'Ok' I thought to myself. 'Eyes on the prize'. I was staring at a donut sitting on a plate on the table in the kitchen. It was nice of Toby to ask his mom if Lightning Dust and I could come over. The sky was nearing noon and I just had to be the first one to get the last cream filled donut. I looked around and saw that the coast was clear. I slipped into the kitchen, still keeping my gaze on the snack treat. I crept towards the table and looked around once more. I laughed quietly to myself. "Game... Set..."
"Cale?" A soft voice asked.
"Match!" I cried out with surprise. Quickly turning around, I saw Fluttershy standing behind me. I mentally cursed myself for being caught. "Yes?" I asked trying to hide the fact that I was here for the donut, but failed... Miserably.
"Can I talk to you in the living room?" She asked.
"Sure" I said with a smile.
"So you won't get the donut" she continued. My smile faded.
"How did you know that...." I stuttered. Fluttershy smiled as she walked by me. "You know me FAR to well" I said as I followed her. We both entered the living room and Fluttershy turned to look at me.
"I had this talk with Toby already and I just want to tell you also."
"Ok" I said.
"I'm going to run an errand in Canterlot with Rarity and I want you and Lightning Dust to watch him while I'm gone and I won't be back until some time tomorrow."
"That shouldn't be a problem" I said with a smile. A small frown appeared on her face. "What is it?" I asked.
"Um... Remember that time when Twilight tried to remove the curse of me being Flutterbat but instead, she split it from me so we're two different mares?"
"Yeah and Flutterbat befriended me all because of an apple I was eating. Why?"
"Toby doesn't know of her existence yet because I hid it from him."
"Don't worry, Lightning Dust doesn't know about her either" I said.
"Just... Keep her hidden from them" she said almost pleadingly.
"I'll try" I said. "Luckily I won't have to worry right now because she's sleeping in my closet." She smiled.
"It was nice of you to take her in."
"It wasn't a problem." There was a yawn. I turned my head and saw Toby walking down the stairs. Strands of his hair stood up on various ends, he was in his pajamas, and his glasses wasn't put on correctly. When he reached the bottom, he felt his glasses slipping so he adjusted them. "Afternoon, bud" I said. "How was your nap?"
"Good afternoon Cale" he yawned again. "Nap was great.". Seconds later, Lightning Dust came down the stairs also.
"Hey! The gang's all here!" I exclaimed. Fluttershy approached her son.
"Now Toby, remember what I told you yesterday?" She asked.
"That today you'll be with Aunt Rarity and you won't be back until late tomorrow" he said.
"Cale and Lightning Dust will look after you for the time being" she added. "Is that ok with you?"
"Yes momma" he said as he wrapped his arms around. Fluttershy wrapped a hoof around him and kissed him on the forehead.
"Take care of him" she said to Lightning Dust.
"Trust me, he'll be ok as long as he's with us" Lightning Dust said. Fluttershy nodded with understanding.
"And you..." She said turning to me. I took a step back and fell on the sofa. "Don't touch that donut."
"Oh come on Fluttershy... I haven't even tried to...." She did 'The Stare' on me. "Um... Yeah ok, whatever you say" I laughed nervously.
"Do you promise me?" She asked, still keeping her 'Stare' on me.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake on my eye" I said rather quickly. Her eyes went back to normal and smiled.
"Bye Toby" she said, turning to her son. They gave each other a final goodbye hug before she left her cottage.
"Are you ok?" Lightning Dust asked,
"Um... Define ok.." I said, still shaken by 'The Stare' Fluttershy gave me. I really should quit the habit of eating whatever donut I see on the table every time I come here. I deserved that 'Stare' anyway. Thank God she gave it to me.
After coming back to my senses after 'The Stare' (while watching the donut being devoured), we decided to head out to Ponyville to take a walk, which we always do at this point. I don't know if it's just me, but Ponyville seemed to get warmer whenever afternoon hits during the Spring. We stopped by the Ponyville Park to relax under the afternoon sky. Oh the feeling of lying on the grass with the sun beating down is such a good feeling. I felt both Lightning Dust and Toby lie down next to me.
"How do you like Ponyville so far?" I heard Toby ask Lightning Dust.
"I like it a lot" I heard her reply. "Do you lie down under the sun?" She asked.
"Only near my house" he answered. I continued to stare at the sky and watch the clouds slowly go by until my eyes slowly closed and I drifted off to sleep.
I don't know how much time went by, but the soft flutter of wings woke me up. I sat up and looked around. The place was dark and the moon was up. I turned to my side and saw Toby and Lightning Dust still sleeping. The fluttering came again. I slowly got to my feet and looked around. Just then, I saw a silhouette land a few feet away from me. I squinted my eyes and saw Flutterbat. Her unmistakeable bat-like ears, wings, and her vampiric red eyes was all I needed to see to confirm my guess. I glanced back at my sleeping friends and approached Flutterbat.
"You see that boy over there?" I asked. "He doesn't know about your existence and you almost have the same resemblance as his mother." Flutterbat tilted her head to the side. "No, don't give me that" I said, trying to maintain a whisper so I won't wake the two. "You have to get out of here... If he sees you..." Her hissing cut me off. "What do you mean 'no'?" I asked. Flutterbat continued hissing at me. "Oh so we're going to play the disobedient game? Is that it?" I feel like I'm arguing with a daughter rather than a friend. "Ok, bring it!" I challenged. Flutterbat hissed loudly and tackled me to the ground. Our scuffle eventually woke the two up. Toby gasped in horror.
"Momma! Why are you attacking Cale?!" He asked. Flutterbat and I stopped and looked at the two. She had me pinned on the ground.
"Cale, stay calm" Lightning Dust said with caution. They didn't know we're friends.
"Uh sure... I'm calm" I said. Flutterbat slowly got off of me, allowing me to sit up. I was arguing with myself mentally whether or not I should tell them.
"Are you all right, Cale?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Oh yeah. Perfectly fine" I said. She glanced at the creature next to me and gasped.
"Fluttershy? What happened to you?" She asked. Toby was on the verge of tears.
"I don't understand... Why would momma attack you?" He asked.
"Well..." I said, glancing back at the confused Flutterbat. "The thing is..." I was about to further explain the situation but Toby bravely talked to Flutterbat... Both with anger and fear.
"Why momma? Why did you attack Cale?" Tears were forming in his eyes. "Why did you attack him?!" Startled, Flutterbat hissed at him angrily and bared her fangs at him. Toby gasped and ran back to me, in tears. I glared at Flutterbat and her anger soon disappeared. Realizing what she has done, she put on a look of sorrow.
"Toby..." I said gently. The young boy turned to me, tears clearly forming. "That's not your mother. She doesn't know you."
"You're right..." He said. "She's not my mother! My mother wouldn't hurt anypony! And now... Now I fund out she has lied to me! She lied!" He ran off crying. Lightning Dust flew off after him. I fell to my knees and pounded on the grass. Flutterbat approached me and placed a hoof on my back.
"What the hell have I done?" I asked. She pulled me into a hug and wrapped both her other hoof and her wings around me. "What the hell have I done?" I asked again. I felt her rub my back comfortingly.
Lightning Dust eventually caught up with Toby and hugged him. "Why did momma do it?" He asked. "Why? Doesn't she care anymore?"
"Toby" she said gently. "Parents do things when they're angry that don't even mean" she said. "They may yell, scream, or even punish you, but that doesn't mean they don't love you..."
"It doesn't?" He asked, his tears drying up.
"No. It doesn't. She still loves you Toby." She glanced up and saw me walking towards them. Lightning Dust noticed my eyes were a little red from crying.
"How is he?" I asked.
"Feeling better. I told him that parents getting angry doesn't mean they don't live them anymore." I laughed a little.
"Try telling that to my 5-year-old self." I turned my head and saw Flutterbat fidgeting a little. She looked at me nervously. "Hey uh... Flutter...shy wants to give something to Toby."
"And he wants to say something to her." Lightning Dust and I made room for the two. Flutterbat glided down on the ground and stretched out her hooves. She had a pleading look on her face. Toby ran over to his 'mom' and hugged her.
"I'm sorry momma. I'm sorry for yelling at you" he said, crying. Flutterbat rubbed his back comfortingly, accepting his apology. She hissed softly.
"So is that really Fluttershy?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?" I asked while the two of us watched Toby and his 'mother' continuing hugging each other. "Because you're going to be hearing a long story."
It came to a point where Toby fell asleep in his 'mother's' hooves. Flutterbat lifted the boy up and hovered next to Lightning Dust and I as we made our way back to Fluttershy's cottage. "What's going to happen now?" Lightning Dust asked. "Now that Toby and I met this... Flutterbat?" She sounded really worried.
"Don't worry" I said. "I got it all figured out... Sort of."
At the cottage, Flutterbat was sleeping next to Toby. If I stood at a certain angle, I could see her hooves and wings wrapped around the boy. Lightning Dust was standing next to me watching the tender moment before us. "So what's your plan?" She asked.
"You'll see" I said. "I sent a letter to Fluttershy not too long ago stating what happened." There was a light knock on the door. "That's probably her" I said. I approached the door and opened it.
"How is he?" Fluttershy asked.
"He's ok" I answered. "Just a little misunderstanding between you and Flutterbat."
"Oh dear... I was hoping he wouldn't see her."
"I was hoping too." The two of us looked at the sleeping duo. "Ready to do this?" I asked.
"What's the plan?" Lightning Dust asked.
"Since I told Fluttershy everything, here's how it's going to go down..." I whispered. We watched Flutterbat and Fluttershy switch places, being careful not to wake up Toby. "When the sun rises, he'll be with Fluttershy. When night comes, Fluttershy will go somewhere and Flutterbat will take her place."
"So he'll think they're the same mare." I nodded.
"Though it'll be a matter of time before he realizes they are two different mares."
"Then he'll have two mothers."
"Essentially" I answered.
"Well, good night Cale" she said.
"Good night" I said. Flutterbat and I left the cottage and headed back to Ponyville. "You know... After what i saw tonight, you would make a great mother." Flutterbat blushed and nudged me in the side. "Oh come on, admit it. You enjoyed taking care of the boy." She hissed at me, stuck her tongue out, and flew over to our house. Sometimes I'll never understand her.
Next morning, Toby woke up and saw Fluttershy next to him. "Momma" he cried as he hugged her. "You're not a bat anymore" he said. Fluttershy woke up and smiled. "I'm sorry I was mean to you when you were a bat. I didn't know that..."
"It's ok Toby" she said hugging him. "I know you didn't mean it."
"But... I don't understand. Why did you become a bat at night? I thought that you were running an errand with Aunt Rarity?" Fluttershy stuck to the promise she made with me.
"I never went" she lied. "And please... Don't tell Rarity that. She'll be really angry with me."
"Ok" he answered as he went back to sleep. In reality, her errand was complete. I so happened to send her a letter the same time it was completed. That night, it was time to make the switch. Fluttershy flew up and rested on a cloud while Flutterbat took her place and hung out with Toby. She was able to watch her son from the cloud, staying quiet so she wouldn't be noticed.
Fluttershy and I both knew that Toby will find out that Flutterbat really isn't his mother, but a new friend. It'll be a matter of time when.
The End