Fluttershy sighed in exhaustion. The heat of the summer sun radiated throughout Ponyville, and more relevantly, Sweet Apple Acres, where she had been spending most of the day working with Applejack. Without any clouds in the sky, she had to resort to using the shade cast by the trees to cool off. She could feel the strain in her arms in each pull of the apple cart across the dirt path.

“I appreciate ya helping out with my chores today, Fluttershy. I know you’re probably busy with your own work and all, but I really needed an extra pair of hands to help me out today.” Applejack said, balancing several apple barrels without breaking a sweat.

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Applejack! I’m always happy to help you out!” Fluttershy said with a forced smile, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she pulled the cart of apples into the barn. She had lost track of exactly how long she had been helping, but it certainly felt like hours.

“Just gotta check on the last orchard, gotta make sure that they’re ready for picking tomorrow. I promise that it’s the last thing I need you to do today.”

“A-Alright…” Fluttershy said, rubbing her sore biceps, walking with Applejack back into the apple trees.

Applejack walked side-by-side with Fluttershy as they went towards their destination. “Just lemmie know if you see anything particularly wrong with the apples, ok?”

Fluttershy nodded, then looked towards the trees. As she looked at the apples, her stomach started to rumble. She had been working with apples all day, but for some reason, these ones in particular were making her hungry. Perhaps it was just because she knew that she was almost done with working, and she’d be able to finally eat.

“Looking good so far…” Applejack said to herself as they walked through, her eyes scanning each apple to make sure that they were ready to be harvested later. She was so focused on looking at the apples, she didn’t notice Fluttershy practically drooling until she spoke up.

“These apples look amazing! So big, and...so juicy!” Fluttershy beamed, staring at the apples. They were so big, she was already imagining herself biting into one of them. She could practically taste the juices splashing in her mouth.

“Heh, don’t look too hungry now. Don’t want another Flutterbat situation on my hands,” Applejack chuckled, playfully elbowing Fluttershy in the ribs.

Fluttershy responded with a weak, confused laugh. She had the incident explained to her in great detail, but she still had no personal recollection of the event. It’s very unnerving having your friends tell you about the kind of monster that you became under the influence of apples. Sweet, delicious, juicy apples...

“Well, looks like everything’s looking good for now. I still got a bit of stuff to do, but I won’t keep ya any longer. You’re free to grab a drink or two in the house before you go! Thanks for your help today, Fluttershy!”

“You’re welcome, Applejack! See you soon!” Fluttershy said, making her way out of the orchard. Her eyes kept wandering back to the apples the entire walk back. She decided to take Applejack up on her offer, going inside to fill a mug full of cider to quench her thirst before she left for home.

Once Fluttershy made it back to her cottage, she collapsed on her sofa. She still had plenty of things to do for her animals, but after all the manual labor she had to do, she needed a quick break before getting to her own work.

Fluttershy propped her feet up, staring at her nail polish as she swayed her toes side to side. She started to think about how long it’s been since her last tickling experience. She considered visiting Pinkie Pie later in the week on one of her days off. Out of all the friends that knew about her secret, Pinkie was obviously the easiest to approach and ask for some tickling fun.

Fluttershy realized that Applejack was the only friend left that didn’t know about her tickling kink. Not that she was planning on bringing it up in any sort of conversation the next time they met, but it just felt strange to have one friend not know. She wanted her secret to be kept a secret, but given the circumstances of how her other friends found out, she figured that it was only a matter of time until Applejack somehow discovered it, much to her dismay.

She decided to brush her worries off to the side, and get to work tending to her animal friends.

After a long and exhausting day, Fluttershy was relieved to finally go to sleep. She hopped into bed and sighed in satisfaction as she lay on the soft mattress and cool pillows. As she closed her eyes to let slumber envelop her, the growling of her stomach interrupted what was going to be a peaceful rest.

Fluttershy grumbled, her eyes still shut tight. As much as she wanted to go grab a midnight snack, she knew that doing so would ruin her appetite and her sleep cycle.

Despite the protests of her stomach, Fluttershy kept herself in bed, trying to get her mind off her hunger, but the thought of savory food kept invading her mind, especially all those apples she saw earlier. She covered her face with her pillow, screaming in frustration as she tried to force herself to sleep, her growing hunger slowly overwhelming her need to sleep.

Meanwhile, Applejack was sleeping peacefully back on Sweet Apple Acres, rolling onto her back as she lightly snored, living out her fantasies in a dream.

Applejack was only an hour into her slumber when she suddenly sprung awake, sitting upright on her bed. She had an inexplicable feeling that something was wrong. She looked out towards the orchards, though it was hard to focus in the moonlight, she could clearly see a shadowy figure descending on the trees.

Whatever it was, it had to be stopped.

Applejack hopped into her boots and ran out of the barn as fast as she could, grabbing her lasso and a flashlight as she went out the door, dashing towards the orchard.

Applejack heard the distinct sound of someone, or something, biting into an apple. Her sprinting quickly halted into a cautious tip-toe, hoping to catch whatever it was by surprise. Once she thought she was close enough, she turned on the flashlight, hoping to catch the intruder. By the time she turned the light on, she felt something fly over her head.

“What the-?” By the time Applejack turned around, it was gone from her sight.

Applejack managed to track down the intruder again. Whatever it was, it was so engaged in the apples on the tree that Applejack managed to get within lasso range. She shined the light on the figure, hoping to catch them red-handed.

Applejack’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?” She didn’t want to believe it, but it was hard to deny what she was seeing.

Fluttershy was perched atop one of the branches. Though her appearance was significantly altered from her usual look. Her teeth had fangs that tore into the apples she was eating. Her feathery wings had disappeared, replaced with bat wings.

Applejack didn’t have time to figure out how or why Flutterbat managed to return, as the moment she heard Applejack voice her confusion, she took off.

“Oh, for the love of-” Applejack started sprinting, keeping her eyes trained on the airborne Flutterbat the whole time.

The pursuit was difficult for Applejack, seeing as Flutterbat had a significant advantage with her flight, but Applejack knew the layout of the orchards like the back of her hand, allowing her to keep up and concentrate on where Flutterbat was going while effortlessly avoiding running into the trees.

Once the chase returned back to the path, Applejack took out her lasso, twirling it above her head, aiming for her torso so she could bring her back down to the ground.

Flutterbat looked behind her, flapping her wings faster in an effort to outspeed the lasso. The sudden speed boost was partially successful, as the lasso wrapped around her ankles instead.

With a quick tug of the rope, Applejack closed the loop around Flutterbat’s ankles. Once she secured the lasso, she yanked back hard on the rope to try and ground Flutterbat.

Though Flutterbat had been caught by the rope, she refused to give up. Though her speed slowed, she kept flying forward towards her goal of more apples.

Applejack kept her grip on the rope as she tugged back, her heels making tracks in the dirt as Flutterbat dragged her forward. She tried to keep her feet planted on the ground, hoping that the traction would help slow her down. Her arms were starting to feel strain with how much of a fight Flutterbat was putting up.

Seeing as she wasn’t getting herself loose from the rope, Flutterbat tried flying upward, trying to lift Applejack off the ground instead.

Applejack could feel her body trying to rise. She dug her heels into the ground to try and anchor herself. She gave the rope a little slack, then yanked it backwards.

The trick seemed to work, as Flutterbat was suddenly caught off-balance by the sudden tug and crashed into the dirt, seemingly out cold.

Applejack ran over to the downed Flutterbat. “Sorry ‘bout that, but I gotta get you fixed somehow…”

Twilight would probably know how to fix this, but given how much of a fight Flutterbat could put up, it would be a challenge to keep Flutterbat under control while dragging her to the castle, but it was the best option she had.

Applejack groaned, finding herself in a difficult situation. She couldn’t get her family to help keep Flutterbat restrained; Big Mac was with Sugar Belle, Apple Bloom was staying at Sweetie Belle’s place, and Luna knows Granny Smith wouldn’t be easy to wake up from her sleep at this hour.

If she was going to take Flutterbat to Twilight, she’d need a lot more rope. She picked up Flutterbat and carried her to the barn.

Once she made it into the barn, Applejack carefully lay Flutterbat down on the floor, making sure she was still unconscious. She began grabbing all the spare lassos and ropes around the barn. The more restrained Flutterbat was, the easier the walk to Twilight’s castle would be.

As Applejack kept searching, Flutterbat quickly eventually came to. She checked her surroundings, turning around towards the open barn door. She could smell the juicy apples all the way from the barn. She struggled a bit to get her ankles out from the lasso, but once she freed herself, she made a beeline for the exit.

Hearing the sudden movement, Applejack turned around, seeing Flutterbat attempting to escape. “Hey! Get back here!”

With Flutterbat still grounded, it made lassoing her in somewhat easier. One expert toss and the loop tightened around Flutterbat’s ankles again, tripping her up.

Taking all the ropes she gathered up with her, Applejack ran over to Flutterbat, ready to wrap more ropes around her. “Alright, I’m gonna take you to Twilight, she’ll get you back to normal!”

Once Applejack got close enough, Flutterbat lashed out, grabbing onto her shoulders to try and throw her to the floor.

“You little-!” Applejack growled, trying to keep herself balanced and regain control so she could tie Flutterbat up.

In their struggle, Applejack dug her fingers into Flutterbat’s sides as she tried to pin her down.

“Eeeheeheeheeheeheeee!”

Applejack paused, she could’ve sworn that she heard a giggle come out of Flutterbat.

With Applejack’s hesitation, Flutterbat managed to wrestle herself loose, scrambling towards the door once more, ready to take flight once she got outside.

“Oh no you don’t!” Applejack caught up in short time, taking Flutterbat down with a running tackle. She sat on top of her back, keeping her pinned to the ground, Applejack cautiously squeezed Flutterbat’s sides intentionally, just to confirm that she wasn’t hearing things.

“Yaaaahaha!”

“...Fluttershy?”

Flutterbat hissed in response, trying to crawl out underneath Applejack.

Applejack squinted, unsure of what to make of what was happening. “Hey, can ya hear me, Fluttershy?”

Flutterbat growled, glaring at Applejack with feral anger. She thrashed underneath Applejack, still fighting for her freedom.

Applejack skittered her fingers against Flutterbat’s exposed midriff, just to see what would happen.

All the anger in Flutterbat’s eyes suddenly disappeared, her body freezing up as she squealed. “Sssstaaahahahap!”

Applejack tilted her head in curiosity and confusion. That was definitely Fluttershy’s laugh. She didn’t quite understand it, but tickling seemed to not only keep Flutterbat controlled, but bring out a little bit of Fluttershy as well. She didn’t have any sort of magic to help Flutterbat turn back into Fluttershy, and yet…

Once the tickling had stopped, Flutterbat was back to her violent thrashing, though her movement was limited, she still managed to lift her body up with Applejack sitting on her.

“Woah, there!” Applejack kicked her legs out, laying them on Flutterbat’s arms to take away her leverage. She looked around the barn, an idea forming in her head.

With one of the nearby rope, Applejack quickly tied Flutterbat’s hands above her head. With her previous lasso toss, now all Flutterbat’s limbs were tied up, which made dragging her to one of the barn’s support beams easier. Applejack eyed up and down the beam, visualizing the set-up.

With some expert knot tying and ropework, Flutterbat was tied to the beam while sitting down. Her bat wings were tied closed with a rope that wrapped tight around her midsection, just underneath her breasts. Her hands were stuck above her head, tied behind the beam, exposing her underarms. The single lasso that was wrapped around her ankles became a coil of rope that wrapped halfway up her shins, and a few more extra ropes wrapped around her body and the beam just for added precaution.

If her plan failed, at least she’d tire Flutterbat out to make it easier to take her to Twilight.

Applejack crouched down, looking at the struggling Flutterbat. “Alright, let’s see if this works...” She sat down on Flutterbat’s legs, her hands reaching forward to lightly scritch at her exposed underarms.

When Applejack got close and sat on her legs, Flutterbat hissed again. She tried to lunge forward to bite Applejack, but the ropes kept her from getting within range. When Applejack reached forward, she looked at Applejack’s hands in confusion. Once those fingers started teasing her armpits, she grit her teeth, a smile forced on her face.

Applejack picked up a little bit of speed, her fingers sliding up and down the hollows of her armpits.

Flutterbat found it hard to keep containing her laughter, as girlish giggles started spilling out of her mouth. She could smell the scent of apples wafting through the open barn door, making her all the more furious that she was trapped.

Applejack started to wiggle her fingers into her armpits, curious as to how Flutterbat would react to the continued increases in intensity.

“Hehehaha! Aahaahaaaaah! S-Stahahap it!” Flutterbat barked out. She tried bringing her arms down to defend herself, but the support beam kept getting in the way.

Applejack was fascinated by the fact that Flutterbat was laughing. It was more pleasant to hear than the hissing and snarling, though she still wasn’t sure if she was getting through to Fluttershy this way. She decided to continue scribbling her fingers in Flutterbat’s armpits, trying to draw more of Fluttershy’s laughter out.

Flutterbat’s wings started to twitch, trying to extend and break free. She kept trying to charge forward. If she could get one good bite in, then maybe Applejack would stop tickling her and give her a chance to break free.

Applejack decided to switch spots. Her eyes wandered to Flutterbat’s exposed midriff, and she decided to give her sides a few more squeezes.

Flutterbat jolted with each squeeze, making Applejack bounce on her legs as she yelped. The digging into her sides was unpredictable, making her voice jump each time. “NooOOOooOOOOoo! StahahaHAAAhahap it TIIIhihihickles!”

Whether it was a result of Flutterbat’s lack of restraint, or Rainbow Dash’s workout, Applejack was caught off-guard by how high she was being lifted up by Flutterbat’s legs. Flutterbat was certainly putting up a fight. She inched a little closer, risking getting bitten to decrease the leverage. She resumed her tickling treatment, her fingers poking and skittering against her stomach.

As Flutterbat cackled, her fangs were starting to recede. Not quite back to her regular set of teeth, but enough to make a noticable difference. “Nohohohahaha! Nohohoho more!”

Applejack was too fixated on tickling Flutterbat to notice the physical changes, her fingers approached Flutterbat’s belly button as they tickled inwards.

Flutterbat’s ears started to regain their normal fluffiness again. She didn’t even attempt to bite Applejack anymore, despite how close she had gotten. She was more focused on the tickling sensations on her belly and the ropes around her body that were preventing her from stopping them.

Bracing herself for the inevitable bucking, Applejack started squeezing Flutterbat’s hips, her thumbs rolling against her sides.

Flutterbat started to blush, her toes curling up as she wiggled her hips back and forth. “A-Ahahahapplejahahahack!”

Applejack’s eyes widened upon hearing her name being called out. “Fluttershy? Can ya hear me?” If she kept tickling Flutterbat, then there was a chance of communicating with Fluttershy, and possibly tickling her back to normal.

The absurdity of the entire situation finally hit Applejack at that moment. Applejack chuckled to herself, shaking her head before blowing a raspberry on Flutterbat’s belly.

“AAAHAHAHAAAA! A-AAAAHN! S-STAHAHAHAP!”

Applejack looked up in confusion. If Flutterbat was constantly crying out to stop, why did it just sound like she was being turned on by the tickling?

Applejack quickly took notice that Flutterbat was looking significantly less batty. Whatever she was doing was clearly working. Though she still had several questions in her mind, it was highly unlikely that Flutterbat had the answers, but Fluttershy just might. She leaned back in to give Flutterbat’s belly another raspberry.

Flutterbat let out a shaky moan, her entire body trembling in panic as she tried to swing her body side to side in an attempt to escape Applejack’s lips. “EEEHEEHAAHA! N-NO! OHOHOHOHHH STOP! PLEEEEAAASE! NAHAHAHAT THEEEERE!”

Applejack looked back up, trying to see if there were any more physical changes happening. Her hands went back to squeezing her hips to make up for the lack of raspberries. The fact that Flutterbat was now pleading instead of demanding seemed to be good progress.

Though she could only get brief glances of it, Applejack noticed that Fluttershy’s eyes were back to their usual cyan, rather than the menacing red irises. “N-NOHOHOHO MOOORE! I-I’M GONNA! GAAAHAAHAAAA!” Flutterbat squealed, thrusting her hips into Applejack’s hands, her cheeks significantly pink.

Applejack wasn’t sure what Flutterbat was referring to, but she felt like she was close to something. Her fingers went all the way up to her armpits, scribbling all the way down her ribs, sides, around her belly into her navel, and then finishing by digging into her hips and thighs.

“NO! NONONOOOOHOHOHOHO! Y-YOU’RE GONNA MAKE MEEHEEHEEHEE!” Flutterbat violently kicked her legs as much as she could, her arms swung back and forth against the support beam in one final attempt to break free. But it was too late, the constant tickling finally overwhelmed her, and Flutterbat lost control. “AHAHEEHEEHEE! AHAHAAA! AAAAH! AAAHAHAAAAAAAHHH!”

Applejack finally stopped, still cautiously sitting on Flutterbat’s thighs, on her guard for whatever came next. She could’ve sworn those last few screams were from arousal, not hysterics.

As Flutterbat hung her head low, her wings started to regain their feathers. “Nggh…wha...what’s going on?” Fluttershy raised her head back up, trying to move her arms to rub her eyes.

“...Fluttershy?” Applejack asked with hope in her voice. Was she actually successful in bringing Fluttershy back?

Fluttershy blinked, looking around in confusion. “H-Huh? W-where am I? Applejack?” Though she felt a bit groggy from just waking up, question after question raced through her mind. Where was she? Why is Applejack here? Why couldn’t she move? Why was she all sweaty? Why did she feel like she was basking in afterglow?

“Fluttershy! You’re back!” Applejack sighed in relief, hugging Fluttershy tight.

“I...I am ? What’s going on?” Fluttershy quickly regained consciousness, starting to asses her situation. Judging by her surroundings, she was in the barn in Sweet Apple Acres. Her legs, arms, and wings were tied up, which was incredibly concerning. She rubbed her thighs together, feeling an unmistakable wetness. She couldn’t remember anything prior to falling asleep in her own bed, and so her mind tried to fill in the gaps herself before Applejack could explain, and the explanations that she was thinking up were ones she prayed weren’t true.

“Oh, right, uh...You really don’t know what happened, huh?” Applejack quickly rolled off Fluttershy’s legs. “Well…Ya somehow turned back into Flutterbat, and started wreaking havoc on my apples. It was lucky that I managed to catch ya and bring ya to the barn.”

Fluttershy nodded along. The fact that she turned into Flutterbat again was terrifying, but it still didn’t explain why she was feeling wet.

Applejack exhaled sharply, this explanation was going to be a doozy. “Alright, so...while I was trying to tie you up an’ keep ya still, I accidentally started tickling you, and you started giggling. It sounded more like you than Flutterbat.”

Fluttershy’s pupils shrank the moment the t-word was uttered. If her secret was found out due to something she had absolutely no control over…

Applejack started to blush, the explanation starting to get embarrassing. “So, I figured if I kept tickling you, then there was a chance you’d turn back to normal. So I had to tie you up to one of the support beams and...well, it worked!”

“WHAT?!” Fluttershy was both terrified that Applejack might have found out about her secret, and peeved beyond words that she had absolutely no memories of being tickled by Applejack to enjoy.

“I’m real sorry, Fluttershy. You kept saying how much you hated it, but it just worked in getting you back to normal, so I had to keep going.”

“Huh?” Fluttershy tilted her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The whole time, ya kept screaming things like ‘Stop it!’ and ‘No more!’ and ‘Not the tummy!’ Stuff like that,” Applejack explained.

“...But that doesn’t make any sense, I lo-” Fluttershy quickly shut up, realizing what she let slip out trying to correct Applejack.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What were you about to say, Fluttershy?”

“Nothing! N-nevermind!” Fluttershy looked away in a panic. Why did she have to open her big mouth?

Applejack kept staring at Fluttershy, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for an answer.

Fluttershy nervously looked back at Applejack’s neutral, but stern face before sighing in defeat. It generally wasn’t a smart idea to lie to Applejack, especially when tied up. “O-Ok...I still don’t know what happened or what I did as Flutterbat...but I...I actually love being tickled…”

After what felt like hours of judgmental silence, Applejack smirked. “...Yeah, that makes sense,” she said, nodding.

“Y-you mean you already knew?”

“Well, uh…” Applejack turned her head away, pointing at Fluttershy’s crotch. “It definitely explains that...”

Fluttershy’s face flushed red. “Oh...ri-right...ehehe…”

“I’m guessin’ this is something I wasn’t meant to know about, huh?” Applejack asked, starting to feel guilty based on Fluttershy’s reactions.

“I’ve been...trying...to keep it a secret…” Fluttershy said, more frustrated than embarrassed at this point.

“...Well, if it means anything, I don’t think it’s something to be ashamed of. Sure, it caught me off-guard, but I don’t think it’s weird or nothin’.” Applejack said, trying to comfort her.

Fluttershy smiled, feeling a huge emotional weight being lifted off her chest. “That actually means a lot, Applejack. Thank you.” It was a weirdly liberating feeling, having your closest friends know and be completely accepting of your secret.

Applejack nodded. “Don’t worry about it. Your secret’s safe with me.”

“So, um...am I going to be untied soon?” Fluttershy asked, wiggling against the ropes.

“Oh! Heh, right, sorry.”

Applejack reached her hands forward to untie Fluttershy, only for her hands to stop just as she grabbed onto the knot. “Buuuuut, seeing as you did cause me a whole lot of trouble tonight, I’m thinking a little punishment might be necessary.”

“P-Punishment?” Fluttershy’s ears folded to the sides of her head.

“Oh yeah. You went through an entire acre of apple trees before I finally managed to stop you. There’s not much left for the next harvest, I’m afraid.”

“W-What?!” Fluttershy started to shiver. What kind of monster was she?

“Heh, I'm just kidding, you only ate a few apples,” Applejack chuckled. “Seriously though, you did wake me up in the middle of the night and it was mighty difficult to keep you still,” she said with a wink.

“Eep…” Fluttershy’s toes curled up, knowing exactly what Applejack was planning.

Applejack decided to start the punishment in a spot that she had neglected the entire time. She sat down by Fluttershy’s ankles, lifting them up onto her lap. Her left hand rested on Fluttershy’s toes, her other hand hovering above her soles, fingers curled and ready.

Fluttershy started to fidget as she waited, the anticipation making her more shaky. She looked over at Applejack, waiting for her to make her move.

Applejack said nothing, not even acknowledging the fact that Fluttershy was looking at her. Her eyes watched Fluttershy’s feet scrunch up impatiently. She used her thumb and index fingers to wrap around Fluttershy’s big toes, locking them together. The corners of Applejack’s lips turned up into a smirk, and she attacked.

By the time Fluttershy noticed the smirk on Applejack’s face, her fingers already struck her arches. “Eeeheeheehahaaaa!”

Applejack kept up her sly smile, knowing those giggles were from Fluttershy having fun, and not from a struggling Flutterbat. She aligned her fingers vertically, having them slide up and down her arches.

Fluttershy tried her best to kick free of Applejack’s grip, but she was no match for her strength, leaving her helpless to the punishment. Not that she minded, of course.

Applejack reached over to Fluttershy’s left foot, using sideways swipes to quickly get both feet at the same time with only one hand. ”This good, Fluttershy?”

“Y-YEHEHEHES!” Fluttershy rapidly nodded, her legs jolting each time Applejack dragged her fingers across her feet.

“Then...how about this?” Applejack freed Fluttershy’s toes from her grip, only because she needed both hands to dig into her soles, raking her fingers all the way from under her toes to her heel.

Being in a post-orgasm state left Fluttershy light-headed. Adding in the tickling from Applejack meant Fluttershy’s thoughts were scrambled. The lingering worries of how Flutterbat could’ve possibly returned in her were all fuzzy. There was just one thing she could focus on at the moment… “BWAHAHAHA! THAHAHAT TIHIHIHICKLES SO MUUUUUCH!”

With Applejack no longer holding her toes, Fluttershy’s feet began bouncing on her lap. Though it wasn’t enough to fully escape her fingers. Fluttershy could only move her feet around so much, making it easy for Applejack to just predict where they were going to go, then have her fingers follow.

Fluttershy’s active bouncing eventually settled down, becoming too tired to keep moving. Her howling laughter eventually died down into tired giggles and gasps as her head hung low in exhaustion.

“Alright, I think you’ve had your fun,” Applejack chuckled, placing her feet back down on the ground as she worked on untying all the ropes.

“Hah...ahah...Thank...you....” As soon as her arms were free, they lay limp at Fluttershy’s sides, leaning against the support beam to rest.

“Heh, gotta admit, Fluttershy. Even though ya woke me up in the middle of the night, this was actually pretty enjoyable!”

“R-Really?” Fluttershy weakly turned her head up to look at Applejack.

“Yep. I wouldn’t be totally against doing something like this again...If you’re willing to help out on the farm to help make time for it, of course.”

“You really mean it?” There was a brief sparkle of excitement that flashed through the fatigue in Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Course I do. Just promise me there won’t be any more Flutterbat, ok?” Applejack joked, helping her up on her feet.

“Uh...I’ll try my best?” Fluttershy smiled sheepishly.

Fluttershy managed to get back to her cottage in the middle of the night, more exhausted than her previous trip back. She snuck back into her bed to make sure she wouldn’t wake up the other animals.

She quickly slipped back into bed, pulling the covers over her body. There wasn’t much time left until sunrise, but Fluttershy wanted as much sleep as she could get for tomorrow. She closed her eyes, ready for her exhaustion to take her into slumber, but her eyes quickly shot back open in annoyance.

She was still hungry...

Author's Note

There's one more main character I haven't done yet...

Next Time: The Mirror