MacIntosh quietly closed the front door behind him before releasing a long-restrained breath. He had never actually had any reason to sneak out at night, so he had no idea how lightly or heavily his sisters slept (though Granny, he knew, could sleep through a tornado in the middle of the day as long as nothing touched her.)
It was the night of the full moon, so he decided to talk to Fluttershy's vampire alter ego. With any luck, perhaps she wouldn't be so... frisky this time. At least if she tries something again, the damage is already done anyway, he thought, shaking his head.
He really had no idea what to say to her as he approached the vampire fruit bats' portion of the orchard. Part of him hoped he simply wouldn't find her there, but he knew it was important that he talk to her, if only to clear the air about a few things.
Despite the darkness and the rather loud chatter of the bat colony, it didn't take long to find his target: the mare was sobbing rather loudly, her cries interrupted every so often by a bite of an apple. Mac sighed. Here goes...
MOONLIGHT HARVEST
by [insert brony here]
Chapter Six
"Hey, uh, Flutter... uh, Fluttershy... bat... gal," Mac stumbled over his words, but it got her attention.
She sniffled, looking down at the large stallion she'd assaulted three nights -- no, months -- ago. "What do you want?" she demanded. Despite her distraught state, she projected her voice in a way very unlike her host; she was definitely not Fluttershy no matter how Mac looked at it. "Come to berate me for ruining your life?"
"Now, hold it right there," he said sternly, but softly. "What ya did... well, it threw a wrench in things for sure, but my life ain't 'ruined' by any means. And no," he replied, "I came to talk to ya 'bout our situation movin' forward."
She scoffed. "What's there to talk about? I'm just a bat... in a pony's body..." Her voice began to break. "My whole purpose in life is just to eat, breed, and die..."
"Now that ain't--"
"I've got the breeding down!" she continued with a humorless laugh, not even looking at MacIntosh. "So now I'm feeding this little parasite, and in a thirtieth of a pony's lifespan, I'm gonna die, having accomplished nothing but raping you and eating fucking apples!" she finished, now sobbing loudly.
The stallion sighed and shook his head. "Look, that's part o' the reason I came out here to talk to you," he explained, causing her to stifle her cries a bit. "I know you ain't Fluttershy, but you're a part of her, and if I'm gonna raise a foal with her, well, I need to learn to accept all of her. Which includes," he looked pointedly at the bat pony, "makin' friends with you."
She sniffled, looking at him with widened eyes, but said nothing.
"So," he continued after determining she wasn't going to speak up any time soon, "first order o' business... what do we call ya?"
She scoffed and turned away, glaring at the apple impaled on her wing-claw. "What does it matter? I'm nothing."
"That ain't true, and ya better quit tellin' yourself that," he replied firmly. "I want somethin' to call you that ain't 'Fluttershy' or 'hey you'."
The mare shrugged with another sniffle. "Rarity called me 'Flutterbat' once."
Mac snorted, wrinkling his nose. "Nope, that just sounds like a parody," he insisted. "I got a little more respect for ya than that."
She looked back at him as if he had just told her the moon was green. "Respect?" she repeated incredulously, hiccuping afterward. "How have I earned your respect by ruining your life?!"
Mac rolled his eyes before running them over the tree the vampire was perched in. After a moment's contemplative silence, he gave the trunk a carefully aimed kick with his left hindleg, jolting her off the tree with a yelp. Before she could react, he had sat on his haunches and caught her in his arms, cradling her with a stern, but warm look in his eyes.
"Sugarcube, you ain't ruined mah life," he told her, looking her directly in the eye. "Why, if anything, you've done me a favor."
Her eyes widened. "Wh-what...?"
"I'm a pretty simple guy," he said earnestly. "There's only two things I care about: mah farm and mah family. The farm's always gonna be there... but mah family," he paused, his eyes going out of focus, "Applejack's always off doin' somethin' or other, travelin' and savin' the world... Applebloom and her friends are ambitious kids, they'll be off doin' their thing who-knows-where in a couple years, and Granny... well, she'll be leavin' soon too."
Flutterbat idly nibbled at her apple, her ears drooping back.
"I've always pictured mahself with a wife and foals," he continued after a moment, "but I keep so busy with mah work, hell, I've only been on one date since school, and that was Applebloom tryin' to hook me up with her teacher. I just don't have the time, and it ain't gonna help when the girls move out. But," he smiled down at her, "you threw me a curve ball pouncin' me like that."
She blushed, looking away as she squirmed out of his embrace and got back on her hooves, but he gently pulled her chin to face him again. "Hey, it wasn't what I had in mind, but I got a kid on the way now, and Fluttershy and I seem to be gettin' along well enough. Gives me a bit more to look forward to than runnin' Sweet Apple Acres by mahself til I keel over... so thank you."
The mare's jaw dropped, her apple hitting the ground soon after. "R-re-really?" she stuttered.
"Eeyup," Mac replied with a smile. "I really owe ya a lot, weird as that sounds. Which is why I wanna spend time with you when you, uh... I dunno, come out? Transform?"
She shrugged and grabbed her apple, dusting it off before taking a bite. "What would we even do though? Nopony's out in the middle of the night like this," she mused sadly, looking up at the full moon.
"Ravers," Mac replied simply.
"Do what now?"
"Dance clubs," he elaborated. "Bass music ain't really mah thing, but you might have a good time, ya never know."
She chewed on her apple, mulling over the idea. After a moment, she raised an eyebrow. "What if somepony recognizes you?" she asked. "You aren't exactly known for late nights out."
MacIntosh scratched his neck bashfully. "I could dress in drag," he offered. "Wouldn't be the first time."
The vampire couldn't stifle a snicker. "I-I don't think you'd pass as a mare."
"Did mah first few times out," he replied without missing a beat. "The Sisterhooves Social this year was a bit of a different story," he admitted, flattening his ears, "but nopony at the pub has ever seen through it, or at least they've been quiet. I've been hit on a few times...."
The yellow mare blinked in disbelief for a moment as she processed this information. "W-wait, you've done that before?!"
Mac somehow managed to visibly blush despite his deep red coat and the diminished light of the moon. "I... well... call me crazy, but sometimes I'm a little more comfortable when I'm somepony else," he explained.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," she agreed with a nod. "I do enj-- er, Fluttershy enjoys masquerades and costume parties."
"It's a shy pony thing, I think," Mac replied with a chuckle, to which the vampire smiled and nodded. "So what do ya say? It probably ain't a good idea to be at a night club pregnant, but we could go after the foal's born. Til then, I'd be happy to walk with ya at night, at least."
"That would be nice, I suppose," she conceded. "What about your work though? You need your sleep."
The stallion snorted and rolled his eyes. "If Applejack has a problem with me takin' one day off a month, I'll show her 'lazy'. She won't question me twice, I'll tell you that right now," he half-growled. His eyes widened as he realized he'd begun to lose his temper, and he cleared his throat before putting on a soft smile again. "Uh, anyway, I can't hang around tonight cuz I haven't arranged to take tomorrow off, but, uh..." he trailed off, giving the bat mare an inquisitive look.
She began to grow nervous as he silently chewed on his lip. Looking herself over briefly, she asked, "What? I-is something wrong?"
"No, no," he replied. "I just... Well..." he sighed and let his shoulders droop. "I'm probably crazy for even asking this, but... can Fluttershy... hear me? I-is she here right now?"
The vampire blinked. She hadn't seen that one coming. "Um... I'm not sure," she replied, scratching her neck with a wing-claw. "I can't really tell when she's, um, 'here' unless she talks, er, thinks to me. I-I guess?"
"So you can talk to her?" Mac asked with wide eyes.
I'm here.
She stuttered a bit as that odd feeling of a second mind came over her. "Y-y-yeah, um, I think she can hear you now."
The farmer cocked an eyebrow and tilted his head, chewing his lip for a second and looking into the mare's eyes. Something about them had changed, perhaps the way they caught the light. "Uh... alright, uh, Fluttershy," he addressed her, raising his voice a little, "I-I was hopin' I could talk ya into takin' a walk with me tomorrow afternoon. I figure you probably know the Everfree like the back o' your hoof, so I'd like to show you the hills beyond the orchard... Just, y'know, figured I'd ask while you were here...ish... 'stead o' walkin' all the way to your cottage and back after I finish mah work..."
That sounds lovely.
The vampire stood in silence for a moment while MacIntosh watched her expectantly. She shook herself when it occurred to her that only she could hear Fluttershy. "O-oh, right, um, she said 'that sounds lovely'," she repeated, blushing at her mistake. "Um, is it okay if she comes right after lunch?"
Mac smiled and nodded. "Eeyup. I'm sure Applebloom'll keep her busy if I ain't done by then."
She nodded. "Fluttershy is looking forward to it," she said, turning to fly back into the tree she had been bucked out of. "Go get some sleep, MacIntosh. I'll see you next month."
The stallion nodded, watching as she carefully selected a new apple from the tree. "Alright, you take care now," he said warmly. "And quit beatin' yourself up. Like I said, you've done me a favor. Good night." Without another word, he cantered toward his house, leaving Fluttershy's alter ego to her thoughts.