Author's Note
This a sort of shot to get me back in the game. I have been off a while and im trying to get my writing back. I am going to be doing other stories as well because they are either one shots or just something to do until I can resume my stories again. For now this will suffice.
Yes there was no spellcheck, proof check or anything. I did this in a matter of an hour and a half. I just wanted to get this one there and get me started back on my stories for the new year.
Any comments or criticism is accepted as well as help or advice.
Also I would like to thank Jamescorck for giving me permission to use his art as well which inspired this story.
http://jamescorck.deviantart.com/
Burn
It had been only a day since the Bats incident at Sweet Apple Acres and Fluttershy had thought she never felt better. After Twilight had cured her, Fluttershy felt like a brand new mare, or rather the same mare but a different outlook now. Her friends had still cared for her even after what she had went through.
However, that didn’t stop her from feeling bad though. She did after all nearly eat half of the Acres from Applejack. But they forgave her and that’s what truly mattered.
Fluttershy woke up a bit disorientated as if the world was giving her a slow spin. Her eyes adjusted to the still somewhat darkened room, noticing the sun was covered in an early morning fog. She slowly turned her head and form her bedroom window, saw that the sun hadn’t penetrated enough to give her vibrant light. However, to Fluttershy that somewhat felt better than waking up to bright, blinding light. Usually she would be up a bit earlier to get started on feeding her animal friends.
With a yawn as big as a bear, Fluttershy got out of bed, sloppily at first but quickly regained her balanced. From there, she skipped past her restroom, not noticing her own reflection, and headed downstairs to begin breakfast.
Most of her animal friends were outside, still either sleeping or starting to rise. The few that were awake waited eagerly for Fluttershy to feed them.
The animals all waited for Fluttershy as she gave her ‘Good Mornings’ to each of them before heading to the kitchen. However, a few of them did notice the change in Fluttershy, though they remained quiet. She seemed normal; she moved back and forth in her kitchen while humming a gentle tune to herself as she prepared the food. The house remained all but silent.
She hadn’t noticed her wings didn’t carry feathers, but were skin membranes like the bats.
She kept humming as she prepared her needed ingredients.
Her fangs hung a bit out of her mouth, slowly salivating as the smell of fruit filled her nose.
She chopped up nuts and added a few berries to the mix for her friends. Her cheeses were nicely cut, her vegetables were stirred and her fruits were sliced.
Her mane was ragged and didn’t carry the usual sheen as it usually did. The straightness no longer applied to her mane.
Evenly spreading the food around the bowls, she slowly poured the contents into each bowl for her animals.
The Cutie Mark of three Pink Butterflies, replaced with three pink bats.
She happily passed her food around her animals, not noticing their stares of fear or confusion.
Her ears are pointed and with her inner ear canal is larger than normal.
She smiled as she approached her last few animal friends with their foods.
The sun finally came through the fog and it gleamed brightly in through the windows.
Mr. Mouse was left and she had a big yellow cheese for him.
Her eyes were red as blood and looked evil with their bat like pupils.
He stood by the window, waiting for his cheese but looked at his owner curiously.
Fluttershy approached the window, her hoof slowly reaching out with the plate of cheese to give to her friend.
As soon as her hoof entered the sun’s bright light, she cried out as pain of intense burning passed through her. She dropped her plate with cheese and brought her burning hoof to her.
Tears ran down her eyes and she hugged her burning hoof. Her eyes were closed in pain, still feeling the singe from the burn. Opening her eyes, she saw smoke coming from them.
She didn’t understand. How was her hoof burning so much and why did the sun burn her?
Slowly, she reached out with her hoof again, slowly, only to meet another burning sensation at the light and she cried out again.
She looked down to see smoke coming from her and where once her fur, now was a patch of her fur that had been burned off. It was already swelling with redness and looked like if she had put it over a stove and let the first layer of skin burn off. She only held onto it tighter, hoping the pain would stop.
“I… I… Why?” she cried as she looked to the sun light passing through her window. She then turned to Mr. Mouse, who looked at her worriedly. Without much effort, he walked through the sun light, without burning or pain and came up to her.
She stared at him, wondering what was happening. She turned to the rest of her animal friends, and saw them all staring.
With her hoof done burning but the pain slowly residing, she moved slowly away from the windows and to the deeper part of her house.
Her movements were slow and careful, as she walked on. Her animal friends moved out of the way to their injured caretaker. Fluttershy approached the kitchen and to the sink. Thankfully, the sun wasn’t on this side, so the kitchen window didn’t bring her harm.
As she turned on the water, she brought her injured hoof to it and immediately felt the burn return, causing her to yelp in pain again. However, it wasn’t the same burning but rather the sudden coldness of the water, causing her pain. She slowly brought her hoof back, hissing in pain as the water ran through her hoof.
Rubbing the burnt part of her hoof, she started thinking about what had happen to her. Why did the sunlight burn her? Did something happen to her while she was sleep? And why did all of her animal friends gave her odd looks?
Turning off the water, she slowly eased her way back down to four hooves. She then turned to her animal friends who looked at her. She saw their staring eyes, not anything bad like judgmental or anger but rather they seemed confused and worried.
She then realized that they weren’t looking directly at her but at her features. Fearing something horrible had happened to her, she turned to look at her body and gave a cry of shock, confusion and finally, fear.
Her wings… her once beautiful wings were gone, replaced with bat wings. Her mane, her tail, that once carried straightness with a beautiful sheen, was rugged and messy, almost like if she hadn’t groomed it in ages.
Her once beautiful cutie mark of butterflies were now pink bats. She then finally noticed her two canine part of her teeth were sharper as she felt them against her lip. The sharp teeth made for tearing holes into fruits and draining the juices of the fruit ill it was just lifeless husk.
With tears running down her cheek, she quickly ran upstairs, despite her injured hoof. When she reached the top, she was in fully crying and terrified at what she might see in the mirror of her bathroom.
With sobs and shaky hooves, she slowly approached the bathroom door. Even without the light, Fluttershy could see everything about her. From her the tip of her tail to the messed up mane, to those horrible red eyes that looked evilly at her.
She looked evilly at herself. She was staring at that evil mare again that was not even a full day since she nearly destroyed her friends farm and her friendship.
She couldn’t look at herself anymore and fell into a fetal position. Her tears ran through her fur and stained the floor beneath her. Why?
Why was this happening again? Didn’t Twilight cure her from the curse of the Vampire Fruit Bat? Didn’t she fix the problem? Or did she make it worse?
She couldn’t go outside and help her animal friends. She couldn’t step out and enjoy the warm sun that she so easily loved. She won’t be able to talk to anypony. She could only lie there in her own tears.
She just wants a hug from somepony… any pony, including Discord. But nobody was here for her. Nobody was here to help.
This was a nightmare, an absolute nightmare. She hoped it was a nightmare so she could wake up and find the sun on her body and feel its warmth, not it’s burning wrath. She wanted to go out and enjoy the beautiful day with her friends.
But she couldn’t. She couldn’t. Not now, not when the sun burned her, and even if it didn’t, she didn’t want to look like a freak. Not like this, not like this.
Fluttershy remained in that position for many hours, crying to herself. She was all alone now.
