya!”

“Y-you are?” Fluttershy sighed in relief. Pinkie seemed to miss the point.

“Of course! Maybe sometime you can come with me and Rainbow Dash and we can show you how to really have fun!”

“D-do I really need to be like this to have fun?”

Pinkie shrugged. “It helps! Just loosen up, let yourself go nuts, and watch all the fun things start to happen to ya!”

Fluttershy smiled. “O-okay, I can do that.”

“What was that?” Pinkie asked playfully.

“I mean— I can do that!” Fluttershy sat down and let her tail wag freely.

Pinkie giggled. “That’s the spirit!”

A sharp knock on the kitchen door caught their attention. “I don’t hear any cleaning going on in there!”

Pinkie Pie jumped, scooping up the mop. Fluttershy snickered.

“Maybe I can learn to live with this? I mean, I don’t want to get rid of it now... Not if I need confidence like this...” she whispered to herself.

“You gonna help or not?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, umm, sorry!” Fluttershy grabbed another mop from the closet and set to work on the ceiling. How either of them got food up there they’d never quite understand.

Later that day and back in Fluttershy’s house, the carrot blanket from earlier lay in the chair Angel had taken his nap in. Angel now hopped around the kitchen. He checked in one cabinet, then another, and then a drawer. He still found nothing to eat. His little stomach rumbled. He jumped down to check the floor-level cabinets again.

The front door slammed open, and Angel jumped. Fluttershy darted inside and kicked the door closed behind her. She panted, looking around quickly. After a moment she shook her head and pulled her tongue back inside her mouth. Angel stared, bewildered.

“Quick! Angel! Help me close all the windows! Oh, cleaning up took much longer than I thought it would...”

He tilted his head. She jumped over him on the way to the kitchen window. His jaw dropped. Fluttershy closed the window and pulled the blinds tight.

“Hurry, Angel! The sun will be setting soon!”

Angel scratched his head, but hopped off into the front room anyway to get to work.

Fluttershy ran up the stairs. The entire way was spent panting with her tongue hanging loose again. She didn’t even bother to fix it this time, despite nearly biting her tongue as she skidded to a halt in front of her door.

Just outside her window was a small family of birds. Her eyes brightened as she approached.

“Oh, hello there little jays,” she said. “Would you mind maybe helping me close my windows? I’d be really grateful for the help.”

The birds looked at each other, then fluttered away.

“W-wait!”

They stopped not two feet from the window. Fluttershy looked at them with a quivering lip. One of the birds slowly hovered to her. She cracked a soft smile.

“Thank you,” she said. The birds flitted off around the side of the house. Fluttershy closed the bedroom window and drew the shades tight.

Between the pony, the bunny, and the birds, it only took a few minutes to get every open window in the house. And, of course, Fluttershy double and triple-checked that the shades were drawn. It was almost completely dark inside the house until Fluttershy lit a candle.

“Okay, okay,” she said. “If no moonlight can get to me, I can’t change, right? A-and if I don’t change, th-then I don’t need to get cured, r-right?”

Angel shrugged.

“Oh, it should be fine. And this way I can keep being all... ‘wild’ with my friends!”

Someone knocked on the door. Fluttershy yelped and dove under the table.

“Fluttershy? You in there?” It was Rainbow Dash’s voice.

“Hellooo?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“What is it?” Fluttershy called out. She didn’t budge from the floor.

“Uhh, we were hoping that you could hang out with us for a bit tonight. Pinkie’s done cleaning, and—“

“You could come and hang out with us and we could go all over town playing jokes on everypony and— Oomph!”

“What she means,” said Rainbow Dash. “Is that we could go and, you know, help you loosen up some more or something!”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Well, I’m sorry, but I... um, well—”

“What’s wrong?”

“Maybe she’s scared of the dark...” said Pinkie Pie.

“Ugh!” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Come on, Fluttershy! You were doing so well until now!”

Fluttershy sniffled quietly.

“You can’t make her come if she doesn’t want to, silly.”

“But she— I mean, we were gonna—”

“I’m sorry!” Fluttershy interrupted. “I-I can make it up to you in the morning... I mean— I will make it up to you! I promise!”

“Yeah, sure...”

“Really!?” Pinkie Pie squealed happily. “See, Dashie, I knew she’d come through for us!”

“I don’t know... Are you sure you mean that Fluttershy? It’s gonna be pretty crazy... might seem a little mean, if you can’t take a joke yourself...”

Fluttershy took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m sure. I want to learn how to have more ‘fun’, if you don’t mind—”

“Then it’s settled. Tommorrow. The lake. Meet us there.”

“Oh! Oh! And bring birdseed! And some duct tape!”

“I will! I will!” Fluttershy smiled. “You can count on me!”

“Great!” said Pinkie Pie. “Now come on, Rainbow Dash. We can still have some fun until tomorrow!” Fluttershy heard her bouncing on the front step.

“See ya tomorrow, Fluttershy!” called Rainbow as they left.

Fluttershy sighed. Her tail wagged, brushing against Angel. He hopped over and around it, almost stepping on Fluttershy’s hoof.

“Tomorrow is going to be a good day, Angel,” she said. She picked up the candle and carried it with her up the stairs. Angel followed the light. “Now for a good night’s sleep...”

One more time, she made sure the blinds were secure on her bedroom window before she went to sleep.

The next morning, several ponies were splashing and laughing in the shallow end of the lake outside Ponyville. They seemed to enjoy just bouncing a ball around in the sun.

A duck landed in the water on the far shore. It barely touched down and settled its feathers when Rainbow Dash stuck her head out of the nearest bush.

“Shh! Scram!” she whispered harshly. The startled bird took off back the way it came. Rainbow pulled herself back inside the bush.

“Got the crank ready?” she asked.

“Yup!” replied Pinkie Pie.

“And the angle’s right?”

“Hmm... Check!”

“Think we’ve got enough power?”

“Yesiree!”

“Excellent.”

Rainbow Dash burst through the bushes and shook off some of the leaves. Pinkie Pie poked her head out from behind them.

“Now all we need is the ammunition,” said Rainbow. She rubbed her hooves together and smiled. “I hope Fluttershy gets as good of a kick outta this as we do.”

Pinkie squinted toward the sky. “Is that her?”

“I think— No, that’s just a falcon or someth—”

“I’m here!” Fluttershy spoke up, just a few feet away.

Rainbow Dash jumped in surprise, landing with a large splash. Some of the water hit Fluttershy’s hair and part of her saddlebags; she shook it off without a second thought. Pinkie Pie fell back down behind the bushes, laughing hysterically.

“How did you— Where’d you come from!?”

Fluttershy smirked. “I thought I’d walk this morning,” she said. She covered her mouth partially with her hoof. “Did I really scare you?”

“Wel— No!” Rainbow pouted.

Pinkie Pie hopped out of the bush giggling. “Liar, liar, pants on fire!”

Rainbow paused. “What pants?” she muttered.

“It’s okay, Rainbow Dash,” said Fluttershy. She offered a hoof to help Rainbow stand up. “It’s alright to be scared.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, but accepted her help anyway. “I wasn’t scared...” she grumbled. “Startled, maybe, but not scared.”

“Anyway,” Pinkie Pie interjected. “Did ya bring the birdseed Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded. She opened a saddlebag to show the bag. Rainbow grabbed it in her hooves in a flash.

“Hehe, perfect!” she exclaimed.

Fluttershy tilted to the other side. “I, umm, I brought two bags, just in case.”

“Way to think ahead, Fluttershy!” said Rainbow Dash. She grabbed the other one and tossed it to Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah! Twice the birdseed means twice the laughs!”

“Laughs?” Fluttershy tilted her head.

“Oh yeah, we didn’t tell ya yet! We’re gonna—” Pinkie Pie was cut off by Rainbow’s hoof in her mouth.

“It’s a surprise. Just watch.”

Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow shook her head. She flew up to Fluttershy and re-aimed her head at the lake.

“Watch those ponies over there.”

“Okay?”

Rainbow darted back into the bushes. Fluttershy couldn’t help but watch the rustling, listening to the odd noises of tools and cranking. At some point, one of the now-empty bags of birdseed was tossed aside.

“Ready?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Fire!” Pinkie shouted.

Fluttershy yelped as the arm of a crude catapult snapped out of the bushes. Birdseed flew through the air, scattering all over the lake. Most of it, however, landed among the ponies on the far side.

“Oh my...”

Rainbow and Pinkie left the bushes and sat on either side of Fluttershy.

“Just wait for it,” said Rainbow Dash, stifling her laughter.

Fluttershy stared at the confused ponies, a bit confused herself. She raised an ear. Behind her she heard something like a whole bunch of flags whipping around in the wind. She sniffed the air and smiled.

“Rruff!” she barked, turning around to watch. Pinkie Pie giggled at her.

A mass of about a hundred birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors flocked past the three. They swarmed the poor ponies on the far shore, pecking at their hair to try to get at all the seed.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie fell backwards laughing. Fluttershy ducked down, blushing. She too was at least snickering a bit, as much as she tried to hide it.

“Oh my, those birds were hungry...” she said.

Rainbow patted her back. “Come on, you know you want to laugh!”

Fluttershy smiled sheepishly.

“Say it with me: Ha-ha!” offered Pinkie Pie.

“Ha... ha?”

“Come on, Fluttershy, you can laugh!” Rainbow nudged her. “That was funny!”

Fluttershy glanced over at the birds again. One of them was trying to turn one of the ponies’ heads into a nest. The pony shook her head, but the bird just sat there calmly.

Fluttershy smiled. Her soft giggling started to pick up.

“That’s it! Go Fluttershy!” Pinkie cheered.

Fluttershy found herself laughing out loud. She gasped for a breath, then resumed laughing even louder than she normally spoke. She dropped to the ground and rolled over, unable to control herself. Pinkie Pie soon joined her, with Rainbow quickly following suit.

“I-I feel sorta bad for those ponies, and the birds, but it just looks so silly—”

“Exactly!” said Rainbow Dash. “You can’t feel bad for anypony when you pull a prank like this. You just gotta remember it’s all in good fun!”

Fluttershy struggled to stop laughing for long enough to respond. “I think— haha— it was really funny when they first saw the birds.”

“Yeah, bet they didn’t see that coming!” Pinkie Pie kicked into the air as she laughed.

“Ya know, Fluttershy,” said Rainbow Dash. “I have to admit, I had my doubts. But you seem like you can take and make a joke much better than I coulda hoped for.”

“You really mean that?”

“Well we’ll just have to test ya out some more, just to be sure,” Rainbow replied. “But I got a hunch.” She smiled and winked.

Fluttershy smiled brightly. Her tail wagged between her friends.

The rest of the afternoon was spent acquainting Fluttershy with the fine art of the practical joke. Pinkie Pie insisted on starting with some of the basics. This meant things like whoopee cushions, balancing a bucket of water on the door, and the famous doorbell-ditch. Fluttershy wasn’t so good at the last one. She kept trying to paw at the doors.

By lunchtime, Rainbow Dash decided it was time to kick it up a notch. The plan was theoretically simple: lure somepony into an alley, get them to look inside a “fortune teller’s” tent, then jump out and surprise her.

It went even better than expected.

Pinkie Pie, disguised as a carny with a mustache, stood in the street twirling a cane. “Step right up, fillies and gentlecolts!” she chanted in a deeper voice, part of the disguise. “Come and see the amazing fortune teller, Show n’ Tell! See tomorrow, today! And it’s all for free!”

Rainbow Dash watched her from the tent. “Alright, Fluttershy. You remember what to do?” Fluttershy nodded. She hid under the table and readied herself to jump. “Awesome,” said Rainbow Dash. She looked back toward Pinkie Pie. Pinkie waved her hoof and winked when the pony in front of her wasn’t looking.

“Oh, we got somepony! Whatshername— Juniper... something? Anyway, that was the signal!” Rainbow took her position next to Fluttershy, letting the tent cover close behind her. The two of them sniggered.

The mare Pinkie had been talking to poked her head into the tent. “Hello?” she asked.

“Surprise!” shouted Rainbow, jumping up and toppling the table over.

“Rrruff ruff!” Fluttershy barked, pouncing the pony. Fluttershy stood on Juniper’s chest, panting and wagging.

Pinkie Pie popped into the alleyway. She laughed so hard that her top hat and fake mustache fell right off.

“W-what’s going on!?” asked their victim.

“You just got Flutter-dogged,” said Rainbow Dash. She shook her head.

Juniper stared up at Fluttershy. “Can you please get off of me?”

Fluttershy shook her head and blushed. “Oh, I-I’m sorry,” she said as she lifted her hooves. Rainbow gave her a sideways glance; she had the pose of a “begging” dog.

Juniper brushed herself off as she stood. “Oh, it’s fine, ya got me,” she said with a sigh.

“And was it fuuun?” asked Pinkie Pie.

“I... guess?”

“Woohoo!” said Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie bounced happily. Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy. Juniper rolled her eyes and walked out of the alley unnoticed.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and smiled. She trotted along the path outside of Ponyville with some groceries in her saddlebags.

“Ah, what a beautiful day,” she thought out loud, taking another breath of fresh air. “I’m surprised I haven’t seen more of Rainbow Dash. She’d usually be practicing flying on a day like this.” Twilight stopped and put a hoof to her chin. “For that matter, where are all the birds?”

“I got it! I got it!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Twilight ducked under Pinkie as she jumped past without looking. Her eyes were focused on a frisbee, which narrowly missed Twilight. Pinkie snatched it out of the air with her mouth, then shook it around while growling playfully. She stopped and dropped the disc when she saw Twilight’s puzzled glance.

“Oh, hi there Twilight! We were just playing catch. Wanna play?”

“Uhh, no thanks. Who’s ‘we’?”

Fluttershy galloped over the hill with Rainbow Dash flying over her.

“Come on, Pinkie Pie, pass it back!” said Rainbow.

Twilight shook her head and blinked her eyes. “Fluttershy?”

“Oh, hello Twilight.” Fluttershy’s attention turned quickly back to the frisbee at Pinkie’s hooves. “Arf! Rruff!” she barked, bouncing. Twilight blinked again.

“Ruff ruff!” Pinkie responded. She grabbed the frisbee and tossed it back the way they had come from. Her and Fluttershy chased after it, panting. Rainbow Dash laughed and landed next to Twilight.

“I’m gonna take five, guys!” she called after them.

“Why are they both acting like dogs?” asked Twilight. “Er— still acting like dogs.”

“Who cares?” said Rainbow Dash. “Besides, that’s nothing compared to some of the stuff we were up to earlier.”

“Like what?”

“Get this— Fluttershy actually helped us pull pranks on half of every pony in ponyville!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Really?!” She glanced over at Fluttershy. “Are you sure she’s alright?”

“Are you kidding!? She’s never been better!” Rainbow sighed.

“Even with all the dog stuff? I mean, Pinkie I can understand, but Fluttershy?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Hey, if it helps her loosen up like today, who am I to complain?”

Twilight shook her head. “I guess you’re right. You do know her better than me.” She frowned. “And she will get back to normal soon, right?”

“Probably.”

Fluttershy ran back in front of the two, jumped, and caught the frisbee.

“Oh, I just remembered,” Twilight said. “Fluttershy!”

“Yes, Twilight?” she said, dropping the frisbee. Pinkie Pie pounced on it. Fluttershy growled softly at her.

“Applejack was looking for you. I think she said it had something to do with sheep...”

Fluttershy let go of the frisbee, sending Pinkie Pie flying backward. “Oh, okay! Where is she now?”

Twilight hesitated. She couldn’t stop looking at Fluttershy’s waving tail.

“Just ignore it, you get used to it after a while,” Rainbow whispered into Twilight’s ear.

Twilight shook her head. “Uhh, sorry. I think she was headed back to Sweet Apple Acres the last time I saw her.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Thank you, Twilight.” She smiled at Pinkie Pie. “You girls don’t mind if I go help Applejack for a bit, do you?”

“Oh, no! Not at all!” said Rainbow.

“Go ahead!” Pinkie added.

“Thanks,” said Fluttershy. “See you all later!” She shifted around Twilight, then trotted up the road.

Twilight cracked a smile. “Well I’m glad to see she’s having fun!”

“Maybe we could get you to try getting wild and crazy sometime, Twilight,” Rainbow suggested.

“Oh! Oh! Maybe Twilight can play fetch with us next time!” said Pinkie Pie.

“Oh, hehe— Look at the time!” Twilight said. She squirmed away from Rainbow Dash, then galloped quickly away from the two. They shrugged, then returned to their game.

Applejack hopped up on the fence of her farm’s sheep pen. The sheep were restless and noisy. They kept pushing at the fence every once in a while, making it creak.

“Now, now, settle down y’all!” pleaded Applejack. “Ya knew this was comin’. It’s not that bad, is it?” She picked up the bucket with the shears in it to show them. This only made the sheep get noisier. Applejack frowned.

“Shoot,” she muttered. “Y’all know I can’t start ‘til ya settle down!”

Suddenly the herd quieted. They all pressed to one corner of the pen. Applejack chuckled.

“Now was that so hard?” she asked.

Fluttershy trotted up the path previously obscured by the mass of wool. She glared at the sheep as she went. Her walk slowed down once she got up to the fence.

“Fluttershy!” called Applejack. “Glad ya could make it!” Fluttershy smiled at her.

“Good afternoon, Applejack,” Fluttershy said. “Twilight said you needed me?”

“Oh, well— the thing is,” Applejack began. “I gotta shear the sheep sooner or later. The trouble bein’ they get all nervous whenever I come ‘round with the tools for it.”

Fluttershy glared at the sheep. “Mhmm, mhmm...”

“So, I was thinkin’, maybe you can work your magic and calm ‘em down? Just for a few minutes while I clip the wool off of ‘em. Please?”

“Oh, of course!” Fluttershy smiled at Applejack, then turned back to the sheep with an intense expression.

“Uhh, any reason you're doin’ that?”

“Shh!” said Fluttershy. She slowly trotted around the pen. Applejack followed. The sheep moved around the inside of the fence at the same time, never getting any closer to Fluttershy than they had to. She made it about halfway around when Applejack finally spoke up.

“Ya sure this is nothin’?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh, sorry,” she explained. “I was just, uhh— inspecting them. I wanted to make sure everything is alright with your sheep. You know, to see if there’s a reason they’re so... well, sheepish.”

“Oh y’all didn’t need to worry ‘bout that!” Applejack stood proudly. “We here at Sweet Apple Acres take almost as good o’ care of our animals as we do our apples!” she declared.

“Oh, no, I wasn’t doubting you or anything. I was just—”

“Yeah, I hear ya, I hear ya. Wanna go ahead and get started already? I’d rather get this done before sundown.”

“Oh, yes! Definitely!” said Fluttershy.

“Now, now,” said Fluttershy. “Just relax. This will only take a second.”

The sheep shook in its hooves regardless. Fluttershy patted its back.

“Relax... think of frolicking in the meadow with all your sheep friends. Picture the grass, and the flowers, and the wide blue sky...”

The sheep closed its eyes. “Baaa,” it sighed. Fluttershy smiled, then nodded to Applejack.

“No matter how many times I see ya do it, Fluttershy, that still amazes me,” said Applejack. She picked up the shears and went to work.

“I just get how animals think,” said Fluttershy. She snickered softly to herself. Applejack didn’t notice. She was too busy getting the last of the wool clipped.

“And you’re all done!” she proclaimed. The sheep shivered a little, then hurried off to join the others. Applejack sighed. “A job well done. Thanks again, Fluttershy!”

“You’re quite wel—”

“Winona! Slow down!” somepony shouted. Applejack and Fluttershy turned toward the road to see Apple Bloom being dragged through the dirt by Winona on a leash.

“Go on, Apple Bloom, you can show ‘er who’s boss!” Applejack shouted.

“Rrrruff!” barked Fluttershy.

“What the—”

Before Applejack could finish, Fluttershy hopped over the fence and ran towards Winona. Winona sniffed the air, then ran at Fluttershy, barking between pants.

Applejack hopped on the fence to watch. Apple Bloom was busy shaking the dirt off of herself.

Fluttershy sniffed Winona’s head; Winona sniffed at Fluttershy’s chin. Fluttershy sniffed at Winona’s paws; Winona, Fluttershy’s hooves.

“Ruff!” barked Winona.

“Rrruff ruff!” replied Fluttershy.

The Apples looked at each other, jaws agape, then back to Fluttershy and Winona.

“Ruff! Rruff ruff ruff!” they barked in unison.

“Ahem!” Applejack interjected. Winona turned to her and smiled. Fluttershy blushed and sank to the ground.

“I-I can explain—”

“Wassat some new kinda dog trainin’ technique?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Umm— Yes, yes it was!” said Fluttershy. She growled softly at Winona.

“Ruff!” Winona barked.

“Good girl!” said Fluttershy. She patted the dog on the head.

“Uh... huh...” said Applejack.

Fluttershy looked side to side uncomfortably. “Well I guess that’s all you needed me for, so I, umm... I’ll see you later!” She waited a moment for a response, but the only sound she heard was Winona’s panting. She looked up the road, then back to Applejack for a moment before trotting away.

Apple Bloom flopped to the ground. “I’m sorry, sis. Winona’s a bit of a hoof-full sometimes.”

“So ya don’t have the same talent as Fluttershy,” said Applejack. “That don’t mean ya get outta your chores!”

“Oh, no, I wasn’t—”

“I know whatcha meant,” said Applejack. She messed Apple Bloom’s mane with her hoof. “I got Winona, you take some o’ this wool back to the barn.” She motioned toward a stack of fluff-filled buckets.

“On it!” replied Apple Bloom. She ran over to the stack and grabbed the nearest bucket. She almost tripped over it, given she could barely lift it off of the ground at her height.

Applejack waited until her little sister was out of sight. She then turned to Winona. She hesitated.

“Alright, just one little try...” she muttered. “Umm... woof woof?”

Winona tilted her head.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Had a feelin’ that was a load o’ horseapples,” she grumbled. “Somethin’ ain’t right with that pony lately. I just gotta figure out what.”

Late that afternoon, Twilight strode around the library with a clipboard floating beside her. Applejack sat in the middle of the room. She talked and talked, so much that Twilight had to tune her out just to read her checklist. And of course Twilight had seen the subject matter coming.

“... so somethin’s gotta be up, right? I mean, I’ve never seen any animal afraid o’ her!” Applejack finished her pleading explanation while Twilight searched one of her bookshelves.

“Oh, Applejack,” Twilight scoffed. “She’s fine! Or at least Rainbow Dash says so. I mean, sure, it’s a little weird, but nothing to worry about!” She checked a box on the list, then set it down.

“I don’t care how much time she spends with animals, nopony ever barked at a dog and got a conversation outta it!”

Twilight pulled a book out, glanced at the title, then tossed it over her shoulder. “What are you saying? That that’s not Fluttershy? That she’s not a pony?”

“I don’t know! I just know somethin’s real different about her lately. More than just ‘loosenin’ up’ or whatever Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie have been callin’ it.”

“I think you might be overreacting,” reassured Twilight. “Besides, Rainbow Dash also said she’ll be over it before too long. I bet she’ll be back to herself by tommorrow morning!”

A knock came at the door. “Found her!” called Spike.

“Oh, good,” said Twilight. “Now Applejack, please don’t go accusing her of anything. We need to hear her side of the story to be fair.”

“Fine, fine,” said Applejack.

Twilight pulled the door open from a distance. Spike walked in first, followed by Fluttershy. She wore a wide-brimmed hat and a long-sleeved trenchcoat with the collar flipped up.

“Y-you wanted to see me?” she asked. She sunk into the coat, her eyes darting back and forth. “I’d like to get back home before it gets too dark, so if we could please hurry...”

“This shouldn’t take long,” said Twilight. “Applejack here wanted me to ask you about, you know, your odd behavior.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Oh, you know... the sniffing, the panting, the tail-wagging—”

“Barkin’ at my dog,” Applejack finished for Twilight.

“Oh, that’s just umm, well, it’s like...” She faded off into a mumble.

“What was that?” asked Twilight.

“I-I’m just acting like a dog because I... it’s more ‘fun’, and—”

“Is that really all?” Applejack demanded. Fluttershy cowered, covering her face with her hoof.

“Applejack!” Twilight scolded. “We’re not here to make her feel bad about it! If she wants to act like a dog, then that’s her choice!”

A small piece of cloth fell out of the trenchcoat’s sleeve. Spike glanced over at the group, then did a double take.

“What’s that glowy—” Spike started. He shook his head. “Uhh, Twilight? I think you should have a look at this.”

“Not now, Spike.”

“I really think you’re gonna want to see this...”

“I’m talking to Fluttershy right now. I’ll look at whatever it is later.”

Spike ran over to Fluttershy and grabbed her sleeve. She stifled a panicked scream.

“Spike! That’s not—”

“Look!” he insisted. He lifted the sleeve, exposing the glowing bite mark on her leg. Twilight’s eyes widened immediately. “Weird, ri—”

“Gah!” Twilight screamed, jumping back onto a table. Fluttershy shuddered.

“Uhh, what’s the big deal? So she got bit by somethin’. It was bound to happen sooner or—”

“That’s no normal bite,” Twilight interrupted.

“Huh?” Applejack scratched her head.

“Spike! Wildlife encyclopedia!” Twilight commanded. Spike saluted, then jumped to a pile of books left out on the floor.

“I-I can explain...” whimpered Fluttershy.

“Y’all are startin’ to really worry me—”

“Got it!” Spike passed the book to Twilight. She flipped to the back of the book, then set it on a stand.

“Weevils, Wendigo... Aha! ‘The bite of the common werewolf is easily identified by the soft glow it gives off at all times.’”

“Werewolf!?” Applejack backed away from Fluttershy. Even Spike stared at her in shock.

“‘Common symptoms of a victim include unkempt hair, strange dietary habits, and...’” Twilight paused. She slowly lifted her gaze from the page to Fluttershy. “‘behavior not unlike that of a common canine.’ Fluttershy! Is this all true!?”

She sank her head and muttered, “Yes...”

“What!? W-when were ya gonna tell us?” asked Applejack.

“Well I wasn’t exactly planning on worrying you all—”

“No offense, but I think we’re all a bit more worried that you didn’t tell us,” said Spike.

“There’s more,” said Twilight. “‘Contrary to common myth, a werewolf victim doesn’t actually change into a wolf unless exposed to moonlight.’”

“That’s why I’ve been locking myself at home with the windows covered,” explained Fluttershy.

“‘But if the victim has not received a cure by the first full moon after being bitten, she’ll change into a wolf anyway, and no amount of magic can ever change her back!’ Spike, find a calendar of the moon cycles!” Spike nodded, then ran to the back room.

“Why, sugarcube? Why’d ya hide this from us? We’re your friends, we coulda helped ya!”

“But I thought you all liked me better this way...”

“Fluttershy, this is serious,” said Twilight. “If we don’t get you a cure soon, you won’t even be a pony for much longer!”

“A-are you sure that book is right? I mean, I haven’t really changed at all since I got bitten—”

“And when was that?” demanded Applejack.

Fluttershy averted her eyes. “A-a few nights ago...”

Spike returned, slapping a calender down in front of Twilight.

“Thank you, Spi—” Twilight hopped her hooves onto the stand and did a double take. “The full moon is tomorrow night!”

“That settles it,” said Applejack. “Come on, Fluttershy, we’re goin’ straight to the doctor—”

“I don’t think the cure for this is all that common,” Twilight added.

“Okay, Zecora’s then. Point is, there ain’t a minute to waste.”

“But I don’t— I mean, why do I... Please, can I just—” Fluttershy backed away from Applejack.

“It’s for your own good, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “Now come on. If we’re headed to Zecora’s, we should get going sooner rather than later.”

Fluttershy stood up. She lifted one hoof to follow the others, but stopped before it hit the ground.

“... No.”

“Come again?” said Applejack.

“No, I don’t want to,” Fluttershy insisted. “It’s my choice anyway!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!” said Twilight. “You need to get this treated!”

Fluttershy glanced out the window. “But I don’t want to go back to how I was,” she whispered. She dropped the trenchcoat and the hat.

Twilight gasped. “No, Fluttershy, wait—”

Fluttershy ran upstairs. Applejack and Twilight followed, with Spike hobbling after. Fluttershy opened the window in Twilight’s bedroom, then slipped through it in one bound. Applejack and Twilight skidded to a halt just in time. Even still, they both gasped at the sight.

A pale glow washed over Fluttershy. She closed her eyes, taking it in. The changes came quickly. Her coat darkened to a shade of gray, and grew out an inch or two all over. Her hair and tail followed suit, although they remained distinct. Her hair in particular looked like it had just been tossed around by a flustered animal. Somewhere in this mess, her wings simply disappeared.

Her hooves widened, and tiny claws poked out of the front of each. Her nose turned black and wet. She opened her eyes. They were sharper, and yellow. She opened her mouth. Small fangs poked out of her regular teeth. She smirked.

“Fluttershy!” called Twilight.

She didn’t respond. Rather, she turned toward the moon, took at deep breath, and...

“Ow-Ow-Awoooooo!”

The howl echoed over town. Applejack’s ears fell back from the sound.

“Is she that far off her rocker?” she asked.

“It’s the curse of the werewolf,” said Twilight. “It’s too tempting. Fluttershy can’t resist it.”

“Then what can we do?!”

Twilight started back downstairs. “Catch her!”

Applejack shrugged. “I coulda thought o’ that...”

Rarity sat down at her work desk and flicked on the lamp. She pulled up a bolt of fabric and stared at it.

“Of course, inspiration can strike at any time,” she muttered.

A muffled “meow” came from a pile of fabrics next to the desk.

“Oh there you are, Opal darling!” said Rarity. She dug through the pile with magic until she struck cat. Opal licked her paw passively. She hissed as she was levitated onto the desk. Rarity smiled.

“Maybe you can be my source of inspiration. Any ideas?”

Opal curled up into a ball on the desk.

“Hmm... nighttime wear certainly works. But what should I do to make it unique?”

Opal opened one eye. She jumped up, hissing feverishly.

“O-Opalescence?” Rarity murmured. Opal jumped off of the desk and buried herself back in the fabrics. “What has gotten into you!?”

Rarity spared a glance at the window Opal was fixed on. She gasped.

“Is that Fluttershy!?” The silhouette looked like it at least. Close behind her were Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. And all of them were galloping alarmingly fast.

Rarity pulled on a bathrobe and ran to the door to intercept them. Fluttershy passed by first. Rarity gasped.

“What happened to your hair!? And everything else!?”

She got no response from her.

Twilight and Applejack slowed down as they passed.

“Rarity!” called Twilight.

“What in the world is going on?” asked Rarity

“I’ll explain on the way,” said Twilight.

“Right now, we just can’t let her outta our sight,” added Applejack

“Who? Fluttershy?”

“Yes. Like I said, I’ll explain on the way. But we need to get moving!” Twilight motioned for Rarity to follow, then her and Applejack took off after Fluttershy again.

Rarity took off the bathrobe and tossed it back inside.

“This had better be important,” she muttered. “I already took my bath tonight!”

The group’s run took them past Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie poked her head out of the front door as they passed.

“Whose dog was that?” she asked.

“That’s no dog, that’s Fluttershy!” Twilight responded.

“What!?” Pinkie gasped.

“C’mon, we’ll get ya caught up on the way!” said Applejack.

Pinkie fell in behind them without a second thought.

Of course, they almost lost Fluttershy around the next corner. She ducked right, then left, then through an alleyway.

“She went this way!”

Rainbow Dash swooped down on the group from the rooftops. She flew down the alley and pointed to the right.

Twilight gasped. “Rainbow Dash! Where have you—”

“I kinda figured something was up when that howl woke me up,” she said. “Is that really Fluttershy?”

“Werewolf Fluttershy now,” said Rarity.

“Figures...”

“What!?” Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight stopped abruptly. Everypony else skidded to a halt behind her.

“Okay, everypony gets one explanation, right now. Then we focus on catching her. Agreed?”

Everyone nodded.

Fluttershy kept running on through the roads until there were practically none left. All she could find was a gently curving one leading out of town, and the end of it came up much quicker than she expected.

She stopped right at the edge of the Everfree Forest.

“Fluttershy! Please!” Twilight called. All of their friends followed. Each had some combination of fear and concern on their face.

“Grrr, rrruff!” Fluttershy retorted. She bared her fangs at the group.

“We’re just here to help, that’s all!” said Applejack.

“We’re your friends, Fluttershy!” Rarity added.

Fluttershy sighed. “I know that!” she yelled. Her voice sounded harsh, like she was fighting back another growl.

“Then why won’t you listen to us?” asked Twilight.

“Because you won’t listen to me!” Fluttershy snarled.

“Hey, we’re not the ones—” Rainbow started.

“No, no, she’s right.” Twilight sighed. “What do you have to say, Fluttershy?” Everypony stared at her in silence.

“I want this because of you all,” Fluttershy mumbled. “Before this, I was just poor, quiet, scared little Fluttershy. Now, I can actually go out, have fun, and enjoy myself with my friends!”

“So you’re saying you didn’t enjoy yourself in our company before this?” asked Rarity.

“Well— No, but it was never like this before!” Fluttershy growled, then sighed. “How about it, Pinkie Pie? Didn’t we have so much more fun than usual earlier?”

Pinkie shook her head. “It’s all fun and games until somepony stops being a pony.”

“Grrr— I mean... Rainbow Dash! How about it? I’ve been so much ‘better’ lately, right?”

Rainbow Dash stared at the ground. “Well... I mean, it’s nice to get to do stuff with ya without worrying about you running and hiding for once—”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s worth completely losing yourself over it!”

Fluttershy’s jaw wavered. She shook her head violently.

“Grrr! You never woulda said that if Twilight hadn’t have read that stupid book!”

“Fluttershy—” Twilight began.

“No! I’ve had enough! I don’t need this... this... Grrruff!” Fluttershy nearly lunged at Twilight. “If you need me, I’ll be in the woods. Maybe the animals will believe me.”

“You’re being ridiculous!” shouted Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy whipped around and kicked off running. Rainbow Dash flew after her, but she was stopped by the thick branches of the trees. Fluttershy disappeared in the shadows of the forest.

Pinkie Pie sniffled. “W-where’d she go?”

“Don’t worry,” said Twilight. “She might have the mind of a werewolf right now, but she’s still Fluttershy. Somewhere in there.”

“Right,” said Rainbow Dash. “So she won’t get too far.”

“What’s the point though?” Applejack took off her hat and held it in front of herself. “If she won’t listen to her friends, what will get through that thick skull o’ hers?”

“We can’t just give up!” pleaded Twilight.

“Twilight’s right,” said Rainbow Dash. “If we split up, we can cover enough ground that she can’t get away.”

“Good idea! And maybe if we try being a little more calm with her, she’ll actually listen.” Twilight nodded along with the plan.

Applejack replaced her hat. “Sounds crazy, but then again so did the idea of her bein’ a werewolf at first.” She smirked. “Count me in.”

“Me too!” said Pinkie Pie. “Even if she is kind of a meanie right now, that’s just all the more reason to help her get better.”

The group looked to Rarity for her turn. She backed away a step.

“What!? I know she’s a good friend and all that, but— well I already took my bath tonight, and I do not want to go trudging through the woods after that!”

“Ugh!” Twilight groaned. “Is it really that important to you!?”

Rarity shuffled her hoof. “... Maybe.”

“Look, if you don’t want to go through the forest with us, can you at least go to Zecora’s to get the cure ready?” Twilight sighed. “There’s a nice path there, and it’s not too much walking through the dirt either.”

“Now that I can do,” Rarity said.

Twigs snapped beneath Fluttershy’s hoof-paws. Leaves and branches brushed past her. The cool night air filled the forest.

She smiled. This was nature. This was how animals lived. She was home.

Fluttershy ducked around a tree. She looked behind her. Nothing was there. She sighed.

“Good,” she said. “Now, time to start looking for some new friends.” She raised her left ear. A bird’s song carried on the wind. She followed the sound to a small bush. Pushing aside some of the branches, she found a bird’s nest. The sole resident ceased his song when he saw Fluttershy.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Please, don’t mind me mister swallow.”

The bird flew off, tweeting in a panic. Fluttershy frowned.

“W-well, maybe I just disturbed his home,” she told herself. Her ears drooped anyway.

She heard a soft splashing on the far side of a tree. A glance around it showed it was coming from a creek splashing over some rocks. One of them was actually moving...

Fluttershy smiled. She trotted over to the water and bent over near to the moving rock.

“Hello there, little turtle,” she said. “I don’t suppose you want help getting across?” She stepped a little closer to the turtle, and it retreated into its shell.

Fluttershy growled quietly. She slid the shell across the stream to where the turtle was headed. The turtle stayed inside.

“I’ll, uhh, I’ll check back with you,” she said.

A quick blur caught her eye. When she looked to see what it was, she found a small family of rabbits was drinking from the creek. Her tail wagged briskly.

“Oh, I just know that I can get along with bunn—”

One of them looked up from his drinking. He caught one glance at Fluttershy and hopped away. The others followed him obediently.

Fluttershy sat in the creek, slumped over and whimpering.

“Hm, hm-hm, hm-hmm~” hummed Pinkie Pie as she skipped along through the forest. A squirrel scurried along past her. She watched it run up a tree, then returned her focus to the woods in front of her.

“Fluttershy? Oh Fluttershy! Where are you?”

A branch snapped behind Pinkie. She spun around.

“W-wassat?” she asked. She glanced back and forth, but all she saw were trees and bushes. “I’m onto you, bush...” She snickered.

Another crack came from her left. “Uhh, very funny, Fluttershy! You can come out now!” she called. A louder crack came from the same direction. Pinkie backed away carefully.

“O-okay, ha-ha, ya got me! Game’s over!” The bushes rustled in front of her. “It’s not so fun anymore!” she squeaked.

Pinkie froze. She just bumped into something alive.

“Ohmigaaaah!” she screamed.

“Whaaaa!?” yelled Applejack.

They both whipped around. Applejack groaned. Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Don’t do that!” said Applejack.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” said Pinkie. “That was just so silly! I thought you were Fluttershy or something else scary, and you probably thought I—”

“And we got scared and all that. I was here, remember?”

“Oh yeah... well then you know how silly it was! It reminds me of this time when I was a filly— or maybe it was since I came to Ponyville— anyway... ” Pinkie Pie sat down and started to ramble on with her story.

“I wonder if the others ‘re havin’ better luck than us...” muttered Applejack. She rolled her eyes and sat down.

Twilight scanned the forest ahead carefully. She squinted her eyes when she saw a scruffy fluff, but it was only a squirrel or something. Her magic was focused into a flashlight projected from her forehead, like a prospector’s helmet.

“Where could she be?” she asked herself. “Hmm, if I were Fluttershy— okay, if I were Fluttershy and I just went crazy and yelled at all my friends, where would I go?”

A bird flew past her. A few others joined it and flew off into the sky. Twilight sighed.

“Well at least it looked like her wings didn’t work anymore. Er— it didn’t look like she still had wings.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, Twilight heard an odd noise. She leaned towards it. Through the wind in the trees, and a babbling brook, she heard soft sobbing of somepony.

“If I were Fluttershy...” Twilight shook her head and took off towards the sound. She struggled through a thick bush, and nearly tripped over a log, but soon burst through to a small clearing with a pond. There was a dark figure hunched over the water. Twilight frowned.

“Fluttershy?” The figure nodded.

Twilight sat down next to her. She winced upon seeing her face up close. Fluttershy solemnly glanced up at Twilight.

“I-I’m sorry...” mumbled Fluttershy.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” Twilight insisted. “I should’ve been less demanding of you back there. I’m sorry if it was a bit overwhelming with all of us—”

“But I’m the one who kept this a secret from all of you,” said Fluttershy. She sobbed as she continued, “And then I yelled at you and ran away and now not even the animals will keep me company!” Fluttershy leaned on Twilight’s shoulder as she cried.

“It’s okay!”

“W-what?”

“You’re not yourself. Clearly.” Twilight pointed to Fluttershy’s nose. “That’s why we wanted you to get cured. We miss the real Fluttershy.”

“But Rainbow Dash was so excited that I was so much more confident—”

“If you could be more confident on your own, that’d be great. But this isn’t you, this is the werewolf in you.”

Fluttershy lay down, facing away from Twilight. “There’s a part of me that wants to believe you,” she said, “but it just sounds like an excuse or something.”

Twilight thought for a second, then turned to the sky. She flashed her horn a couple of times. Fluttershy tilted her head.

“What was that all about?”

“If I’m right...” Twilight began. She smiled when she saw a rustling in the tree branches on the far side of the clearing. The next thing they knew, Rainbow Dash burst through, crashing onto the ground.

“Twilight!” she called. “I saw the light from the sky. Is everything alright?”

Fluttershy pouted. Twilight pointed at her.

“Found the lost dog,” she joked.

“Grrr,” mumbled Fluttershy.

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash rolled over and stood up. “Oh, there she is! Did ya talk to her?”

“Actually,” said Twilight, “I don’t think I’m the one she needs to talk to right now.”

Fluttershy glanced at Rainbow, then looked away with a “Hmph!”

“Well how am I supposed to help?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“You’ve known her longer than me,” said Twilight. “I’m sure you’ll have a better idea than I would.” Rainbow groaned. “I’ll just leave you two alone for a little bit,” Twilight added. She took a few steps and sat down facing away.

“Gee, thanks,” mumbled Rainbow Dash. She looked at Fluttershy and shuddered. “Hey, Fluttershy?”

She looked at Rainbow out of the sides of her eyes.

“Look, I don’t really know what’s going on in your head right now, but it looks like you’re mad at me.”

Fluttershy nodded slightly.

Rainbow sighed. “I-I probably said some things I didn’t really mean to in the last few days,” she admitted. “Like... well—”

“Do you think I’m better like this or not?”

“Well I mean—”

“Be honest!”

“Fluttershy, if that were really you talking, I’d be thrilled.” Fluttershy’s ears perked up. “Sure, we had some fun, but it wasn’t with the real you. And, well— I sorta knew that it was wishful thinking.”

“So you do like me better this way?”

“I never said that.” Fluttershy tilted her head. “I said we had fun. I never said we didn’t have fun when you weren’t, well, a dog.”

“You mean a wo—”

“I know what I said.” Rainbow Dash smiled. “The point is, I never said I didn’t like you how you were— how you are.”

Fluttershy smiled softly.

“I mean, sure, your confidence could use a little work,” said Rainbow Dash. “But it’s not worth this. This right here, this is what you get for trying to take shortcuts.”

“Well I didn’t get bit on purpo—”

“For trying to take shortcuts,” Rainbow insisted. She pulled Fluttershy in close and whispered, “Please, just roll with it. I’m not so good with this sappy life-lesson stuff.” Fluttershy giggled.

Twilight smiled and glanced over her shoulder. “Well, Fluttershy? What do you say now?”

Fluttershy stood up. “I-I think I’m ready to go home,” she said.

“Annnd?”

“A-and look into a cure for this...” She lifted a hoof-paw and looked at it. “I think it’s time I went back to normal.”

“I’m glad.”

“Wow, that actually worked,” said Rainbow Dash. She smirked. “Just another thing I’m awesome at, I suppose...”

Fluttershy and Twilight exchanged looks, then burst out laughing.

“What!?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, noth—” started Fluttershy. A shrill cry broke their attentions.

“Help!” screamed Pinkie Pie off in the distance. Birds scattered from the nearby trees. Fluttershy winced.

“Her voice is really loud,” she grumbled.

Rainbow Dash started to fly towards the cry, but stopped when no one followed.

“Come on, guys, Pinkie’s in trouble!”

“But what about getting Fluttershy back for the cure?” asked Twilight.

“It can wait, right!?”

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “I think I can help,” she said. Twilight shook her head.

“Not as a wolf you won’t!”

Fluttershy sighed, but then perked right back up. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ve got a better idea.”

“Stay back! I’m warnin’ ya!” Applejack stood in between a cowering Pinkie Pie, cornered by a few trees, and a wild bear. She bucked once in the air. “Don’t make me have ta use these!”

The bear roared in her face. Her hat tilted back a few inches.

“Uhh, pretty please?” she asked feebly. The bear roared again. Applejack fled back to Pinkie Pie’s side. The bear swiped a claw at her, but she managed to squeeze up to the tree to avoid it.

“He-elp!” yelled Pinkie Pie. She clung tight to Applejack and winced.

The bear reared up on its hind legs and lunged for the two. Both shut their eyes and whimpered. Applejack heard a loud thump. She opened her eyes.

A sparkling pink translucent wall stood between them and the bear. It stared at it for a second, then clawed at it. It didn’t even leave a scratch. The bear roared to the sky in frustration.

“I got ‘em!” yelled Rainbow Dash. Applejack and Pinkie Pie watched a rainbow streak fly past the wall and bounce off of the bear’s chin.

“Rainbow Dash! Twilight!” called Applejack. She frowned. “Then where’s—”

A dark figure jumped in front of the magic screen.

“Rainbow, stop!” cried Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash hovered above the wall. “What!? Why?”

“Just trust me,” said Fluttershy. Rainbow crossed her forelegs.

The bear lumbered forward, rubbing its chin. It growled in Fluttershy’s face. She growled back.

“Ahem!” said Twilight. Fluttershy sighed.

“... I-I’m sorry mister grizzly bear,” she said. “I shouldn’t have growled at you. And my friends shouldn’t have woken you from your sleep.”

Pinkie Pie whistled nervously. Applejack nudged her.

“But that’s no reason to attack somebody like that!” Fluttershy insisted. The bear’s expression softened. “Now, do you promise to leave us alone if we promise to let you get your sleep?”

The bear glared at Fluttershy. She didn’t move.

“Well?”

The bear sighed and nodded.

Fluttershy smiled, “Thank you.” The bear slowly turned away, grumbled as it walked. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash cheered.

“That’s the Fluttershy we know and love!” said Twilight. She shook off some of the leaves from the bushes she was hiding in.

“Hot dog, ya saved us! Er— no pun intended o’ course,” said Applejack.

“I had it...” muttered Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy smiled. “I’m just glad I could help.” She looked at the ground. “I-I’m sorry about earlier—”

“Apology accepted, sugarcube,” said Applejack. She put her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Now can we get outta here before somethin’ bigger shows up that won’t listen to ya?”

“Scared of a little bear, AJ?” Rainbow asked, chuckling to herself.

“After bein’ trapped like that by one, yes.” Rainbow Dash laughed obnoxiously. Applejack glared at her.

Fluttershy slinked over to Rainbow’s side. “Grrrr!” she growled in her ear.

“Gaaah!” Rainbow jumped, clinging onto Applejack.

“Ha-ha,” mocked Applejack. Her and Fluttershy snickered while Rainbow shivered.

Twilight smirked. “Okay, everypony, we’ve had our fun,” she said. “But Applejack was right. It’s time to get going. Rarity and Zecora should be ready by now.”

Rainbow hopped off of Applejack. Twilight led the way with her light, followed by Pinkie, Applejack, and Rainbow and Fluttershy side-by-side.

“I’m sorry,” said Fluttershy. “But, umm... well I did getcha pretty good.”

Rainbow smiled, then sighed. “I’m gonna miss ya, Flutter-wolf.”

“Dear Princess Celestia,”

Fluttershy sat down in Zecora’s hut. Zecora looked her over. She felt Fluttershy’s nose, then pulled a hair out. Fluttershy winced.

“In the last few days, I learned about the importance of accepting who you are, no matter what you think your friends think.”

Zecora dropped the gray hair into an orange concoction. It fizzled and smoked. She stirred it in the cup, then offered it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy hesitated, then cautiously took a tiny sip. Zecora pushed the cup against her mouth, forcing her to finish.

“Changing can be hard, but it can seem easy. And if you change for the wrong reasons, it probably won’t end well.”

Fluttershy twitched, then shook, then wobbled in place. She collapsed on the floor with her tongue hanging loose. In just the blink of an eye, the changes reverted themselves. Her wings flopped to either side.

“You should never forget that your friends should like you for who you are, and if they’re fine with you, then you should be fine with yourself.”

Zecora smiled. Fluttershy’s friends piled on her in an excited hug.

"Sincerely,
Fluttershy"

Fluttershy put the stopper on the ink bottle, then looked over her letter one more time. A small bird flew in through the window and landed on Fluttershy’s desk. Fluttershy smiled as the bird tweeted a song.

She rolled up the letter and tied a string around it. She lowered her head before the bird. It fluttered onto her hair and continued to sing.

Fluttershy threw on a pair of saddlebags and dropped the letter in one. She stuck her head out the window and took in the fresh air. The bird hopped off of her head and flew back up to its nest in the branches above. Fluttershy shrugged, then followed the bird out the window. She sighed.

“It’s good to be home,” she said.

She flew off towards the post office with a flock of birds in tow. She passed Rainbow Dash on a cloud. Rainbow stared after her and smirked.

“Eh, it was good while it lasted,” said Rainbow. “But I really am glad you’re back, Fluttershy."