The Return of Flutterbat

by Stotter

Chapter 2: The Introduction of Evening Cloak

At the Night Guard training facility, located in a deep cave system in the same mountain that carries Canterlot, Fluttershy puts on her armor one piece at a time. Her only experience in putting on something like this is when she played Private Pansy in the Hearth's Warming Eve play, but real armor is definitely heavier. If she wore this as her normal pegasus self, she isn't sure she'd be able to fly in it, considering her below average wingpower. Having put all the armor on, she spreads her wings, about to test her vampire bat abilities, when a whistle pierces the brief calm. A drill sergeant yells outside the barracks.

"2100 hours, let's go! You're not pegasi anymore. This isn't time for bed, it's time to wake up!" She folds her wings and makes her way out of the armory and into the halls, following a group of bat ponies to their destination. They reach a line-up of about a dozen others, standing ready. Fluttershy joins them at the right end of the row. The drill sergeant before them had a stern expression that makes Ms. Harshwhinny look like Pinkie by comparison. He inspects the troops.

"I see we have some fresh faces around here." He notes, his attention directed near the end of the row. Fluttershy struggles to maintain composure as pressure previously only felt in Cloudsdale mounts on top of her. His next words are directed to the young stallion standing just to the left of her, to her slight relief. "You look like a colt fresh out of Canterlot Academy. You got a name little pony?"

"Sir, Evening Cloak, Sir!" Fluttershy looks over at him. He had a distinct look from the others. His eyes were, as opposed to amber, vivid amber. His coat, battleship grey. His wings and tail, therefore also his mane, were the same as the others but that's to be expected. His build wasn't as bulky as the others, more like Braeburn's.

"Did you even finish basic training before you traded feather for leather?" Evening Cloak didn't even skip a beat.

"Sir, I finished just last week, then became a bat pony two days ago, sir." He continues to get drilled.

"That didn't take you long, did it? What made you want to be in the night guard so bad?"

"Sir, I joined to protect Princess Luna. She's the reason I became a royal guard at all, sir."

"Colt, that has got to be one of the most kiss-hoof answers I've heard in my experience as a bat pony."

"Sir, I am being completely sincere. I would do anything to see her truly happy, sir." The others can only keep a straight face thanks to their discipline, a well tested characteristic of the guards.

"Very well then. Hopefully you'll be good for more than chariot pulling." He turns slightly. "Now you, I've never quite seen anything like you. It's one thing to see a mare in armor; much less a female bat pony, but this...you're clearly not a standard model bat pony. What exactly are you?"

Fluttershy meekly responds, the explanation strange to hear from others, let alone her own mouth. "A vampire bat pony."

Whether he actually didn't hear it due to it's softness or did but expects to hear 'sir' at both ends, either way he asks again. "You're going to need to repeat that and this time say it like you belong here."

She starts worrying that she's already screwing up, and so soon in her mission. She can't let herself fail now. She projects a little of 'new Fluttershy' into her voice to avoid being seen as not belonging. "Sir, I'm a vampire bat pony, sir."

"A vampire bat pony? I thought I heard a rumor the only vampire bat pony was a feral accident created by a certain novice alicorn." This touched a nerve in Fluttershy.

"You can say what you want about me, but my friend isn't just a novice. She's studied and worked harder than anypony I know to get where she is today. Oh, um, sir." A few of the others are aghast, mouths agape at that display. Others are just surprised she's friends with a princess.

"Well now, talking back like that. You think you're something real special, don't you miss vampire?"

Her wings lock up as what little assertiveness she had does the same. "Sir, no, sir."

"Oh by all means, no need for false humility now. In fact, how would you like to be the first through our obstacle course?" Words fail Fluttershy at this point, only able to make that cute squeak. Just then, Evening Cloak steps forward, his chivalrous nature kicking in earlier than he expected.

"Sir, I'd like to go first, sir." The sergeant is amused.

"Let's make this interesting. You two rookies can race with each other." He blows his whistle. "To the starting line, now." They fly over to the beginning of the course. Fluttershy mimics Rainbow's starting position hoping that will help while Cloak's starting position is reminiscent of a predator about to pounce. "Ready, set, go!" They go off, and Fluttershy manages to keep up with Cloak. The first portion of the course requires them to dodge the stalactites and stalagmites in a cave that narrows before reaching the exit. Fluttershy flaps just as hard as she can, still keeping up with Cloak. She wonders if this is because of her enhanced abilities or if he's holding back for her sake.

"Excuse me. I probably shouldn't distract you with conversation, but, you see I've never been that strong a flyer as a pegasus, so I was wondering-" The need to dodge begins as the space between the ceiling and floor decreases.

"I'm sorry, it's hard to listen like this. Can it wait till later." He does a barrel roll three times in succession.

"Oh, okay then." Fluttershy starts to see how she outmaneuvered her friends, as she avoid the obstacles just as well as this trained guard. They approach the end of the tunnel, where the trick is to fold their wings at just the right time to fit through the hole, then spread them again to avoid hitting a wall past the hole. Cloak aims for the hole and at the last second closes his wings and folds his legs, letting inertia get him through the hole. Fluttershy comes in too fast, but her instinct to fold her wings out of fear kicks in at just the right time to get through the hole smoothly in time.

Now they have moments to slow down, and Fluttershy is about to collide in midair with Cloak. He opens his wings at the right time, unaware of the impending impact. To save him, she spreads her legs and grabs him, spreading her own wings in such a way as to maximize their combined wings' surface area for wind resistance. Before he knows what's happening, together they make a soft sideways landing on the wall.

"We made it! You did great--I'm sorry, I haven't heard your name."

"It's Fluttershy. Sorry about flying into you."

"It's alright, everything's okay now. So you can let go of me." She gets off of him, blushing a little. "Now let's move on. This is still a race after all." He smiles, then flies off. "Come on." She flies after him. For the second part of the course, the walls are littered with melons that have targets painted on them. Several spears are on a nearby rack. "So Fluttershy, you know what to do here?"

"Honestly, I don't know the specifics."

"Stab melons in the center of the target until you've covered the length of the spear in them. You also have to be careful not to stab any with the princesses' cutie marks on them." She starts to notice that some of them have in the center of their targets a sun, a crescent moon, a heart, or a star. He quickly grabs a spear and gets started. Fluttershy follows his example but has difficulties stabbing both fast and accurately, especially considering her comparative lack of aggression. She prioritizes accuracy, falling behind Cloak. He's about to stab his last one when she swoops in and intercepts his strike. "Why did you block me?"
"Just look." On closer inspection, it has Celestia's cutie mark on it. He's dumbfounded.

"After I warn you to be careful, I almost make a big mistake. Thank you." Fluttershy gets her second to last melon.

"You're welcome. So let's finish this, together." They brohoof, then buck against each other's back hooves to launch themselves toward their last targets. They simultaneously finish this task, ready to move on to the final part of the course.

"This last part is a straight forward dash to the finish, where your wingpower is measured." Ordinarily, this would fill Fluttershy with anxiety, but after her performance so far, she feels confident that her wingpower will end up being a respectable amount. “So let’s give it our all.” She nods in agreement, and they go off.

They put everything into this race to the finish. Fluttershy finally understands why Rainbow Dash likes this kind of thing so much. Ironically, it’s in the form of a bat pony that she feels more like a real pegasus than she ever has before. Looking forward after her moment of daydreaming, she can’t see Evening Cloak. She thinks he must have pulled too far ahead of her, but feeling gusts of air on her tail, she starts to realize he’s actually right behind her.

To think, she’s actually in the lead. She’s not just racing against another pony, but winning as well. She gets so excited it gives her a boost in the form of her second wind. This from a pony who previously barely had a first wind. Before she knew it, she’d crossed the finish line a full second before Cloak. He takes a breather, sweating where he stands.

They were greeted by the sergeant. “Congratulations. You two finished with a wingpower of 16 and 15 respectively. You’ve earned yourselves each a nice shiny apple.” The sight of it stirs something inside her. When he tosses it in the air, she lunges at it; catching it in her mouth in midair, sucking out its juices with bestial desperation. She quickly regains her senses, embarrassed by the spectacle she made of herself. “So that’s how a vampire eats fruit.” She gallops away back to her room in the barracks. Evening Cloak follows after her.

[------]

Hey Fluttershy, I’m coming in.” She hides under the sheets on the bottom bunk. “Come on, it’s no big deal. So you really crave apples and eat them a little differently; that doesn’t matter.”

She pokes her face out of the sheet. “That’s not the point. I lost control of myself. I thought everything was fine now but I became that scary monster all the same.” She shrinks back into the sheet. He sits beside her on the bed.

“That’s ridiculous. You’re the least scary pony in here. So you go berserk around apples, and losing control can be scary, but it isn’t like you’re hurting anyone or doing anything bad. Besides, maybe you can learn to control it better; you’ll never know if you don’t try.” She comes out from under the sheet.

“I guess I can try,” she says with a whimper in her voice.

“Yeah, and I’ll be here to help however I can.” They go back out and they all spent the rest of the night doing troop exercises. At 0500 hours, it’s time for bat ponies to rest, an easy task with how exhausting their night was. Evening Cloak takes the bunk above Fluttershy. “Good morning; sleep tight.”

“Good, morning.” A quirky adjustment, but she’s too tired to think about it anymore. As she drifts off to sleep, she starts to dream. In her dream, she’s dressed up like Princess Luna, and Evening Cloak is kneeling before her. “You may rise,” she says, playing out this role unconsciously like she did the last role.

“My princess, I will protect you, however I can.” These words a clear amalgamation of his two promises in the waking world. It is at this point that the real Princess Luna gallops down on ethereal steps. She is amused.

“You can’t tell me this is a nightmare,” she says with a knowing wink. Fluttershy’s dream becomes lucid upon the entrance of Luna. Her cheeks take on the same shade of red as her transformed eyes upon realizing her situation.

“I, I, I don’t know what’s going on here, but it’s not like I was thinking this kind of stuff. My memories of the day, I mean night, just got all jumbled up that’s all.” Luna continues to smirk.

“Very well, you need not speak further about things of a personal nature. The dreamscape changes to depict the location she’s in. This is how she chooses to represent the dream within the dream. “Now tell me everything that has transpired.” She recounts the events of the night to Luna. “I see. I’m glad to see my guards are holding themselves up to high standards. That aside, the young stallion Evening Cloak intrigues me. I recommend keeping your eye on him.” There’s a bit of a pause. “He’s not suspicious if that’s what you’re worried about. Just think of it as looking out for him, as it’s clear he intends to do for you.”

“I understand. I will continue to do my best.”

“I know you will.”

Comments

[lunasroyalguard4life3]

That was GREAT imeanfirstIwaslikeohnothisguysgoing2creamfluttershyandtheotherguardswillbajerk2herthenIwouldhave2killthembutthentheEveningCloakdudeisallcoolandlikeImgoine2helpherok now that is done I would like 2 know y people r complaining about the spacing 2 me its fine also r we going 2 meat other guards or just this 1

[CanadianFluttershy]

OH GOD! DAMN I would like to see the faces of the rest of the mane six right now XD Shit would be hilarious XD I mean I don't know, something like, ponyville gets attacked and then flutters comes in and kick some flank like a boss. And then everypony is like FLUTTERSHY!. SHE'S A MUTHAFUCKIN BAT GUARD BITCHIES!!!!

[UfUnNyF1r3nd]

YOU DID GOOD!!

[Dr Judgement]

Interesting idea.. i'll watch and see where this is going,,

[Alex Warlorn]

If Fluttershy is going undercover, using her real name IS INSANE!!!