TS&F: S1, Ep3: Til the Flutterguy Sings

Alright, that's one job down, three more to go. And may I just add how useful this horn has actually become? Don't have to worry about picking things up by hoof, when the time calls for it, like right now. Not to mention saving time and energy just to put on gloves while conducting experiments. Starting to figure out how to assemble and craft gadgets and equipment with it, also. Wonder if it could be used for my web fluid? That could be really handy…or hoofy. Anyway, all that's left to do, for now, is get a few samples of the funny, blue plant, and Starlight and I can get started on the second phase of the plan. Just hope the third comes more readily available. Preferably, sometime during these next twenty-four hours. Think we can get something rolling, by then. I hope.

Peter followed the three mares through the wide, naturally laden pathway that was under the arching branches of the Everfree. Knowing how familiar the deep woods have become for the local heroes, he decided it best to allow their lead this time, while still maintaining his position in the trees. Striving to remain mindful of his surroundings, Spidey scanned the local area with great care and precision, always mindful that the danger could also be prowling behind the leaves and bramble beyond the pathway's borders. As far as his spider sense is concerned, the environment throughout has been very, well serene, without any sign of disturbances in the air pressure, no creatures showing any impulsive indications of attack, nor even the soft sound of an ominous weapon slowly being drawn from a sheath or holster, or retracting claws, beforehoof.

However, the web-slinger learned that such an ability, so attuned to everything he, and everypony is connected with, was not flawless. It may warn him of a great many dangers, a vast majority of which have been thwarted by such a feat, but not always, at the most perfect of timing. Always on the lookout, he continued to view the movements of everything in sight, as well as out, keeping his colleagues in his peripheral, at the very least. Got to make sure not to get too jumpy, though. This forest isn't completely unfamiliar to them, after all. Don't want to overreact. Discord could come back when we least expect it, in good-old, comedic fashion, like last time. Or maybe some little fairy of the Everfree would guide us to our intended destination. Though intended by us, or it, would remain unclear, until it's too late. Wow. Even that crossed the intersection at Anxiety Avenue and Paranoia Parkway a little. Guess some more action wasn't what I needed, after all.

"There they are," said Rarity, "I was beginning to worry if we had already passed them." Clustered before the ponies was a brightly ornate patch of royal blue. Possessing a combination of flower petals, and simple leaves, the poison joke grown there offered a slight gleam, in contrast to the dark, surrounding wood. Though it definitely brought back embarrassing memories to the three ponies.

"Heh," AJ chuckled, "Tah think we made such a mighty big fuss over our problems with that there plant. Now we're goin' to use it to help us catch us an even bigger fish in the drink."

The Unicorns of the expedition wasted no time, as they ignited their horns in their respective auras, collecting small samples of the vegetation, fewer than those of the tranquil clover, but enough for further study. Placing the additional items into small bags, then into the pack that has been strapped onto the farm pony.

"Perfect," beamed Pete, "Just need to take all this back to the castle, and then half our work will be as good as-" Grrrowwwel.

Man, guess somepony forgot their snack. However, after turning to see the startled expressions from the entire company, the beige stallion became fully aware of the situation. Okay. Just hope that something doesn't think we're appetizing.

Grroooowwwelll. Upon recognizing the tone of such a bestial snarl, Spidey sharply spun a quick line onto the branch that hung between the brush and the joke, then swiftly zipped onto it with a firm pull.

"Um," deeply stuttered Fluttershy, knowing the cause, as well, "Spider Bite?"

"I'm not picking up anything yet," he answered, "So no immediate threats to worry about, right now."

"And just how precisely should we know when it will be, darling?"

"Trust me, you'll know."

"Not very reassuring."

Grrrrooooowwwelllll. The sound seemed to have emanated from the south, south-east, deeper into the bleak shadows of the Everfree. Though it most certainly provided a more ominous air to the forest, the noise itself, however, sounded faint, not as though it were far away, so much as weak.

"Don't sound like a horrifyin' growl to me, Ah recon," the orange Earth Pony lowly stated, "Almost as if that bugbear was trapped, or somethin'."

"That's what I'm getting from the noise, too," nodded the yellow Pegasus, "Not so menacing, but more…more…"

"Uncomfortable," both she and the web-head completed, then she said, "Yes, exactly."

"How'd yah…?"

"Met an old acquaintance that made that same sound once," he responded to AJ. But it wasn't his own wounds Kraven was licking.

Slowly, and quietly, the beige Unicorn crawled off the tree, then proceeded onward, minding his step of any dried twigs, as well as straggler joke plant. Don't want to risk getting a double dose of laughing herbs. Seeing Fluttershy hovering beside him, as much with concern as caution, the two ponies gradually made their way closer to the rumbling animal they kept hearing, with Applejack and the white Unicorn following in kind. The moment that Spidey pulled aside a few, thick bushels, they viewed the prostrated creature, sneering and growling at the approaching ponies, but never budged an inch towards them. In fact, it seemed to veer back slightly, its six limbs clenching at the earth it was lying upon.

"Spidey," whispered AJ from behind.

"I know." What they all noticed in particular, was the appearance of white, thin, substance that seemed to be in a mushy, sticky state of matter, firmly connecting the bugbear's wings to its back.

"No wonder we never heard it buzzing around," lowly rumbled the yellow mare.

"But how did this happen," Starlight asked, "Didn't you tell Twilight that your web fluid was biodegradable?"

"Was is the key word," Spider Bite replied, as he continuously examined the separate petri dishes of clover and joke samples, mixed in various proportions, and states of matter. "I've spent the past couple of weeks trying to enhance its strength and durability, that I failed to compensate for its compositional breakdown. Once the adhesive was exposed to the much warmer environment of the outside – a clear, sunny, summer day – it began to melt, then solidify onto the wings and back."

"But if you made the stuff so tough and strong," said Rainbow Dash, "How the hay did that thing break out of it, in the first place?"

"Must've bided its time," was his response, "The bugbear was probably using its claws to slowly cut its way out, instead of brute force. Gradually making as many cuts into the webbing as needed, to weaken its integrity. Enough for one, huge outburst of rage."

"I probably should've kept my 'Stare' on him, then, huh?"

"Fluttershy, darling," Rarity raised a hoof towards her masculine-toned friend in consolation, "You could only do so much. Do not place such a blame onto yourself, when there's absolutely no call for it."

"Exactly," beamed Pinkie, "If you just keep thinking about what could've been different, and then start to think about what you think should've been different, every time you think about every, single, little thing that happened, you'll wind up with a bunch of incredibly, super-duper headaches from thinking absolutely way too much about the different things that never happened."

"Yeah, ditto," muttered the scarlet-donned stallion, "Believe me."

"What Ah don't get, though," Applejack stated, returning their current issue to the forefront, "is why the bugbear decided to camp out near the poison joke, instead of tryin' to get as far away from us as possible."

"The bugbear is mainly a predator, despite its apparent omnivorous nature," the light purple Unicorn replied, "Because it was grounded without the proper use of its wings, it couldn't hunt as effictively as it would prefer, I think. Causing it to resort to a simpler means of food source that it knows it can consume."

"So," deeply uttered the yellow Pegasus, turning her focus back onto the dormant creature, "what do we do now?"

"Right now," the wall-crawler said, eyeing the newest layer of web wrapped onto the bugbear, "I don't think it wants to repeat the same mistake it made earlier. But that doesn't mean it won't try to find another way to escape. Plus, with the room temperature just right for the web to properly decay, I better keep a close eye on that, and find out when it does."

"Hopefully we will have no further need to carry that brute with our magic again," spoke the white Unicorn with a slight groan of annoyance, recalling how they brought it back. "And what about the immobilizing plant with the transportation spell to go with it? How is that coming along?"

"A lot better than I had originally hoped," answered the web-slinger, returning his attention towards the test subjects on the table, "Glad I was able to quicken the corruptible properties of these plants for simultaneous experiments. Or else, we'd be here another week. Thanks again for that, Starlight."

"Was just a simple degradation spell," she shrugged, with a modest grin, "Nothing too complex."

"Still, it actually helped in determining the state and proper amount ratio of the tranquil clover to the poison joke in a much shorter time span. Drying the clover into small, parched fragments, like with the impulse vera, makes it the most potent. Lucky for us, too, it doesn't take that much to counter the joke's effects. No idea how much we need, to weaken the bear's immunity, though. Or, if eating any more of that plant actually made it more resilient to the clover also."

"Let's start with hourly sessions of contact with the dried clover," offered Starlight, "increasing its potency if we need to, while just dispersing it onto its fur."

"At least we won't have force-feed it," grunted the colorful Pegasus, "Hate to get bitten by that thing again."

"It also won't be so uncomfortable for it, while we send it back," Fluttershy lowly added.

"As for the spell to transport it," the light violet mare continued, "I did have to make a few, slight alterations to it."

"And what are those, exactly," asked the beige Unicorn, as everypony viewed Starlight opening the ledger, magically flipping over to the page in question. "The written word, as well as the mental capacities of containing a spell is very powerful. But sometimes, to enhance the strength, and widen its capabilities, it requires the spoken word. Or, in this case, the word that's been sung."

Upon viewing the spell written on the parchment, Spidey began, saying, "What once was-"

"Uh," she warily cut him off, "best not."

"Right," he nodded, "Yeah. So, we're basically doing an actual incantation?"

"Not exactly," Starlight tilted her head, in response, "It's not so much summoning the power of spirits, like sorcery, which, you know, actually has extremely bad results. And it's not a prayer for mystics, either, which is the exact opposite, because no spirit's power is summoned, only granted, for the sake of attaining peace, first interiorly then exteriorly."

"Ha," scoffed a hovering Rainbow Dash, forelegs crossed, "Thought Twilight said that was a bunch of hooey, or something."

"She admitted to being adamant against such things, at first," replied Starlight Glimmer, "But after her lessons from both the poison joke and Zecora, as well as the Pinkie Sense, she began to have a more open mind about matters viewed by many nowadays as superstitious, or unrealistic."

"Like a true scientist," Spidey uttered, as he examined the text further.

"Such as miracles, demons, curses, and the like, which have been recorded throughout Equestrian history, though several choose to ignore. Even Chrysalis told Captain Sentry and Spider Bite her source of power on that emerald and the Elements was witchcraft. Dark magic. A perversion of nature."

"Thoh no Hawwy Pottuh wefwentheth fwohm me," quirked the web-head, "unweth yoo awe dah viwuhn."

"Anyway," rolled the eyes of Starlight Glimmer, as she continued, "this isn't anything like that. Instead, it's a means of attaining the proper volume, strength, and meaning of the words and applying your natural magic unto it for its fullest effect. Also, the correct pitch, in this case."

"Now jest what d'yah mean by that, Starlight?"

"In order for this spell to reach its optimal capacity, with all these adjustments," she answered AJ, "it requires a low bass to solidify the spell's meaning, as well as the magic of one who was affected by the joke to cast it."

"You specifically need Fluttershy's help, and my own, to make this work."

"Like with medicine and vaccines for diseases, we find the solution from the problem, itself."

"Y-you," Fluttershy rumbled a slight stammer, "You need us to use magic, in order to send the bugbear away? You need my help in casting a spell onto a creature?"

"Hey, don't sweat it, Fluttershy," spoke the rosy Earth Pony, "It's not like we're asking you to help us force a bunch of animals to shift their natural instincts, and then turn you into a giant, apple-sucking, scary, Flutterbat, that creepily lurks in Sweet Apple Acres, at night."

"Yes, dear," Rarity added, "And in that instant, you helped us find a more sensible solution to Applejack's problem. This, however, has been the only solution available, to prevent such a brute from destroying everything with wild, mindless fury. We can't accommodate for something that is naturally incompatible to the way of life we have here, including your friendly, woodland creatures."

"Well, I don't know," lowly pondered the yellow Pegasus, as Spider Bite and Starlight began their first application of the dried clover fragments onto the bugbear, "Like with the bats, it could backfire."

"Heh, you mean like with Discorded," chuckled the colorfully-maned mare, who then looked around, scanning her surroundings, "Where is he, anyway?"

"Huuuooh, don't ask." The familiar voice echoed throughout the entire chamber, as though it were inside the room, as well as coming from the hallway, and into it, from the door and windows. "Theweeuthwee, uf yoo needed thum awohn time, juft wet uth naw, okay?"

"Ah recon he don't need to tell us so, but that was probably yur point, huh?"

"Do you think we could cast a spell that temporarily adjusts somepony's vocal chords," asked the web-slinger to his light purple colleague.

"Can you honestly both sing, and focus your concentration on a spell? You?" In response to the furrowed expression from Starlight's face, he replied, "No, not me. I'm practically tone deaf, anyway. But maybe somepony here, with a good set of lungs."

"And just whom exactly do you have in mind for that, Spider Bite," the white mare inquired, with slight discomfort in the discourse's direction.

"Weh, wifout evweeponee vowuntyuween, ah-wunth."

"I'm afraid that'll mean another factor into the project that requires adjusting," huffed the light violet Unicorn, "The pitch has to be precise. And Fluttershy's matches perfectly, out of all the sonic vibrations I've tested."

"I know, but if she's not comfortable with it, she doesn't have to," he evenly countered, "She's got the worst effect of the joke out of us three, and she still chose to stay and help in any way she could, and she actually did."

"Only because you were too stubborn to get treatment, yourself."

"Yeah, I know. And I've also given the bear hornet a hard time with my own webs. But my point still stands. She's been having to deal with it around the clock, while Discord and I got around loopholes, for the most part. Out of the three of us affected, I say she's done more than her fair share in this effort, already."

"Oh, fine," grunted the multi-bred thespian's voice before he reappeared, struggling to keep himself from falling apart, "The frequency of those radio waves have been exactly music to my ears, anyway. Though I most dreadfully prefer here to be worse than there, any day of the week."

"Awe. Thaynf, Tham-Aw-Am."

"Yes," deeply offered Fluttershy, with warm gratitude, "Thank you, Discord."

"It's no trouble, at all, Fluttershy," he politely bowed his head, "And I don't mean that most sincerely." He then shifted his furrowed gaze onto the stallion arachnid, and said, "I can still hardly believe you actually caused me such a guilt trip, there. Was it deliberate?"

"With all sincerity," Spidey answered Discord, "we may never know."

"And just how exactly is Discorded better than using a voice-changing spell," asked the raspy Pegasus.

"You forget, Miss Dash," Discord evenly replied, altering his tone to match that of Fluttershy's current voice, "I am the Master of Chaos. I simply need to attempt a Fluttershy impersonation, so as to attain her 'Flutterguy' voice, as Spike so quaintly dubbed it."

"Alright," stated the beige Unicorn, rubbing his front hooves together, "You can go over the spell, while Starlight and I work on finding the right amount of clover for the bugbear."

"Yes," Rarity added, noting the gradually restless behavior from the creature in question, "And you better start sooner than you were anticipating, darling, because that last testing batch didn't seem to suffice."

"Weth hope thith beg gah-ee endoyth a nahth, wawn nap."

"Yeah," Rainbow joined, "Before it goes back to Tartarus, where it belongs."

"Oh," uttered the timidly bass Pegasus, "I just hope nothing else goes wrong."

"Trust us, Fluttershy," stated the disorderly malady, "what couldn't possibly happen now, that hasn't already occurred?"
In response to the mere shrug of Discord's shoulders, the bugbear behind him suddenly began to rise from its lying position on the floor. Still wrapped in vast amounts of adhesive, it snarled with a sharp grind of its jaw, as if the animal had been greatly provoked, rejuvenating the continuous cycle of bestial rage and fury.

"Discord," snapped the farm pony, upon viewing the webbing being pulled sharply apart from the back. Whick! Snap!

"Believe me, Applejack," stammered the draconian multi-bred, in turn, "That wasn't any of my doing. At least, I hope not."

"Oh, come on," groaned Spider Bite, realizing the location from where the webs were breaking, "That stuff wears out adhesives, too?"

"Heh-eh," anxiously chuckled Pinkie, "Look at the bright side, Spidey: you've just found what you could use on your webs for that, now."

"Not the sort of morale needed, at the moment, Pinkie Pie," the white Unicorn warily responded. By now, the entire wrapping was completely let loose from the beast's tremendous form, freeing its six limbs to stretch and retract its claws completely, and its wings to fully outstretch, and whirl. Whizzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Hovering overhead, the bugbear viewed its former captors with dreadful voracity, licking its salivating jaws with a rumbling through its throat.

"Yah fawgot tah feed ut, diduhn yah, Dithcawd?"

"Well," shrugged the malady thespian in reply, "It's most certainly difficult to remember one new pet, when one already has another to begin looking after."

"Hey," Pinkie snapped, "Gummy hasn't been in here that often!"

"Would any of yah three quit yappin', and start doin' somethin' with us?"

"Yeah," hoarsely added the colorful Pegasus, "Like, maybe, I don't know, right now? By getting the clover?" It was then they all noticed the suspended creature had suddenly encircled them to the point of making itself an obstruction towards the trays and bags of the substance desired. The beige stallion answered her, "Waydeeth futht."

The web-head spun a quick line onto the ceiling, as Rainbow Dash flapped her wings more rapidly, soaring to the air. "I go high, you go low?"

"Ready when you are, partner," he evenly stated. She darted swiftly onto her intended target, anticipating any sudden maneuvers of evasion. Once she observed the momentary descent of the bugbear's airborne position, Rainbow sharply twisted her form, adjusting from her straight-arrow momentum into a hook, turned back, and sent a hind leg swinging onto the creature's head. It roared with great ferocity in response, then turned to see Spider Bite lift himself from his line into a somersault. Originally expecting him to swing directly towards it, the raspy Pegasus was befuddled by his sudden land back to his former spot, which seemed to cause the animal to impulsively respond with another lowering of itself, in the process.

"Mayd yah fwinph!" Fuh'jiiiih! He sent a second line that sailed past the bugbear, to which it reacted with a mere twist of its torso. Turning to see that the adhesive attached itself onto the cart full of dried plants, the hovering mare smirked at his ingenuity of striking low, as well as from behind.

However, the bugbear looked back to see what the web-slinger had done, and saw the line being pulled to bring the substances directly onto it. It retaliated by simply leaping back into the air, in a renewed hovering position, allowing for the cart to fly directly towards the assailant and his comrades, instead. Eyes widened, Spidey leaned back onto his forelegs, swinging his back ones against the approaching carrier, and launching it into the air, to which Rarity and Starlight responded with levitation spells onto the vast multitude of falling samples. With the tranquil clover greater in measure than the poison joke, the two Unicorns, began to send the floating substances unto the bugbear's direction, though sparingly.

The creature evaded and dodged the trajectory of every object sent its way, with a simple zip and buzz from one place in the room, to the other, some of which went towards Rainbow Dash's direction. "Whoa! Wa – Wai – Hey! Watch where you're aiming, why don't yah!"

"Yee-haw! Buckball's back in season, y'all!" Interpreting the orange Earth Pony's meaning for a turn in the fray also, the white Unicorn quickly sent a sack of clover in her direction, allowing for Applejack to send a wild kick to launch it. Puck! F'disssh! As this occurred, the arachnid pony swung a line of web that was attached to another airborne container of leaves. The bugbear maneuvered away from one, only to be struck by the second. Fwuh! Wham! Poom! Just then, it felt the sharp pound against the back of its neck. Turning to see the source of the attack, the beast observed the smug grin from Rainbow Dash, who had returned the first volley with a kick of her own. Enraged, it let out a ferocious roar, as it aggressively advanced towards her.

"My turn!" Jumping and bouncing amongst the thrown, flying, and falling projectiles, the rosy Earth Pony accumulated her fair share of ammunition, before rapidly sending each one spontaneously onto the waspy bear's back, herself. Whoosh! Whuh! Whuf! Sput! Pat! Ponk! Not enjoying these sudden turn of events, it growled venomously at the latest assault against it, shortly after the colorful Pegasus dodged a strike from the bugbear. It then gradually reduced its momentum and outrageous attack, decelerating its wings significantly, to the point of a low hover.

"Can't get too close to it," stated the wall-crawler, observing the massive piles of the dried plant fragments that had accumulated throughout the room, "So let's gather the rest of that stuff into the bear's general area, before it can get back up."

The three Unicorns immediately ignited their horns for the task before them, with glittering glows of blues and scarlet surrounding the mounds of dried plants, and shuffled them into piles, which completely surrounded the bugbear. "Mekth me wiph ut wuh weaf waykeen tahm aw-weddy."

"I know," beamed Pinkie, "Makes me want to jump right into those big, fluffy piles of leaves!"

"Discord, hate to interrupt your rehearsal," Starlight sharply spoke, "But we could use that spell to be sung, right about now. Better to be safe than-" Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! "…sorry."

Afraid of what the ponies may find, they turned around, and saw a couple sacks of tranquil clover had already landed, and dispersed their contents atop and around the draconian multi-bred.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding!"

"Well, in fairness," deeply offered Fluttershy to Rainbow, as she strove to somehow attend to him, "he was able to dodge mostly what came our way. But when he tried to send a few back…um, they sort of, uh…did come back."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking," asked the beige pony to the light purple Unicorn.

"We're toast?"

"Weh, Aw wath finkeen maw twaynkul ahn leth dohk, nekft tahm. Twah tuh be maw optumuthtuk, Thtahlah-eet."