Part 1: Call of the Wild
Midnight hour at Sweet Apple acres. After another long day toiling the fields, the Apple family had long since slumped down into their beds, expecting to refresh themselves by next morning. From the occasional owl hoot to rustling of nocturnal critters in the grass, the serenity of this night was typical of any other.
That was, until, the quiet was abruptly shattered as an ear-piercing scream rang throughout the farm, jolting everypony awake.
Applejack bolted upright in her bed, sheets soaked from her sweat. Oh, thank Celestia, she thought to herself. Just another nightmare.
This had been the fifth night in the row she experienced dramatic visions of horror in the dreamscape. From white-faced daemons wearing her face, to bipedal pig-things slaughtering her entire family, it always ended with Applejack snapping back to reality, breathing heavier than if she’d galloped a mile.
Tonight—just like the nights that had preceded it—Princess Luna was nowhere to be seen. Given the recent tragedy that had befallen her family, Applejack had quickly concocted a justification for why the Guardian of Dreams would not revealed herself to her.
I guess it’s been a rough time for all of us, she thought to herself, kicking off the covers and pushing the window open for some fresh air. Poor Winona. Why’d you have ta go and run off inta the Everfree like that.
Every day for the past month, Applejack could see on her family’s faces the toll Winona’s disappearance took. While she and Big Mac managed to put on a brave face and get on with their day to day lives, the same could not be said for Granny Smith.
Alas, it seemed that her mental fortitude had waned significantly in her older years. She had always been a chatty pony, whether explaining the ins and outs of farm routines, or rambling on about the long past days of her youth.
Now? She had spoken barely a word to anypony since Applejack returned, days after chasing down Winona, empty hoofed. The cold chill of guilt sat like a stone in the bottom of Applejack’s gut - and given how Granny Smith isolated herself in the farm house all day, she got the impression the old mare felt the same.
Applebloom’s behaviour wasn’t much better.
Applejack had spoken to Miss Cheerilee about her little sister’s emotional struggles; she, too, had noticed the stark contrast between the bubbly little filly—endlessly chatting away about how she’d get her cutie mark—and the one who now stared vacantly out the window, barely responding to anypony, including her best friends.
When Applejack learned that Applebloom wasn't even spending time with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore—a pair of fillies who meant the word to her—she knew that her sister needed serious help.
The memories of her friends brought a smile to Applejack’s face, momentarily forgetting the terror of her dreams. Over the past week, Applejack had pushed through her constant tiredness to spice things up around the farm. With the Zap Apple harvest coming up in less than a month’s time, she had gotten her friends to pull out all the stops to make this a special one.
Pinkie Pie had fresh new recipes for Zap Apple Cupcakes, while Rainbow Dash would zoom overhead, moulding the clouds into the shape of various pastries. Rarity produced a new line of dresses and jackets for everypony to wear on the day, while Fluttershy orchestrated a little musical number with the local birds.
Even Twilight, when she wasn’t preoccupied with the Night Shift and their giant weasel incident, had created spectacular magical fireworks to celebrate Ponyville’s unique claim to agricultural fame.
“Guess Luna’s also lendin' a hoof ta help Applebloom smile again,” Applejack grumbled to herself. It was a mantra she had repeated since the Night Terrors began. “Better lettin’ me dredge through a few bad nights instead o’ lettin’ Applebloom suffer'.”
Flopping face first into her pillow, she thumped the mattress in frustration. “Sure would be nice if I could get ta see her smile in my dreams as well, Luna!”
A sudden knock on the door startled her, almost making her fall out of bed as she scrambled to her hooves.
“You alright in there, Applejack?” the slow, deep voice of Big Macintosh came from the hallway as he opened the door just a crack. “I heard you screamin’.”
“I’ll... be fine... Big Mac,” Applejack replied, still trying to catch her breath. “Just another... one of them... bad dreams is all.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?” Big Mac asked, pushing the door open a little more.
“No, I'll be fine. Once I get back to work on the Zap Apple harvest, I’ll have forgotten all about it.”
Big Mac stood in silence for a few moments, a sceptical expression etched on his face. “All right,” he conceded. “Call me in the morning if you need help with anythin'.”
“Thanks, Big Mac,” Applejack said, relaxing a little. “I'll be sure to let you know when I start workin'. You make sure to get a good night's sleep as well, alright?”
“Eyup.” As soon as the door clicked shut, Applejack slumped back into bed and closed her eyes, hoping she could get back to sleep without any more visions of her entire family being killed by bipedal pigs.
That's the last time I stay up watchin' scary movies with Rainbow Dash, she grumbled to herself. She took a few deep breaths, tossed and turned several times—even tried counting sheep—but she just wasn’t dozing off like she thought she would.
Pulling herself up to her windowsill, Applejack drew open the curtains to try a bit of star gazing. If Princess Luna couldn't help her directly, then perhaps the beautiful art of her constellations would ease her troubled mind instead.
Once the night sky became visible, there was only one celestial object that drew Applejack’s attention. More than just taking an interest in its details, she found the soothing glow to be quite entrancing; so much so that she couldn't take her eyes off it.
Her heart began to pound in her chest, her whole-body trembling at the sight of the magnificent full moon.
“Applejack? Applejack?”
Applejack awoke to the sound of somepony calling her name, the squeaky voice growing more distressed with each repetition.
Though she was conscious enough to hear this cry, it took a little longer for her awareness to completely resume.
Her hearing was the first to return to normal levels, revealing the familiar, yet unexpected sounds of crunching dry leaves beneath the trotting hoofsteps, adding to the frantic chattering of birds directly above her.
Her sense of touch promptly followed, revealing to her not to be laying upon the soft bedding that she was used to, but instead the cold hard earth.
Pulling herself to her hooves, Applejack narrowly avoided slamming her head onto a low-lying tree branch, at which point she noticed that not only had her pony tail had come loose, but that her Stetson hat was nowhere to be seen.
“Applejack!” Fluttershy cried, breaking onto a full-on gallop towards her groggy friend. “What happened? Are you alright?”
“Ugh... I... what?” Applejack grumbled incoherently, trying to coordinate her lips with the words forming in her mind. “F-Fluttershy? What're you doin' here? As a matter of fact, where is here? I don't remember bein' a sleepwalker.”
Fluttershy cringed at the volume of her friend's voice. “Um... no, actually,” she said meekly, scraping her hoof on the ground as she averted her gaze. “I was just visiting around to check up on you, and I, uhm, kind of found you here?”
Applejack took a deep breath, glancing around the orchid where she lay. She rubbed her eyes with her hooves, hoping to focus her thoughts a bit and clear her vision; which was still fading in and out of focus thanks to one of the biggest migraines she had ever experienced.
“Sorry, Fluttershy,” she said. “I didn't mean to yell like that. I must've started apple buckin' real early and ended up dozin’ off. You know how it is, with Zap Apple harvest comin’ up soon an’ all that.”
Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief. “I'm glad you're okay. Big Mac said he couldn't find you anywhere in the house this morning, and you never miss breakfast. I guess we were all more than a little worried, given the stress you've been under lately.”
“Don't you fret, Fluttershy. I was havin' trouble sleeping last night anyway. I’m guessing this heavy work did its job a little too well, huh?” Applejack rubbed the back of her head with her front hoof, reminding herself of one big question that remained unanswered.
“Hey, wait a second. Where the hay did my hat go?”
“Huh? Oh, Big Mac has it,” Fluttershy replied, looking slightly confused. It was almost unheard of for Applejack to leave the house without her hat. In fact, Applejack was almost never seen without it, period – so much so that Rainbow Dash had even joked it may as well be attached to her head. “You must have left without it-”
“Horse apples!” Applejack snapped, though she forced that flash of anger back down when she noticed Fluttershy cringing.
“I mean; I never leave the house without it. Not even when Twilight shot it full o' holes by accident with one of her fancy unicorn spells. You remember that, right? Rarity nearly fainted just lookin' at the thing! I must’ve been more tired than a hibernatin' muskrat in the middle o' winter if I forgot to put it on the second I got out of bed.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Perhaps you should come inside for breakfast. Pinkie Pie is waiting for you back in the kitchen. When I told her about what happened to Winona, she insisted on baking what she called a 'Super-Happy-Cheer-Up-Applejack-and-family- with-best-pancakes-ever' breakfast for everypony.”
“You know, Fluttershy, if you'd spoken that any faster, I'd be startin' to wonder if you were really just Pinkie Pie in a costume!” Applejack let out a hearty chuckle.
Fluttershy let out a small smile in return, blushing bright red. They both knew that such a concept wouldn’t have been the silliest thing the master Party Pony had done this year – not by a long shot.
After a few wobbly steps forward, Fluttershy extended a wing out to help Applejack steady herself. As she did, she glanced back at the tree her friend had been sleeping against.
A shiver down her spine.
“Fluttershy? Is somethin’ wrong?” Applejack asked.
“Huh? Oh, it's nothing. I haven't really been sleeping well either. I think I'll take a nice long nap once I've fed all my animal friends.”
“Sounds like a fine idea to me, sugarcube. Y’all can take it easy and leave all the physical stuff to me.”
“Don't forget to give yourself plenty of breaks as well.”
“I know, I know. I’d rather not be fallin' asleep in the dirt anyway. It ain't exactly good for my back, that's for darn sure!”
Fluttershy chuckled, the duo carefully making their way back to the farmhouse, leaving behind what appeared to be a large claw-mark scraped into the apple tree.
“Watch and be amazed by the fabulous illusions of... The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
It had been over a month since the zap apple harvests, and any rumours about Applejack's odd behaviour had been reduced to little more than whispers in the wind. Nightmare Night was just around the corner, so if there was any time for Trixie to make her grand re-entrance to Ponyville, now would be it.
Under the banner of “The Great and Powerful Trixie's humble and not at all egotistical magic show”—a name that she insisted was simply a working title—she at last had a second prance to rebuild her shattered reputation.
But, of course, there was another, far more important reason for her return to Ponyville.
With a twirl of her star-lined cape, the head of a volunteer magically appeared in a box, separated from his body by at least five feet. Another flash of magic, and in the place of that pony's body, a ferocious manticore revealed itself to a chorus of shocked gasps and astonished chatter.
“Head of a lion, wings of a dragon, tail of a scorpion,” Trixie announced to the crowd with an exaggerated sense of drama. “The perfect combination to make one of the deadliest beasts in all of Equestria!”
Waving her hoof over her wizard's hat, she pulled out a heavy leather whip and—with one flick—wrapped it around the box containing the volunteer’s head.
With a sharp tug, the box flew towards the wide-open jaws of the hungry manticore; happily accepting the unsuspecting volunteer as a free meal.
At the last second, the door to Manticore container slammed shut, the imagination of the audience causing greater shock than any real amount of gore could.
“And now, for the grand finale!” With a crack of the whip, the door swung open again, revealing an empty space where both the pony and manticore had been.
“I'm sure you are all wondering what happened to my volunteer,” Trixie said, gesturing her hoof over the crowd. “To find out that answer, all you have to do is turn around.”
On cue, the crowd all looked behind them, witnessing the orange earth pony volunteer standing tall with hardly a scratch on him. A thunderous level of cheering and applause erupted from the crowd, all looking just as amazed at the trick at the volunteering stallion himself.
Taking a bow, Trixie closed the curtains and shut off the lights, bringing her show to a close. The citizens of Ponyville were now well and truly in the mood for the spooky games and hair-raising pranks that came with the traditions of Nightmare Night.
With her former bad reputation now all but forgotten, she could get down to business without causing a fuss from the locals. If what she had been told by her Night Guard superior was true, there was a certain yellow Pegasus pony she needed to have a few words with.
Pouring an assortment of chopped carrots and other vegetables into Angel bunny's bowl, Fluttershy was finally finished giving her animal friends their evening meal. She had spent most of the day with Applejack, sorting out a small, yet annoying, problem with the local Racoons.
She was of course, more than happy to provide a solution that suited all parties involved – it had just taken a little longer than expected, leaving her in a rush to prepare all the food. Thankfully, it hadn't been much of a delay in the end. Her own little menagerie was certainly more patient than the average zoo collection, largely due to Fluttershy's irresistible smile.
Though failing that, there was always the infamous ‘Fluttershy stare’ that would put even Angel bunny into place, which Applejack admitted was more than a little unnerving.
“Nonchalantly glaring at any creature, big or small, until they do your bidding?” Applejack had remarked. “Now if that ain’t the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen a Pegasus do, I don’t know what is. No offence, though.”
Applebloom had made several attempts to mimic the technique, but to no avail, beyond the usual squeak of “Maybe I'll get my cutie mark in animal handling!” rambles. Even if nothing came about it, Fluttershy still took a moment to encourage the little filly to investigate the subject further.
She was finally getting the spring back in her step, having dealt with her grief over Winona. So, a positive hobby was something Applejack agreed to encourage.
Fluttershy had just put away the rabbit food when a series of hurried knocks caught her ear. She froze on the spot, glancing at the date on the calendar which she had been actively trying to ignore. With each successive knock, Fluttershy felt her heart sink until there was nothing but a cold husk of dread gathering in the pit of her stomach.
Taking a long, deep sigh, she forced herself to pace towards the door. She wasn't looking forward to this in the slightest, but just like the last time and the time before it, she knew it was better to just get the whole thing over with.
Before another knock could prod at her mind, Fluttershy pulled the door open, only to realise that her visitor was not the lavender coated unicorn she had expected; but instead a different unicorn, with a much lighter blue colouring, silver hair, and a cutie mark depicting star-topped wand enveloped in wisp of magic.
“Hello, Butter-shy,” Trixie said, her voice oozing condescension.
“Oh, hello Miss Lulamoon,” Fluttershy replied. Though her tone was as soft and gentle as ever, the fact that she was using Trixie's dead name emphasised that she shared the unpleasant attitude of the initial greeting.
“Well, well, well, it seems old Starbutt let slip a few secrets with you after all. Fitting, as now I get to take care of your personal, ahem, special delivery. Mind if Trixie comes in so we can get to work?”
Fluttershy glanced around the immediate area, ensuring that nopony else was watching before allowing Trixie inside. “Where is Twilight anyway? D-did something happen to her?” she asked, her voice shaking a little as she quickly bolted the door behind her.
“Oh, don't worry about old Starbutt,” Trixie waved her hoof in dismissal. Reaching into her saddlebags, Trixie pulled out several glass vials; each one filled with a cloudy, iridescent liquid.
“The Night Shift library is full of recipes for potions like these. It wasn't hard to track it down, and since Starbutt will be out of town with her brother for at least another week, Trixie took the liberty of delivering the goods herself.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. The self-congratulating grin that Trixie pinned to her face was already starting to get on her nerves.
She didn't need to say a word in response, as both she and Trixie knew that Twilight was far too organised to let just anypony get a hold of alchemical materials that she needed for her friends. If she didn't want something to be found, then it would be so well-hidden that even Princess Luna would have great difficulty finding it.
However, of all ponies within the Night Shift who she would expect Twilight to entrust a sensitive delivery with, Fluttershy never considered Trixie to be her first choice. That much was enough to suggest that there was more to Trixie's visit than she was letting on.
“These potions had to get to you one way or another,” Trixie elaborated. “But the Great and Powerful Trixie figured that she would be far more welcome sight than that of a random Lunar Pegasus, wouldn't you agree?”
To that question, Fluttershy had to nod in agreement. After two years of trying her hardest to forget the rise of Decadence, she was not exactly eager to find herself involved with the Night Guards again.
The unspoken repulsion at what she was made to do that night aside, the bite from a single Lunar Pegasus—whom had intended to break the spell on her—had left a rather unpleasant side effect.
Despite her anxiety over what was to come, Fluttershy took a moment to remember how Decadence's magic had done strange things to everypony. So, by comparison, suffering through this brief unpleasantness would feel like a relaxing day at the Ponyville spa.
Once all the liquids had been mixed into a single container—between Trixie checking her notes at regular intervals to ensure she got the order correct—she sealed the vile with a cork and shook the concoction vigorously until it developed a white, frothy surface.
Fluttershy all but snatched the vial from Trixie's hooves, pulling off the cork with her teeth. Though she was eager to get the whole thing over with, she stopped just short of raising the drink to her lips. “Um, Trixie, could you at least turn your back for a minute?”
“Oh, my sweet Flutter Brutter,” Trixie said, her sweeping hoof gesture and exaggerated accent mimicking the mannerisms of Fluttershy's elder brother, Zephyr Breeze, in a mocking fashion.
This was one impression, however, that Fluttershy was not in a hurry to correct. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. Even if you don't remember it, Trixie was standing right next to Twilight the night she took you the creature containment unit.
“She spent many a sleepless night toiling over a recipe that would stabilise your lunar curse; and lo and behold, she made something work! Before my very eyes, you were the same, meek little Pegasus pony I had seen so adamantly worshipping her new mother just a week before. It was quite the spectacle!
“You wouldn't want to deny one of Twilight's best and bravest allies from understanding her magical genius, would you?”
Fluttershy couldn't tell if Trixie was genuinely impressed with Twilight's handiwork or was just trying to excuse witnessing her own discomfort first-hoof. Ultimately, she let out a long, exasperated sigh, and decided not to waste any more time. Lifting the vial to her lips, she downed the potion in one gulp.
The effect on her was instantaneous.
Clutching her stomach, Fluttershy collapsed to the floor as the potion worked its way through her system, forcing her eyes shut as she gritted her teeth to endure the pain. Her wings began convulsing wildly, held taut by stiffening muscles as their feathers began to melt away.
Trixie cringed with a combination of horror and morbid fascination, unable to stop watching as the now bare flesh shrivelled up before her eyes. What before was an extended sequence of prehensile wing bones snapped in several places; folding out into four long, finger-like digits.
A cry of pain escaped from Fluttershy's mouth as the skin on her wings stretched out over the skeletal structure - looking so fragile that, to Trixie, even the gentlest touch could pierce straight through them.
A sharp shiver rippled through Fluttershy's body, the colour of her fur fading into a darker, sicklier shade of yellow; growing thicker and coarser as they narrowed around the tips of her ears. Eyelids bursting open, her bloodshot irises glared at Trixie, opening her mouth into a wide sneer that revealed a pair of elongated fangs extending down from her upper jaw.
With the sudden bulking out of her muscles, Fluttershy’s transformation was almost complete - the finishing touch being a flash of black magic consuming her cutie mark, changing it from one of three rose coloured butterflies to that of three magenta bats in an identical formation.
“Fascinating!” Trixie remarked. Levitating a quill with her magic, Trixie began scribbling down a few extra notes, making no effort to hide the full extent of her unashamedly gratuitous passion. “How are you feeling, Butter-shy?”
Even though every inch of her body was aching like mad from the transformation, Fluttershy just about managed to pull herself to her feet, breathing heavily. “Rotten,” she growled. Her body was not the only thing that had changed. Her voice now had a much rougher, more guttural edge to her usually wispy tone “Enjoying...the show...are we?”
“It seems that old Starbutt hasn't quite perfected the potion,” Trixie said, ignoring her last remark. “I guess it's up to the Great and Powerful Trixie to create a less painful method of keeping your feral bat energies under control.”
“Is there anything else you need, Miss Lullamoon?” Fluttershy asked, gritting her teeth in a vain effort to contain her distaste with Trixie's ego stroking. “Or are you just going to sit here and gloat all night?”
“Wow, everyone's a critic,” Trixie rolled her eyes in dismissal. She had almost forgotten how much grumpier the Flutterbat persona was in comparison to her day-to-day personality. “As a matter of fact, Trixie did come for another reason. Fluttershy, I need to ask you for help.”
An awkward silence fell between the two as Fluttershy took a moment to process just what Trixie just said. A pony known best for talking endlessly about how fantastic she was, whom was also one of the veteran members of the Night Shift, suddenly asking a vampire to help? Trixie's discomfort was clear, avoiding eye contact and rubbing her hoof against her opposite front leg.
“What kind of help?” Fluttershy finally asked.
“Help with Applejack.”
Fluttershy's heart sank. She hoped to Celestia that she was just being paranoid about Applejack's strange behaviour last month; dismissing the claw marks as being a product of her own overzealous imagination. After all, once one becomes a supernatural creature, it was far too easy to see the supernatural everywhere, even if a more mundane explanation was sufficient.
But since Trixie brought up the subject without any prior suggestion, there was little doubt that something was seriously wrong. For the sake of Applejack, she simply couldn't reject Trixie's help.
The beautiful glow of the bright full moon shone down through the trees of the Everfree forest. Among the various small animals scurrying among the undergrowth, one little white rabbit sporadically bounced between the trees.
Cautiously peering around the dense foliage, the rabbit flicked its head left and right, daring only to move once it was certain that it was not being followed.
It had been running for nearly half an hour now, ducking and diving between patches of cover, ears twitching at the slightest sound which it could consider to be out of place. Its den was close now, no more than ten feet away at most.
At last, its predicament appeared to be over. With no predators in sight, the rabbit bounced out from the bush, eyes locked on the entrance to its underground home.
All too late, the rabbit heard the horrifying snarl that signalled its doom.
Leaping into the air in one final bid for freedom, the last thing the prey saw was a pair of long jaws, filled with serrated teeth that clamped down around its neck, severing the spinal cord in one bite.
Violently shaking the rabbit, blood spraying all over its orange fur, the wolf tore off a big chunk of flesh and swallowed hard.
Over the course of the next several minutes, the beast continued to rip and tear at the dead corpse, consuming every bit it could stomach until there was nothing but a bloodied mess of torn muscles and broken bones lying before it.
The hunter's blood frenzy was only brought to a stop when it caught wind of echoing howls ringing through the undergrowth. One by one, nearly half a dozen glowing yellow orbs pierced through the darkness, each one accompanying the unmistakable low growls of timber wolves.
With all exits blocked, the wolf swept the carcass between its legs, snapping its jaws at the timber wolves and growling back with equal ferocity; caring little for the fact it was outnumbered by at least ten to one.
“Stand down.”
A smooth voice from behind the trees instantly silenced the new foes. A brown-coated earth pony mare with a short, blood-red mane trotted towards the wolf; her nonchalant attitude at complete odds with the wild anger of the creature before her.
No matter how many warnings it threw at her, the mare did not slow her pace, hardly even flinching as it lunged at her.
Within the blink of an eye, the mare side-stepped its attack without effort, and in a single smooth motion, slid between the wolf’s jaws with less than an inch to spare.
Pulling out a silver ring, the mare clamped it around the wolf's neck and rolled back to her hooves, just as the creature collapsed behind her.
Violently convulsing, the wolf’s body began to shrink, its features softening as it morphed back into the shape of a freckled, orange earth pony with messy blonde hair.
“Good to see you again, Applejack.”
“Ugh, wha...?” Applejack murmured, her vision still blurry while her consciousness was returning. “Wait a minute, where am I? And what the hay is goin' on here?”
“As clichéd as it may sound, all the answers will be provided in due time, Applejack,” the mare said. From what Applejack could discern, the pony before her spoke with a Trottingham accent; a fact which, if true, only raised further questions about what she was doing here – wherever ‘here’ was.
“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ebony Star, and I am here to help you.” Ebony extended her hoof, but Applejack slapped it away. She had just woken up to find somepony babbling nonsense about helping her with something undefined, and now she was acting like they had been friends for years? This was all sounding a little too convenient.
“You stay away from me, you hear?! I don’t know you think you're doin’, but if this is some kinda prank, I ain’t laughin’!”
Ebony sighed and rolled her eyes. It had become routine at this point for her help to be rejected out of hoof, much to her annoyance. Once again, she would have to spell everything out right here and now just to get Applejack to trust her. Where is the sense of adventure in these ponies? She thought to herself before clearing her throat.
“Please don't make this difficult, Applejack. I know you have a long list of questions, and I shall answer each one of them. But if you really want to get to the heart of the matter; to put simply, you are a werewolf, just like me.”
“Excuse me?” Applejack tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. If this was the work of Princess Luna, she had suddenly developed a rather bizarre sense of humour. Couldn’t she just have her dream about her teeth falling out like normal ponies?
“Pull the other one!” she said with a forced chuckle in her voice. “I dunno what kinda mare you take me for, but just because I can’t remember how I got here don't mean I’m gonna believe some random cock an' bull story about becomin' a werewolf.”
“Listen, Applejack, as absurd as it may sound, I assure you that I speak the truth,” Ebony let out an annoyed huff, pointing to Applejack’s collar. “You see the object I put around your neck? It's a magic suppressor. It's the only thing preventing you from transforming right now. Try removing it and see what happens. Go ahead, prove me wrong.”
“Darn right I'm gonna prove you wrong!” Applejack exclaimed, tearing off the collar. “Why, once Twilight finds out what you're tryna do to me, you’re gonna be in more trouble than a vampire fruit bat in an... apple... or-”
Her disgruntled ramble trailed off, her mind wiped clean of all thoughts, replaced by irresistible compulsion to stare at the moon.
Then her limbs snapped.
A violent, agonized scream burst free from her mouth, even before she knew what she was screaming about.
Picking up the collar, Ebony clipped it back around Applejack’s neck, just as casually as if she was slipping on a piece of evening wear for a fancy night out.
“Now do you see what I mean?” She asked, holding Applejack steady once the transformation had stopped. “Without my help, it will not take long to consume you. You will not just be another wild animal of the Everfree, as the wolf inside of you is endlessly hungry; a never ceasing urge to hunt and kill everything living it can find. You wouldn't want that, now would you?”
“I... I guess not...” Applejack replied between heavy breaths. “How did this happen?”
“I saw it with my own two eyes." Ebony’s voice dropped to a more sombre tone. Sitting down next to Applejack, she gazed out into the pitch-black undergrowth. “You were chasing after a border collie. You did well to keep up with it, but in doing so you attracted the attention of a very different canine. Don’t you remember any of it?”
Applejack shook her head. She had a vague memory of the day Winona spontaneously ran off. Between chasing after her and waking up in bed the next morning, there was a big gap in her memory. She had somehow sustained an injury to her right front leg, reasoning that she must have been ambushed by something in the forest.
She winced just thinking about the deep lacerations to her leg. Considering the wide assortment of animals she had defended herself against during her life, Applejack knew that whatever was strong enough to cause her amnesia must have been an extremely vicious beast.
Yet it had never occurred to her that an animal bite could carry such a debilitating curse. Then again, she’d only learned that werewolves existed beyond old pony folk tales.
Her thoughts turned to her family. As stoic as Big Mac appeared to be on the surface, Applejack knew his tendency emotions out on work. Granny Smith had been through so much already; outliving her own son, and now facing the possibility of her granddaughter suffering a far worse fate.
Then there was Applebloom. Poor little Applebloom. She only recovered from her grief-stricken state was due to the Sister hooves social. It was the biggest bonding experience of the year for them both. Applejack didn't want to imagine just how distraught her little sister would be without her around.
“So,” Ebony said, breaking the long silence. “Do you accept my offer?”
Applejack straightened her back and looked Ebony in the eye. She certainly wasn’t lying about the werewolf affliction, but a slight grin edging around her lips made it evident that she was still not telling the whole truth. Despite this, however, Applejack knew she didn’t have much in the way options. She would just have to keep her wits about her around Ebony.
“I accept. But you'd better be stickin' ta your promises, missy. I don't care what kinda curse I’m stuck with – if you try any funny business with my family, you’ll be on the recieivin’ end of a buckin' that you ain't soon gonna forget!”
“And thus, our deal is set,” Ebony once more extended her hoof, which Applejack shook firmly.
“Deal.”
“So, um, what do we do now?” Fluttershy asked Trixie. She knew the basics of werewolf lore, now combined with a few odd corrected misconceptions.
“First, we need to prepare,” Trixie replied, leading Fluttershy to her stage wagon parked outside. “Running blindly into the Everfree forest is never a good idea, but I'm sure you know that from experience, don't you?”
Fluttershy nodded, grumbling under her breath. She didn't care to keep count of how many times she had to warn little children about the dangers of the Everfree's creatures. With Nightmare Night coming up, she was reminding them practically every other day.
As Trixie pulled down the front ramp, Fluttershy's jaw dropped at the revelation wagon's interior. The bottom floor—and yes, somehow there was a set of stairs leading to an unseen upper floor—was lined with an entire library’s worth of books, all organised alphabetically across shelves that stretched to almost three times her own height; with the length of the wagon appearing to be longer than her cottage was high.
Fluttershy pulled her gaze away from the expansive library—biting her lip to be discrete about her confusion—checking and re-checking the exterior of the wagon several times to make sure she was seeing everything correctly.
“Alright, alright. Just get it over with already, will you?” Trixie said with an annoyed sigh as she gestured around her. “Everypony says the same thing about the wagon. So please, be a good filly and get it out of your system now, okay?”
“Oh, my goodness,” Fluttershy finally blurted out after several impatient hoof-taps from Trixie. “It's smaller on the outside!”
“Close enough,” Trixie muttered, trotting over to the far end of the room.
Levitating a piece of chalk up to a small black board, she marked a line on one side, adding to a tally which noted the number of times somepony remarked about her wagon’s size discrepancy – specifically if they mentioned the inside or the outside first.
“Don't bother asking how my wagon got this way. If old Starbutt couldn't comprehend this kind of magic, Trixie doubts you're going to be a miraculous improvement over this scoreboard.”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, unsure if she was supposed to feel insulted by that remark. Though if she was, Trixie certainly wasn't interested in hearing about it. She was already scurrying through the cupboards next to the chalk board, muttering to herself about the details of various alchemical tools.
“Dihydrogen Poloxide? No. Tetrobate Carbonate? No. Polyhydronic Cilic Damastrocon? No, no, no! For Luna’s sake, where is it?!”
Fluttershy cocked her head. Though she didn't understand a word of what Trixie just said, it was obvious to Fluttershy that she was attempting to create yet another miscellaneous concoction; like what she had already been given. With Trixie engrossed in the art of potion mixing, Fluttershy decided to have quick look around. Though if she would find anything useful was anypony's guess.
Upon closer inspection of the chalkboard, Fluttershy noticed that it was fixed to the centre of a rather discreetly hidden door – though perhaps not so discreet as to be considered secret. Pushing the door open with a gentle nudge, the sight that greeted her could only be described as a full-on armoury!
Walls lined with the proud displays of various weapons from across the entire spectrum of pony warfare. From great swords to silver stakes, flintlock pistols to javelins; if it was somepony’s speciality, it was here.
Even during her trips to Canterlot—a city packed to the brim with shops that catered to every niche hobby a pony could name—she had never seen anything like this, not even from the royal guards!
To say that Fluttershy would never be considered a violent pony would be beyond a gross understatement. Out of all the elements of harmony, the one who represented kindness was almost always the closest to true pacifism.
Even with the urges to drink the blood of living ponies, which came part and parcel with her vampiric affliction, if there was an alternative to attacking innocent ponies, Fluttershy would jump at the chance.
Despite all this, with such a diverse array of weaponry on hoof, Fluttershy couldn’t help but let her mind wonder about all the possibilities to defend Equestria with such instruments. Lost in her fantasies about fending off changelings with an army of lancers at her side, she forgot to pay attention to something else she was losing; her sense of direction.
Inevitably, she wandered into the biggest object in the room; a gigantic, and fully loaded, repeater crossbows. The resulting nudge fired off nearly half a dozen, five-inch long bolts in quick succession into the wall in front of her, startling her enough to jump back half way across the room.
“Fluttershy, what the hay are you doing in there?!” Trixie yelled, galloping over to see what kind of mess her partner was making.
“Why can't I have one of those?” Fluttershy asked, pointing to the now unloaded artillery.
“You've never fought against a werewolf before, have you?” Trixie asked, planting her face in her hoof and shaking her head.
“Um, no?” Fluttershy said in a slightly confused manner, not entirely catching on to the condescending sentiment Trixie was expressing. “Why would I?”
“Listen,” Trixie continued with an exasperated sigh. “Silver bullets are expensive. We can’t waste them on heavy weaponry that even the biggest Earth Ponies have difficulty pulling on their own. Let me handle the weapons, and you can administer the serum to change the curse.”
Fluttershy glanced past Trixie, looking towards the mysterious purple liquid contained in the beakers behind her. She hadn’t really processed the gravity of the situation until now, but it occurred to her that if this curse Applejack suffered with was anything her monthly Flutterbat transformations, she knew that it would be something Applejack would have to live with for the rest of her life.
Was that something she could live with? Could the element of honesty hide something that would take such a big chunk out of her life?
Besides Trixie, only Twilight who knows about Flutterbat. Fluttershy lamented to herself. Though it looks like Applejack will have to discover the truth as well.
No matter how many times Fluttershy told herself—or rather, Twilight insisted that she tell herself—that her friends would accept her, a persistent, nagging feeling insisted that anypony had the potential to become a monster like Decadence.
Will Applejack and I forever be one, poorly concocted potion away from a vicious, feral insanity?
“Hey, Butter-shy, are you listening? Equestria to Flutter Brutter!” Trixie clapped her hooves in front of Fluttershy's face.
Fluttershy turned away and slowly trotted back to the front door, eyes hidden under her mane. Looking once more at the differences between her cottage and the wagon, she sat herself down on the ramp between worlds.
“Fluttershy? Trixie asked, approaching her. “Is everything alright?”
Fluttershy wasn’t sure, but it sounded like Trixie was showing genuine empathy towards her. Even if she was, it wasn’t enough to force a reply. Instead, she simply cast her gaze to up to the cloudless night sky above, of which the full moon was the grand centrepiece.
“What will happen to Applejack if she doesn't get the serum?” Fluttershy asked after a long pause.
Trixie rubbed her chin, taking a moment think of an answer that was both accurate and sensitive. “Then she won't be Applejack anymore,” she concluded. “But if we get the serum to her quickly, she can learn to control her other side. If you can do it, who's to say a hard-working pony like Applejack can't?”
Fluttershy mulled over Trixie's words, still wondering why she, of all ponies, was the one expected to help the Night Shift.
Sure, Trixie is no slouch when it came to magic, but why not somepony physically stronger, like Rainbow Dash? She can last in hoof-to-hoof combat with practically anything.Heck, even Pinkie Pie, as scatterbrained as she is, has so much more physical dexterity than I do.
Folding out one of her bat wings, she scanned her eyes over the bony appendage. I hate to admit it, but when it comes to overcoming your own monsters, I’m the one friend Applejack has with first-hoof experience. I may be weak, but I’m still the Element of Kindness, bat pony or not.What kind of friend would I be if I abandoned Applejack when she needs it most?
Taking a deep breath, she turned to meet Trixie’s gaze, smiling softly. “You're right. Thanks, Trixie.”
“Oh, think nothing of it,” Trixie said, standing up on her hind legs, letting her cape would blow in the wind. “All in a day's work for the ever so kind and compassionate; Trixie! Greatest therapist of bat ponies and other magical beasts in all of Equestria!”
“That's a little long winded, don't you think?” Fluttershy replied, smirking as she nudged the over dramatic unicorn.
“It's a working title!” Trixie proclaimed, both bursting out laughing.
Applejack stuck close behind Ebony, traversing ever deeper into the Everfree. Unable to see much through the darkness, every other step invoked a new, disturbing feeling; as if one hundred eyes carefully watched her from every nook and cranny.
She couldn't pin down the how, but the pony before her seemed to have a certain presence about her – a way of conducting herself that issued a wordless command to all creatures, asserting her dominance.
The pair had been walking in silence for nearly an hour now, twisting and turning through the undergrowth with no obvious direction or purpose, to the point where Applejack wondered if she was being lead around in circles. As the minutes ticked by, her anxiety over the unknown starting to drain away, replaced instead by frustration at the seemingly pointless trek.
“So, Ebony,” Applejack asked. “Care to fill me in on where you’re takin' me?”
“Getting a little impatient, are we?” Ebony replied, tapping her front hooves against a couple of tree trunks, as she had been doing at random intervals throughout the journey. The difference, this time, was that her blank expression now changed to an elated grin.
“Well then, you are in for a treat. Although you may want to sit down for this next bit.”
Applejack had plenty more questions she wanted to voice, but words escaped her as the world around her suddenly started spinning. What little she could see clearly before became a messy blur of random colours, turning the ground beneath her to mush and sending her tumbling end over end.
“Well, I did warn you, didn’t I?” Ebony’s voice echoed.
By the time Applejack found herself able to comprehend that remark, the forest returned to normal – or at least, whatever fraction of normalcy could be applied to the Everfree. She hadn’t a clue how much time had passed since her dizzying spell, nor did she know how she had moved to this new location.
If Ebony had been a unicorn, Applejack would have just shrugged the whole experience off as magic. She could never wrap her head around how all that arcane stuff worked. ‘Magic’ of any kind coming from an earth pony made the dramatic shift from dense woodland to open clearing extra confusing.
The only explanation Applejack could think of was that Ebony moved the trees; an impossible task without disturbing the earth during the transition.
“Impressive, isn't it?” Ebony gestured her hoof towards the clearing, her grin so wide, Applejack thought it may break off her face. “Care to wager the solution of my trick?”
“Nope, I ain’t got a clue how you did that,” Applejack shrugged, rubbing her aching forehead. “But I sure as sugar ain't gonna get used to it.”
You never know,” Ebony retorted. “Earth pony magic is a potent force to master. Something you must always keep in mind, dear Applejack, is that appearances can be deceiving. Any child who looks at a straw appearing to bend in water will begin to realise that ‘reality’ is a matter of perspective. If unicorns and pegasi can learn to master their magic by the end of foalhood, then who’s to say Earth ponies cannot?”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. Anypony who spent a good amount of time around Twilight Sparkle would be lucky to escape a lecture on earth pony magic. However, it was ridiculous to suggest that such magic could rearrange dozens of trees in the blink of an eye.
Before she could argue back, Ebony hurried up Applejack to meet a group of a dozen other earth ponies; all standing in two, straight ranks, more like the royal guard than the average civilian. Conveniently enough, there was a single spot missing on the far-left corner left for Applejack to take.
“Ah, perfection!” Ebony exclaimed, smooching her hoof like a chef tasting a freshly cooked meal. The way she leapt in front of everypony made Applejack wonder if her mentor was getting a little too excited at being a werewolf trainer. Although, in all honesty, she didn’t know what level of enthusiasm was appropriate to display for this task.
Looking over at her fellow students, Applejack squirmed at the sight of the new ponies, all of whom looked to be in various stages of a mental breakdown. Some were shaking violently, eyes darting around every which way in a constant state of paranoia. Others looked almost dead: hanging their heads with a vacant look in their eyes, staring blankly into space.
Applejack empathised with them the most. The revelation that they were doomed to transform into a raging beast every full moon was a weight that would weigh down any sane pony’s heart. Given her propensity towards blunt honesty, she knew better than anypony what it was like for guilt to eat away at one's soul.
Those in the third category were the exact opposite. These were the ponies who stood tall, chests puffed out as they smiled with a psychotic grin, gnashing their teeth together and growling like aggressive dogs. The silver collars around their necks were obviously the only things keeping their savagery in check, no matter how much their inner beasts screamed to be let out.
What scared Applejack the most was not the fact that they were already giving into their bestial instincts – no, it was much worse than that.
She could hear some of the psycho ponies chuckling under their breath, licking their drooling lips as if they were about to be served the most delicious meal of their lives. They knew how Applejack, along with all the other ‘students’, were desperate to retain their sanity was left, no matter how much or little was left. They relished in their fear, throwing away everything that tethered them to civilisation, caring only for the moment that their pack leader would give them the signal to unleash hell on whatever—and whoever—would stand in their way.
It was entirely possible some of them these ponies mad to begin with, but Applejack didn't care to speculate. All that mattered now was her fight for survival; both against the psycho ponies and her own inner monster.
“Alright everypony, eyes front!” Ebony bellowed her first command. “In a moment, you will all be removing your magic suppressors, beginning your first challenge. Your objective is, of course, taking back control of the wolf within you. Do not attempt to reason with it, for it is not a rational creature, as it’s only desire is to hunt and kill; to preserve its own life in the wild. To prevent it from using you as a vessel, you must preserve your current state of mind. No matter how much your body may change...”
“Quit stalling and just tell us already!” One maniacal stallion burst out, limbs twitching and eyelids blinking out of sync. “How do we get the wolf to obey us?!”
“Calm down, I was getting to that,” Ebony replied, rolling her eyes.
I swear, this mare must have the patience of an Alicorn to put up with some o' these ponies. Applejack thought, fighting back the desire to buck the stallion in the face.
“Anyway, as I was saying-” Ebony attempted to continue, but this stallion was having none of it. Grabbing his collar with his front hooves, he snapped the thing in two; transforming with a speed that surprised everypony watching, including Ebony. “Alright then, if that's how you want to play this.”
Even if the stallion could have given some witty retort, the opportunity never came. With a flick of her wrist, Ebony morphed her hoof into a paw, sprouting five claws to slice through the attacker’s throat.
A few futile gasps and bloodied coughs later, the werewolf lay dead on the ground, reverting to his equine physique just as fast as the curse had taken over in the first place.
“I trust that there won't be any other rude interruptions, will there?” Ebony said, her voice flat; save for a minor twinge of annoyance at losing rebellious student.
In stark contrast, everypony else stood in stunned silence, having witnessed first hoof the potential mastering the wolf within could bring.
“Didn’t think so.” Clearing her throat, Ebony continued. “Now, to avoid a similar fate to that mess of a pony, I suggest you all picture in your mind the one thing that matters to you most. Something that binds your mind to this world with enough emotional potency to overcome the bestial rage.”
Applejack raised her hoof. “So, what you’re sayin' is, think o’ somethin' within ourselves that's so valuable, even the wolf can't make us forget?”
“Precisely!” Ebony said, clapping her hooves together. “Oh Applejack, you are such a clever pony. I knew I had a good feeling about recruiting you into our little congregation. I just can't wait to see you test your limits!”
Applejack blushed at receiving such sudden enthusiastic, though the jealous grumbles and annoyed glares from other ponies told her it was best not to draw attention to herself again.
“Now everypony,” Ebony continued. “Let us not waste any more time. Lock on to the image of what defines you most as pony, and on the count of three, remove your collars. One... two... three!”
The proceeding clicks of each magic suppressor signalled the start of the agonizing process which everypony would now have to endure. No matter how much she clenched her teeth, trying to ignore the pain, Applejack couldn't stop herself from screaming as her body began to tear itself apart.
Collapsing to the ground, Applejack helplessly cast her gaze back at Ebony, watching swayed her hips back and forth; dancing to the melodious screams of agony and ecstasy erupting from her students like a macabre musical.
A ferocious snarl erupted from Applejack’s mouth. Who did Ebony think she was? How could anypony show such joy toward a magical affliction, turning peaceful ponies into bloodthirsty beasts? Oh, how she would have loved to rip the smile off that twisted muzzle of hers...
No, that’s what the wolf wants. Applejack pushed back the bloody thoughts, already feeling the inner monster forcing its way to the surface. She would have to use every ounce of her willpower to fight it.
Kill! The wolf growled into Applejack’s mind, claws piercing their way out from her hooves.
Kill! Pain surged through her entire body with every poisonous word the wolf spoke.
KILL! The wolf demanded.
Her muzzle cracking as it extended outwards, Applejack shut her eyes tight, picturing in her mind’s eye a heavy stone door covered in chained padlocks.
The beast behind it pounded away, the binding chains snapping one by one with its ever-mounting desperation to escape. If Applejack didn’t act fast, the Element of Honesty would be lost to the wolf forever.
KILL! HUNT! RIP FLESH! CRUSH BONES! CONSUME THE MEAT!
It was now or never. Stop! Applejack cried in her head, picturing herself stomping her hooves down onto the pitch back ground around her. Bright shafts of light pierced through cracks in the mental landscape, each one revealing windows into the memories which she held most dear.
She felt her heart swell as visions of her family came flooding back to her. The delightful smile Applebloom wore as she raced beside her in the Sisterhooves Social. The serenity of Granny Smith as she snored loudly in her sleep, exhausted from a hard day's work in the orchid. Even the subtle differences of how Big Mac pronounced his limited vocabulary, expressing a greater emotion to her than many ponies would in their entire lives.
And then of course, there were her best friends; standing with her through thick and thin, no matter what was thrown her way. The smell of Pinkie Pie’s freshly baked cupcakes on a frigid winter morning, the enthusiastic chirping of Fluttershy’s song birds, the soft fabric of Rarity’s dresses against her skin; little things that made Ponyville feel like home.
Not to mention the pulse-pounding workouts Rainbow Dash gave her through the running of the leaves, and the mental workout of Twilight’s magic lectures.
Not even the emotional manipulation of Decadence could tear them apart, and if she could overcome that, then no wolf was going to keep her away from them. This was her life, her world. She had her anchor. She envisioned her friends and family, all standing around her in a circle, blocking the wolf’s path.
This did not stop the wolf from trying to break through, but Applejack didn’t care. “If you’re goanna say something’ like ‘you can never hope to stop me’, or any cliché lines like that, then I’m afraid you’re too late,” Applejack said to the wolf with a confident smile. “I’ve got all the support I need to keep my head on straight.”
Realising that brute force was not getting it anywhere, the wolf’s relentless anger began to fade. Yet it didn’t back away. Instead, it stood there, staring at Applejack with a wide, toothy grin on its face, laughing.
“How sweet,” it scoffed. “Poor Applejack. You really don’t understand how this works at all, do you? I am not some kind of parasite born to feed off you; I am you!”
Applejack gulped. A cold sweat washed over her, be she refused to break eye contact. “That’s the biggest load o’ horse apples I ever heard! I don’t care what you say, I ain’t a violent pony, and I intend to prove it, no matter what I look like.”
Shaking its head, the wolf turned its back on Applejack, still chuckling as it walked back towards the door. “Deny it all you want, but you'll see the truth in time. The hunger will come, and when it does, you will realise that, no matter how civilised a pony thinks they are, there will always be that feral instinct, waiting to be unleashed.”
And with that, Applejack snapped out of her daydream.
Her fellow werewolves had dispersed across the clearing; each body twisting and breaking in their own way. Predictably, most of the ponies who had finished transforming were the psycho ponies, embracing their newly found wild heart by tearing out the throats of the weak.
Many ponies were still screaming their heads off—almost literally in some cases—as their fragile bodies faltered under the merciless force of the transformation. Only a few of the calmer ponies looked close to finishing; the rest lying in a tangled mess of deformed limbs and broken bones. A hoof there, a claw there, a jaw split in two down the middle; it was all a complete mess.
“Look at all of them, Applejack,” Ebony said, wrapping her hoof around Applejack’s shoulder. “Is this not a glorious sight worthy of Discord himself?”
“'Glorious' ain't a word I'd be usin' to describe Discord,” Applejack said, pushing Ebony's hoof away with her paw-
Wait, paw? Applejack hadn’t noticed that her transformation was complete. Her body still ached a little here and there, but other than that, this shape felt so natural, it was like she’d been a wolf her entire life.
I’ve done it! She thought, congratulating herself. How long she could maintain this form would be another matter, but for the moment, with adrenaline pumping through her arteries, Applejack could not deny that she felt incredible.
“Well I'll be a donkey's uncle!” she proclaimed. “Guess the ol’ Apple family spirit makes me more tenacious than I thought!”
“You have done a grand job, Applejack,” Ebony said, clapping her hooves in celebration. “I have a feeling you and I are going to become the best of friends.”
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I'll be keeping an eye on this.
Do the story the same justice as JawJoe did to Night Shift.
Tracking this for now
An interesting start to this.
7629723 Thank you! I was so engrossed in Night Shift, I just had to add to the universe myself~.
I'm watching this now considering I enjoyed reading the Night Shift.
Great start, can't wait for more. Watched
7685944 I'm a bit of a scatterbrain, so I'm constantly bouncing between fic to fic. But seeing as I have more time at college, I will absolutely be coming back to this very soon! I even know how to finish it =D.
7686244 looking forward to it.
Sorry took me an awhile to come see this work, been busy with a lot of other stuff, but am pleased by this story greatly.
7803755 Thank you! I have part two finished in first draft, it just needs to be edited.