Fluttershy
"Come on, little guy. You know you want some." I said, trying to feed one of the hedgehogs some soup I'd made with the herbs Angel Bunny had brought me yesterday. I'd managed to corner one of the little things near the door of the cottage, and after he'd tried to bite me several times, he'd calmed down and let me approach him. Ever since day two of this new life, my animal friends had gotten really mean and scary, but I wasn't going to give up. Not until I'd found a cure, some way to get them back to normal. They'd all tried to hurt me except Angel Bunny, who seemed immune to this whole thing.
Maybe it's because he was my first animal friend, and he's my pet.
At any rate, he'd been gathering herbs for me and generally helping me out.
I'd sealed the place up so that none of the other animals could get in or out except via the door, which I guarded with a watchful eye. I didn't want any of them getting loose and making trouble around town.
After I'd nearly gotten bit by a badger, I'd stopped by Rarity's boutique, avoiding that awful place with the weapons as much as I possibly could, and getting some fabric. With what I knew of sewing, I'd made a thick coat that covered all but my head. If this change in the animals was because of a disease, it wouldn't do to have me catching it from a bite. Everybody, especially me, knew how I could get when I got angry and rude and nasty.
I'd just gotten my little hedgehog friend to take a few sips of the soup when there was a knock at the door.
"Yo, Fluttershy, you in there?" Twilight needs us on that hill where the comet hit."
It was Rainbow Dash. She must have relearned how to fly.
"Not right now, Rainbow Dash. I need to help out my other friends." I said. The hedgehog seemed to like the soup, and was drinking it in big, greedy gulps, as if he hadn't eaten all day.
"There you go. See? I told you it was good."
Rainbow Dash opened the door, and quickly shut it, dodging the three sparrows that had flown at her, trying to scratch her face.
"Fluttershy, we need to go. now. Twilight says that she can fix things, turn them back to the way they were."
I hadn't been listening the first time she spoke, but now I lifted my head, a spark of hope flaring in my mind.
If what Twilight's planning works, and we change back, then the animals...
Rainbow Dash had to drop out of the way as I burst through the door, running as fast as I could towards the hilltop. She followed, closing the door to the cottage. Angel was riding on my back, holding on for dear life. I would've felt sorry for him if I wasn't so excited.
When I got to the hill, the rest of the gang was there, chatting. There was someone missing, though...
"Where's Twilight?" I asked.
"Oh, she went off to get the Elements. I was right!" Pinkie Pie said. "We're going to use the Elements of Harmony to reverse this whole thing and turn everyone back to normal!"
"Exactly!" Twilight said, walking up the hill towards us. "There's just one problem. The Elements have changed too, possibly to reflect the fact that we've changed. We should still be able to use them, but we need to find out which one is which."
There were six, but the symbols were different. Instead of a balloon, lightning bolt, butterfly, apple, jewel, and star, there was a flame, a mountain-looking thing, a snowflake, two lightning bolts crossing each other, and a white and black thing. They looked kind of like fish, or curved raindrops. One was white, with a black dot in the thick part of the raindrop, and the other was black, with a white dot in the thick part of the raindrop. They looked like they'd fit together.
"Alright, let's see. Pinkie Pie, why don't you take the snowflake?" Twilight said.
"I call this one!" Rainbow Dash said, grabbing the necklace with the two lightning bolts. "My Element got an upgrade!"
"I suppose the mountain one is mine, seeing as how I work the land and such." Applejack said.
That leaves just the flame, and the white and black things.
I reached towards the black raindrop, and immediately took my hand away. It gave off a dark, creepy feeling, and I didn't want any part of that.
"I suppose the flame will have to do." Rarity said, taking the flame.
"Then I take the black...whatever it is, and you get the white one, Futtershy."
I took the white necklace. The raindrop felt warm and comforting, like holding a little animal.
"This one's perfect." I said.
"Mine doesn't feel right." Pinkie Pie said. "Hey, Rarity, wanna trade me?"
Rarity and Pinkie Pie traded necklaces, Pinkie Pie taking the flame and Rarity taking the snowflake.
"It still doesn't feel right." Pinkie Pie said. "Dashie, are you sure that's the right Element for you?"
"I guess it isn't. It feels kinda weird. Dang it. I really wanted the lightning." Dash said. They traded.
"That feels much better." Pinkie Pie said. "Alright, Twilight, are we ready?"
"We're ready." Twilight said. "Three, two, one...now!"
I thought of my Element, kindness, and activated the gem. I started floating, as was normal, and if I could've seen myself, I bet my eyes would've been glowing like Twilight's. A glowing ball appeared in between us, getting bigger and brighter the more power we put into it.
It's working!
The ball enveloped us, then the hill, then the ground next to the hill, growing ever brighter. A few seconds later, there was a huge flash, and we all fell to the ground.
No! We're still...
"It...Didn't work." Twilight said dejectedly.
"It did, to some extent." Pinkie Pie said. "Look at the grass! It's the way it used to be. I guess you had it set to plants."
"Well, I'm stumped." Twilight said. "We tried the most powerful thing in all of Equestria, and that didn't work. There's nothing left but to give up and get used to being human."
"I have something we could try." Pinkie Pie said. "Why don't we go shopping?"
Later
Rarity
When Pinkie Pie said 'shopping,' this isn't what I'd had in mind.
We were in that dingy old armory, with all its weapons and armor. I had to admit, though; Lyra and her friends were getting good at making these. There were chestplates made of gold, greaves made of iron, swords made out of bronze, and even a set of throwing daggers made out of steel.
"Welcome, friends. What can I do ya for?" Lyra asked. "Just looking, or are you thinking of just trying something out for the moment? I can do custom weapons now, you know. If you bring me a metal, I'll make whatever you want out of it. Isn't it great? I never would've known that I have a special talent for blacksmithing!"
"Just looking, for now, thank you." Twilight said, admiring a set of jeweled greaves hanging from one wall.
"Okay, then. If you're looking for weapons that fit you specifically, try the customs/unusuals section over in the other room."
Sweetie Belle dragged me over to said room, where Scootaloo and Applebloom were looking at some weapons hanging from a rack in the center of the room.
"You have fun with your friends, dear. I've already found something I can make look good." I said, and walked back into the main room. I'd spotted a case of rather large needles earlier. Using needles as weapons might be a good idea for a person who doesn't want to get their hands dirty up close and personal... And I had an idea for a stylish needle pouch.
Maybe this whole weapon shopping thing isn't too bad after all.
"What do you think?" Pinkie Pie asked me.
"I really don't see the appeal in such a large and garish weapon. It just comes off as flashy." I said. Pinkie Pie was eyeing a rather large sword that looked like a glorified meat cleaver, white along the edge and black everywhere else, with what looked like bandages wrapped around the handle.
"No, I mean do you think it'll work for me? Like when I fight?" She asked, giving me a look that said 'You know what I meant.'
"That sword would be very cumbersome for someone who moves around a lot, like you. Besides, it's missing the proper outfit; Something like that would go perfectly with a robe, or maybe a long jacket."
"Hmm. I guess you're right. It is missing something, isn't it?"
"Say, have you seen Fluttershy around? I haven't seen her since we got here." I said, looking around for her.
"Oh, she went back home. She said she didn't like the feel she got from here. Said she'd rather stay home and try to cure her little animals."
Well, she will certainly miss out on this opportunity.
Just then, a loud crash emanated from outside.
Applebloom
After more than a week of waiting, I was finally here! At the armory. Ever since the animals had attacked and put me in the hospital for a week, I'd been thinking about which weapon would be appropriate for helping protect the farm. It had to be easy to use, because even though I was taller, I was still just a kid.
"Imagine! Cutie Mark Crusaders Town Defenders!" I said excitedly, admiring a staff leaning against one wall.
"What would a Town Defending cutie mark look like, I wonder?" Scootaloo asked.
"Maybe a shield, or two crossed swords, or maybe even a bow and arrow." Sweetie Belle said.
"Well, whatever it is, it's not gonna come from us just standing here." Scootaloo said. "We gotta train."
"Exactly!" I said. "And I know just the place."
"The Everfree Forest? Are you crazy?" Sweetie Belle said when we reached the edge of the woods. "We're going to get ourselves killed!" "Do you know what Rarity would do to me if I went in there!?" "If the monsters didn't get me first, she'd kill me herself!" she said, backing away from us.
"Oh, come on." Scootaloo said, exasperated. "What are you, a-"
"I don't care if you call me a chicken for the rest of my life! I am not going in there with the animals being the way they are." she shot back. "Goodbye. I'm going to go tell Applejack and Rainbow Dash what you're up to. Maybe they can talk some sense into you guys."
She stormed off, leaving me and Scootaloo staring after her.
"I can't believe she actually chickened out." Scootaloo said.
"I know." I said. "She's always been with us when we went on adventures."
There was a long pause.
"Do you think she's right?"
"Maybe. After all, the animals..."
"Yeah. Maybe we should catch up to her."
"Let's."
We ran after Sweetie Belle, catching up to her right as she reached the edge of town.
"You're right." I said, panting, as we caught up with her. "Maybe we should - at least get used - to having weapons - before we go and take on - those crazy animals."
"I'm glad you decided to come back." she said. "I would've been worried sick if you'd gone in."
As we stopped for me and Scootaloo to catch our breaths, we heard a voice from behind us.
"Run!"
We looked at each other, confused. That voice sounded oddly familiar...
"Run!"
We looked back to see a figure with a torn cape and a raggedy hat running full tilt towards us, waving its arms wildly in the air.
"Run! For Celestia's sake, run, you fools!"
I strained my eyes to see who it was.
"Trixie?"
"Yes! Now run, girls, run like your lives depend on it! The animals - the ones from the forest - they're attacking again! Run! RUN!"
We looked behind her...
And started running.
The animals were attacking - but not the birds, or even the bears. Dragons. Two black dragons were approaching, and approaching fast.
"Scootaloo, fly and get the older girls from the armory!" I yelled. "We'll go and get Fluttershy."
"Right!"
She flew off in the direction of town hall, yelling "DRAGONS!" at the top of her voice.
When we got to the cottage, the door was unlocked and slightly ajar, which was weird, as Fluttershy usually kept it shut and locked to prevent any corrupted creatures getting out and heading into town.
"Oh! Girls! You're just in time to help me finish this!" She said, opening the door and stepping onto the doorstep. "It turns out there is a cure! It's an herbal soup made with herbs Angel Bunny brought to me yesterday."
"That'll have to wait. We need to go." I said, pulling her towards town. "There's dragons."
"Dragons!?" she asked, fear in her eyes. "Where? Is the town safe? Oh, I hope the others are okay. Are they at the armory?"
"Yes, and don't-"
I didn't have time to finish what I was saying. She started running, then her anklets glowed and she started flying - slowly at first, then faster - and we ran after her.
We got to the armory just as the dragons hit town. The older girls were outside with the weapons they'd picked out - Applejack with a large hammer, Twilight with two spiked metal orbs that she was levitating, Pinkie Pie with some sort of weird giant black and white sword, Rarity levitating some needles out of her saddlebag, and Rainbow Dash with large metal boots with spikes on the toes. Fluttershy was hiding just inside the door of the armory, inside a large suit of armor that looked way too big for her.
"Alright, everybody." Twilight said. "We need to figure out how to handle this. We have a bit of time; girls, go find Spike and tell him to alert Princess Celestia. We'll hold the dragons off for as long as we can."
"Right."
We ran off towards Twilight's library. When we got there, Spike was already writing a note, presumably to the princess.
"Spike, Twilight wants you to write to Princess-"
"Already on it."
"Right."
We turned to go back to the armory, when there was a loud crash, and one of the walls caved in, blocking the exit.
"Well, it looks like we're stuck here." I said.
"Aww. I wanted to see the fight." Scootaloo groaned.
There were giant crashes, huge thuds, and I thought I heard Fluttershy talking, but it must have been my imagination.
Then a large black thing crashed into the library, and everything went dark.
Fluttershy
I went back to the cottage, my heart heavy.
Oh, why did they go to that awful armory? I haven't seen them in a week, and they decide to go to a place full of awful weapons and armor. It just doesn't seem fair.
When I entered my cottage, I was greeted by a shocking sight.
The little hedgehog from earlier was laying on the floor, all scratched up, and his quills were back to normal, besides the blood that was on them.
"Oh, what happened?"
I stooped to pick him up, not caring if he bit me. To my surprise, he was very docile, and pointed weakly to the other creatures, some of which had specks of blood around their muzzles.
The soup must have worked! The little guy changed back, and once the other animals found out he wasn't mean anymore...
"Oh, you poor thing. Here. Let's get you some rest, and I'll make more of that soup for the others."
After I'd tended to the hedgehog, I started more soup and thought over the problem of getting the other animals to try some soup.
I didn't like using The Stare. It felt like I was abusing my assertiveness and taking for granted the trust that my little friends had for me, but once I'd made enough of that soup for the rest of my animals, there was no other way around it. I had to. I looked right at a group of badgers, and activated it.
They couldn't look away, the poor things. I saw the terrified expressions on their faces, and it just hurt my heart to see them.
Rainbow Dash is right. I need to toughen up. It won't help anyone for me to be as scared as I am. I need to be assertive, even if it looks like it's the wrong thing to do; it's for their own good.
"I don't want to do this, so just drink a little bit of this nice soup, and I'll stop. Okay?"
They nodded, and - still staring at them - I placed a bowl of soup in front of each one of them. I watched as they lapped up a couple drops of the soup, then turned off my Stare.
I turned away from the badgers, who were wolfing down the stew, and saw the rest of the cottage full of animals.
This is going to take a while.
I'd just finished getting the last of the birds to have some soup when I heard footsteps outside.
I looked out the door to see Applebloom and her friends running towards me as fast as they could.
"Oh! Girls! You're just in time to help me finish this!" I said, opening the door and stepping onto the doorstep. "It turns out there is a cure! It's an herbal soup made with herbs Angel Bunny brought to me yesterday."
"That'll have to wait. We need to go." she said, pulling rather roughly in the direction of the town. "There's dragons."
"Dragons!?" I asked, my heart in my throat. "Where? Is the town safe? Oh, I hope the others are okay. Are they at the armory?"
"Yes, and don't-"
She didn't have time to finish what she was saying. I started running as fast as my legs could take me.
This isn't fast enough. I've never tried flying before, but my friends are in danger. I need to fly.
I closed my eyes, and concentrated on one word as hard as I could.
Fly.
My anklets started glowing, and I looked down to see my feet hanging a few inches off the ground.
I need to go faster. Oh, how did Rainbow Dash say she beat Lightning Dust again? Something about mental wings...
I thought of my old wings. I'd hardly used them, but they were always there when I needed them.
Oh, if there was ever a time that I needed wings, it was now.
I started flying faster. It was working. My feet were being pulled behind me, my body being forced horizontal by the air rushing around me at the speed I was going.
I need to get to the armory.
A few minutes later, the armory came into view, sitting next to town hall, all grey and stony and scary. Twilight and the others were just inside, hastily gathering weapons. Scootaloo was leaving, and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle ran towards her.
Seeing that my friends were all right, the surge of adrenaline that had caused me to fly so fast faded, and my old fear of heights came rushing back. I stopped flying, and ran inside the armory.
Dragons. Dragons! Big, black, mean, nasty, fire-breathing, eat-a-person-in-one-bite dragons! Oh, where to hide, where to hide...
I saw a suit of armor standing near the entrance of the armory. I jumped inside, the armor clattering as I shivered in fright.
I heard Twilight tell the girls to get Spike to send for the princess.
Good thing, too. If there was ever a time when we need her most, it's right now.
I watched the battle unfold. Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Twilight took on one dragon, while Pinkie Pie and Rarity fought the other. Rainbow Dash flew around its head, kicking it over and over right in the forehead, dodging the blue flames it spat at her. Dizzy, it reeled backwards and fell into Twilight's library.
The girls!
Pinkie Pie was leaping from rooftops, trying to get onto the second dragon's neck as it belched green fire into the air with a massive roar. She landed on the thing's neck, and ran up it as dozens upon dozens of needles flew around and jabbed the beast's face and eyes. There was smoke coming from some of them, and when I heard a clanging from behind me, I looked to see Lyra at her forge, hammering away at molten metal and forming it into needles, which then flew - still red hot from the forge - straight at the dragon. Pinkie Pie was at its head now, and slashed and gouged relentlessly at its eyes and snout as all the while it breathed those horrible green flames.
Then, my eyes widened in sheer terror.
The first dragon, the one that had crashed into the library, had shot a giant fireball straight at Rainbow Dash. I wasn't worried about her - she could dodge something like that in her sleep - but behind her was my cottage, and all the little bunnies and squirrels and birdies and other woodland creatures that I'd took under my wing, taken care of, and helped cure a mere five minutes ago.
There's nothing I can do. I'm too far away. Even if I flew as fast as I could, not even Rainbow Dash could get there in time.
The fireball struck my tree. The tree caught on fire, a pillar af bright green flames shooting into the sky. I could hear them. The screams. The animals were burning alive.
All was black. I could still hear the screams and Lyra's hammering. I could still feel the armor touching me. I could still smell the smoke from the fire. All was black. I was calm, somehow. I stood there, encased in metal, while my animal friends were dying and my human friends were about to die.
There was nothing else to do, so I felt inside myself, as weird as that sounds. I felt only three things. Sadness. Anger. Hatred. They were white hot spears of black flame inside me, just waiting to be hefted and thrown at some poor, unsuspecting fool.
I opened my eyes and saw two.
Then the armory collapsed as one of the dragons picked up half of a building and threw it at Applejack.
When the dust and smoke cleared, I was standing amidst a pile of rubble that once held a moderately large collection of weapons and armor, my friends lying around me, dazed and battered. The two dragons stood, side by side, roaring a challenge at the air. I looked at them. I didn't even need to activate The Stare. They couldn't look away. Good.
"Wha-What...are you?" One of them asked, transfixed, as my gaze held him frozen in place.
I ignored him.
"Which one of you burned down my house?" I asked calmly.
They pointed at each other.
I took a step forward, the armor around me making a loud clanking sound as I said, still in a calm voice, "You've killed my animal friends. You've burned them alive. And it's a very good thing the Elements have changed, because kindness could not be further from what you are about to go through. Now, Which. One. Of. You. Burned. Down. My. House?" I asked, emphasizing each word of the question with a step forward.
Evidently, they'd had enough of my talking, because they decided to breathe fire at me. Big mistake. I was perfectly shielded by my armor, and I saw the blue flames come from the muzzle of the dragon on the right.
I turned to the left one.
"Congratulations. I'm killing you last."
I turned to the right one.
"As for you..."
I reached down, still Staring at the dragons, and grabbed the closest weapon my fingers touched. A broadsword. I picked it up, and advanced towards the unlucky dragon, releasing the other one from The Stare as I did so. It tried to fly away, but I picked up a nearby ball and chain and flung it at him, entangling his wings.
"Neither of you get to leave until I'm done with you." I said, almost to the first dragon.
I activated my anklets and flew up until I was eye level with the dragon, my Stare petrifying it. I took the broadsword in my hands, reversed my grip, and stood right over the crown of the dragon's head.
Then, a huge flash of light burst out of nowhere, and a huge shockwave knocked me off my feet. I fell off of the dragon, hitting the half-collapsed library with a thud, and everything went black.
As my vision went dark, I remembered the time when Discord had reversed my Element, turning me cruel.
This was different, though...This was on purpose. I wanted this to happen. And, deep down...I still do. Maybe this change isn't quite as wonderful as I thought...
Chapter End