//------------------------------//
// 14 
// Story: Yonder Wandered Fluttershy 
// by Darkonshadows 
//------------------------------//

“This stare you speak of, is there a problem with it and what does it do? Also what other magic are you capable of?” The High Artificer had to ask as it seemed to be the root of a problem for Fluttershy.

“Well…” Fluttershy went on about the three kinds of ponies and their princesses that control the moon and the sun, powerful magical artifacts and how any pegasus was talented in manipulating the weather and water. When it came to talking about her stare, Fluttershy was a bit bashful and slightly afraid of what would come of it as she sipped her Aldebaran brew. “As for my stare… I don’t like to talk about it after what happened the last time I used it.”

“I’ve learned much about you, but you still haven’t heard much of me. I’m the High Artificer of the sisterhood of Aldebaran, as you already know we can do magic and would be termed witches by those who don’t understand us.”  The High Artificer went into a lengthy explanation about the history of their magic and how it worked, she even told Fluttershy about quark demons and why the secrecy was needed as others would doom the Aniverse should anything wake one of the bigger ones. Apparently the Aldebaran barely had enough power collectively to even pacify the bigger ones should they wake up, in fact ancient Aldebaran Artificers of the past died in the act of saving the Aniverse from one really enormous one. “To be frank we’re glad that we can keep it sleeping where it is, as long as no being bothers it the ancients can sleep peacefully and it stays pacified in slumber.”

“A being that can destroy whole worlds… it’s a really scary thought.” It was a bit too scary for Fluttershy who was ducking behind her mane. She couldn’t imagine the scale that was described by the High Artificer whose name she learned was Katrina Felicitous, but that it had to be kept in outer space in a very dangerous place to go to. The large quark demon was where only an Aldebaran or those with magical senses can enter safely, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable place to put it as if it were awake it’d be hurting a lot of people. She sipped her tea and picked up the cookie made from planet native nuts. “This tea is quite nice Ms. Felicitous and these cookies are a quite unique, but there’s something I’m wondering about. Why is every Aldebaran female?”

“Unless we birth males of another race, we’re not going to birth anything other than female Aldebaran… a side effect from the ancient battle with the Quark Demon as it left a large mark on our race.  Still, procreation is capable between two Aldebaran females as it has become an innate magical ability of our race. I just hope my granddaughter Felicia doesn’t have her heart set on her master as her views are elsewhere.” Felicitous sighed; her granddaughter absolutely adored her master Jenny. “I worry about that girl she’s so headstrong, aside from being scared of the Berserker Baboon she is a bit foolhardy.”

“I don’t think she’s that bad… well as far as I know. I think you’d know better about it than I would.” A small smile crossed Fluttershy’s face. “She kind of reminds me of my friend Rainbow Dash, always trying so hard to achieve her dream.” 

“Our magic may not be entirely compatible but we do share a lot of similarities. There are also a vast amount of differences; like these cutie marks do you know the history of what the first one was or when they started appearing?” Felicitous frowned sadly seeing Fluttershy look down.

“Nobody knows how the cutie marks started, just that they are always a reminder of what our special talents are. Mine is my connection to animals, it’s been said that it could be a reflection of a ponies personality.” Butterflies were docile creatures that flittered about peacefully in life and Fluttershy wouldn’t be overly violent with anyone. Well the Mane-iac was an exception as she was the Saddle Rager at the time and thus her ability to get angry was heightened. It showed how strong a character she was personally to not get angry throughout most of the comic book, at least until that firefly was added to the narrative for the purposes of making her save the day with force. She didn’t like that comic book. “You promised not to tell anyone else what I’m about to tell you, it’s about my stare ability and it’s a story I only know of because of what my friends told me.”

“You do not have to Fluttershy, only if you feel like you must mention any more as so far I’ve only seen three instances and you must have used it more than that.”  The High Artificer Felicitous was truly wanted to help Fluttershy get this off her chest and did not want to force the issue if she herself did not want to go there. She studied the ponies hoof and traced the fur on her legs with her fingers it was so soft. Fluttershy gave her a feeling of calm and caring, she tried to return the feelings through their connection.

“Well that’s the thing… the third instance and the first two all have something in common and I didn’t truly like what I was using my stare for at those times. The third time was the worst as I didn’t want to disappoint my friends to the point I went against my cutie mark.” Fluttershy looked down into the liquid in her cup as Felicitous ran her fingers over a hoof in an exploring ticklish manner, causing her to giggle once or twice. It went against her cutie mark to force nature to change unnaturally, her friends didn’t care about that at the time and that is why things went so horribly from what she was told. “I’m beginning to wish I had disappointed my friends at the time, everything would have worked out anyway in the end.”

It wasn’t just Twilights magic that caused the issue that Fluttershy couldn’t even remember very well except for an explanation from her friends. She knew that she was to blame for not pushing her side of the issue harder; she could have even vehemently refused to abuse her ability to stare animals down. The end result left her with an increased maddening taste for apples that plagued her for an entire week after the incident, that and she could have sworn she had fangs in her mouth but the feeling eventually went away.

“What is the common thing among these times of using your ability?” Felicitous didn’t see a connection between a red beast who breathed fire, three fillies and where the rather benign tainting of who Fluttershy was happened. She figured the taint was that she used her ability for a selfish purpose at the whims of another and thus it was abused to a terrible end. She however could not rule out that breaking away from ones cutie mark sounded to have some consequences on a ponies psyche. It was surprising that the taint didn’t appear to be worsening or dissipating, it just was and it seemed to be at peace deep within Fluttershy’s being.

“Well the first time was on a dragon, it was actually intelligent and not an animal, it didn’t bother me much since I did it to save my friends. The second time was on the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it wasn’t at full power but I still didn’t feel right using it on them.” Fluttershy paused, inhaled a deep breath and decided to get it out there. “The third time I used the stare on something intelligent well, it was me and it was by complete accident that my friend’s magic caused an incident.”

“So your stare works on more than just animals, it also works on intelligent beings and I’m guessing this third time had some disturbing adverse affect on you because it was misused?” Being the High Artificer counted for something, she had a long history of looking into magic and she could already tell that something went horribly wrong the third time. From what she could tell Fluttershy was better at communicating with wild or docile creature, more so then any truly intelligent being. She was positively amazed by what she was hearing about these ponies from Fluttershy’s home. “I’m glad that I’m able to bridge the gap in our tongues with my magic without causing you a previous form of discomfort.”

“Thank you for being able to do this, even if I don’t learn how to communicate quite like this. That last time, I don’t really remember much of what happened but my friends tell me I turned into quite a monster. ” With the way Pinkie told the story Fluttershy should count herself lucky she didn’t become a bloodsucking vampire. She lowered her head and looked off to the side of the table where this world’s neon colored grass could be seen. “To think I could have been hurting my friends and I wouldn’t have even known.”

“It was alright in the end was it not; you don’t seem the type to harm needlessly or even on purpose.” Now Felicitous was wondering what it felt like to be caught in the stare that can wrangle a large red beast of flames, but should she ask something like that of her guest. How would Fluttershy even take her even suggesting it? “I wish to study the effects of this stare on myself.”

“But… I’m not angry at you.” Fluttershy mumbled shyly.

“Why, do you need to be angry to use it?” Being a High Artificer was a tough job especially when you were as old as Felicitous, she didn’t believe Fluttershy could hurt her or would even want to.

“No, but it definitely helps.” Often did Fluttershy wonder why she had to be so weak about it, it was her ability so it shouldn’t control her or even have any power outside what she wanted to do.

“Still, I would like for you to use it on me. I need to study the effects; you know by the way our race performs magic that we aren’t very good at hurting living things easily. Mechanical creations on the on other claw... anyways, I would like to see how this works so I can better teach future generations to defend against it should the need arise.” As she was saying this the High Artificer was already palming an Aldebaran memory stone, she held up the stone only its color was a soft pinkish red instead of the usual Aldebaran red. It was a stone that an Aldebaran would only give to ones they can trust implicitly and it was enough to prove Fluttershy had earned her trust in case something bad happened to her.

“Um….” Fluttershy said trying to think of what to say about what was placed before her

“If anything should go wrong when you use the stare, I want you to show them this stone to prove that you meant no harm to me. Keep it I insist, for it is a gift and it has some of the magic of our people in it. Know that no other would be able to steal it from you no matter how hard they try since it has been given to you and you alone, it is called a memory stone and it’ll memorize the one who owns it and stay with them no matter the circumstances.” It wasn’t like Felicitous had never trust another being before Fluttershy, but this was a special occasion of meeting a sister of innate magical prowess from beyond the veil of deep space. “It will also always have a connection with Aldebaran the place it was made, as such I or anyone else I trust may be able to contact you. I know you are not staying on our planet forever, but you are welcome to rest here for long as you need as a guest and know that as you travel the voids of space that you’ll never be alone as long as you have the ears of our sisterhood in your… hooves as it were.” 

Fluttershy looked at the stone that was gently slid into position on the table in front of her, it reminded her of what the element of Kindness looked like before it turned into a butterfly shape only it was a rounder shaped stone and less angular. It was quite a beautiful shiny stone thing and it was a gift. Fluttershy took it and held it aloft looking at it in the sunlight. She looked to High Artificer Felicitous and she nodded as she stowed it in her saddlebags. It was hard for her to find any words to say, it was just given to her freely and she couldn’t really think of anything.

“Well okay… if you’re sure about this.” Receiving a smile from the old cat that leaned back releasing her hoof and simply looked her in the eyes, Fluttershy worked up her courage to launch a stare. Closing her eyes Fluttershy built up the tension in her body, her stare was a powerful thing and she only learned how to activate it manually after the defeat of the cockatrice in a staring match.

Opening her eyes Fluttershy stared directly into High Artificer Felicitous’s eyes, then the world around them warped slightly so their eyes were the only things they could see. They were locked in an eternity with each other; Fluttershy can see a kindly grandmotherly creature before her who had never wronged anyone if she could help it. There were a quite a few things that Fluttershy could see in those eyes that caused her to blush profusely as there was a twinkle of raunchiness about them.

“Well… I can say this much. The eyes are truly a window into the soul.” Peace, calm, kindness, friendly disposition, it overflowed High Artificer Felicitous like a steam train, the pony’s innocence and strength of spirit were beyond all measure of powerful in its own unique way. Her mind had no defense against it, she couldn’t call up any magic and it kind of scared her that her heart was laid bare to the mare staring so deeply into her very being.

“Um… excuse me for asking this, but is it okay if I ask right now if you can understand me?” It was odd for Fluttershy to see the regal looking figure seem to be like a scared, but overall, highly curious kitten and could see her offer of friendship as genuine as what Fluttershy was willing to give in return.

“I can, it is rather intriguing and you scare me somewhat. After a while I do believe you can learn to say all you need to with a simple gaze like this one.” They both relaxed and were at peace with one another, being a High Artificer and at the top of her craft would never have prepared Felicitous for an experience like this one.

A sphere, small in size barely bigger than an average sized rubber ball that would fit into the palm of someone’s hand flew in front of their sights glowing random colors. This tiny sphere of raw energy was a Quark Demon, used in the Aniverse famous Aldebaran sensors. A small Quark Demon such as this one would normally be consider harmless, at least to an Aldebaran. Flying into the foreign energy coming from Fluttershy and her stare, it wasn’t so harmless when it caused a backlash of magic to hit Fluttershy. The Aldebarans had a lot of time to build up immunity to little Quark Demons as they were native to the surrounding space around the planet, Fluttershy being a foreigner was not and was very much unprotected in this instance.

Fluttershy screamed out in pain as she felt like a hot iron was just driven through her eyes, she fell from her seat and grasped at her head with her hooves. Felicitous was immediately at her side and trying to talk to her, but she was being so loud. After a few moments she felt the pain slowly fall away and something strange overtake her, slowly she felt some movement in her mouth moving her tongue around she felt herself growing sharp canines.

Opening her eyes she started to panic and looked to her wings, she could vaguely remember this feeling and she didn’t like it one bit as the feathers started to conjoin together turning into the type of membrane one would associate with a bats. Her wingtips were warping to have clawed thumbs. She could only guess this is what her friends had described as what she looked like when she became flutter bat.

The most horrendous part of all of this for Fluttershy was that she was completely aware of all the changes going on in her body and it was very traumatizing to her. Her bones snapped, her ears crunched and expanded, her eyes felt like they were becoming bloodshot, her hair was becoming wild, her fur was getting ragged,  she had fangs and she could feel herself slowly losing control over her body. It wasn’t a pleasant moment to be a pony on the planet of Aldebaran.

It was only but a moment after the transformation was complete that Fluttershy hissed dangerously at Katrina Felicitous while snapping at her with her fangs scaring her off as she got to her hooves. In her head Fluttershy could see all this happening; only she was no longer in control of her body or her actions and she felt a deep hunger that she didn’t feel she could satisfy.

Slowly Fluttershy lost track of what was happening to her, was she attacking that Berserker Baboon? Ay-yoo-gah? There was a flash of blue hair. Her head was getting fuzzy, she needed to concentrate.  Blasts of energy, Katrina pinning her to the ground she was quite spry for an old lady only she gets free for a moment. Metal monsters trying to capture her and gave chase, she dance amongst them and wreaks havoc on them. She tried feasting upon everything that was colored red or looked even relatively juicy, something tasted like pineapple, why was her mouth full of copper all of the sudden?

The hunger was unending, she needed to feed, she needed food and the taste of apples was on her lips but there were no apples to be found or had anywhere to satisfy her lust.

A vortex... emptiness, darkness… monster, she was lost once again and had become a… sleep… she needed rest…