Those bats... Oh, those furry little devils. How she hated them. They ruined everything, her apples, her orchard, her crops... They flew in like they own the bloody place and start sucking everything dry with their tiny little monster fangs.
Worst of all, those bats are starting to take interest on her precious apple. The huge apple she has grown for months with all her love and compassion. The apple that’s gonna take her to the first place in harvest fair. The apple filled with so much earth pony Biomancer Magic, it could terraform the moon into an apple orchard.
If those bats wanna take that apple, they gotta have to pry it away from her cold, dead hooves.
‘Clang’ ‘Clang’ ‘Clang’ Applejack rang the bells on top of her barn, summoning her friends to aide her in this war against the bats. ‘Thump’, she jumped off of the building and landed safely on the ground without breaking a sweat.
After a few minutes of waiting, Twilight teleported right in front of her, followed by Rainbow Dash flying high above the sky with Bruce Gunderson, Rarity galloping in a hurry with Fluttershy, and finally Pinkie Pie who just appeared out of nowhere.
The Cow Mare sighed in relief when she saw them. She looked at each one of them and put on her War Helmet. "Attention!!!" Everypony stood straight still after hearing her command. "This is a Sweet Apple Acres code red!" Everypony just narrowed their eyes in confusion, but nopony dares to interrupt her. "I need all hooves – and hands – on deck!"
Everypony saluted at her, ready to take orders. “Follow my lead soldiers, I’ll show you the situation.” Applejack marched away from the entrance, followed by everypony else. Soon, they made it towards the Apple Orchard. “This is what we’re facing, Vampire Fruit Bats. Life sucking creatures who will ruin everything unless we do somethin’ about it.”
Twilight and the rest of the mane six watched grimly at the sight before them. The trees were withered and dying, hundreds of rotten apples littered the ground, and sounds of certain airborne mammals filled the air. Not a sign of life could be felt from the apple farm.
"Wow, no wonder you went full war veteran..." Twilight muttered to herself. She walked closer towards one of the trees and saw a dozen pair of blood red eyes staring at her from above. The Unicorn shuddered a little before stepping away from the tree. "What’s the plan?" She asked AJ.
Applejack shook her head. "I don' know, but there's another thing you need to see." She led them towards an apple tree leaning down on to the ground with a thick white fabric draped at the base of it. The earth pony walked towards the fabric and pulled it, revealing a sight to behold.
A giant red apple the size of a boulder hangs from the apple tree. It glistened in the sunlight, making it looked as fresh as a cold glass of Apple Cider in a hot day. To those who can sense magic, it glows a little in golden light because of the sheer amount of magic contained within it. "Whoa..." Everypony whispered in awe at the sweet, fresh, delicious, and magical apple in front of them.
Applejack gently wiped the side of the apple. "This here's our entry into the Appleloosa State Fair's produce competition." She explained amidst all the gasp of awe and amazement from all of her friends. "You know how much TLC goes into getting an apple to grow like this?"
Bruce Gunderson stepped forward with a scanner in his hand. "Oh I can only imagine Applejack." He scanned the apple in front of him and a huge grin slowly appeared on his face. "Oh, ho, ho!!! This is AMAZING!" he looked at Applejack with an impressed look on his face. "You've been using your Earth Pony Biomancer Magic for all it's worth in this one fruit haven't you?" He patted the Applesaurus Rex with his hand. "This baby is charged with enough bio-energy to Terra-Form the moon into an apple orchard!"
Applejack nodded even though she has no idea about half the things he just said. "Exactly! And I'll be darned if those vampires dare to put their fangs in to this apple." She said with a no nonsense look on her face. "Them vampire bats want to shrivel it up like a raisin!" She waved her hoof around in frustration. "We need to get rid of them and fast!"
Fluttershy shook her head. "Now, now, don't be too hasty Applejack." She said with a comforting smile on her face. "I'm sure if we just let them know how special that particular apple is to you, they'll leave it alone." She said.
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Sure, be my guest."
Fluttershy walked towards a nearby tree. A few fruit bats were eating some apples on top of it and neither of them noticed the pegasus walking towards them. "Umm... Excuse me, Mr. Vampire Bat?" The Pegasus asked as sweetly as possible. 'Splat' An apple dropped down right in front of her. "We were just wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind leaving that really big apple alone?" Fluttershy used diplomacy, it's not effective.
The Fruit Bats narrowed their eyes and start glaring at Fluttershy. "Please?" Hundreds of seed bullets shot out of the bats. The vampire bats used bullet seeds, it's Super Effective. "Eeep!" Fluttershy fled the scene and trotted back towards her friend. She looked down a little when she realized that she couldn't understand a word those bats said.
"Well? What'd he say? Applejack asked.
Fluttershy poked the ground nervously. "Um... Yes?" Applejack smiled when she heard that. "Well it could've been no..." AJ's smile faltered. "This is the first vampire fruit bat I've ever met and, well, it might take some time for me to really understand their language." She explained.
Applejack frowned and looked at her Apple Orchard. "Uh-huh. And in the meantime, this pest and his vermin friends are gonna go after my prized apple and, while they're at it, every other apple in the orchard! These vampire bats are nothin' but a bunch of monsters!" She declared, making Fluttershy gasp in shock.
"M-monsters?" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Th-that's a bit too harsh, don't you think?" She whispered.
Applejack gave her a very cold look when she heard that. "No I do not..."
'Bzzt' Twilight Sparkle suddenly teleported right between them. "Whoa, whoa, okay that's enough girls..." She said. "Those Bats might've ruined AJ's Orchard, but that doesn't mean we should let them ruin our friendship right?" Fluttershy and Applejack looked down when they heard that. "Now let's deal with this logically."
Twilight walked closer towards the Apple Orchard. "It's simple actually, these Fruit Bats shouldn't be here. So all we have to do is to find them a new home." She looked back at the rest of her friends. "Rarity, Bruce, and Pinkie Pie; you will all try to find a new home for these Fruit Bats, preferably as far away from here." They all nodded in excitement. "The rest of us will help Applejack gather all the Fruit Bats and defend the Big Apple."
Bruce saluted at her and motioned Rarity and Pinkie Pie to follow him. "Come on girls, let's see if we can find a new home for the bats." They all left the orchard, leaving Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight to deal with the fruit bats.
Twilight watched her friends disappear into the distance before looking at Applejack's proudest masterpiece. "Okay, now let me put this up just for a precaution." Her horn glows bright and a purple shield appeared around Applejack's Giant Apple. "There we go, now the Fruit Bats won't be able to touch that apple."
Applejack walked towards the apple and patted the barrier. "Hmm... Seems sturdy enough." She turned around and held her hind hoofs up, ready to buck the magic barrier. 'Boof' The barrier pushed her away and knocked her to the ground. "I can't even put a dent on it... Good work Soldier!" She exclaimed after realizing that her apple is safe. "Now we just have to deal with those vermin, any ideas?"
Twilight rubbed her chin in deep thought before smiling a little. "Well I suppose there's no harm to it..." Her horn glows bright and flashes of green light filled the area. When the light dies down, about a dozen of Changelings stood in front of her, ready to serve their queen.
The unicorn looked at the Changelings in front of her nervously. "If any of you were in the middle of something, please return immediately." One by one the changelings disappeared in a flash of green light; leaving only five changelings and Chrysalis to help them. "Now, I have a mission for you all."
Rarity and Pinkie Pie stood in front of Fluttershy's cabin. They've been standing there for five minutes waiting for Bruce who went in to get a 'Portable Magic Driven Terraformer Device'. Neither of them knew what it does and frankly they don't care. All they wanted is to find a home for those bats and be done with it.
After another minutes of waiting, they started to get bored. Rarity looked at Pinkie and started a conversation just to defeat the boredom. "So, Pinkie Pie... This power of yours, how does it work?" She asked her. "Can you use it as a pony or do you have to turn into a human first?"
In a flash of pink light, Pinkie Pie turned into her Equestria Girl counterpart. "Of course!" She exclaimed. "Only a human can snap fingers." She snapped her fingers and a picnic blanket complete with snacks appeared beneath them. She smiled and sat down on top of the picnic blanket. "Sit down Rarity..." She said while patting the spot beside her.
Rarity just shrugged and sat down right next to her. Spending time with Pinkie Pie meant throwing logic and common sense out of the window. Sometimes, quite literally. "So, you can make things appear with a snap of your finger?" She asked the pink pony. "Can you make things happen like Discord did?"
Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Nope! I can make things appear for fun. But I can never make thing happens." She snapped her finger and a pink, cotton candy cloud appeared out of thin air. "I can make sweet cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate milk, but I can't control the weather like Rainbow Dash." A cup appeared in her hands and chocolate milk poured down from the cloud. "Of course, I'm not as powerful as Discord."
Rarity raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean darling? I saw the goof off between you and Discord. I was quite sure you can stand on your own against him." She asked her. "Or maybe, he's just holding back?"
Pinkie Pie shook her head again. "Nope! Discord boosts my toon-force to make it more interesting." She explained with a knowing smile on her face. Suddenly, a loud thumping and clunking sound came from Fluttershy's Cabin. "Oh look! He's here, get up Rarity we're going somewhere very far away."
Rarity narrowed her eyes when she heard that. "Very far away? What do you mean?" She asked her. Pinkie Pie just pointed at a certain blue box standing behind them. "When did it get here?" She muttered after noticing the Time And Relative Dimension In Space standing tall behind them. "And for that matter, how far are we going?"
Bruce Gunderson stepped out of Fluttershy's Cabin hauling a huge mechanical device behind his back. The device is a short tower-like device the size of a regular Pony. "Little help?" Bruce asked with an incredulous expression on his face. A purple hue appeared all around the device and Bruce sighed in relief. "Thanks..."
Together, they hauled the device into the TARDIS. Inside, they saw the Doctor and Derpy standing around with an excited look on his face. "Terra Forming!!!" The Doctor exclaimed in excitement. Then he looked at his number one companion. "Oh Derpy this is going to be magnificent! Just imagine, pulses of bio-energy pumped into the earth again and again, turning even the most desolate land into fertile soil!" He explained.
Derpy grinned and hoof-bumped with the Doctor. "Well go on then Doctor! I'm ready for an adventure!" She exclaimed. The Stallion pulled the takeoff lever and the whole place shook. “Yay!!!” The Pegasus exclaimed in excitement.
Fortunately, since the TARDIS isn't flying through time, the ride is rather smooth. They can actually sit down and not frantically running around the console. Everypony took this time to talk and get to know each other even more. Rarity scooted over closer to the human and smiled at him. "So Bruce, have you ever thought about finding a special somepony?"
Bruce rolled his eyes in response. "Last I check; I'm a bipedal primate carbon-based life-form." He replied flatly. "I am also the last of my kind and I have this little spark of hatred against all humanity." He added. “Did I mention that I don’t age? Think about it.”
Rarity pointed at Equestria Girl Pinkie Pie talking with Derpy at the other side of the room. "She's a human."
Bruce sighed and looked at the unicorn with a serious expression on his face. "Rarity, do you know the reason why Princess Celestia and Princess Luna doesn't have a special somepony in their life?" He asked her. "Do you know the reason why in all my times of dimension hopping, I never found a special someone?" He gazed at her deep in the eyes. "Do you know why, Rarity?"
The Unicorn looked down. She pondered a little about why somepony as great as Princess Celestia doesn't have a special somepony in her life. "I-I don't know... I never noticed, why don't they have any special somepony?" She asked Bruce.
Bruce took a deep breath. "Because just like me, they are immortal Rarity, we'll live forever, young and healthy." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "While the rest of you will crumble away into dust. We will be forever trapped inside a cycle of losing those we love and it will never end until the end of us." He looked at his smooth unblemished hands. "That is the Curse of Immortality."
Rarity gasped and put a hoof over her mouth. “O-oh... dear...” Her eyes started to well up and she gently embraced him into a hug. "Oh I'm so, so, sorry to hear that darling I..." She sobbed a little. "You-you're fated to be alone for the rest of your immortal life and..." Suddenly, the Unicorn's eyes widened in realization. "Wait a second... You are all immortals..."
The human, knowing exactly what Rarity is thinking about quickly let go of her. "Nope, nope, don't even think about it!" He held up his hands warily. The only response she got is a huge grin on Rarity's face. "Oh you are just like your little sister! NO!" He shouted the last part.
"Oh this is perfect!" Rarity exclaimed, completely ignoring Bruce from the start. "You and Princess Celestia are both immortal and in desperate need of a companion!" She exclaimed in excitement. "You both are truly my OTP! We need to do something about this, hold on." She trotted off towards Equestria Girl Pinkie Pie before Bruce could do or say anything.
The human watched in horror as the pink girl exploded like fireworks in sheer excitement. 'Oh no...' Pinkie Pie and Rarity matchmaking him with Princess Celestia? What could possibly go wrong??? Everything, that's what.
He looked around him and realized that the TARDIS door is opened and the Doctor is nowhere to be seen. "Perfect..." Bruce picked up his Terra-Former and escaped from the TARDIS, hoping that he can post pone their mysterious crazy scheme.
A wave of freezing cold air and snowy wasteland welcomed him as he stepped out of the magical blue box. He looked around and saw the Doctor crouching down amidst the snow.
Bruce put the terraformer on to the snow and walked towards the Doctor. There, he could see him looking at a very familiar crimson red horn in front of him. "Look at you..." The Doctor whispered. "So weak and powerless..." He picked up the horn with his hoof. "You chose this path King Sombra, I warned you again and again so many years ago." He lazily threw away the horn and Bruce caught it. "Take it to the Foundation."
The human pocketed the piece of horn and walked back towards where he left his machine. "Come on Doc! let's fire this baby up." He slammed the device on to the ground and pressed a few buttons at the side of it. "Come to think of it, this works almost exactly like the Crystal Heart. Just less magical and more sciencey..."
'Thump' A small bubble of magic appeared around the Terraformer. 'Thump' The bubble of magic grew a little bigger while the area inside the bubble started to melt, leaving a patch of grass land beneath. 'Thump' It grew even bigger, but not enough to fit a human and a stallion.
"Yoo hoo! I'm here! What did I miss?" A very familiar feminine voice rang out from the TARDIS. Bruce and The Doctor looked back and saw Rarity wearing an elegant white sweater and a very long scarf walking towards them. "Oh and I simply love this sweater, is this Derpy's?" She asked the Doctor.
The Doctor nodded hesitantly, that clothing is actually his, just that he never realized that it's clothing for mares. "Yep, it's definitely Derpy's. Speaking of Derpy where is she?" He looked at the TARDIS and saw the pegasus walking together with Pinkie Pie towards them.
"Doctor!" Derpy galloped towards him and stopped right in front the Terraformer. Now, the magic bubble has grown almost as big as the TARDIS. A small patch of dry land that is just barely enough for the ponies plus the human surrounded the Terraformer. "Ooh... So pretty..." She said while looking at the machine thumping around in the snow. "How long until it's finished?" She asked him.
The Doctor looked at Bruce and the human took out his watch. "Give or take... Twelve hours..." He replied.
Rarity just looked at Bruce incredulously. "Are saying that we have to wait for until tonight?" She asked in disbelief.
Bruce just shook his head. "No, of course not." He pointed at the TARDIS standing around near them. "We can always use the TARDIS to travel twelve hours into the future." Then he sat down in front of his Terra-Former, enjoying the warming sensation it gave him. "Or we can all sit here and tell each other stories."
The Doctor sat down right next to him followed by Derpy and Equestria Girl Pinkie Pie. "So, this is like a campfire then? Only instead bonfire, it's this terra thing and instead night, it's day time." Rarity asked while trying to find the driest patch of grass for her to sit in. "That doesn't sound so bad..." She added to herself. "Now what do we do?"
Bruce looked at Pinkie Pie and Rarity with a deadpan look on his face. "Now you're gonna tell me your plan." He said. "Then, I am going to give you a very logical reason of why it will never work so you can give up on your OTP forever."
Of course, neither of them wavered under his stare. "I'm sorry Darling, but this is for your own good." Rarity said defiantly. "I simply cannot let you suffer alone for eternity, what kind of friend will I be if I let that happen?"
Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared inches away from Bruce's face. "Yeah! Don't even think about stopping us!" She jabbed her fingers on to Bruce's chest. "Because we're going to trick Princess Celestia into coming into your room and we'll lock you both in there with a romantic dinner table and balloon animals!" Rarity face hoofed after hearing Pinkie telling Bruce the whole plan. "DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"
Bruce shook his head. "And just how are you going to pull that off?" He asked incredulously. "How are you going to trick Princess Celestia? How are you going to stop us from teleporting away? And how are you going to get everypony agree to do this?"
"Oh that's easy! We'll just... Mmph! Mmphh!" Rarity put a hoof over Pinkie's mouth before she could blow their plan. "We'll just ask for Twilight and Discord's help!" Another pony Pinkie Pie said.
Bruce's face paled considerably when he heard that. The sheer fact that the most clever and the most powerful creature in all Equestria are going to help them makes him very, very afraid. He looked beside him and saw the Doctor laughing silently at his predicament. "Help me..."
The Doctor smiled and gently patted Bruce's shoulder. "Look, it's either this or go to your room and design a fancy Screwdriver. Don't make the same mistake I did." He replied calmly.
Bruce threw his arms up in defeat. "You know what? Fine! Let's see how it will end up, I bet nothing will go wrong." He tempted fate in sheer frustration. "I'm sure that whatever you're planning will not backfire and ruin everything."
It took The Doctor twenty seconds to figure out what Bruce just did. When he does, he couldn't help but laugh at his cleverness. "Deliberately tempting fate just to avoid a nice little date." He shook his head. "What could possibly go wrong?"
Meanwhile back in Ponyville, the day is almost over. The Apple Orchard is still infested with bats and everypony are still gathering them all up on a single tree.
The Changelings with the help of Rainbow Dash and Applejack lured all the bats towards the biggest apple tree they can find. Twilight and Chrysalis guarded the giant apple from the incoming wave of bats using their magic, while Fluttershy was trying her best to learn bat language.
Applejack watched grimly as the bats started to finish all the lures she prepared for them all. "Twilight, it’s been hours. We can't keep 'em here forever. Do you have any other plan?" She asked the purple unicorn. "I mean, we still have no idea when are they going to get back."
Twilight thought about it for a second before taking out her walkie-talkie. "Bruce, where are you?" Her expression slowly turned into a mixture of fascination and annoyance. "That's really great Bruce, but do you really think this is a good time? I mean they are devouring those apples faster than we can get them." Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."
Twilight cut off the connection and looked at Applejack. "New plan, we are going to temporarily make the fruit bats hate apples." She explained. "Tonight Bruce will set off a bat signal that'll send those bats flying away to their new home. Any questions?"
Fluttershy gently raised her hoof. "Umm.. I have a question..." She muttered nervously. "Will the bats be okay? It will be horrible if they can't eat anymore apples..." She added.
Twilight just smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry Fluttershy, in the morning the spell will reverse and the bats will turn back to normal." Fluttershy sighed in relief after hearing her explanation. "Now I need your help to use the stare on them."
The Pegasus cringed and backed away from her. "N-no, it's dangerous! Don't you remember? It gave them heart attacks!" She shuddered at the thought of her stare hurting those animals. "Pl-please don't make me do it..." She begged.
Twilight looked back unflinchingly at those huge watery eyes and quivering mouth begging her not to do it. She couldn't quite tell why, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by that petrifying puppy dog face. It’s like she’s immune to it or something.
"It's only for a brief moment Fluttershy, they won't feel a thing." The Pegasus sighed and looked down in defeat. "Look Fluttershy, I am so sorry. I really wish there's something else we can do about this."
Fluttershy nodded understandingly. "I understand, we can't let those bats ruin Applejack's crops. We have to stop them." She floated up towards the bats and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry bats, I really am..."
Twilight watched as the bats stood frozen at Fluttershy's hypnotizing glare. "All right, here goes nothing..." Her horn glows bright and a wave of magical energy shot out of her horn. "Okay you can stop now Fluttershy!" Twilight exclaimed a few seconds later.
Fluttershy blinked owlishly and shook her head. She floated back down towards her friends and sighed in relief. "Is that all?"
Rainbow Dash flew up and held an apple in front of a random bat. It sniffed at the apple before turning its head around. "Yep! It works all right, those bats hate apple now." She flew back down towards the ground. "Now can we have some apple cider?" She asked/begged Applejack.
The Earth Pony thought about it for a second and smiled after a brilliant idea appeared in her head. "How about we have a sleepover here tonight, to celebrate our victory." Applejack looked at the Changelings and smiled at them. "You're all invited, that includes you changelings." The Shapeshifters and The Ponies smiled and cheered when they heard that. Most of them never had a sleepover before, mostly because they are pretty new here in Ponyville.
A few hours later...
Finally, it is time for the sleepover. Everypony sat together on a circle inside the barn. Right in the middle of them is a glass bottle. "You ready everypony?" Twilight asked as her horn glows bright. Everypony nodded and she spun the bottle with her magic. "Please don't land on me, please don't land on me..." She whispered to herself.
The Bottle slowed down and everypony held their breaths. It spun slower and slower until it stopped, pointing straight towards Applejack. "Applejack! Truth or Dare?" Twilight asked while everypony else just looked at her with an excited smirk on their faces.
Applejack gave Twilight an amused smile. "This better be not a joke for me being the Element of Honesty... I choose Truth!!!" She replied easily.
In a matter of seconds, Applejack found herself teleported to the other side of the room while everypony else huddled together to decide about what question to ask her. "Ya better not thinking about asking my family secret recipes!" The Element of Honesty exclaimed. "And don't ask anything about other pony's secret."
A few minutes later, Twilight Sparkle walked towards Applejack with a devilish smirk on her face. "So Applejack, this question came from your good old friend Rainbow Dash." The Earth Pony groaned when she heard that. "The Question is simple, on a scale of one to ten, how awesome is Rainbow Dash?"
Applejack just looked at Rainbow Dash flatly. "Really Dash? Another cheap trick to make ponies praise you? I'll give you eight for effort."
"Ooh... Ouch!" Everypony exclaimed at her brutal honesty. The Pegasus meanwhile put a hoof over her chest in mock pain while gasping for breath. "Honesty hurts...." She whispered to herself.
Applejack just shrugged at her reaction. "Well ya did ask me to be honest." She said easily. "If I said that you're the greatest pony there is, I'd be lyin'." She added. Then her expression softened a little. "But of course, lots of ponies out there would say otherwise and performing a legendary phenomenon that's visible from the other side of Equestria is pretty darn impressive."
A confident smirk appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face. "You're right, somepony would say otherwise." She floated a few feet up. "Who thinks I'm awesome raise your hoof!!!" Twilight raised her hoof and three changelings turned into an exact copy of Rainbow Dash before raising theirs. "Oh yeah! I am awesome!!!" She exclaimed.
Applejack just rolled her eyes as they gather around for another game of Truth or Dare. "Ready everypony?" Twilight spun the bottle and everypony watched intensely as the bottle stopped in front of a certain Changeling. "Chrysalis, you're next! Truth or Dare?" The Unicorn asked.
The Ex Queen thought about it for a second. "I choose Dare." She replied confidently.
Twilight thought about it for a second before smirking. "We dare you to surprise us, show us something completely unexpected." She replied simply.
Queen Chrysalis thought about it for a second before smirking. "You asked for this." A huge wave of green flames engulfed her and everypony took a step back warily. The flame dies down moments later, revealing a white maned unicorn wearing blue pointy hat and a blue cape. "It is I... Starswirl The Bearded!!!" He/She exclaimed. "Your move Twilight Sparkle..."
Twilight raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I don't remember this being a competition, but all right then." Her horn glows bright and she turned into a perfect copy of Bruce Gunderson, the lord of changelings himself. "Well, Chrysalis?" The human/pony asked. "Your turn!"
Chrysalis thought about it for a second before smirking. "Well two can play at that game..." Another column of green fire engulfed her, when it dies down a human girl replaced her. The girl has thin lithe figure and she stood about three quarters of Bruce's height. She has long black hair, cream white skin, and a pair of sparkling volcanic black eyes. She gave everypony a gentle smile and they all instinctively smiled back at her.
Twilight turned back to normal in shock after realizing who the girl in front of her is. "It can't be... Even he forget how she looked like and..." The unicorn took a few steps toward the changeling. "Is this how she looked like?"
The girl spoke in a soft yet cheerful voice. "Yes, I am Lily, Bruce's younger sister." Another wave of green flame engulfed her and she turned back into Chrysalis. "It is obvious that you are very surprised." She said with a smirk on her face. "That means I won and we can continue with the game."
Twilight just nodded mutely before spinning the bottle. It stopped right in front of a certain pink maned pegasus. "Fluttershy!" She exclaimed. "Truth or Dare?"
The Pegasus shuddered and looked down nervously. "Tr-truth! N-no I mean Dare... No wait! I-I..." She put a hoof over her face. "I can't choose!!!" She exclaimed in panic and confusion.
The Unicorn sighed patiently and gently stroked Fluttershy's mane. "To improve your courage, I challenge you to..." She leaned closer to her. "Make us feel very, very, scared." She said, making Fluttershy shudder a little.
Fluttershy just sat there, petrified at her words. "I-I can't... I'm sorry everypony I can't!" She turned around and galloped away from them all. "I can't! I'm sorry but I can't!!!" She exclaimed before disappearing away into the night.
Everypony watched as Fluttershy disappeared away out of the barn. "I really hope she's trying to scare us..." Applejack muttered to herself. "'Cause I'm gettin' a little bit scared already." She added to herself. “Come on, let’s see where she headed.”
The Sweet Apple Acres was dark. The apple trees have uncharacteristically wide leaves and sprawling branches that guarded the darkness, disfiguring the beautiful moonlight above. Voices of creatures from the dark and haunting whispers from the winds filled orchard. Twin dots of lights blinked and moved through the darkness. Roots and branches covered the forest floor, concealing the trapping holes and gaps below. Only the bravest of all ponies would dare to traverse through the place.
Twilight led all of her friends through the forest. Each one of them looking around warily for any signs of the pink maned pegasus. "Okay Fluttershy... You win, we can return to the game and..." A snarling sounds and mysterious whispering interrupted her. "Umm... Fluttershy? Is that you?" She stopped in her tracks and backed away for a moment. "Fluttershy?"
A huge shadow soared down from above the sky. "AAAAHH!!!" Everypony but Chrysalis and Twilight yelled out in terror. They ran/flew around in panic at the sight of the mysterious shadow. "Enough!" Twilight and Chrysalis yelled at the same time. The unicorn's horn glows brightly, illuminating the whole place. Slowly but surely, everypony calmed down just a bit.
"Stay together everypony." Twilight exclaimed. "Now let's think clearly and logically. It is obvious that the shadow from earlier was Fluttershy and chances are, she is waiting for us inside the barn." She explained optimistically. "You know, since she just did her dare and scared us all."
Rainbow Dash shook her head in disagreement. "I don't know Twilight, it doesn't sound like her to play pranks like this." A snarling sound came from one of the trees and Rainbow Dash shuddered a little. "Especially a very elaborate one like this."
Suddenly a small thudding sound came from a distance. "Something is trying to get through my shield..." Twilight muttered. "I don't understand, those bats should hate apples now..."
Applejack gritted her teeth in frustration. "We must've missed one of those vermin." She ran away from the group, ignoring Twilight's warning not to split up. Before she knew it, the forest gets darker and darker as she went further away from Twilight's light.
Soon, Applejack made it towards the big apple. There, she saw dark shady figure trying to break through the magical barrier around her precious. The Pony gulped nervously when she realized that it is not a bat that's trying to get through the barrier. "H-hey! G-get away from my apple!" Applejack dared to take another step forward. She sighed a little when she saw an unmistakable pink mane around the figure's head.
"All right, that's enough Sugar Cube you got us." Applejack took a few steps forwards. "Fluttershy?" Under the faint light of Twilight's spell, Applejack saw a pair of leathery bat-like wings and a pair of blood red eyes. The earth pony shuddered a little and took a few steps back in fear. "Fluttershy?" She whispered warily.
The mysterious bat paused for a second before turning her head 180 degrees towards Applejack. She snarled at the earth pony and slithered right behind her. Applejack tried to run away but sharp clawed wings embraced her from behind, stopping her from going anywhere. "Hello Apple... Jack." The bat whispered to her ears.
Applejack could only stand petrified in shock and horror as the bat pony breathed into her ears. "I hope you are just as delicious as your name..." A single tear of pure terror trickled down her cheek when she felt the clawed wing running down her spine. "Oh I am so... Famished!!!" Flutterbat licked Applejack's tear away with her long snake-like tongue.
"Applejack! Fluttershy!" A voice called out from the distance. Flutterbat turned around and saw Twilight Sparkle walking towards them with Rainbow Dash and whole army of terrified changelings. She snarled at them all before disappearing away into the dark. "No wait!!!" The unicorn exclaimed.
Twilight sighed when she realized that the pegasus is out of her reach. She looked at Applejack and saw her curling up on the ground in terror. "Applejack? What's going on? Was that Fluttershy?" She walked closer towards her and gently helped her up. "Calm down Applejack, we're together now..." The unicorn's horn glows brightly and Applejack took a deep breath in relief. "See? All better, now tell us what happened."
Applejack nodded and took a deep breath. "I-I was just here, checkin' on my apple... I thought it was a bat, but it was somethin' else." She closed her eyes as she tried to remember what it looked like. "It was a half pony, half bat, and the worst thing is that it looked like... Fluttershy!"
The Unicorn nodded and rubbed her chin in deep thought. "Let's see... What do you think Chrysalis?" She asked the changeling standing beside her. "Wait, how about you look into her memories and show us how she looks like?" She asked her.
Chrysalis nodded and gazed at the earth pony. A flash of green light engulfed her, when it died down a half pony half bat creature replaced her. She has dark yellow coat and dirty pink mane. She has leathery clawed wings and blood red eyes. She grinned at them all, showing her long terrifying fangs.
Everypony gasped and took a step back in fear. "Oh my dear Celestia!!! What happened to her?" Twilight exclaimed in shock. "We need to find her and quick before..." She paused for a second when she realized that everypony are staring at her with a terrified look on her faces. "She's right behind me isn't she?"
Sharp claws pressed against Twilight's neck and the unicorn's horn started to glow. "Now, now, no need for magic..." A soft yet firm wing snuffed out the magic from her horn. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to sleep..." Flutterbat whispered to her ears. "Don't be afraid... You won't feel a thing..."
Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Where's Fluttershy? What did you do to her?" She asked.
Flutterbat paused for a moment when she heard that. "Oh don't you worry Twilight, she's sleeping peacefully somewhere in here." Then she smirked and gently stroked her head. "It's already late, don't you think?" The Bat Pony opened her mouth, showing her huge fangs glistening in the moon light. "Go to sleep..."
'VHWOOM' A huge beacon of light shot out of a place somewhere far away. Flutterbat stood frozen and slowly let go of Twilight. She unfolded her wings and shot out of the sky towards the beam of light. The sky goes dark as hundreds upon hundreds of bats took off to the sky and followed Flutterbat towards the beacon of light.
Twilight sighed in relief and walked back towards her friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack hugged her for a moment before looking at the beacon. "So... That's the bat signal..." Rainbow Dash muttered. Twilight just nodded mutely in response. "Will Fluttershy be all right?"
Twilight nodded confidently. "Don't worry, since she's a bat now she can use her magic echolocation to avoid obstacles and storms. She'll probably get there tomorrow at noon and Bruce should be there to deal with her." She explained. "She should transform back into pony when the sun rises, because Flutterbat told me she was merely sleeping."
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in confusion. "But doesn't that mean she'll turn back into pony mid-way?" She asked her. "What happens then?"
The Unicorn's face paled in realization. "Oh dear..."
Twilight Sparkle and Applejack sat on top of a patch of cloud soaring above the sky. Tied to the cloud in front of them is Rainbow Dash, garbed in her armor she pulled all of her friends on their journey to follow the bat's migration. "We can't thank you enough Rainbow Dash..." The unicorn said.
"I know..." Rainbow Dash replied quickly, trying to save all energy she can.
Applejack sighed and scooted closer towards the pegasus. "Hey, remember when you asked me how awesome you are?" She asked her. The Pegasus just nodded silently. "I changed my mind, I'll give eleven out of ten for effort."
"You're just saying that..." Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk on her face.
Suddenly, the flock of bats in front of them flew higher up above the clouds. "Hang on everypony... We're flying above the storm..." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as fast as she can and soared higher above the sky. "Phew..." She gasped in exhaustion. "You... sure you can't call them?"
Twilight shook her head. "No, the bat signal must've interfered with my walkie-talkie. I can't reach them." She replied. "Just hang on Rainbow Dash, tonight will be over in half an hour."
Rainbow Dash exhaled a breath of exhaustion. "Wow... These bats are fast..." She whispered to herself. "Oh my head..." The cloud shook and slowly floated down back to the ground as Rainbow Dash fainted on top of the cloud in sheer exhaustion. "I'm... sorry..."
Twilight Sparkle sighed and conjured up a blanket for the pegasus. "You did an amazing work Rainbow Dash..." She said with a soft smile on her face. "Rest now, we'll take it from here." She looked around as the cloud sunk down back to the ground. It is only now that she realized that Rainbow Dash have taken them all the way past the Crystal Empire.
They all landed on a thick blanket of ice and snow. Twilight quickly summoned a small wagon for Rainbow Dash so she won't freeze in the cold. "Twilight." Applejack said suddenly. "Do me a favor and get in to the wagon." She strapped the wagon's leash on herself. "We need you to stay alert in the whole trip."
With that, the earth pony galloped through the cold and desolate tundra carrying two ponies behind her. They've all gone this far and she'll be darn if they all failed because of her. She was the one who brought them all into this mess and she is determined to fix it before it's too late. "Just have to follow the light..."
After almost an hour of galloping through the tundra, the sun rises and a single figure start falling down from the sky. "Twilight!!! Quick!" Applejack warned.
The Unicorn swiftly jumped out of the wagon and her horn glows bright. Shining purple aura appeared around the fallen pegasus and her descend slows down until she's only about a few feet away from the ground. Twilight gently put Fluttershy next to Rainbow Dash inside the wagon before exhaling a breath of relief.
"Umm... Twi? Now what?" Applejack asked.
Twilight looked around and she realized that they are still trapped on a tundra in the middle of nowhere. Her horn glows bright and a dome of magic surrounded them from all sides, protecting them from the cold and the snow. “There we go, we just have to stay here until the beacon dies down.”
Applejack sighed and looked at Twilight tirelessly holding up the shield. “Can’t you conjure up a shelter or somethin’?” She asked her.
The Unicorn shook her head. “Sorry, but I have to continuously fill it up with magic to make sure it stays intact. A magical barrier is more efficient.” No sooner after she said that, the carriage they used to carry the pegasus disappeared from existence. “Don’t worry Applejack, if Princess Cadance can protect a whole kingdom; why can’t I?”
Applejack didn’t say anything. She embraced Twilight from behind and closed her eyes. “Thank you Twilight...”
It’s been almost an hour after Twilight fell. Now it is up to her to save her friends from the unforgiving cold. She gently put her friends on the patch of cloud from earlier and tied herself to it. Then she started walking all alone through the cold tundra with only the beacon as her source of guidance. “Hang on...” She whispered to herself. “Almost there, we’ll make it...”
After almost an hour of walking, a harsh gust of wind pushed the cloud away and Applejack was knocked down towards the cold snow below her. Her armor has long lost its power and there is nothing else protecting her from the cold. “Just one more step...”
The Earth Pony staggered up from her position and took a step forward. “Just one more step...” She took another step forward. “Just one more... step” She couldn’t feel her hooves and she blinked rapidly. “Ju-just one more step... please...” Her hoof moved on its own and she took a step forward.
“Just... one... more...” ‘Thud’ She fell on to the snow and start sobbing in despair. She looked back towards her friends and sighed. “I’m... sorry...” A blur of yellow and pink filled her vision before everything went black.
A few hours later, just a few miles away from them.
"Rarity, Derpy, wake up..." Bruce said while gently nudging the ponies sleeping on the makeshift bed inside the TARDIS. Rarity yawned a little before slowly opening her eyes. She looked around her in confusion when she realized that she is not inside her room. "Afternoon girl!"
The Unicorn stepped out of the bed and her horn glows a little. She stood there beside the bed as if waiting for something. "Uh, Rarity?" Rarity held up her hoof to shut Bruce up. "What are you doing?" The human asked, getting more and more curious about what's going on. "Are you casting a spell?"
'Whoosh' The human could only watch in awe and disbelief as a sofa and a full-body mirror flew into the TARDIS. They landed right in front of Rarity and the unicorn calmly observed herself in front of the mirror. "Did you just summon a sofa and a mirror from your boutique all the way in Ponyville?" Bruce asked incredulously.
After a few minutes of redesigning her mane, (Which by the way looked exactly like before), Rarity lay down on the sofa for a moment. "Well... I simply cannot get out without knowing how I looked like." She said easily. "I also need my sofa because I like my sofa." She added.
“Make sense.” Bruce commented. Then he looked at Derpy and saw her waking up from her sleep. The Pegasus yawned a little before floating a few inches up from the bed. “Afternoon Derpy! The Doctor is waiting for you outside.” Bruce said.
The human watched in amusement as the Pegasus clumsily flew out of the TARDIS to meet the doctor. “Are you ready Rarity?” Bruce looked behind and saw Rarity holding a couple of scarves with her magic. “Oh for goodness sake Rarity, it’s no longer cold outside.”
The Unicorn just rolled her eyes before picking a blue one. “Well I for one, am always prepared for any situations.” She replied as she walked towards the TARDIS door with Bruce. “Oh, I almost forgot.” Her horn glows brightly and the sofa and the mirror flew out of the TARDIS, no doubt they’re flying back to the carousel boutique.
They all walked out of the TARDIS and saw a remarkable sight. The cold tundra they were in was replaced by a beautiful grassy plain. Patches of flower beds and small creeks decorated the whole place. Bird baths with beautiful pony sculptures on top of it scattered all around the plain. Finally, a huge section filled with apple trees could be seen at the side of the plain.
“Terraforming Mares and Gentlecolts!!!” The Doctor exclaimed proudly. “Magic and Science combined!!! It’s like the Crystal Dimension in the making.” He added. “Amazing, don’t you think Derpy?”
The Pegasus smiled and nodded at him. “So pretty...” She whispered towards a statue nearby. “But where did you get the statues?” She asked the Doctor.
Suddenly, a wild Equestria Girl Pinkie Pie appeared. “I made them!!!” She exclaimed with a chisel in her hands. “I also made the flower beds and the apple trees. That’s why they smell like chocolate.” She walked over towards a flower and took a deep breath. “Hmm... Sweet chocolate fudge...”
Derpy walked towards one of the flower in curiosity and took a sniff. “Ooh, smells like chocolate.” Then she ate the flower. “But it taste like flowers.” She spat out the flower before walking towards the secluded filled with dozens of Apple Trees. A huge beacon of light could be seen shooting out of it. “Is that the bat sanctuary?”
Bruce nodded and looked at his watch. “Eeyup! And if my calculation is correct, those bats should arrive in...” the whole plains goes dark as hundreds upon hundreds of bats soared above the sky. They concealed the sunlight above, casting a shadow of a huge bat-like creature. “Look at them go!!!”
Everypony watched in amazement as the bats slowly floated down right towards their new home. Pinkie Pie snapped her fingers and hundreds of apples rained down from the sky. “Welcome to your new home!!!” She exclaimed, followed by a cheer from everypony else.
After he was sure that all bats have arrived in the sanctuary, Bruce took out his sonic screwdriver. He pressed a button and the beacon of light dies down gradually. “There we go, now those bats have a new place to call home and sergeant AJ should be satisfied.”
Suddenly, loud beeping sound came from Bruce’s pocket. He took out his walkie-talkie and his eyes widened in fear. “Fifteen distressed calls...” He whispered to himself. The human quickly pressed a few button to call Twilight. “Twilight? Twilight!!! Where are you? Are you okay!?”
“What is it Bruce? What happened to Twilight?” The Doctor asked in alert. The human could only shook his head in panic.
After a few minutes of no response, Bruce quickly ran back towards the TARDIS. He walked towards his backpack and took out small radar. “Oh no...” He put on his backpack and it unfolded itself into the Pegasus Might Armor. He looked behind and saw everypony looking at him worriedly. “I’ll be back everyone! I have to save my friends!”
Bruce ran out of the TARDIS and took off to the sky. He looked at his radar and followed the blinking dots in a distance. “Hang on Twilight!” He turned on his booster and he started flying in a supersonic speed. “Come on... Faster!!! Overclock come on!!!”
‘BOOM’ A Sonic Rainboom formed because of his sheer speed, but Bruce couldn’t care less. All he wanted is to get there before anything bad happen to his friends. He soared through the unforgiving storm and snow of Equestria. He swore he could almost hear the Windigos laughing at him from above the sky.
The beeping sound from the radar get louder and Bruce flew down towards the ground. Soon, he could see Applejack, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash lying down on a small patch of cloud. He flew closer and saw Fluttershy pulling the cloud towards the direction of the beacon.
Bruce landed right in front of them, sending a huge gust of winds that pushed away all snow in the surrounding area. He took out his Sonic Screwdriver and pointed it at the sky. It flashes orange for a moment before he put it back into his pocket. “Fluttershy?”
The human took a closer look at the yellow pegasus and raised an eyebrow in interest. The Pegasus’s wings have turned into wide bat-like wings with sharp claw on top of it. The pegasus’s eyes have turned blood red and a pair of sharp fangs protruded out of her mouth. “Wow... Just wow Fluttershy... I really did not expect this.” He muttered in amazement.
Bruce took out a couple of huge blanket from his backpack and draped it over Flutterbat and the ponies sleeping on the cloud. “You all right?”
The bat-pony nodded. “I better go...” She spoke in a soft yet terrifying whisper. “Take care of her protector...” Then she glared at the human and put her wing’s claw on Bruce’s neck. “Or I will eat you.” She added threateningly.
The human watched in fascination as the bat-pony slowly turned back into a normal pony. The huge leather wings slowly shrunk back into pegasus wings and the fangs retracted back to her mouth. Her eye color changed back to normal and Fluttershy dropped down on to the snow in exhaustion.
‘Vworrp’ ‘Vworrp’ ‘Vworrp’ The TARDIS arrived a few minutes later. “Took you long enough...” Bruce muttered while carrying the ponies into the box. “That recall function is not to be used on a tight situation.” He added.
The Mane Six plus Bruce, Derpy, and The Doctor sat together in the middle of a picnic blanket. They all have a relieved smile on their faces as they talked about one heck of a day that just transpired.
“So Fluttershy, is it true? Did you actually turn into a bat?” Rarity asked in disbelief.
Fluttershy nodded shyly. “I-I’m sorry if Flutterbat scares you...” She replied nervously. “She’s actually really nice if you get to know her...” She added with a small smile on her face.
Applejack just looked at Fluttershy with a deadpan look on her face. “That Bat Pony tried to eat me!” She exclaimed. “Then she would’ve killed Twilight if it’s not for the bat signal!” She added.
The Pegasus looked down when she heard that. “She said she was sorry. I mean, can you blame her?” She looked at her friend for a moment. “She literally just born yesterday, just that she has my memories.”
The Doctor took out the Sonic Screwdriver and scanned the pegasus in front of him. “I suppose she already told you what happen if you go to sleep?” He asked her.
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, if I fell asleep she will wake up. If she fell asleep I will wake up.” Some of her friends cringed a little when they heard that. The Pegasus looked at her friends with an encouraging smile on her face. “Oh don’t worry everypony, she promised me that she’ll try not to scare you.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes when she heard that. “Does that mean you will always stay awake? Even at night? What if your body went tired?” She asked her.
The Pegasus paused for a second when she heard that. “I did not think that far ahead...” She muttered to herself. “But I think whatever happens to her won’t affect me at all.”
“Can you go to sleep now? I really, really want to talk to this Flutterbat.” Bruce asked suddenly with an excited grin on his face. He looked beside him and saw some of his friends looking at him in disbelief. “Aww come on! Love? Harmony? Tolerance? You did warmed up to Discord and Chrysalis pretty quickly.”
Pinkie Pie the Pink Pony suddenly appeared right behind Fluttershy. “Yeah! I would love to meet a new friend inside my old friend!” She pressed Fluttershy’s cheek together in excitement. “That’ll be like having two friends inside one friend!!! That’ll be amazing!”
Fluttershy yawned and slowly closed her eyes. Everyone but Bruce, Pinkie Pie, and The Doctor scrambled away from her to give her some space. “Oh man... Where’s Skywalker when you need him?” Bruce muttered to himself as Fluttershy started to transform slowly.
The yellow Pegasus opened her eyes, revealing a pair of blood red eyes. She stretched her body and her Pegasus wings were replaced by huge leather bat-like wings. She yawned, revealing her long vampire-like fangs. She looked at the ponies and the human in front of her for a moment. “Hello...” She whispered.
“HI!!!” Pinkie Pie yelled inches away from Flutterbat’s face. The Bat hissed and scrambled away from her. “Oh! So you’re shy too like Fluttershy? Cool! Is there anything else you have in common? What about animals, do you like animals? What about pets? Do you have any favorite animals? What do you do for fun?” The Earth Pony asked rapidly.
Flutterbat blinked owlishly before slithering right behind Pinkie Pie. “Oh... I do have favorite animal...” She leaned herself closer towards Pinkie’s ear. “Ponies... Sweet, Juicy, and Delicious, Ponies...”
Pinkie Pie didn’t even flinch. Instead she just grinned and smiled at the bat. “That’s great!!! I like ponies too!” She didn’t even notice the look of disbelief on Flutterbat’s face. “But you talked like ponies are delicious, do ponies taste good? I never tried ponies before...”
Bruce’s eyes widened in alert when he heard that. Visions from his adventures through the corrupted multiverse filled his head as he thought about what might happen to this universe. “What do they taste like anyway?” Pinkie Pie asked again, making Bruce even more terrified. “Do they taste good raw like fruits? Or do you have to bake them like... Cupcakes...”
The human opened his mouth but no words came out. He raised his hand and put it down a few moments later. "All right that's it, I'm out of here..." ‘Thud’ He fainted on the ground much to everypony’s confusion.
Pinkie Pie smirked and hoof bumped with Flutterbat. “See? I told you it’s easy to mess with him.” Pinkie Pie said easily. “He’s not that scary when you get to know him.”
Fluttershy smirked back at her. “Come to my place tonight, and I’ll show you some of my... Prank ideas.” She whispered to her.
The rest of the main six watched the interaction between those two in horror. For one reason after another, they felt like saying good bye to peaceful undisturbed sleep in Ponyville. “Welp... There goes our good night sleep...” Applejack muttered with finality.