The Two Deaths of Fluttershy

by Draco Dei

Quarantine Period, Part 1: In which Freak-Outs are Prevented

Author's Note: Thanks to Draconic Quill, Alex Warlorn, Pepperjack, Shaiden, Grayshift, Gray Hero, and all my other pre-readers. Note that this story is best read in the "Normal" font size because I am using font size to denote volume in some cases and the codes I put in over-ride the selection on the readers' bar.

"Right then! Pinkie, if you could go find Adamant and Westwood and privately tell them the basics of what happened, that will let them decide whether to start spreading the word that an emergency came up and Princess Luna had to leave to deal with it, or to wait for orders from Canterlot. Princess Celestia will probably be sending them more detailed orders, but it can't hurt to get the ball rolling by giving them a little information. Then find Rainbow Dash and make sure that nopegasus accidentally puts a raincloud over Fluttershy's door before it is repaired, I will take Fluttershy to my basement. After we both are done with those things meet me upstairs and I will explain everything to you and Spike. Don't tell anypony else anything. If you think they should know, bring them with you when you come to the library."

"Okay!" said Pinkie, then galloped off for Ponyville as Twilight snatched the unconscious Angel Bunny off her back at the last second.

"Ummm... why am I standing on dirt? Not that I mind dirt. Rarity might, but she shouldn't have to be Ok with dirt."

"It is just a safety precaution. Now I am going to put up a more permanent force-field around you, so don't worry, OK?"

"....okay."

Twilight brought up the force-field spell around Fluttershy, concentrating on the intricate details via a mental check-list:

Two and a half pony-lengths in diameter to match it to the size of the circle Princess Celestia had cut out of the lawn?

Check.

Full sphere, including slicing through the soil below?

Check.

Long-lasting enough that she could keep it up for the next two days without any major exertion?

Check.

Transparent to visible light?

Check.

Opaque to all other electromagnetic frequencies?

Check.

Airtight?

Check.

Strong enough to STAY airtight even against a focused wind spell or other jet of air?

Check.

After dispelling the temporary force-field inside the more permanent one, she raised the whole thing gently up, taking an inverted hemisphere of soil with it.

"Sorry about the hole in your lawn, I am sure somepony will fill it in very soon." said Twilight, picking up the disk of sod and setting it into the bowl-shaped hole in the lawn where it slumped to follow the shape of the excavation.

"That's alright..."

"Now then... and I can't believe I am saying this, but... I think you should build a little fort out of your luggage, and then hide under your blanket in the middle of it. I could try to make it so no light can leave the force-field, but I am already going to be messing around with its auditory characteristics to keep sound out and I want to be able to keep an eye on everything so I don't jostle you too much. Both for your sake and for Princess Luna's I want as few ponies as possible to know you are inside the bubble until we can explain it to them properly."

"Ok. I can do that..."

"I am going to tweak the shield so you can't hear anything from outside. I will still be able to hear you, so don't be afraid to tell me if you need anything."

"okay."

Suiting word to deed, the unicorn walked slowly towards Ponyville, carefully floating the glowing translucent purple sphere in front of her as Fluttershy started construction on her fort... and fortunately enough, as Twilight noticed, a fort with no gateway.

---

Several Minutes Later:

"Hey Twilight, what is that?" asked Lily pointing to the sphere, which was now floating at a level above that of the highest of the banners criss-crossing the street.

"Oh, just something I am doing for Princess Luna."

"Hey, about that, where did she go?", asked Lily, falling into step next to Twilight.

"Oh, something came up and she had to leave to handle her end of things. It actually relates to what I am doing here."

"Oh my! Sounds serious!"

"Oh, no, not at all. Between Princess Luna, Princess Celestia, and myself we have everything under control. I will be sure to make an announcement if I need anything."

"Ok, well if you are sure...", said Lily, still a little nervous.

"Very sure."

"Well... see you around!"

Twilight waved a quick goodbye, then continued towards the library, deflecting similar inquiries from other ponies.

Arriving at the library, she opened the door with her magic as she brought the bubble down to ground level.

"Oh, hello Twilight. What have you got there?", said Spike.

"I will explain after I get inside."

"Ok, but I hope you aren't going to wreck the door again like you did with... that which we shall never speak of again."

"Oh ye of little topology. Just watch.", said Twilight as the bubble began to very slowly change shape.

"Fluttershy? How are you doing?" inquired Twilight, having just removed the sound-dampening properties from the bubble, "I have to rearrange things so I can get the force-field through my door."

"umm... ok."

"I am going to need you to come out from the fort so I can keep an eye on you to make sure I don't squish you. Just look right at the door and you should be fine. It is about twenty degrees counter clockwise from your pillow."

"Ok," said Fluttershy emerging "But what does it matter which direction I look?"

"I will explain in just a second."

Twilight waited until Fluttershy had draped her blanket over her pillow and Twilight had rearranged the luggage a bit within the cramped confines of the bubble to allow Fluttershy a clear space to stand at the front, then spoke. "Well, it is just that it IS still Nightmare Night, and you don't like to go out on Nightmare Night."

"Oh..." said Fluttershy, shrinking down against the soil in front of the ring of luggage she had just vacated.

"That's good, keep a low center of gravity, and tell me if your ears start popping!" said Twilight chirpily.

"Umm... I'm a pegasus, so I have really big Eustachian tubes. I mean I know I don't fly quite so much, so it is easy for ponies to forget. But if you think it will be a problem, then I suppose I should."

"No, actually that particular factor had slipped my mind. Thank you for bringing it up! I don't think we should have any problems."

Twilight continued to stretch the force-bubble out, stopping occasionally to re-arrange the luggage with a combination of directions to Fluttershy and her own telekinesis.

"Darlings, what ever is going on?" asked Rarity as she trotted up, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Big Macintosh behind her. All except Pinkie Pie were wearing their costumes.

"I will explain once I...", started Twilight as she looked over her shoulder, "Oh good grief! Rarity, go home and change out of your costume."

Twilight glanced back at Fluttershy, glad to see the pegasus still staring resolutely at the library's front door.

"Why, whatever for?" asked Rarity, slightly offended.

"I'll explain later. I just forgot what you were wearing. My fault. Actually, on second thought, just go around behind that cart over there and wait until I send somepony for you."

"Very well then, but I shall expect a full explanation."

"As soon as I possibly can. SPIKE! Open the basement door!", said Twilight sliding the force-bubble, which now had exactly the same cross-section as the door except precisely one hoof smaller in both directions, into the main room of the library.

"Got it!", said the dragon scurrying to do as his boss instructed.

Twilight carefully lined the force-field up with the passageway to the basement as Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Big Macintosh came in. Luckily it was a straight shot until one got into the basement itself which was open enough that she would be able to just float the bubble directly down to a clear spot.

"Pinkie Pie, come with me. Spike, take a letter, but don't send it unless I tell you to, or something goes wrong.", she said, shutting the door behind her with a bit of telekinesis.

"Ok."

"Now wait a minute! Pinkie Pie, why did you bring Big Macintosh here?" inquired Twilight curiously.

"Well, I saw him talking to Applejack, and they seemed sort of worried, because Luna made a big noise, and then Spike had been asking him some weird questions, and I thought that sometimes knowing a little is worse than knowing a lot, or at least that is what someponies say, and I would have explained what I knew, but you said to not tell anypony anything, but just to bring them with me to the library.... Oh, and I would have brought the mayor, but she looked so super-busy trying to keep everypony calm and..."

"That will do Pinkie, I understand. He can stay. It isn't like he talks enough to actually say anything he shouldn't..."

"Nope.", said Big Macintosh, demonstrating her point by speaking for the first time since he had arrived at the library.

"Anyway Spike, that message should read as follows: 'Force-field breached at Ponyville Library.' That is all."

"Got it."

"Send that if you hear a fight, see a strange yellow mist, or see Fluttershy outside the force-field. She has a... condition that has a teeny tiny chance of making her violent."

"Shouldn't yah be takin' her to the hospital then?" asked Applejack.

"That wouldn't help. It is a mutant strain-"

"Yeep!" shouted Fluttershy looking as if she was about to faint.

"As I was saying Fluttershy, it is a mutant strain that looks like it is benign in nature. Both Princess Celestia and myself have inspected her mind and found that there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, even under extreme conditions. This is all just a safety precaution. We will know more in about two days, and then we can all... err... efforts on a cure can be started."

"Can't yah talk plain? What is this disease?"

"Well, it is so... mutated that we shouldn't really use the original name, so we are calling it eripmavism for now. But I need you to quiet down for the moment so I can concentrate on getting this bubble into the basement. I promise I will explain when I get back."

"Umm... could you please tell me what is going on? If you don't mind that is?" said Fluttershy.

"Sorry Fluttershy, it is just that explaining it to you is scientifically unwise. It could distort the results of my attempts to analyze this so I can help you."

"Do... do I... do I have b-b-brain cancer?"

"No Fluttershy, I can honestly say that you do not, in any way, shape, or form have brain cancer." Twilight said, face-hoofing.

"Oh, because that would explain why you might think I might start acting funny and I just though..."

"Uuuuugh... Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye, you DO NOT have brain cancer. Now will everypony pretty please be quiet so I can work here?"

Fluttershy shrank away from Twilight, trying to squeeze herself into the the rounded point at the front of the force-field. Twilight sighed and began threading it through the hallway.

"Sorry Fluttershy, I realize this is hard on both of us. Pinkie, Spike, come along. Applejack, as soon as the basement door is closed, go get Rarity, and have her get out of that unlucky choice of costume. I'm in no rush, but I refuse to explain ANYTHING to ANY of you until she is out of it. But don't rush her either, that would be even worse in the long run."

Soon three ponies and a dragon were downstairs.

"Ok, Fluttershy, we need to get this force-field back to being a sphere and enlarge it somewhat, but after that, is there anything I can get you?"

"Umm... well, I brought some knitting, but maybe a book?"

"Great, how does Thifel's Bird Migrations sound?", said Twilight starting to reshape the force-field.

"Sure, but... can you please tell me a bit more about what is wrong with... Oh! I just remembered! If I'm contagious, shouldn't you be taking precautions for yourself? And what about all my animals? They could catch it in my house. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh de-"

"Fluttershy, don't worry about it. The disease you have isn't very easy to transmit, except for the fact that it MIGHT alter your behavior so you would be more likely to transmit it."

"Like... rabies? Do I have rabies? Please tell me, am I going to die? Like some sort of magical super-rabies that the shots can't stop?"

"Fluttershy I swear to you, you aren't..." Twilight caught herself up short.

"Drat it all," she thought, "sometimes being smart has its downsides."

"That is to say," she said carefully, "you don't need to worry about dying. Your state of physical health can only get better from what it currently is. It certainly isn't going to get any worse. Well, as long as you do a few very very simple things, like eating properly."

"Will I have to get shots? I don't like shots. I curl up in the corner and the doctor just sticks me and then I go home and hide under my bed for an hour or two... but don't tell my animals; they are so much braver than me... speaking of which, why is Angel Bunny still asleep?"

"Well, I guess I could wake him up but I am worried that... watch out for that suitcase! It's about to fall over!"

Fluttershy sprang over with a single flap and steadied the suitcase.

"Actually, if you could help me put all the luggage on the highest mounds of dirt. They are starting to get buried as I squish the dirt in."

"Ok.... oh, wait a second... you said that my ears might pop earlier? I mean if I weren't a pegasus, but it is totally ok that you forgot!"

"Yes, I did say that."

"But... doesn't that mean that this force-field is airtight? Won't I suffocate?"

"I... that is... err... the force-field lets in exactly as much air as you need.", said Twilight with a strained grin, glancing around nervously. "That amount being zero." she mentally added.

"Oh... ok... but about Angel Bunny?"

"I can.... eh, I suppose a little complexity will be worth the effort... I was just worried about him freaking out and damaging my equipment.", the unicorn replied, floating the unconscious lagomorph off her back, and up to Fluttershy's eye-level outside the bubble. Extrusions of force from the outside of the bubble bent themselves into a cage around the rabbit. After this was done, Twilight shot a ray of energy from her horn, dispelling the enchanted sleep that Luna had placed upon him.

Angel Bunny yawned and stretched... then promptly started kicking and biting at the bars of the cage.

"Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny. Angel Bunny." repeated Fluttershy softly. Twilight just rolled her eyes and continued reshaping the bubble, enlarge it to more than twice its initial diameter, careful not to distort the cage too much.

As the pegasus continued to try to calm her berserk pet, Twilight took a moment to probe discretely at Fluttershy's chest with her telekinesis. Most unicorns could sort-of feel the objects their telekinesis affected... Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, could instantly tell silk from satin from without looking. She smiled as she confirmed her educated guess.

"Fluttershy! I know what you are doing is really important, but I need to go explain things to our friends, so I need you to pay attention to what I say now."

"Eek! Well, he probably just needs to tire himself out before I will be able to get him to listen anyway..."

Twilight stood up on her hindlegs and placed one hoof on her chest. "Do this."

*Thump*, *Claw*, *Bite*, *Kick*, *BiteBiteBite* went Angel Bunny.

"You feel that?" asked Twilight, shouting somewhat.

"Err... my heartbeat?"

"Yeah, that! Great! If you get scared I want you to do exactly that. Ok?"

"Ummm... Ok?"

"Ok, bye. I'll be back as soon as I can with that book. You do what you need to for Angel Bunny. I'm going to have to turn the bubble impervious to sound... actually I think I will need to instead throw a secondary bubble around you and Angel Bunny that will let sound out, but not in."

"Ok..." said Fluttershy, then turned her attentions back got her rabbit "Angel Bunny, calm down, it is okay, this is for my own good, and Twilight will let you out as soon as you are really calmed down I am sure. So could you maybe please calm down a little bit? For mommy? Pretty please?"

Twilight cast this last spell, then headed up the stairs, trailing Spike and Pinkie Pie, leaving Fluttershy to her pleading. Returning to the main room of the Library, she found all the rest of her closest friends, including Rainbow Dash and Rarity, plus Big Macintosh eagerly awaiting her.

"Ok everypony...Rarity, I hope you didn't damage your wonderful costume?"

"No I did not, but may I inquire why it went from 'good grief' to 'wonderful'?"

"It always was wonderful. I can think of precisely six things you have made that were not attractive. Five of them were our fault, and the other was successful BECAUSE it was ugly, thus preserving the lives you, me, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. However, that doesn't change the fact that it was completely inappropriate for reasons you had no way of knowing."

"I... see." said Rarity.

"Stop talkin' fancy and tell us what we needa do ta help Fluttershy."

"Luna accidentally hurt Fluttershy, she will need blood in the days to come, maybe a LOT of blood."

"What? Fluttershy's fine, you need to get your eyes checked." scoffed Rainbow Dash "Unless there is something IMPORTANT you aren't telling us?"

"My eyes are working fine thank-you-very-much, and what I said was not only technically accurate, it also sums up the relevant aspects of the situation." said Twilight calmly.

"Hmmm... I dunno... Fluttershy didn't look hurt ta me, 'n' she didn't sound like she was in pain neither. But ifin' you say there is something wrong Twi, I reckon we should trust ya. But Twi, you're going to have to explain yerself just ah mite more."

"Yeah, and besides which", interjected Dash before Twilight could respond to Applejack's statement, " I didn't see or hear any sort of explosion, so to hit Fluttershy Princess Luna would have had to be intentionally flying at her... and I don't know anything about spells, but you can't hit something by accident any more than you can crash into something specific by accident."

"I on the other hand do know spells. Rainbow Dash, think about the time you crashed into me because... there was a problem with the catapult."

Applejack looked very slightly ashamed at the mention of the incident in question, but with all eyes on Twilight, nobody noticed.

"Rarity, she stumbled her horn, and the spell in question had some of the most comprehensive self-targeting methods I know of."

"Good gracious! Whatever was she originally intending to cast and at whom?"

"Whom... well, I shouldn't say who, because none of this is their fault. As for what... well, I made up a name for it... you have to understand, this isn't what it sounds like. Please, please, please understand that. It turns out that when Princess Luna was purified, her magic was purified too."

"But of course! No unicorn can cast a spell that is fundamentally against their nature! Even I know that!" said Rarity in posh tones.

"Yes... but it turns out that the Elements of Harmony... well it looks like they can take a spell that IS against somepony's nature, and make it into a spell that ISN'T against that pony's nature... like spelling a word backwards to change what it says. Which, coincidentally, is what I did in coming up with the name."

"So what did you name it?", asked Rarity.

"Its an erip-", Pinkie Pie managed to say before a zipper appeared on her mouth.

"Sorry Pinkie, but I have to say this in the right order. What you all have to understand is that both Princess Celestia and I looked inside Fluttershy's mind and NEITHER of us found ANYTHING evil. Princess Celestia even looked into her mind as she was doing something that should have provoked very evil desires if there were any to be provoked. She is FINE in the head."

"And physically?", asked Rainbow Dash.

"Well, she needs to stay in the basement for the next three days, and after that the only problem I foresee is getting her to eat properly, and maybe some problems working around the stream and places like that."

"Eating properly? She is depressed?", asked Rarity.

"Err... no, she isn't depressed, although we should maybe watch out for it."

"Wait a second...", said Rarity looking at Dash's Shadow-bolt costume and Big Macintosh's "Mac the Knife" costume,"If I needed to change out of my costume, but Dash and Big Macintosh didn't then does that mean..."

"You can say it now Pinkie."

"She is an eripmav! Which is like a vampire, but spelled backwards because vampires are nasty-wasty and Fluttershy is still nice!" explained Pinkie, confirming Rarity's suspicions.

"Well... we are almost sure she is still nice all the way through. Princess Luna insisted that Princess Celestia examine her carefully. Princess Celestia seemed to think that Luna was being a bit silly though, and thus was treating the whole thing as a formality. If there is no evil magic in Princess Luna, that will mean that we can let Fluttershy out of the force-field. About twenty-four hours after that, Princess Celestia should be finished adjusting the arcane nature of sunlight so it will not hurt her."

"Why that no good, two timin', hell-queen!" growled Applejack.

"Well... I dunno... if the Princess says it is OK, then maybe we should wait on things..." said the Element of Loyalty, rubbing one hoof behind her head and looking uncertainly at the floor.

"I concur Rainbow Dash. It simply wouldn't do to jump to conclusions. Besides which, we really ought to focus our energies on helping poor Fluttershy.", said Rarity putting her nose in the air.

"Precisely. Now Princess Celestia did hold out hope for... actually, Big Macintosh, I am very sorry, but I am going to have to ask you to step outside for a second... and you too Spike, just to be on the safe side. All I can safely say is that we have a hope of reversing Fluttershy's condition."

"Whaaaa? Can't you just whisper or something?" said Pinkie.

"Heh... oh yeah... ", said a chagrined Twilight, "If you two could please back away, close your eyes and put your fingers and hooves in or over your ears."

The dragon and stallion did as requested, while the four friends leaned in close.

"We are going to try the Elements of Harmony, but Princess Celestia really didn't seem to expect it would work."

"What?" said Rainbow Dash before remembering to lower her voice "If she is still Fluttershy, why couldn't she use her Element?"

"I concur that that part is unlikely to prove problematic. What I do think might be a problem is that the Elements of Harmony aren't nearly as effective at healing injuries sustained from non-evil sources. Sure they regrew Rarity's tail, but that is just hair. Even the Princesses can't cure vampirism, and since this ISN'T evil, the Elements might not do anything about it."

"Oh... that makes sense... in a weird sort of way. Hey, do you think they could have cured my wing that one time?"

"Maybe. I never thought about it. But we can't go hauling them out for every little thing..."

"Every little...!", whispered Rainbow Dash harshly.

"Look, you can talk to Princess Celestia about it when you see her next. Does anypony else have any questions?"

"Well... what if poor Fluttershy is tainted in some way and can't use her Element, then how would we know?" asked Rarity.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but... I would know. I was paying attention, and in my right mind when we activated the Elements outside the library while you were all under Discord's spell. I remember that feeling pretty exactly, it was different from when we defeated Nightmare Moon or Discord, and I am fairly certain I can separate out the part that was because of Spike replacing Rainbow Dash from the parts that were because of the rest of you having been forced into betraying your Elements."

Rarity looked a little embarrassed at the last part, but let the politeness pass.

"Alright, alright." sighed Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes.

"Anypony have any other questions about that aspect of things?"

Four heads shook in negation.

"Spike! Big Macintosh! We are done discussing secret stuff!" shouted Twilight.

"Ok Twilight." said Spike.

"Now then... I am going to go drop the extra force-field I put up so that Fluttershy couldn't overhear us discussing the more scary aspects of her condition, and then I am going to track down Doctor Stable and get some food for Fluttershy. You should probably go talk to her, but remember to call her an eripmav so she doesn't totally freak out."

"Roger that!"

"Gotcha." said Applejack.

"Okie Dokey Lokey!"

"Of course my dear."

"Certainly." said Spike

"Eeyep."

"Oh, and Angel Bunny may still be freaking out, thinking that Luna and I are doing something bad to Fluttershy. Err... Big Macintosh, maybe you should head out instead, because Fluttershy doesn't know you as well as she does the rest of us and... I dunno, what do you think Applejack?"

"I'm comin'." said Big Mac unexpectedly.

"Well, if you are sure..."

Big Macintosh said nothing.

"Well big brother ifin' you say you got good reason ta come, you got good reason ta come."

"Right." said Twilight.

"Pardon me, but I have a question. It occurs to me that if, as you say, her condition has NOT warped poor Fluttershy's mind, then it might be beneficial for us to throw a spot-light on the more beneficial aspects of it."

"Yeah! Totally! She might actually be able to out hoof-wrestle Applejack now!" said Rainbow Dash, prompting a glare from the cow-pony, "...or at least Pinkie Pie."

"Yes, but at the same time, I can't help but wondering if we should bring up any oddities of her current state of existence to her. It might actually distress her greatly."

"But she's going to live forever!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Ooo... yeah... that will be super duper fun!"

"Err... I wouldn't be so sure girls. Her mind isn't adapted to immortality... she may need to cultivate friendships with the Princesses. I mean... I think that Fluttershy would take it pretty hard if one of us were to die... how would she handle all of a sudden realizing that all her friends are going to die if she is going to stay forever young? I asked Princess Celestia how she handled it one time. It was... weird. She really isn't like an ordinary pony in some ways. Her mind works differently sometimes." said Twilight.

"Well, let's not mention that part..." said Rainbow Dash.

"Actually, we shouldn't assume anything. I think she can fade out of mirrors, but I don't empirically know any other things she can do that a normal pony couldn't. She likes the taste of blood, and I found something in her head that makes her NOT like the taste of anything else as far as I can tell. I might actually be able to remove that without even bringing the Elements of Harmony into it. Anyway, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, that means no more cupcakes or other food or drink for the moment unless you really think it is worth the chance of nauseating her."

"But she really don't cast no reflection? I always thought that was a load ah hooey. I mean it seems like a disadvantage ifin' every fancy lady can tell what ya are jus by pullin' out her face powder."

"Well actually, that is a very interesting point Applejack! You see what it comes down to is that the reflective phenomena is-"

"Mare, don't waste our time when Fluttershy is all alone down there in your basement with only that jerk of a rabbit for company." said Rainbow Dash.

"Ugggh.... actually? You know what Rainbow Dash? You are absolutely correct. We can talk about it later. It has its uses but they have to do with magic, and the mirror thing is just a side-effect, and at this point I think it is something she can control."

"So, let's go." said Applejack, heading off for the basement.

"Do you suppose I should burn my vampire costume in front of her, or should that be a private affair?"

"I... don't think that will be necessary Rarity." said Twilight, as she grabbed a book off the shelves and lead the way back to the basement.

Arriving in the basement, the group discovered that Fluttershy had managed to improve Angel Bunny's disposition from "blind rage" to "sulk".

"Hello Fluttershy!" said Pinkie Pie as soon as the larger force-bubble vanished "We are all here!"

"That's very nice of you all.", said Fluttershy around a thermometer.

"'S the least we could do fur ya."

"Here is your book." said Twilight pressing it up against the force-field, forming a second layer outside of it (the first of several such temporary layers she would be forming in the coming days), and then opening a hole in the inner layer long enough for Fluttershy to put the thermometer down on a suitcase and take the book.

"Thank you very much Twilight."

"Oh, it is no problem! I was just about to head out to get you something to eat. Is there anything you else you need before I go?"

"I think this thermometer is broken, do you maybe have another one I could use? I mean if it isn't too much trouble?", said Fluttershy.

"Ummm...", Twilight glanced around to three different places she could see thermometers in her underground lab from where she stood, "I am hereby declaring thermometers contraband for your quarantine period. Sorry, but I gotta do this like I think Princess Celestia would want me to do it. Actually, I am probably completely over-reacting, but better safe than sorry."

Twilight made another 'air-lock' and extracted the thermometer. Glancing at it she grabbed a quill and scroll and noted down the temperature for posterity, along with an estimate of the time it had been out of Fluttershy's mouth and the current time. "This should help verify that newly made eripmavs cool at the same rate as other corpses." she thought to herself.

"Anything else?" asked Twilight sweetly.

"Well, if you could make Angel Bunny's cage a bit bigger, it might help me reason with him."

"I... I would love to Fluttershy, but I have to pace myself. All these adjustments are wearing me out, and we still have almost two days ahead of us while Princess Celestia examines Princess Luna. Do you think it can wait until I get back?"

"Ummm... okay, but maybe you should also know that I used my alarm-clock to take my heart-rate, since you said I should feel my heart if I got nervous, and I was nervous, but I thought I should do more than just feel it, and anyway, it seemed really slow to me, especially for how nervous I was. I mean I have been more nervous than this before, but I was pretty nervous. Oh! Maybe my alarm-clock isn't working right either, I mean I am sure I am not as good at keeping my things working right as you are, but I just thought I would mention it..."

"It is Ok Fluttershy, I can honestly say that it very much makes sense that one of the symptoms of eripmavism would be a heart-rate that is that of a sleeping pony, no matter how nervous you get or how hard you are exerting yourself."

"Oh! And I should mention that Twilight thinks that several of the other symptoms are being totally awesome!"

"Hay! Twilight said we weren't supposed to talk about that yet!" said Pinkie Pie.

"Actually, I think that Rainbow Dash explained the matter quite well." said Rarity.

"I concur, but I really need to go and get Fluttershy some food. Spike, where are my saddlebags?"

"Next to your bed."

"Thanks! Goodbye everypony!"

Pinkie Pie pulled out her party cannon and started blasting as Twilight left.

"So, how ya holdin' up thar sugar-cube?"

"Umm... don't worry about me, I just don't want anyone else to catch what I have."

"Oh, doncha worry 'bout that none. I reckon that's Twilight's problem, seein' as how she's the one that has ta keep this here force-field up." said Applejack, approaching to tap a hoof on the shimmering purple surface.

"Yeah, but she said I might go crazy and try to spread the infection, like it was rabies or something, but she said it wasn't rabies. She said it is something new, but she seems to know more than she is telling me."

"Yeah, well, she told us a little bit, and I gotta say I can sorta understand why she didn't tell ya too much."

"Indeed... why if you actually had become what you almost became? It's simply too dreadful to think about! As it is, the fact that you have been speaking politely to us throughout this and not attempting any gauche acts of violence quite assures me that this is all a misunderstanding."

"Eep! I would never hurt anypony... I mean I guess I d-did when I was t-too self-confident. I mean I-I can't believe I s-said that stuff about y-your d-dresses, and I am so s-sorry and-"

"Which you learned your lesson from. As far as I am concerned the past is quite past."

"Yeah, it's like... we all crash some time, the difference is whether you get back up in the air and try that stunt again. You understand what I'm saying Fluttershy?"

"ummm... I g-guess? I'm not really much for stunts. I'm not brave like you."

"Fluttershy, sometimes you are such an knucklehead." said Rainbow Dash fondly.

"i'm sorry..."

"Hay! I didn't mean it like that."

"Naturally not! I do rather suspect that it is a bit of a lost cause getting Fluttershy to understand that though."

"Well, mayyyyybe, but we gotta try, right? I mean she is going to need to pony up about this, you know?"

"Not in the least. I quite think she should focus on the positive aspects of this. Or as I believe you would say 'this is totally awesome'?"

"Yeah! In fact, when Twilight gets back I am going to ask her if you and I can coach her."

"Coach me? On what?"

"On being awesome!"

"ummm... you know I don't like performing..."

"Pfffft... who said anything about performing? Like, when I fly through Gastly Gorge, I'm being totally gnarly, but since no-pony but me usually goes out there, it isn't like a performance. I gotta imagine the amazed onlookers and cheers."

"Rainbow Dash! I though we agreed that you weren't going to do that any more without a spotter?" admonished Rarity.

"Oh, well... I mean, yeah! I always take Tank with me, but he's my pet so he only like half counts as an audience."

"So... I'm sorry, what would I be practicing?"

"Eh, Twilight's being a total spaz about us telling you anything, so I think I better wait until she gets back to tell you."

"So! Fluttershy! If you could do anything right now, and didn't have to stay in the bubble, then what would you do right now starting this very very minute?"

"Pinkie Pie! I hardly think that that is a constructive question!"

"Shhhh! I'm not really asking what she would do, I'm asking what she wouldn't do." stage-whispered Pinkie.

"Now just what in tarnation is that supposta mean?"

"Because she isn't evil, but she might end up thinking she is evil, which would make her scared, so she would be sad, which would make us sad because we are her friends, even though she could TOTALLY be good even if she was evil because she is just so nice and never ever ever wants to hurt anypony! So if she thinks about what she wants to do and there isn't that super super bad nasty thing we know about that she would want to do, if Princess Luna had made her want to do evil stuff, which Princess Luna totally didn't, in the big list of things Fluttershy wants to do, then we can tell Fluttershy that and then Fluttershy will know that she isn't evil."

"Wuh?", said Applejack.

Fortunately Rainbow Dash and Spike could follow what the loquacious pony was saying better than Applejack could. "Hay, that's right! If she opens up and tells somepony everything she wants to do, then that pony will be able to tell her that there isn't anything bad on the list so she will know that she isn't under some sort of weird mind-twisty spell."

"What she said." said Spike, hooking a thumb at Rainbow Dash.

"So then darling, if Princess Celestia were to find some sort of marvelous short-cut, and come back here and tell us that you could go right now, what would you most like to do?"

"Well... I think I would want to talk to Princess Luna and tell her she doesn't need to feel bad... except she is kinda scary and I don't like being scared so... maybe I would just write her a letter and have Princess Celestia give it to her?"

"That is a simply capital idea, and I think you should do that at some point, although as I understand it, neither she nor Princess Celestia will be available for the next two days. But what else would you like to do?"

"Well... I would probably go home and ask for volunteers and go to bed..."

"Volunteers?" inquired Rarity.

"Heh, heh, heh! You didn't think that Fluttershy slept alone most nights did you?"

"Rainbow Dash! I can not believe you would even joke about such a thing!"

"Huh? Who's joking?"

"Fluttershy is a proper lady, and is saving herself for marriage!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I never said anything about bucking! She just snuggles her animals. Sleeps close with them. One time I came in through her window and she had like three boa constrictors on each leg, a honey badger under her wing, a bunch of wasps on top of her wing, and a mouse in one ear. It was completely lame."

"Hay now, I'll have you know that I've curled around Winona a time or two."

"Really Applejack? I never took you for the touchy feely type... thought Winona was a workin' dog, not a fluff-ball." said Rainbow Dash, arching one brow.

"She is workin'. Granny Smith has a heater in 'er room, and Big Macintosh holds heat like nobody's business, but when it gets cold we like ta save on coal at night bah havin' Winona join me, 'n' Apple Bloom sleep with Big Macintosh or Granny Smith."

"Eeyup."

"I'm sorry... I won't do it any more if you don't want me to Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash ran a forceful hoof down from her forelock to the tip of her snout.

"SO not what I meant. You are a good pony and if it makes you happy you should do it. I've known you kept your awesomeness hidden for years. Most of you do. I mean Rarity hasn't been down to the dojo in years. She could have two higher belts if she would just schedule the tests rather than having that private instructor come by every week. And Pinkie? Don't even get me STARTED on Pinkie! Just... you just leave the being awesome to me Fluttershy, except when someone needs your help. Everypony will be happier that way. Just keep doing what you are doing."

"Umm... Ok."

"But to return to the subject at hoof, you were saying you would find some animals that felt like joining you in slumber. Can you tell us anything more about that?"

"Well, I would probably pick larger animals, with pointy teeth. I usually go for that when I am feeling scared. Although sometimes the squirrels just ask so nicely."

Rarity moved over to Rainbow Dash and whispered "My apologies for the misunderstanding, and I feel I should say that Opalescence sleeps wherever she wishes."

"Oh my! I just realized! I would probably make sure to explain everything to Angel Bunny very carefully, because he has been so worried about me... I'm sorry for forgetting about you Angel Bunny..."

"Hmmm.... actually, there ain't no particular reason I kin think of why we couldn't inform him uh whats goin' on. 'Long as he promises to keep it private fur yer own good."

Angel Bunny folded his forelegs in front of him and narrowed his eyes at Applejack.

"You tell 'im Fluttershy. Tell 'im that if Twilight says yer gonna be more at peace not knowin' the whole story 'til Twilight 'n' the Princesses figure out what the full story is in tha furst place, then he should jus' keep his peace."

Angel turned around in his cage and dropped to all fours. Looking Fluttershy straight in the eye, he shook his head in negation.

"Ummm... maybe it might help if you told me a bit more? I mean I understand you can't tell me much because this is really really new, but the name doesn't tell me much... does anypony know what is going to happen to me in the long-term? It might help Angel Bunny feel more at ease about promising, and then you could tell him the whole story."

"'Sides havin' to change yer diet, yer gonna be just fine sugar-cube."

"Yes but... can you be a bit more specific? I mean if that is alright with you..."

"Well... you might not be able to go swimming or wading any more." said Spike after some thought.

"Wait a second! That doesn't make any sense Spikey-Wikey! Princess Celestia had her take a bath and all she did was put up a force-field around her bathroom while she did it. So how can it be a problem to go wading? I mean the Princess would have warned her if there were a problem, because she wouldn't want even a teeny-tiny chance of her hurting herself by accident."

Spike sighed and made as if to whisper something to Pinkie before pulling away. "Wait, better idea."

Spike walked around and stood under the curve of the bubble, pulling out a scroll and quill. Writing four words in a large hand, he displayed them to everypony save Fluttershy.

RUNNING water hurts vampires.

A collective "Oooooh!" went up from the mares, and Big Macintosh gave a small nod.

"This must be really horrible if you are all being this careful." said Fluttershy softly.

"Nah, it's like Twilight said. This is probably going to turn out to be no big deal in the end." replied Spike, rolling his eyes, not that Fluttershy could see it.

"But what if it is a big deal?"

"Now Fluttershy, don' go ah troublin' trouble 'til trouble troubles you."

"Trouble always troubles me. The bullies at flight camp, all the ponies around Ponyville looking at me. Even the creatures-"

"Now lookie here, I told yah, the ponies just needed a little time ta get used ta ya. You know why you got them-there wings?"

"No, I really don't, it isn't like I use them for anything... I'M A BAD PEGASUS!" blurted out Fluttershy, on the verge of tears.

"No, you ain't neither. The Apple family has lived around these here parts since before there was a Ponyville, and Granny Smith says you are the best animal manager she ever done seen!"

"Eeyep!"

"But... but... but..."

"I'll TELL ya why ya got those wings! You got 'em so you can care for the animals at the tops of the trees, or perching on clouds, not just the ones that scurry along the ground. Now Dash here will tell ya that yer not a failure as a pegasus an' she'd be right about that, but I'mma gonna tell ya that you are a better earth pony than most earth ponies in this here town."

"But what am I NOW?"

Applejack fell silent. Fortunately Rarity had an answer.

"You are still the same Fluttershy we all know and love. Spike, wouldn't you say that every strength she had before is going to be unaffected by this?"

"Well... it might cramp her style, but yeah, she might even be better at working with the animals now."

"But I don't want to be changed because of some scary spell! I just want to wake up and find that this is one of my nightmares!" said Fluttershy, as a few tears started to run down her face.

"Ok, everypony, time for a SONG!"

"Well, OK Pinkie Pie..." replied Rainbow Dash.

"I ain't much fur singin'." said Big Mac.

"Twilight tells me my singing voice... needs practice." Spike said.

"That's OK you two, just join in on the laughing and the motions and you should be good."

"Ah kin do that."

"Alright."

"Now Fluttershy it is extra-specially important for this song that you sing. Can you do that? Sing nice and loud?"

"Well... If you are all singing too..."

"Every single solitary word. All of us together."

"Ok"

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." sang Pinkie Pie.

"The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown." all the mares joined in.

"I'd hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw

But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way

To deal with fears at all

She said: 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall

Learn to face your fears

You'll see that they can't hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear.'

Pinkie Pie pointed a hoof directly at Fluttershy.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Half a second later Rainbow Dash was snout to snout with Pinkie Pie, fire in her eyes. "Whats the big idea?! You know she's too sensitive to prank!"

"Well DUH! I'm not pranking her, I'm laughing with her."

"Then what's with the pointing?"

"Well, we are all laughing about her, because she can't help it."

"You should know better! You don't laugh at Derpy do you?"

"Silly Dashie, Derpy doesn't need any help laughing at herself."

"And Fluttershy does?"

"Well yeah, otherwise she is just gonna get all scariedy-waredy!"

"What the hay are you talking about!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, were you not paying attention to the song? I thought you were because you were singing along, but I guess you weren't. The song is about laughing at scary things to make them less scary."

Dash opened her mouth to reply again, but stopped short for a couple of long seconds before continuing.

"Pinkie Pie, you're being stupid, you should know better than to laugh at people."

"Actually Rainbow Dash, I believe I see what she is trying to do, and I think she has a point. Fluttershy is going to have to approach this in an appropriate manner if she is to adjust, and I think that Pinkie Pie's idea could prove to be part of that."

"Wait, Rarity... you aren't much for pranks."

"Indeed not. This is no prank."

"So everypony... from 'Learn to face your fears'!"

"No! I'm not going to let you hurt her!"

"Ugh! Come on you two, let's go sort this out upstairs where we won't have to mess around pickin' our words 'round Fluttershy. Rarity, Big Macintosh, Spike you stay here and keep talkin' to her." said Applejack.

"Very well then." said Rarity.

Spike carefully put his scroll and quill away again as the three ponies left.

"Anyway, um, thank you all for coming and keeping me company. Even you Big Macintosh, you barely know me. We only talked a few times over the last few months when you would come over to say 'hello' and even less before that. I don't know why you even bothered showing up. I'm really not worth it."

"Ya are."

"But... why would you bother coming when I already have so many other ponies looking out for me?"

Big Macintosh just looked at the ground for a while before raising his head again and saying "Not gonna say just at the moment."

"Well, okay, since you don't want to."

"Hey, you two wanna see a trick?"

"Well, if it's not scary that would be OK, I mean if you really want to."

"You don't mind my breathing fire, right?"

"Oh no, as long as it isn't too close to me I don't mind at all."

"Go on darling." said Rarity.

Spike dug around in a box and pulled out a odd device made of twisted metal with many tiny loops formed in it.

"Now where did I put that acid?"

"Acid...! Are you sure this trick is safe?"

"Totally safe, I know what I'm doing... you should see some of the stuff that Twilight gets up to down here. She's lucky she works for the Princess, we couldn't afford normal insurance for even the mundane science stuff she does, never mind the magic."

Spike put on safety glasses and cleaned off the device at a bench well removed from the ponies with alternating applications of his breath and dips in the acid. Getting a wide-mouthed jar labeled "Spike's Potassium Chloride" he walked back to the ponies.

"Watch this!" he said as he dipped the device in the solution, then held it up in front of him as he breathed a gout of flame, which turned purple at it washed over the device.

"Oooo... very attractive." said Rarity.

"Yeah, different chemicals make different colors. I'm working on something I can dip in different parts of in different chemicals and make a picture or something, but I'm a bit stuck for ideas, and some of the colors tend to wash others out."

"Well dearie, if you show me a few preliminaries I might be able to give you a few suggestions, but you do have to realize I generally deal in arts that are less... ephemeral."

"Well, how about I start with the rainbow progression from top to bottom?"

"Seems like a good idea. Let me get you and Big Macintosh some goggles so I don't have to keep walking back and forth so far... I think that Twilight ordered a pair that would fit him just in case he was ever down here."

"Will Fluttershy be requiring any goggles or is the force-field acid-proof?"

"Well, let me put it this way... Twilight made it when she wasn't in a huge rush, and had over ten minutes where it was what she was paying attention to AFTER that. How comprehensive do YOU think it is?"

"Ah, quite."

"Back in a second."

"So, Big Macintosh, what delightful thrills did Princess Luna visit upon you this night?"

"Ma parents as zombies."

"Ah... not to personal I hope?"

"Gave me a card thankin' me fur bein' a good stallion uh the house since they bin gone."

"How clever... of course, I DO hope that all of us, even Princess Luna, will find that the best scare of the night stands before us." Rarity said, gesturing to Fluttershy with a hoof.

"I don't want to be scary..." whimpered Fluttershy.

"I know you don't dearie, but hear me out. You wouldn't know this, since your taste runs to avoiding all scares entirely, but what made Princess Luna's scares really top drawer was that they ended. She always included a twist at the end of the stronger ones that quite changed them so they won't overstay their welcome in the mind. So what I mean when I say that you would be 'the best scare of the night' is that I hope this would really and truly turn out to be a nothing after all despite all the commotion so far."

Fluttershy smiled at this, but Rarity recognized the look as the one Fluttershy used when she didn't want to bother others with her problems.

"Look dearie... I shan't name any names, but I have among my client list a certain pony who suffered from very bad burns. They were also resistant to the healing spells."

"Oh, my..."

"The poor unicorns would exhaust themselves on this individual as often as they could be sure that an emergency case wouldn't come in who would need them more, and the earth-pony nurses formed a bridge club just so this pony could benefit from their auras."

"That was very nice of them."

"In any case, this pony had years of healing behind them and years more ahead when they came to me. In the mean time they had to have a spell on them to keep the dreadful pain away, plus a separate shielding spell over the area to keep them from hurting themselves because they couldn't feel any little scratches and such they might get in that area. With all that magic in the area combined with their resistance interfering with the pain-dampening spell this individual informed me that there wasn't room to add an illusion of healthy fur. As for the device the spells were anchored to itself, don't even get me started! Surgical steel isn't the easiest material to pull off a look with when it comes to jewelry, but the manufacturers hadn't even tried darling. Well, this pony came to me because they wanted something to show it off! Apparently they had gotten so tired of pretending it didn't exist and covering it up with make-up and clothing that they wanted... well as Pinkie would say 'to face their fears', although they weren't using her particular method."

"Oh... well... I hope you were able to help them."

"Darling, it's me!"

Spike returned and started carefully dipping different parts of his twisted wire device in various chemicals (the jars he poured them out of all with the word "Spike's" on the labels... apparently Twilight didn't want him using up all of her reagents with his entertainments). Fluttershy looked down at the dirt between her front hooves, fretting her way towards an understanding of Rarity's story. Rarity and (of course) Big Macintosh kept silence to facilitate this.

"Welp! We're back!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie from the top of the stairs.

"Yeeeah, we talked it through and... I guess it is worth a shot." said Rainbow Dash.

"So, places everypony! From the top!"

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...

The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown.

I'd hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw

But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way

To deal with fears at all

She said: 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall

Learn to face your fears

You'll see that they can't hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear.'"

This time six hooves (including Fluttershy's own) and a claw pointed at Fluttershy.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, giggle at the ghostly

Guffaw at the grossy

Crack up at the creepy

Whoop it up with the weepy

Chortle at the kooky

Snortle at the spooky

And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another think coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha...heh...

Laaaaaaauuugh!

"Come on Fluttershy, show me that scary face! Give me a SMILE!"

And smile Fluttershy did, caught up in the moment. A happy, innocent grin, showing the thin fangs that now had joined her upper teeth.

"Hahahaha! They're so silly!" laughed Pinkie.

"What are?" asked Spike between chuckles.

"Her FANGS!" exclaimed Pinkie.

The sound of trotting hoof-steps came from the level above. The door to the laboratory opened, and Twilight came in, still wearing her saddlebags.

"Did you say she has fangs at the moment?"

"Yeah! They are so funny!"

"Ummm... I don't think they ever went away." muttered Fluttershy, looking at Twilight timidly.

"Well, we can figure that out later. For now I think it will be best for you if you make sure to get something to eat."

"Umm... well, you are in charge Twilight."

Twilight arrived at the bottom of the stairs.

"Right, everypony else, please go back upstairs. I am sure she doesn't want an audience for this. It might get a bit... messy."

Comments

[FLUTTERPIEROXS]

Another Chapter "The fun has been doubled"
Edit: Tried to go to sleep after this but apparently that was a mistake i was up for hours laughing about how i could picture rainbow going "Warning the side effects include being ausome!"

[Draco Dei]

874385

Well, when I was writing this, I would have guessed that the "creepy" aspect would be more likely to cause insomnia than the humor aspect, but, while I would be of two minds about creeping people out that much*, I will take this.

*It would be a failure by Luna's standards, but I don't have the advantage of being a mind-reader or crafting my scares for smaller audiences that I can tweak for.

[ThereIsNo4thWall]

Wow I just now noticed that this chapter finally got posted, it was awesome to semi-read^ again! Be careful with the font thing though, making it too small for too long makes it a bit difficult to read sometimes, though I suppose that works pretty well with how it's difficult to hear something that's quiet...

*shrug*

At any rate, can't wait for more!

^Semi-read as in I skimmed it a bit this time, mainly only stopped and reading my favorite paragraphs and such.

[Draco Dei]

889967
Are you saying you think I should up the font-size a notch in the bit with and standing across the room while and whispering about using the Elemental Harmony Regalia?

Also, I thought I posted this pretty quick after I got a characterization pre-read...

[Disciple]

943527

-Could you put a spoiler alert at the start of your message? It should only be necessary for this first chapter.
Sorry about that, its up now.

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

In regards to my dislike of using garlic as a "sign", its really because the answer is just so blatantly obvious from that point on, which makes it pointless to use when there are so many other things that can get the same message across with an air of subtly to them. Speaking of which, I take it that Fluttershy (and this is without having read the second chapter, sorry) will need permission to enter owned buildings?

The only other things I can think of that would effect her would be holy symbols/ground. On kind of silly side note from that, I guess this means that Luna and Celestia aren't physical goddesses in this story? Cause that would make things really interesting for Fluttershy.

[Disciple]

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

Why did I put that comment in this chapter's section? eh whatever, sorry for the double post. On to...

Chapter 2:

Again, good characterization for all of the characters. You really seemed to get the particular “flavor” each voice has, like Rarity’s slightly too formal speech patterns and Applejack’s “southern” drawl.

Did Twilight give Fluttershy verbal permission to enter library? I couldn’t find it, and that’s always such a key part of the creatures’ mythology that I think it would be worth adding in a spare line or two to cover it in the story.

I see that Big Mac harbors feelings for Fluttershy, which explains his presence in the story’s opening scene. Though if I remember correctly, this takes place three weeks before that scene and Big Mac had only taken to wearing his Big Mac the Knife costume for one week… Is that just a misstep in the story’s chronology, or is that time important? Could that be when he is enthralled by an out of control Fluttershy? (Please don’t answer that actually, I’ll find out as the story progresses, this is just me thinking out loud).

And finally, Fluttershy has a heartbeat? I thought it was established that she was “dead” and didn’t really have bodily functions beyond the need to feed?

Closing Thoughts: I really couldn’t find anything wrong with this chapter, which is why this review is so short compared to the last one. The grammar was rock solid as far as I could tell, I didn’t see any wording issues, and I had to really think for a few minutes to come up with something to say, which is why this might seem a little nitpicky (sorry about that).

Great Chapter. Hope to see more.

[Draco Dei]

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

944641
She... won't need permission but WHY that is I haven't yet decided. There are two options, and I need to pick one eventually.
As for Celestia and Luna, they are (arch-)angels granted physical form, which is to say if they DIDN'T have a boss and DID accept worship, they WOULD qualify as gods*.

The most common versions of "Get thee back thing of Satan!" would be the Elemental of Harmony Blast, the Fire of Friendship from Hearths Warming, and what Shining Armor and Princess Cadence did to cast out the Changelings. Physical objects only matter if they are the Elemental Harmony Regalia, so it isn't like Fluttershy is going to burn herself if she picks up a flag of Equestria (with the ying-yang thing that Celestia and Luna are doing on it) or touches her nose to a page bearing an image of the sun to turn it or anything like that. Since Discord can apparently "touch" the Elemental Necklaces with his telekinesis without his eyeballs exploding or something, I am going to say that it will be no surprise at all when she isn't burned by touching the Necklace of Kindness.

I would say more about the banes, but I don't want to spoil too much, both for your enjoyment and so I can see when you figure out/grasp my explanations for each point.

*Read my other story, "Scratching a Diamond" if you want an idea of the power they wield in my fanon, with the clarification that Celestia was using focused sunlight, just not enough to vaporize more than one centimeter of steel per second (or something like that).

[Draco Dei]

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT

944975
You really seemed to get the particular “flavor” each voice has, like Rarity’s slightly too formal speech patterns and Applejack’s “southern” drawl.
-Ironically enough I paid special attention to that just so i could avoid having to tag every quote with "said ____________" for the reader to know who is talking.

Did Twilight give Fluttershy verbal permission to enter library? I couldn’t find it, and that’s always such a key part of the creatures’ mythology that I think it would be worth adding in a spare line or two to cover it in the story.
-Given that Fluttershy didn't enter the library under her own power, but rather was CARRIED inside by means of a vaguely cigar-shaped (at the time) bubble of magical force half-full of dirt, plus the fact that "must be invited in" is often understood to not apply to public buildings (library) I don't think the reader can conclude anything about anything from the fact that Twilight didn't give her permission per se.

Though if I remember correctly, this takes place three weeks before that scene and Big Mac had only taken to wearing his Big Mac the Knife costume for one week… Is that just a misstep in the story’s chronology, or is that time important?
-All I will say is that I stand by that chronology.

And finally, Fluttershy has a heartbeat? I thought it was established that she was “dead” and didn’t really have bodily functions beyond the need to feed?
-Meh, I included that tweak to the standard legends to explain why a stake through the heart does anything.

[SkyHighFlyer]

Update soon please...
24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llbf6huKZ21qj1mtmo1_500.jpg

[Draco Dei]

1261792
I've been working on it on and off... mostly "off" admittedly, but your request should help. I mostly just need to get to a good stopping place for the chapter break (I have enough word-count).