//------------------------------// // Friends Finding Out is Frightening // Story: One Pony’s Peculiar Predicament // by Zeg //------------------------------// One Pony’s Peculiar Predicament by Zeg Chapter III – Friends Finding Out is Frightening There it was, her secret laid bare before her friends, but they would understand, right? They weren’t strangers that would take one good look at her and immediately think she was a monster, right? She would still be Fluttershy to them, even if she was half that. Right? Then why weren’t they saying anything? Why were they only silently staring at her? Why did she have this horrible, sinking feeling in her chest? Did she make a mistake? Maybe she shouldn’t have told them, but now she couldn’t take it back. She wanted to take it back, more than anything. “Uh.” Fluttershy felt her racing heart nearly jump up into her throat when Rainbow finally began to say something. Her friend tilted her head slightly to the side, squinting her eyes a bit as a confused look overtook her, and she asked, “Sorry, you’re half what?” “A thestral,” Twilight answered. She stared a few seconds longer at Fluttershy as if she were in awe of what she was seeing right before her, then she shook her head and quickly looked to Rainbow. “They’re a type of bat pony, but the word thestral is hardly ever used anymore because of the negative connotations surrounding it.” When she noticed Fluttershy nervously fidgeting with her forehooves, she gently reached out and tried to calm her friend by placing one of her forelegs over Fluttershy’s withers. “You’re really a thestral?” “Half,” Fluttershy said just above a whisper. “My mother is a pureblood.” “Oh my gosh.” Rainbow looked Fluttershy up and down as if she hadn’t ever seen anything like her before. And then, suddenly, her forehooves pranced in place as an excited smile overtook her face. “My friend really is a vampony. That’s totally awesome!” “Um, that’s sort of not the same thing...,” Fluttershy said as she leaned away from Rainbow slightly and her ears splayed back. She had expected her friends to maybe be confused, possibly even upset, but was definitely not expecting them to be excited about it. Rainbow scooted herself a bit closer, sitting herself almost right in front of Fluttershy. “So, you really don’t burn up in the sun?” she asked, leaning in slightly. Fluttershy was taken aback by the sudden question, but her friend seemed genuinely curious. She sat up slightly, shrugging her shoulders lightly as she said, “No.” Rainbow sat back and considered the answer for a second. She narrowed her eyes slightly before asking, “You don’t sparkle in the sun, do you?” Fluttershy blink-blinked at the odd question. “Why would I sparkle?” “Right, that’d be silly,” Rainbow said as she casually waved a hoof. “Well, what about water?” she asked, but when Fluttershy only looked back at her with even more confusion she added, “Are you afraid of crossing water?” “Um, not particularly, unless it looks like a really deep puddle.” Rainbow lifted a hoof, scratching just behind her ear. “Oh, garlic! I bet you hate garlic,” she said with a knowing grin on her face. Fluttershy noticed the sigh coming from Twilight beside her, and momentarily glanced to her side before answering. “Actually, I do cook with garlic from time to time.” Rainbow furrowed her brow and lifted a hoof to lightly tap it against her muzzle while she thought. “Hmm... oh! Can you turn yourself into a cloud of bats?” The audible clunk of Twilight hitting her own forehead with a hoof drew Fluttershy’s attention over just long enough to noticed her friend shaking her head disappointedly. Fluttershy eyed Twilight as she cringed away slightly. “No, I don’t think so.” “Huh....” Rainbow seemed a lot less enthusiastic than she had been when the questions had started. She idly tapped a hoof on the floor, thinking something over while her eyes glanced back and forth. Her eyes then locked onto Fluttershy as they took on a suspicious squint. “What about wooden stakes?” The question drew a sudden, shocked glance from Twilight. Fluttershy honestly didn’t know how to even begin answering that strange question. Her mouth hung open as she strained to think of something to answer with, but all she could manage was, “W-wooden stakes?” “Yeah, if you got stabbed through the heart with one” — Rainbow poked Fluttershy gently on her chest — “would that kill you?” Fluttershy drew her forehooves up to cover her chest. Her mouth hung open, her voice frozen in her throat from the horror she had just heard. She shuffled backwards a step, shaking her head feverishly as she finally managed to say, “W-why would you even ask that‽ That would kill anypony!” “Rainbow! Cut it out,” Twilight said angrily as she quickly reached up and swatted Rainbow’s hoof away. She moved to sit herself next to Fluttershy, putting a comforting wing around her while she cast a disappointed glare back at Rainbow. “I swear, I’m going to take my vampony romance novels away from you.” “Hey!” Rainbow laid her ears back as she glanced back and forth. She clenched her teeth as she quietly growled the words, “That was a secret,” through them. “Some secret,” Twilight said as she rolled her eyes. She looked to her side to Fluttershy, giving her friend a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze with her wing before turning her eyes back to Rainbow. “You’ve got the wrong idea, not that there aren’t tons of other bad rumors about thestrals. Some of the more prolific rumors say they’re cursed pegasi or that seeing one will bring you bad luck, but that’s just silly nonsense. Thestrals are just an uncommon offshoot of the pegasi pony subspecies that have very pronounced physical traits that resemble certain species of bats. They’re not cursed, not unlucky, and definitely not vampiric. Those are all just old made up myths from centuries ago.” As Twilight finished up her short lecture, Rainbow glanced down to the floor with a disappointed look on her face. Fluttershy’s eyes darted between her two friends. “Um, that’s not,” she meekly said, her words trailing off into a mumble. “Not what?” Twilight asked as her ears perked up. Fluttershy took in a shaky breath. “That’s not all entirely true,” she said quietly. There was a pause, and her friends exchanged an unsure glance before Twilight asked, “What part?” “A few of us actually are vampiric. But, only a very few,” Fluttershy said, rushing her words toward the end. She went back to staring down at the floor as she fidgeted with her hooves, quietly mumbling, “It’s not something we really talk about.” Rainbow let out a single, triumphant laugh. “See, I knew it. She a vampony.” “I had no idea,” Twilight said as she looked to her side at Fluttershy. “Though, I suppose I can understand you not telling us.” “Oh, no, I don’t have vampirism,” Fluttershy said quickly, raising and waving her forehooves defensively. “I couldn’t possibly bite another pony. That’s just” — a strong shiver ran through her body — “no, ew. I couldn’t do that.” “Wait, so... you don’t have vampirism?” Twilight asked, looking quite confused. Fluttershy shook her head, and took in a deep breath to calm herself. “No, I didn’t get that from my mother, thank goodness.” “So your mom is a vampony?” Rainbow asked. She caught the disapproving glare that Twilight shot at her, and shrugged her shoulders as she said, “What? I’m just asking.” Fluttershy silently nodded. “Hm, but you didn’t inherit her vampirism?” Twilight asked, to which Fluttershy shook her head. “That’s really fascinating. Now I’m curious. Have you always been able to change your outward appearance like this?” she asked as she pulled her wing back and looked Fluttershy over. Fluttershy sat a little higher, feeling relieved that her friends seemed more curious about her heritage than afraid of it. “Well, most of us know how to do that. Most other ponies don’t really like us because of the rumors. But, like you said, we’re closely related to pegasi, so we’re taught how to make ourselves look like a pegasus when we’re young.” Twilight silently mouthed the word ‘wow’. “That’s polymorphic magic, fairly high level stuff, and usually only unicorns learn spells like that.” “Well, we can’t use it on anypony but ourselves.” “I see,” Twilight said with a quick nod. “Without a horn to direct the spell you can only use your innate magic to change how you look and not others.” Fluttershy smiled and nodded. “It takes a lot of concentration, but it isn’t that hard to do once you know how.” “Yeah, alright,” Rainbow said as she made a quick ‘timeout’ motion with her forehooves. “I’m sure this is all really cool somehow, but I brought Fluttershy here so you could help her out, not study her.” “Well,” Twilight said, sounding unsure as she looked to Fluttershy for a second before looking back. “If she’s always been like this, then she doesn’t really need my help.” “A-actually....” Fluttershy chewed at her bottom lip, taking a moment to work up the courage to reveal her embarrassing problem. “There is one thing that has been kinda weird ever since the fruit bat thing. I’ve had these really strong cravings for apples. Just this morning I woke up in Applejack’s orchard again, hanging from one of the tree branches. I don’t remember flying out there, but I guess I ate a bunch of her apples last night.” She crouched down, her ears splaying back. “Please don’t tell her. I don’t want her to be mad at me.” “I’m pretty sure the spell is completely gone,” Twilight said. She let out a low hum. “I wonder, is there any possibility that something else could be causing it?” Fluttershy sat back upright, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. It started just a few days later, and I’ve never experienced anything like this before. I just can’t help it when I see them, and even thinking about them is starting to make me want one so badly. They’re just so red, and... round, and... juicy.” An uneasy shiver ran through her body, and she involuntarily licked at her lips. Rainbow reached forward and said, “Whoa, easy there,” while gently patting Fluttershy on the shoulder. Fluttershy took in a few deep breaths to calm herself, nodding to Rainbow once the moment had passed. Twilight stood, making her way around her friends and toward the nearby bookshelves as she said, “Let me look up something.” Fluttershy and Rainbow patiently waited nearby while Twilight busily searched the shelves for a book. After a moment of waiting had passed, Rainbow spoke up. “So,” she began, waiting until Fluttershy looked toward her. “You’ve really never bitten anypony?” “No, never,” Fluttershy said, quickly shaking her head. “Really? Why not?” Rainbow asked while shrugging her shoulders. “Because, I don’t want to, and I don’t really need to?” Judging by the look on Rainbow’s face, her answer hadn’t come across as convincing. “Attacking some innocent pony to drink their blood doesn’t sound very nice.” Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. “Eh, I guess that’s a good enough reason. And you said your mom is a....” “Yes, she has vampirism.” “Right, vampirism. So I guess that means she bites other ponies?” Fluttershy paused for a moment, furrowing her brow. “I don’t know how she... takes care of it.” She realized that, despite growing up knowing about her mother’s condition, she had never seen nor been told how her mother kept it in check. The details had never been brought up since they weren’t something that she needed to know about. Rainbow seemed to recede deep into her own thoughts for a moment as she sat back on her haunches and crossed her forelegs across her chest. She stared off at the empty space ahead of herself for some time, and then finally wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. “Nah, I can’t really picture your mom descending on helpless victims in the middle of the night. That just doesn’t seem to work.” She turned her attention back to Fluttershy, moving on to her next question. “So, you didn’t get any super vampony powers from your mom at all?” “W-well,” Fluttershy said quietly. Her ears splayed back as she let out a light sigh. “I guess I did get one thing, though I really don’t like using it unless I just really have to.” “Really? Can you show me?” Rainbow said, her eyes lighting up with excitement as she inched closer. Fluttershy cringed away from her. “No, that wouldn’t be a good idea. And besides, you’ve already seen it.” Rainbow sat back looking quite confused, her eyes darting back and forth a few times before she asked, “I have?” Fluttershy nodded. “When I look into another’s eyes, I can make them feel uneasy or even afraid.” Though it seemed to take a few seconds, Rainbow’s eyes grew wider once realization dawned on her. “Your stare is a vampony thing? That makes it even more awesome than it already was!” Fluttershy cringed again as a rigid, forced smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, feeling unsure about Rainbow’s description of her ability. At that moment, Twilight approached with horn aglow and an open book hovering just before her nose, drawing Rainbow’s attention toward her. “Figure anything out?” Rainbow asked her. Fluttershy silently thanked Twilight for the momentary distraction. Even among her friends, being the center of attention for extended periods of time proved to be unnerving, and the topics thus far had made it doubly so. “I have a theory,” Twilight said as her eyes quickly scanned across the text. She glanced up over the top of the book to her friends. “The spell I used does its work by acting on the instincts of the target, modifying the instinctual desires. In the case of the vampire fruit bats, I adjusted their natural instinct for liking apples, trying to make them uninterested instead. But, then there was an unintended spell feedback glitch through Fluttershy’s stare and, well, we know what happened then,” Twilight said through a sheepish smile. “I’d thought it strange that a spell designed to adjust instinctual behavior ended up causing physical changes, but now I know that isn’t what actually happened. Given what this spell is intended to do, I think that it may have actually awoken a dormant instinct within you, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy blinked, and then furrowed her brow. “But, why would I have an instinct to bite apples?” “I’m assuming you don’t. But, if your mother is vampiric, there is a chance that an unexpressed vampiric trait lies dormant within you. So, I believe that the spell brought that trait out, but somehow confused it.” While Twilight had been speaking, Rainbow had snuck around to her side to take a peek at the book. She’d made quite a few faces, all of which conveyed that she really had no idea what she was looking at. She finally shook her head and asked, “Alright, so, what’s the fix?” “That’s just it, I don’t think there is one, at least not a simple one.” Twilight closed the book with her magic and tucked it under her wing. “It usually isn’t a good idea to try and cover up the side effects of one spell with another spell. Things can get really complicated really quickly if there are more unintended side effects, and it can end up causing a lot more harm than good.” “So I-I’m stuck like this?” Fluttershy said, a sudden panic rising in her voice. She held one hoof over her chest as it began to heave under her rapidly increasing breaths. “But it’s getting worse and worse. I can’t even think about apples without drooling on myself, and I keep changing without meaning to because of it.” She ducked down and folded her wings around herself, creating a leathery cocoon that she was barely peeking out of. Her voice came out quiet and muffled as she said, “I really don’t want everypony to see me like this.” Twilight sat herself beside Fluttershy, extending one of her wings to rest it lightly across Fluttershy’s back. “While I don’t think we should try to use magic to fix this, there might be something else that could help.” Fluttershy was coaxed out from under her wings by Twilight’s words. If there was any possible way to fix this, she wanted to hear it. “I’m pretty sure your natural instinct should have been to drink blood, not apple juice. The spell probably just confused that instinct because of the fruit bats, and since your body doesn’t really need apple juice, it isn’t calming your cravings when you drink it.” Fluttershy remained attentive, hanging on every word as her friend spoke. Her ears splayed back slightly when she saw Twilight’s sudden reluctance to continue. After a brief moment of hesitation, Twilight finally said, “I think you’ll need to try giving your body what it really wants.” Fluttershy cringed away, staring back at her friend in wide eyed shock. “No! No no, I can’t do that,” she said as she feverishly shook her head. “I can’t go out and... and... attack somepony. I just can’t!” Twilight reached out to her, taking Fluttershy’s forehooves with her own in an effort to calm her friend. “It’s okay. I wasn’t recommending that you attack anyone.” “Well, what am I supposed to do?” Fluttershy asked, a troubled look overtaking her face. “Do I just walk up to somepony at random and say ‘Hello, I’m Fluttershy. Can I bite you, please?’” She furrowed her brow deeply at the thought. “I really don’t think that would work.” Rainbow barely stifled a snicker nearby, lifting a hoof to her muzzle to hide her smirk. She cleared her throat and then asked, “Have you tried?” failing to keep an amused chuckle from coming out at the same time. Fluttershy only half glared, half pouted in response. “It’s just an idea,” Twilight said, giving Fluttershy’s hooves a reassuring pat. “We don’t have to try it if you’re really against it, but maybe we could find a volunteer or something to make it easier.” Fluttershy’s eyes drifted side to side for a few seconds as she thought over the prospect of actually sucking some other pony’s blood. She cringed and gritted her teeth when a shiver ran up her spine. “No. I-I think I need to go,” she said as she pulled away from Twilight. She quickly swept up the checkered blanket behind her, wrapping it up over her head and around her body like a hooded cowl as she made her way to the library door. “Now that I know what’s happening, I’ll find some other way to control this. I just need to think it through.” She unbarred the door and pushed it open, and only briefly turned aside to say, “Thanks for trying,” before she hurriedly rushed out the door and pulled it closed behind her. Rainbow and Twilight both stared silently at the door, and then slowly looked to each other. “Well, that was... sudden,” Rainbow said. Twilight let out a short sigh and turned to walk back to the book shelves. “I really was trying to help. I didn’t mean to scare her off.” She took the book out from under her wing, floating it up to return it to the shelf she had pulled it from. Rainbow stared thoughtfully toward the doorway for a few seconds longer, then looked back to Twilight asking, “You really think she needs to bite somepony to get over this apple thing?” “It was a guess more than anything. I really don’t have anything to go off of,” Twilight said as she glanced over the titles of the other books on the shelf. “Until just a few minutes ago, I thought vampirism was mostly just something that you read about in fiction.”