//------------------------------// // Fianchetto // Story: Lairs & Lycanthropy: Revival // by NeoNagasaki //------------------------------// Fluttershy turned to the large tent set up in the grove as a curious expression crossed her face. The tent always sat there, dead and emotionless, its green shade merely trying to mask the fact it didn’t belong. The tent lacked a function most days; neither the animals nor the druids had need for such things. On the very rare occasion however, the tent did manage to serve its singular function, entertaining visitors. The silly ponies who insisted on building homes and tearing down nature’s beauty didn’t react well to being outside. Certainly one day those silly ponies would come to their senses, Fluttershy was sure of it. In either case this day was one of those rare exceptions. As for now, her curiosity was peaked for somepony was inside. She could hear them speaking, however faint it was. Carefully the yellow mare pressed closer to the fabric of the tent, listening to the voices within get louder. There was one that she felt she could almost place; A mare’s voice that just seemed frightfully familiar. As she pushed closer to the tent in order to hear them better, she was faintly aware of the speech inside stopping. It was then that the tent flaps pushed open and a brown cloaked figure stepped out. Casually its head swung to the side, revealing a pink pony, her pink mane curly and puffed up. Instantly Fluttershy’s head turned away blushing, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping. As the pink pony saw Fluttershy her eyes lit up and she smiled “Hey Fluttershy!” She said cheerily. Fluttershy froze in place…the mare seemed so familiar. Her mouth opened for a moment, but no words seemed to come out. Then the other pony raised up and threw her forelegs around the young druid, pulling her into a tight embrace “I missed you Fluttershy…” As the mare let go Fluttershy backed up a few steps, a deepening red crawling over her face “Do I…know you?” She questioned hesitantly. She hadn’t met many ponies in her time, especially non-druid ponies, but the ones she did she tried to keep track of. The mare smiled a small sad smile as she slowly shook her head. “No, not yet, but soon. I promise.” then she turned and started off, heading towards the main road and away from the grove. Fluttershy started after her, running a few steps “Wait!” she called out softly, but her plea fell upon deaf ears as the mare pressed on. Fluttershy was about to burst into a gallop when she heard a voice in the tent behind her call out. “Fluttershy! Is that you? Come here please.” Fluttershy froze; that was the warden. He wasn’t exactly her superior, druids weren’t exactly a military organization after all. But he did take it upon himself to watch over all the wilds in the surrounding areas, and he was the teacher of the one who helped her become a druid. Fluttershy gave one last prolonged look at the pink pony marching away and sighed regretfully before turning back to the tent. Fluttershy’s pink mane poked through the tent door to see Bare Grills, warden of this area. Bare was a solid green pony, which blended in well with the leafy green leather he wore. His mane was a dark brown, which hung off the side of his head messily. He gave her a pleasant smile as she came in, his face knowledgeable, but not quite old. “Good evening Fluttershy. There’s something that’s been brought to my attention and I’d like for you to check it out.” Bare shifted across the tent and past Fluttershy, leading her back out. For the moment Fluttershy ignored his words, there would be time for that later. “Who was that?” she questioned, looking in the direction the pink pony had disappeared to. Bare glanced over curiously in the direction she looked at. “Oh, her? Just some wandering bard that stopped by, why do you ask?” Fluttershy opened her mouth, but what could she say? So the mare knew her name, big deal. This wasn’t the kind of thing she needed to push off onto the warden, he had enough on his plate as it was. “N-nothing.” She sighed, “Okay, what’s wrong? Is the bunny population in danger again? I can set up a shelter-” “No no.” Bare cut her off. “This isn’t the usual altruistic effort you excel in. This is serious.” His words sunk into her and caused her to freeze up a bit. Curiously she watched him, wondering what task she could possibly be suited for that another druid couldn’t take care of. “I’ve been watching the woods lately.” He began, “An unusual number of animals are disappearing. I suspected that the barbarian tribe living close to here might have been hunting them for their furs.” Fluttershy nodded with a smile, “I can protect the animals by setting up farms inside the grove and-” “Fluttershy…” he cut her off, causing her to apologetically fall silent “I’m beginning to think there might be something more sinister afoot than simple exorbitant hunting. Perhaps a stealthy new predator has been introduced to this area. I need you to talk with the animals and see if that might be the case.” Fluttershy paused, considering the job.Going out in search of an unknown predator was dangerous and likely scary, but she’d been told here a hundred times to be less like the rabbit and more like the bear. The druids were shapers and defenders of nature, and the meek were hardly ideal for such a task. With a deep breath she steeled her nerves and stood proudly “I’ll take care of it.” She promised with quiet determination. A slight smile formed on Bare’s face as he nodded “Thank you Fluttershy. Let me know what you find out. I need to go check up on some of the other projects around here. If you’ll excuse me.” Fluttershy gave him a polite nod and watched him break off, heading for another druid. ----- She shuddered as she turned away, eyes clenching shut. Her responsibilities usually included sheltering animals and making sure populations didn’t get out of control, and from what he was saying....Her head shook slightly, focusing on the task at hand. It was her job! Druids didn’t want to control nature exactly, merely curb it a bit. After all, ponies were animals too, and they deserved their place. Fluttershy found her footing once more and started off, heading out to the forest. Although she knew the forest was a dangerous place, Fluttershy always felt at home here amongst the trees and birds. It was just how she’d been raised she supposed, houses always seemed so stifling and stationary. It felt so much more natural to go everywhere, be anywhere. If she needed to sleep there were plenty of places, and if she needed to leave, she had nothing to stop her. She was an animal, and this was how nature intended animals to live, any other way just seemed…silly. As she continued through the woods, she darted about in search of anything that could give her a hint of the problems that the woodland creatures faced. As night started to fall she finally came up upon a small cave, and heard the soft sound of movement inside. Slowly she trotted up to the cave and smiled “Hello!” the words hung in the air, ringing through the cave. An instant later a massive grizzly bear pulled it’s way into the shallow light and looked at her, issuing a loud angry roar. Fluttershy gave the bear a dirty look; Surely it knew that was no way to treat visitors. “Why are you yelling at me?” She questioned the animal, sitting down calmly “That’s no way to treat a visitor.” Blue hues stared at the bear as it paused in confusion, eventually lowering it’s paws to the ground and growling. “Hold on…” She told the bear calmly. Blue eyes closed as the druid concentrated, and for a moment or two she glowed a bright, pleasant green. Then it was over. “Sorry” she apologized “Could you repeat yourself?” Fluttershy always seemed to have a way with animals, then again it wasn’t anything special, so did all druids. Her initial lessons were terrifying, even with a teacher at her side. But over time she became closer to nature, until she finally understood she was another part of it, a part that could be friends with the forest. The bear took another heavy breath “I…I said, my children, stay away!” It moved it’s legs, defensively covering the entrance. Fluttershy smiled and turned her head to the side slightly “Ooh, you’ve got your kids in there? How are your plans for hibernation coming along?” Her voice was even and calm. It was equally important that you both showed no fear when talking to the animals, and showing no threat. Animals were a jumpy lot, and despite their capacity for love, weren’t the brightest. The bear paused for a few moments, thinking to itself before it fell to its hindquarters. “The great sleep is coming.” It told her, looking briefly up to the sky. “The trees have shed, just like we remember. We have much food, we will be ready if the sky cold comes down here.” Fluttershy glanced up at the clouds overhead, supposing the bear was half right about the clouds being snow. Inwardly she shrugged as she smiled politely at the bear “I was wondering if you had seen any new pred…killing animals around here.” The bear looked around suspiciously, as if expecting to see something. Fluttershy gave a quaint smile before clarifying, “Not right now, before.” The bear got its legs underneath it as it stood, looking off to the side. “The new ones, they have come many times before. Kill animals, eat them.” Fluttershy nodded, urging her to go on “That way.” The bear turned it’s head, pointing down towards Apple Springs. “They come out at night, they gather at their place. We stay away from their place.” “Thank you.” Fluttershy stood slowly and gave the bear a courteous bow. The ursine simply looked at her awkwardly, she often forgot that animals had their own customs she was unfamiliar with. “Goodbye.” She offered. The bear seemed to understand, standing up and slowly turning about go back into her cave. Fluttershy sighed, she supposed she had made progress on her issue. Unfortunately, it seemed that it was likely just greedy ponies killing for furs. Then again, the bear did say they were eating the animals. Well, she’d best follow up. It was, after all, her responsibility. Slowly she made her way through the forest, the sun drifted out of view and the chill set in. It wasn’t anything Fluttershy couldn’t handle but it would just be uncomfortable for a few hours before she made it back to the grove. Without warning Fluttershy came to a halt, ears straining as they picked up voices from up ahead. With a little focus she zeroed in on where they came from, a clearing up ahead flanked by heavy rocks. Her breath drew silent she shook off the fear that had pushed its way into her. She was an animal, and she needed to stalk her prey. Another near silent breath was taken as she pushed forward, carefully avoiding sticks and twigs as she came up behind the rock. Her mane flattened against her back as she pressed into the rock, straining her ears to hear. “No, it’s nothing to worry about.” A harsh voice insisted “Some mare came into the camp yesterday and got one of the barbarians all riled up. Now the little one is questioning me, me!” A chorus of light laughter followed. “I’ll put her down in front of her little marefriend tomorrow, they won’t question me after that.” “That’s strange…” A familiar voice of an elderly mare took over the conversation now “A mare came to the barn just recently. A mage from one of the towers, not very skilled though.” A snarl from the first voice cut her off “Mages? Here? Is one of the towers taking an interest in us?” “No…” The elderly voice said dismissively. “It’s just some apprentice mare passing through. Became fast friends with my little Applejack though. She was askin’ questions, trying to take the fight to that tribe of yours. I told her off though.” A slight sigh from the first voice, “Well keep an eye on her. The last thing we need is a bunch of damn mages breathing down our necks. We have a good thing going here.” Fluttershy finally mustered up the courage to peek over the rock and saw a terrifying image. Thirty ponies stood in the clearing bathed in moonlight. The moon made it easy to see that they were not normal. Their bodies were covered in dark black fur, and their teeth were jagged and pointy. Their tails had changed somewhat too, they almost looked…like wolves. But some sort of horrid half breed abomination, and they outnumbered her thirty to one. That’s when she realized they stopped talking. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she pressed her back against the stone again. The thumping of her pulse in her throat was so palpable she could almost taste the blood. Blood that would soon feed the earth if the beasts had any say in it. Fluttershy could hear them moving towards her; heard their inhale as their noses tested the air. Frantically she held her hooves together, carefully focusing until a rabbit was mystically summoned into existence. She knew it wouldn’t last long and grit her teeth as she willed it to run. Instantly it exploded out from behind her hiding spot and rushed away from her. Followed by a small army of ponies who ran it down in a desperate bid of bloodlust. From the way they moved and how vicious they were, she was certain these were her predators. Of course, she didn’t stay to examine them further; the moment she felt they were distracted she bolted in the other direction as fast as she could without making too much noise. The walk home was terrifying and for the first time Fluttershy no longer felt at home in her forest. She was tempted very tempted to just go to the bears again and get them to let her stay there till morning. Despite how fearful she felt, Fluttershy knew her responsibility was to the forest. Not only did she have to physically defend it, but this time it needed her to tell the others. It was a long way home as she trudged through the forest, jumping at every snapped twig and branch along the way ‘till she finally found her way to the grove. As her shaking body pressed on into the camp she heard a voice; Another druid was watching the grove while the others slept. He recognized her right away and beckoned her welcome. Finally letting out a sigh of relief she gratefully trotted into her camp and slumped into the waiting pile of bodies that kept them warm at night, finally safe. ---- “What?” He asked incredulously. “Could you repeat that?” “Pony-wolves!” She cried out, dropping to her haunches. “There are pony-wolves! They have big sharp teeth and long fur…it was awful. Somepony needs to take care of it!” The soft voice she usually used had a tinge of desperation; it rose, catching the attention of those that were in the tent. That didn’t seem to deter them from doubting her, though. Bare shot Fluttershy a look “You’re a druid Fluttershy, and nature can be a scary thing. You can’t always rely on other ponies to protect nature, even if it’s scary.” The yellow mare’s head hung low. “This is your habitat too Fluttershy, and just like every other animal, you have to protect your habitat.” Fluttershy sighed “I’ve never even heard of pony-wolves! Maybe they can be reasoned with…” She muttered hopefully. Bare turned and continued on their walk, prompting Fluttershy to get up and follow. “I know what they are, they’re known as lycanthropes.” A pink mane fell to the side as Fluttershy turned her head in confusion “Lycanthropes?” Bare nodded quickly “Ponies that catch a magical disease that turns them into those creatures. It makes them want to eat meat and makes them into something else…” Fluttershy’s eyes widened, her mouth agape at such horrors. “They can keep their pony form most of the time, although it robs them of their full strength. The full moon seems to bring them out in force though, some say it’s the final curse of the mare in the moon.” Fluttershy shook her head slowly, her jaw closing after a moment, “But, what am I supposed to do?” Bare stepped up to her, looking fiercely into her eyes, “You’re the one dealing with this Fluttershy, protect our habitat.” He stopped, staring down at the uncomfortable mare, and awaited her decision. Fluttershy paused, before nodding slowly, taking a few leading steps back towards the edge of camp. Clearly, it would take time for her to decide, but time was a precious thing that they didn’t seem to have a lot of at the moment. ------- Time passed quickly that day, but it always does when one is facing something they dread. Whether that was saying goodbye to someone you cared about, or facing down a pack of magically enhanced wolven barbarians. The cool fall breeze passed about her easily and picked up her pink mane, brushing it to the side and making her push it back into place. Rough hooffall ground leaves into the soft earth as Fluttershy made her way toward the group of lycans that had gathered in the woods. “He’s our alpha!” one of them protested, still having not seen her marching towards them. “We can’t just let them keep him tied up. I say we cut him loose and get him out here. Maybe take the whole camp out!” Another few steps, and suddenly they all noticed her, turning inquisitively. The mare stood before them, a thick animal hide armor protecting the soft flesh underneath; a sharp contrast to the pink mane and eyes that looked over them with a disapproving frown.“Who are you?” the speaker asked impolitely. “I am a druid of this area.” She declared, “And I’m here to ask you to stop disrupting my habitat, um, please.” She stared them down for a few moments her breath coming out slightly shaky. “And you’re going to stop us?” one of them mocked. He let out a snarl and pounced on the poor druid, overpowering her in an instant. Lips drew back, and he bared his teeth as he snarled in her face “We’re not backing down from your pathetic kind.” The lycan yelled out in surprise as a pool of water came tearing through the forest and flew up into him, smashing him off of Fluttershy and sending him unceremoniously into the dirt. Shakily Fluttershy found her hooves beneath her once more, watching as the lycans tone shifted dramatically. Behind Fluttershy stood Bare Grills, and a myriad of other druids who had come out of the woodwork. In addition to the ponies there were wolves and bears, each of them growling at their once fearsome oppressors. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you might have. But you‘re kind of ruining our habitat, all of our habitats.” Despite the support, the mare’s voice was still soft, barely able to be heard above the pants and angry growls of the animals surrounding them. Bare Grills slowly walked up beside her “I told you negotiation wouldn’t work. What do you want to do now?” Fluttershy closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her soul hurt once more. Nervously, her hoof ground into the dirt as she grit her teeth and tried to focus. She was an animal, she was nature, and she had to protect her habitat. With a sharp inward breath she steadied herself, steeling herself for the decision she knew was coming. Nature wasn’t peaceful, nature was struggle, and nature was dangerous. She had to be dangerous. “Cull the herd.” Fluttershy’s voice quivered as she spoke, her eyes opening in time to see the horrified looks on the faces of the lycans turning to run as the wall of furry claws and teeth charged in. The fight was short and brutal. The entire experience was a massive whirlwind of blood and screams. Animals were cut down, followed by bright flashes of green light as the druidic magics restored them to fighting form, then the whirlwind of murder continued. New animals joined the fray as the were summoned into existence just long enough to rip a hunk of flesh out and disappear. The screams and howls of pain ended quickly, at least it did for them. Even after it was over Fluttershy couldn’t stop hearing them, hearing the screams she caused, the pain she wrought. Short ears drooped at the thought of what she had done, her head hunched slightly. Fluttershy felt sick; Sick at what she had ordered, sick at what happened as a result, and sick because of the worst part of it all - she hadn’t finished. The determined wave of druids pressed on, flooding their way out of the forest and into the barbarian camp. An alerted sentry quickly called out and roused the barbarians, causing forces of the two powers to meet, staring each other down. Bare gave a quiet nod to Fluttershy, who quietly pressed her way out between the two groups. Yellow lids hid her eyes allowing a moment to collect herself before speaking quietly, “We’re here for Truncheon.” The tribe milled around nervously, light murmurs flying about as they tried to figure out who was supposed to speak for them. After a few uncomfortable moments an older mare pushed her way out to look down on Fluttershy. Her fur held a light grey, and her mane held blue, black, and green. Her eyes were cold, and Fluttershy knew simply by looking into them that the nightmarish screams that would haunt her would barely phase this mare. “Truncheon is our leader.” The older mare began, “ though he is indisposed right now. What issue do the druids have against our tribe? We’ve kept to the agreement you offered years ago, though we barely understand it.” Eyes narrowed slightly as she bore down on Fluttershy. With a grunt a lycan pony crashed into the ground beside them, tossed for dramatic effect by Bare. His skin was cut in several places and he looked like he had a bruise or two, but he seemed alive enough. Slowly he moved his hooves, testing the rope that bound him but finding it lacking a way for him to escape it. Slowly he turned his head and looked at the horrified barbarians who had known him yesterday as friends. “I don’t have a problem with you…” Fluttershy explained apologetically, he eyes shifting up to the old pony, then darting back down to the ground, “but the lycanthrope pack that has infiltrated your ranks has been giving us trouble.” She took a deep breath, urging herself to get through it with a brave face. “The pack will remain loyal to their alpha I’m told…so he needs to be...removed.” Her voice faltering slightly on that word before she could will herself to go on. “Then they can follow a new alpha…” She moved her hoof over, stepping roughly on the lychan on the ground “Right new alpha?” she asked him, a harsh tone seeping into her voice as he responded with an affirmative choking noise. It had to be done. It had to be done. It had to be done. The entirety of two sides braced, hooves moving closer to clubs, axes, and swords as they stared each other down. The growling and murmuring grew louder until the mare facing down Fluttershy turned about to address the crowd “Ponies!” She called out, quieting them down “Should we really stand behind the loyalty of Truncheon?” A questioning murmur weaved its way through the barbarian ranks. “He’s such a loose cannon we were debating if we could even want him as a leader…and now we find out that he’s turning our people into these things?” An angry cry came from the barbarian’s side as the mare turned about, staring down Fluttershy “If Truncheon is one of these things, prove it!” she challenged, stepping closer. Fluttershy lowered her head slightly and closing her eyes. “Get the wolfsbane…” she ordered quietly. Then she turned her head up to the mare, “Luckily for both of us, I think I can do just that, bring him here.” Her voice sounded almost sad now, regret over everything slipping in. Carefully she took the plant from a druid who brought it to her. “This plant is deadly for ponies to eat…” She explained to them, “But it’s worse for lycans. When it comes in contact with them...” The plant dropped to the side, landing next to the lycan on the ground, causing him to howl in pain and try to shuffle away. Angered cries could be heard as Truncheon was pulled out by eight ponies, leather straps running from their mouths to his forelegs. His hulking figure wrestled against the bonds as Fluttershy got a good look at him. He was the one she had seen in the clearing last night; the one giving orders. Fluttershy took her eyes off the monster as another mare pushed her way over. This mare didn’t look like she belonged here, her white coat was properly groomed and her mane seemed styled. This new mare looked at her carefully with a sad face “Fluttershy…” she pleaded hesitantly “This isn’t who you are, don’t do this…” Fluttershy’s lip quivered as she tried to steel herself “I have to…” she muttered sadly “If I can’t protect my habitat I’ll fail everyone. I need to protect the animals.” Blue hues once more flicked downwards, to the dirt in front of her that she had unconsciously been pawing at. The mare was so upset she didn’t even bother to question why or how the new mare knew her name. It’s not that Fluttershy wasn’t curious, it was simply that she was absorbed with the task of preparing to beat an unarmed prisoner to death with a war club. As the group of ponies pulled Truncheon closer to the wolfs bane he started to shake and grunt. They continued onward until they were right next to the plant. The poor prisoner had his teeth grit, sweat pouring from his maw and brow. Wordlessly Fluttershy picked up the plant and tossed it, dirt and all, to crash against Truncheon’s chest. With a wail of pain he bucked and coarse wolven hair spread across his entire body. His eyes quickly became red and his teeth sharpened themselves into vicious points. “Fluttershy…” The strange mare who knew her name warned, lifting a hoof to her flank, trying to stop her. Fluttershy pulled away and looked at the barbarians, all backing away in disgust. “Is this proof enough?” She asked coldly, “can I get on with his execution?” Wordlessly the older mare looked down and nodded, turning away from their ex-leader. With a sigh Fluttershy reached back, taking a war club from another druid and moving to Truncheon. Absently, she inspected the weapon; her hues drifted over the weapon noting how heavy it was, and the several sets of animal teeth jutting out the sides. This weapon would do. She rose up on her hind legs and hefted the club to the side, looking into the lycan’s pained eyes as she prepared to do what she had to. Her teeth grit as she tried to remind herself how important this was. This was her habitat; she was an animal and she needed to protect her habitat. That was the natural order of things...If she didn’t neutralize the lycanthrope threat it would destroy them. Fun word, isn’t it? Neutralize; It makes the whole act seem so sterile. Somehow neutralizing a threat seems so much more acceptable than caving a pony’s skull in with a club. So much cleaner than murdering a helpless stallion. But as Fluttershy stood there, her eyes starting to tear and her lip quivering, she couldn’t see it as neutralizing a threat. All she could see was the set of eyes staring at her, waiting for her to do what she came here to do. Waiting patiently for her cold blooded murder. “Finish this.” Bare told her calmly. She could feel the eyes of all the druids watching her, she was leading them today, she was protecting the grove. Fluttershy tried to tell herself that if another druid had taken the lead then all of the lycans would have been wiped out, that this was a compromise. That didn’t change the eyes, the damned eyes waiting for her to destroy him like a weed. It had to be done. A ragged breath came as she held the club aloft slightly higher, and then Truncheon went down. Rarity landed atop the beast with an angry yell and sent him crashing to the ground right next to the lycan they had chosen as their next alpha. Truncheon opened his maw to howl but Rarity’s hoof came down, a dagger crashing into the top of his head. The dagger punched clean through the top of his head, exploding through the roof of his mouth, biting into his tongue, and pinning him to the soft earth below. Slowly Rarity looked into the eyes of the terrified lycan on the ground, staring into the dead eyes of his ex-alpha. “Congratulations on your promotion darling.” she mocked, pushing herself off of the beast and onto the ground, looking up at Fluttershy, still standing with her club. The druids cheered in triumph, but Rarity stood, taking the club from Fluttershy and tossing it to the ground in disgust. Carefully she bit the pony’s mane and urged her to follow, heading towards one of the tents. “Wait…” one of the barbarians commented as she passed “You forgot your knife.” Rarity turned, a fierce look burning in her eyes, “I never want to see that damnable knife again.” Hastily she urged Fluttershy onward, pushing her into the tent where she saw Rainbow Dash lying on some furs with bandages everywhere. “Hey.” the hospitalized pony said with a grin “Futtershy, it’s good to…what’s wrong?” Rainbow’s face melted into concern the moment she saw the look on her friends’ faces. “I’m not strong enough…” The young druid lamented, “I can’t protect anyone, I couldn’t do it, I…” her eyes filled with tears as she started to weep, collapsing to the ground as she bawled uncontrollably. “It’s okay Fluttershy…” Rarity cooed as she clutched her friend close. The white mare tried to keep a brave face as she held her friend, but looked down at the blood on her own hooves, wincing as her eyes started to tear too “You’re going to be okay…” tears started to flow down her cheeks as she kept her voice even, “I promise.” At the end she wasn’t even sure if it was Fluttershy she was really trying to convince anymore.