The Adventures Continue

Bats!

Episode 4/07

Prompt: Not everything went as planned when Twilight undid her spell on Fluttershy.

Word count restriction: 1,000-1,500

“Now Fluttershy. I know how protective you are about nature, but honestly, trees don’t have feelings!” Discord tapped his fingers on the ground, his long, serpentine body curled around a checkered blanket.

Fluttershy’s eyes fell. “I suppose, but… you still shouldn’t go around hurting them…”

“Oh, come now,” Discord said with a smirk. “Surely for a cause as worthy as this you could sacrifice a bit of your Mother Nature complex!”

Fluttershy slumped back, her body leaning against the creature. “Well… you do seem to think it’s important…”

Discord laughed, his paw roughly mussing Fluttershy’s mane. “Precisely! And after your oh-so stressful ordeal at the orchards yesterday, there’s no better time!”

Fluttershy sighed, defeated. “Go ahead.”

With a toothy grin, Discord clapped his mismatched hands together. A nearby tree, stretching far into the sky, began to emit a golden glow. With a loud pop, its trunk transformed into a giant wooden statue: Discord stood, upright and smiling triumphantly, with one hand on his side and the other above his head, supporting a sunlike sphere. Around the wooden draconequus, dozens of ponies stood and watched, their eyes starstruck and their mouths foaming. On the base of the statue was written “MORALE!”.

As Discord reeled in laughter at his creation, Fluttershy’s eyes were drawn upward. The branches of the tree, with no trunk to support them, were now falling to the ground below, right atop their heads.

Discord recoiled as a mighty crash echoed through the forest clearing. Peeking one eye open, he whistled playfully. Fluttershy hovered above his head, her hooves lifting the massive pile of branches and her demeanor noticeably altered.

“Fluttershy,” Discord said as she lowered the branches to the ground beside them, “is there something you’ve been keeping from me?”

Fluttershy hissed.

Discord put a finger to his mouth. “No, I’m serious, Flutterbutter. Something seems a little different.”

Fluttershy flapped her leathery wings and hissed.

“No, no, I’m certain of it. There is something definitely different with you…”

With a roll of her blood-red eyes, Fluttershy lumbered out of the clearing, toward Ponyville.

“New mane-cut?” Discord stood up and bounded after her, his laughter sending flocks of birds to the sky. “Oh, I know! You got a hooficure!”

~

“Very interesting,” Twilight mused. “Yesterday, you seemed to have no control over your actions while in bat-form.”

Fluttershy rubbed her foreleg nervously and hissed.

“I’m afraid I can’t understand you,” said Twilight. She frowned and looked up to her other guest. “I don’t suppose you speak vampire bat, Discord.”

Discord brought a thoughtful finger to his chin. “Well, I’m fluent in fruit, though I do know a bit of vampire.” He grinned. “I’m also quite good at baseball.”

Twilight gently rubbed her temple. “This isn’t the time for jokes, Discord.”

“Who’s joking? Baseball bats possess some of the most eloquent tales I’ve ever heard, as long as you’re willing to listen.” With a flash of light, a baseball bat appeared in his hands. He brought to his face and rubbed it softly. “There there,” he cooed. “I know they don’t make very good listeners.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and turned back to Fluttershy. “I think I have a theory as to why this has happened, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy hissed, her eyes hopeful.

“Well, the spell I had intended to cast on the vampire bats yesterday was supposed to remove their desire to feed on apples.”

“Complete hogwash,” Discord muttered, balancing the baseball bat on a finger. “There’s absolutely no reason why that should have worked.”

“Unfortunately, the spell actually affected you, because of the mental influence you held over them with your Stare.”

Fluttershy nodded quickly and hissed, as if to say Yes, I know that part already.

“When I cast the reversal spell on you as a bat later that night, the desire to eat fruit was magically transmitted back into the vampire bats.”

“Utter hogwash.”

“But I suppose the transmission was incomplete,” Twilight continued. “Since you and the bats weren’t mentally connected when I cast the spell, some of their characteristics must have remained within you.”

Fluttershy gasped and hissed, her pleading eyes growing wide.

“But don’t worry,” Twilight said hurriedly. “I’m sure I can figure out some way to remove the bat from you. I’ll just need some time.”

Fluttershy hissed quietly, her eyes downcast.

Twilight bit her lip. “Discord, what was happening immediately before she transformed?”

“We were about to be squashed by a thousand pounds of artistic by-product,” Discord answered, his eyes glued to the bat balancing on his finger. “Is there a record for this? Twilight, tell me there’s a record for this!”

“So the transformation was likely triggered by a sudden rush of adrenaline,” Twilight thought aloud. “Then it’s probably temporary.”

Fluttershy’s furry ears perked as she flashed Twilight a fanged grin.

“Most spells whose effects are tied to emotion are usually temporary,” said Twilight. “So just give it some time, and it should wear off. If you want it to go quicker, try to relax. Maybe you and Rarity could go to that spa she’s always raving about!”

Fluttershy tilted her head, gesturing with a hoof to her decidedly batlike appearance.

“With Rarity around, I doubt the ponies in town will give you much trouble.”

“Plus,” said Discord, now balancing ten bats on his fingers, “I’m quite sure that by now, this sort of thing is routine.”

~

“See, Fluttershy?” Rarity said from her mudbath. “Even Twilight is beginning to understand the value of a quality pampering.”

Fluttershy replied with a tentative hiss. Aloe, the pink, blue-maned beautician, slowly filed away at Fluttershy’s hoof, her eyes nervously darting back and forth from her file to Fluttershy’s batlike face.

“There’s no need to fear, darling,” Rarity giggled. “Under that hideous, furry exterior lies the kindest pony you will ever meet.”

Fluttershy crossed her forehooves and hissed.

Rarity lifted a kiwi off of her eye. “Are you getting better, dear?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Fluttershy shook her head and hissed sadly.

Rarity brought her hoof to her chin. “Perhaps there’s something even more relaxing for you to do… Are you still acquainted with Harry?”

Fluttershy slowly nodded and hissed, as if to say I am indeed, but I fail to understand the relevance of such a clarification.

~

Fluttershy drew out a long hiss as Harry the bear gently massaged her back. She turned to look up at him and hissed, as if to confide I appreciate very much the time and effort you are sacrificing in order to aid me, my sapient friend.

Harry grunted, as if to declare ‘Tis simply what mutual friends do for each other as part of their unsaid pact of friendship, paused, and grunted again, as if to request If I may, have you always possessed the ability to transform into a diphyllic-equine hybrid, or has this ability been bestowed upon you only recently?

Fluttershy nodded and hissed, as if to clarify The tale is quite long-winded and unfortunate, but rest assured that this transformation is not an inborn capability.

Harry grunted, looked around, and growled, as if to inquire Pray tell, does the responsibility for this occurrence lie in the hands of the mischievous chimera?

Fluttershy shook her head quickly. She hissed, as if to assert Though I understand the sentiment with which you make such an accusation, I assure you that my companion Discord is not in the least responsible for the events which I have described to you.

For minutes Fluttershy laid sprawled on the grass, feeling her eyes grow heavy as Harry massaged her. She yawned, feeling the last rays of sunlight warm her fur, and drifted to sleep.

Harry removed his paws as Fluttershy’s body began to morph. Her pointed, furry ears flattened and shrunk; her fangs retreated; and her dark coat returned to its shade of bright yellow. As she slept, Harry brought a finger to his chin and grunted, as if to remark What a curious sight! I do believe this, the transformation of a bat-pony hybrid back to the physiology of a regular pony before my very eyes, is, without a doubt, the most novel occurrence which I have witnessed in all of my years of residing around pony society.

His task accomplished, Harry returned to the forest, as bears are wont to do.