New Build: Druidic Lich
Fluttershy's home was much farther away than the others', but that just made her journey all the more easier on her mind. She could skirt the edge of town away from the chanced gaze of any early risers. Even on a normal day she would prefer the quieter side streets and outer paths over Ponyville's central thoroughfares, but especially today given her unusually attention-grabbing affliction.
As she floated along the path, she fretted over her animal friends. The pre-portioned food she had set out before leaving had almost certainly run out by now. And though it wasn't as if they couldn't fend for themselves for a few days, many had become somewhat docile and overly reliant on her. Even if worst had come to worst, Angel and Harry could hopefully keep every creature in line. Angel was smart and Harry knew to follow the bunny's example and was big enough to encourage the smaller yet more unruly animal friends to follow the 'friends, not food' rule.
By this point, she had crossed the threshold of her property line and was fast approaching the bridge. In a moment, she was at her door. She glanced at the horizon. Still just before dawn. How convenient that she'd returned perfectly at feeding time, right when both her nocturnal friends would be ready for dinner and her diurnal friends would be waking up for breakfast.
Fluttershy did not attempt to force her door open. Nor did she try to pass through it, pass between it, or find a way around. Fluttershy, being Fluttershy, knocked politely. The door was opened by an irritated-looking rabbit holding a thimble of coffee and wearing a bathrobe clearly designed for a larger animal. He blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he strained to focus his vision on what pony was so inconsiderate as to come over when his Mistress wasn't even home.
"Good Morning, Angel." Fluttershy greeted softly.
Angel's eyes widened as recognition of sound dawned, and then widened further as his rousing mind quickly took in her wisp-like state. He took a step back, torn between worry and alarm, which Fluttershy found she could interpret even more easily than usual.
"It's alright! It's only me." She laid a hoof on her chest, only for it to go clean through. "Well, most of me. But I'm fine! There's no reason to be afraid." She pressed forward as Angel backed further into the house, soon leading her inside as well. She was so focused on Angel that it came as a slight shock when she looked up to find herself in the center of her living room, surrounded by eyes. She may not have been a spirit in the strictest sense, but the distinction was essentially meaningless, and animals were sensitive to such things. And it made them uneasy.
She cowered, collapsing in on herself under the scrutinizing gaze of the animals she was used to looking at her so warmly. It was the same look they gave new animals, or worse, the look some of them gave smaller Everfree monsters that had wandered into the garden. The feeling of tears welled in her eyes, though her gaseous body held no liquid. They didn't know her. Maybe because she had no scent? Or maybe their eyes saw her differently now. Regardless, she was a stranger to her animal friends. Even if her new body did come in a week, could she persist that long in a home where she was unknown and unloved?
Angel Bunny stopped his retreat. Something wasn't right. The Everfree spirit which had gotten inside his Mistress's home was not acting like a usual invader. A lot less shrieking and moaning, for one thing. There was some wailing, yes, but it was quiet, and really more like a soft whimpering when you really listened. In fact, it sounded an awful lot like Fluttershy's 'there's-too-many-scary-ponies-looking-at-me' whimper. He squinted and looked closer. It had said something before, hadn't it? But the shock of seeing an Everfree creature on the doorstep had blanked it from his mind. But spirits had no language... so what was this then? He took a tentative step forward, his coffee thimble abruptly co-opted as a shield. The more he looked at the spirit, the more it seemed... familiar. Beneath hazy shapes that composed its form, there was a strange blue light. It felt.. warm, and familiar. So very familiar. The edges became more distinct as he focused, as through his concentrated effort physically gave it more solidity. It seemed to be a pony, or pony-shaped at the very least. There were the legs, curled up under it, and the tail, wrapped around and clutched in the forelegs like a foal's comfort blanket. Then that bit must be the mane. Funny, it almost looked a lot like hers. And if that was the mane, then the face would have to be somewhere about...
Oh.
Oh crumbs.
Angel Bunny rushed to Fluttershy's side, finally realizing his horrible mistake. He flailed, trying and failing to make contact to give her the critical physical comfort that she so desperately needed. The others were growing restless behind him, he could hear it. They hadn't realized it yet! And to the uninformed observer, his poor attempts at a hug might be misinterpreted as some kind of attack or combat!
He chittered harshly at the animals that had started to approach menacingly from behind Fluttershy, ready to defend her home from "uninvited guests". They stopped in their tracks. Fluttershy heard him as well and looked up. Though she had no tears, her eyes quivered as though they'd tried their best to conjure some up.
"Angel?" she asked through a sniffle.
He smiled as warmly and apologetically as he could and chittered back softly.
"Oh, Angel!" she gasped as she swept him up in a hug. Apparently she could still touch and hold him just fine. "You do know me!"
He made small comforting noises as she spun about the room clutching him close to her chest. He made motions to the others that he was alright and that everything was fine. They relaxed, some hesitantly, but all accepted the ruling of the de facto Alpha-when-Fluttershy-is-away. He took a deep breath and internalized her energy. It was there, buried under layers of spellwork that felt like the nosy purple pony. The same kind and comforting feeling that he had known since bunhood.
She was different, but it was her. And she was home.
"And so that's what happened." Fluttershy concluded as she poured the last bag of feed into the appropriate bowl. It had taken some time for her to learn to move things without a body, but her story was long and there was plenty of food to practice with. By the end, she was able to lift a whole bag of kibble; something she could barely do with a physical body. The animals had listened intently throughout; once Angel had calmed them down and assured them that Fluttershy was who she said she was.
Fluttershy sighed. "So now I'm stuck like this for a while. Until Twilight can fix things. I know she said I could make a temporary body, but I'm not a very crafty mare."
Angel nodded. This was well known among the animals. While Fluttershy was a very caring pony, and a decently talented artist, making things just wasn't her strong suit.
"On the other hoof," she continued, "This would be a fine reason to just stay inside for a few days. 'Sorry I can't come out, I'm just a little bit living-impaired at the moment.' That could work, right?"
Angel gave her a stern glare and she sighed again. "Oh... I thought you might say that. And you're right. I can't go hiding away in the shadows again just because I'm a little different and might attract a few stares. I might have some clay in the basement still, so I guess I could give body-building a chance. It can't be that hard right?"
A few animals cringed as they remembered the sad results of her previous ill-advised foray into the world of pottery. Discord had liked it though, and said he couldn't have done a better job himself.
As she floated downstairs to her basement, murmuring ideas to herself, Angel turned to face the rest of the household.
He chittered at them, asking if they all realized what needed to be done.
They replied uncertainly, some mentioning food or sleep, while a couple of wise guys gave snarky remarks. Angel mentally noted them for later.
He shook his head and corrected them. No, if the Mistress was in trouble, then it was their job to help. After everything she did for them, building her a new body was the least they could do in return. At least to spare her the fate of having to live as one of her clay abominations.
A fox, Fanny, yipped in reply. But none of them knew anything about making bodies. Except for the natural way, obviously. What were they supposed to use?
Unlike most of the others, thanks to the weekly book club, Angel did have some limited knowledge of golems. Or at least a passing memory of reading a sensationalized adventure novel where they had played a minor role. Not much, but it was a starting point.
Angel shrugged. Bits of her old body. Obviously. Ponies shed as much as any other large mammal, and plenty of the animals gathered around had used bits of her mane and fur to line their dens and nests. All they had to do was collect it up and put it back together.
The animals around him began to nod in agreement. Most were not quite as bright as Angel and respected his authority and ideas. Plus a lot of them also felt that it was high time that they paid back their benefactor and landlady, even if it was just returning things that had technically been hers to begin with.
The smaller creatures began to head out, rodents and birds mostly, to gather what they could while larger animals stayed behind to discuss what they could contribute. Angel soon had an idea for them to spitball over. While hair and fur were all well and good, they would still need something stiff and strong for support
Then Jerry the mouse, having returned quickly with a bundle of fur, had a question. Did it have to be just Fluttershy's fur? Because while that made up a portion of his stocks, he had plenty more that came from other ponies who visited and the other animals as well.
Angel Bunny thought for a moment, then allowed it. Fur is fur after all. And besides, his Mistress would probably even more appreciate something that had parts of all of them in it; seeing as she tended to tend to them with almost motherly affection at times.
That sparked ideas in the others. If the floor was opened to "any old body parts", then every creature had something they could contribute. They prowled, scampered, or slithered back to their various holes, dens, and nests, eager to get the best bits they had on hoof (or claw or paw) to please the mare who had done so much for them. Even Harry the Bear, the self-acknowledged slowest of the household, lumbered off to the forest with a clear goal in mind.
Angel stayed behind. Someone was going to have to coordinate things when everyone started bringing their tributes back. But that was not to say he did nothing while waiting. Pursing his lips, he made several short buzzing noises. Soon, a few spiders answered his call and crawled out of the woodwork. He spoke to them again in the language of the insects and they scattered to deliver his messages. It was time to call in a few favors.
Angel Bunny took in the bounty that lay before him. He had put out the call and it had been answered in force. Even beyond the animals that called the cottage and its gardens their home, creatures had come from the nearby forests and meadows to present their tributes before heading back to their lives. Simple thanks for some kindness done in the past.
With a little mental clipboard, he took inventory of the haul.
Most immediate and obvious was the large pile of hair and fur. Much of it was yellow and pink, having been sourced from Fluttershy herself, but the remaining portion of the pile was not insignificant. There were decent portions of sky blue, white, and brown, castoffs from her most frequent visitors, as well as smaller bundles in all manner of colors and textures from either ponies that visited in passing or other animals. Angel had tasked the butterflies with sorting it out; their keen eye for color and tiny precise legs making them perfect for the job.
Next most obvious was the pile of feathers. There was no organization to these, as they varied across the color spectrum and from the small feathers of finches to the beyond-average-pony size flight feathers of hawks.
Beyond that was a mishmash of random bits and pieces; a pile which was slowly being diminished as parts were removed and added to the growing structure in the middle of Fluttershy's living room.
Harry the Bear had, surprisingly, brought back one of the most unexpectedly useful contributions: fish bones. Knowing how seeing them could upset Fluttershy, he had always made sure to discard the remains of his meals in a secret spot deep in the forest. And now they were back. Enough skinny fish bones to construct a pony skeleton out of. Which, coincidentally, was exactly what the more nimble-fingered animals were trying to do.
The trickiest part was finding a way to secure the tiny bones together into larger bone-composites. They had been using spider silk so far, but supplies were limited. It was the current major bottleneck of their operation.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound filled the air. At Angel's direction, someone opened a window, allowing a swarm of bees to come in. One bee, noticeably larger and fatter than the rest, landed on Angel's paw. It gave a short bow, which he returned. The Queen and the Alpha having acknowledged each other, the animals in the room let out a soft breath. The bees were not a threat.
The pair of leaders spoke softly in the bee's language. It was rare for her to leave her hive, let alone with the entire Swarm, but an errant spider on her doorstep had reminded her of an old debt owed to the Caretaker and the bunny who acted as her liaison. Aid begets aid, and the Queen pledged to supply as much wax as was needed for the Caretaker. Angel smiled. Now things could get going.
Bone connected to waxy bone, quickly building a lightweight rib-cage as sturdy as any pegasus'. The reptiles finished their work in another corner of the room and presented the result of their combined efforts. A foreleg. To be accurate, it was more of a scaled forearm and claw, but built to roughly pony dimensions. Old layers of shed skin had been wrapped around and around a fish bone core, layer after layer until the appropriate thickness was reached. The final outer layer was a spiral pattern of scales, clearly belonging to several distinct species of snake.
An Emperor Bullfrog, and an enormous member of his species at that, offered his own hind leg. That is to say, he ripped it off right in front of everyone and placed it in the paws of the builders. Angel started to protest in alarm but stopped when within seconds, a new leg grew to full size from the wound of the old one. He shrugged off the oddities of a foreign magical species and continued instructing the builders.
Others made their own contributions in smaller ways. Tilly the turtle offered her grandmother's old shell for a skull, as it was just the right size. An envoy of crabs from the artificial saltwater pond donated two old bleached-white shells for eyes, as well as two smaller azure sand dollars for irises. The porcupine family offered their old quills to be used as bracing material or however else they could be most useful.
In a hundred small ways, each member of the animal community donated something to the cause. Parts and pieces were stitched, glued, or weaved in place as securely as they allowed.
When they ran out of parts, the group stepped back to survey their work.
It wasn't pretty.
The head was perfect. There had been enough mane hairs to rebuilt the mane fully (likewise with the tail), and the shell had been a perfect fit. With a good deal of molded beeswax, even at a distance, it was recognizable as Fluttershy.
The body was another matter.
While the ribs and supports were firm and strong, there wasn't enough material to skin it. The fur hadn't even been added yet since there was no skin to attach it to. And no one had a clear enough idea for the left hind leg or right foreleg. It was a half-finished mess.
It looked like all their efforts and hard work might have been in vain after all.
And then a young beaver asked a question. Since animal parts had run out, could the gaps be filled with plants instead?
Angel hesitated. His knowledge of golems was already stretched thin. But it was all living material, right? Trees were just a really slow type of animal. The others waited for his go ahead, eager to keep trying but deferring to his authority. With a confidence that wasn't entirely genuine, he agreed to the idea.
And thus started the second exodus for parts, though this trip had a more focused goal in mind. Angel specifically sent the beavers to go through the woodpile. Being the apex predator of trees, he knew they'd be able to find the best possible piece or pieces for a leg.
The harvest was just as successful as the hunt had been. Animals returned with whippy willow branches that became interweaved to form a barrel. Tree sap and sticky fungus assisted the beeswax in holding everything together.
And then the beavers struck gold. Somehow, against all odds, a juvenile timberwolf leg had been buried near the bottom of the firewood pile. It was old and weathered to strokable smoothness, with the enchantment long since dispelled, but the joints still fluidly articulated. It became the new foreleg. The remaining hind leg they sculpted from pure beeswax around wooden bones. Though not as strong as the others, they sculpted it to be the most pony-like of the lot.
With the barrel and legs completed, Angel began instructing the insects in application of the fur. The butterflies had done a fine job; all the strands had been sorted by color which made everyone else's job far easier. They started with yellow, of course. With multiple teams of bugs working at once, irregular patches of butter colored fur grew on their golem simultaneously, some patches joining up while others remained isolated. When that ran out, groups used whichever pile of material was closest to continue. Between the yellow sections more fur slowly appeared, and mottled blobs the colors of Fluttershy's friends created Equestria's first calico pony. They even managed to replicate her cutie mark, though a disagreement stemming from how different animals see color led to them to using brown and white instead of pink and blue.
When all was done, they took a step back to admire their work.
Now it was done. With the barrel filled in and furred, as well as the incluson of all four legs, it finally looked like a proper creature. A strange one yes, but not all that out of place given the strange hybrids that lurked in the Everfree.
It seemed they had finished just in time too, as the sound of a soft voice carried up the stairs.
The animals rushed to their places, blocking their creation from view so they could do a grand unveiling.
Fluttershy reached the ground floor with a dejected look on her face. "Well, I suppose that went about as well as I should have expected." She glanced at the gathered animals. "If any creature needs a pile of misshapen terracotta lumps, feel free."
Angel Bunny hopped forward and patted her leg comfortingly, or did as close as he could in any case. Fluttershy smiled. "Thank you Angel, I did need a bit of cheering up. Though I still just don't know what I'm supposed to do now. Maybe I could pay somepony to make something for me..."
Finally, she noticed how all her animal friends were clustered together around something, blocking it from her view. She cocked her head. "Have you all been doing something up here? There was a lot of noise earlier, but I didn't want to say anything."
Angel smiled proudly as he hopped to the front of the gathered animals. With a noise that almost sounded like a magician's 'Da dada dah!' the animals parted like a fuzzy curtain, revealing their creation in it's full glory.
"Oh!" Fluttershy squeaked in alarm. "I'm so sorry Miss, I didn't know we had a visitor." She flew off to the kitchen before Angel could stop her. She returned quickly, a tray of tea and sandwiches in her ghostly embrace. "I was downstairs and not paying attention, were you waiting long?"
Angel smacked himself in the forehead. At least it was convincing. In the meantime, Fluttershy had slowed and was looking at their 'unexpected guest' with eyes less clouded. "Wait... are you...? Please excuse me, but are you maybe... not real?"
It didn't answer. A bird landed in it's mane.
"Is that..." Fluttershy's eyes widened as she finally started to put two and two together, "Is that me?"
Angel made a noise that loosely translated as "more or less".
She came closer and looked her doppelganger over. "This is...it's amazing! Did you all make this?" The crowd replied with cheerful yips, chirrups, and squeaks. Fluttershy continued looking it over, running an airy hoof across it's face. "It's so lifelike." Her gaze moved to the more animalistic parts of the legs and torso. "You used parts of yourselves?" Again they confirmed with various happy noises. "That's so sweet..." She continued to marvel until her gaze turned to the very obviously fresh frog leg.
"Mr. Hoppington!" she chided, her voice suddenly stern. The bullfrog in question half hopped, half was pushed to the front of the group. She wagged a hoof at him. "Do you want to explain this?"
He croaked morosely.
"Just because Discord gave you 'Unlimited Frog Legs' does not mean you should abuse that ability. It's bad for your mental health."
He ribbited regretfully, and the mare broke into a soft smile. "But thank you all the same."
She turned to face the group and held back a sniffle, "Thank you, all of you."
Fluttershy was not the only one whose eyes threatened to water. More than a few animals were getting a little emotional.
She sniffed and pulled herself together, her ghostly form gaining some degree of opaqueness for a moment. "So, how do I use it then?"
Everyone turned to Angel, the 'expert', to query his 'advanced knowledge'.
He shrugged. This was way beyond his paygrade.
"Okay..." Fulttershy rounded it carefully. "Well... it's pony shaped. I'm pony shaped. Maybe I can just, ah... step in. Like a diving suit."
She looked around for confirmation. The animals nodded. It was a good idea as any.
Lining herself up as best she could, Fluttershy hovered alongside her construct. She hesitated for a moment as a bundle of nerves caught in her throat, but she swallowed them back and steeled her will. With the softest motion, she slid sideways into her duplicate.
There were a few moments of disconnect as she felt her whole self at once pass through the material, lining up closely but not perfectly. It was just starting to get unsettling when suddenly...
*VWORP!*
Fluttershy blinked. Or tried to. She seemed to be somewhat lacking in the eyelid department. Which was arguably still an improvement over lacking physical eyes altogether. A faint grinding noise echoed through her skull as she looked around. Her blue sand-dollar irises skittered across her eyes like bits on a table with a foal moving a magnet beneath.
Her vision was crisp and clear, surprisingly so, as she took in her animal friends. They looked on in wonder as the statue that they had built came to life.
She gave an experimental step. She could feel through her new limbs, though the level of sensation varied between them. The closest thing she could compare it to would be if she was wearing one thick woolen sock, two thin silk ones, and one slightly squishy insulated rubber sock. The flipper on her frog leg was a strange new sensation in itself. She tried another step. The balance was a bit odd, but not bad, all things considered.
And then she opened her wings.
Considering how little Fluttershy flew, even around her own home, many of her animal friends had never seen her full wingspan. This led to them getting a few minor details wrong.
Her wings were enormous. Not fully alicorn sized, but she'd do well in a look-alike contest (her other limbs being another matter altogether). But the colors blew the size out of the water. It seemed as though every bird in the forest had donated a few feathers, and they were all displayed in stunning glory. They shone in the morning light in a cascade of colors that put Rainbow Dash's mane to shame. While Dash's mane had well divided bands of color, Fluttershy's wings had colors that blended and meshed like an actual rainbow, where it was hard to tell where one color properly ended and the next began.
The feathers on the edge were the largest. Long primaries donated by hawks and kites and other hunters which gleamed pristinely and gave an all-encompassing brown and black border to the prismatic melody within.
She closed them again, lest she continue staring for the rest of time. She had no words great enough to express her thanks to her animal friends. She doubted any existed. So she did the only thing she could. Something she'd been wanting to do ever since she got home.
She knelt down and opened her forelimbs for a hug.
And her ragtag pack piled in.
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Did you have an inspiration for Fluttershy's form? I am reminded of an image by Neytirix, though it is not an exact match by any means (and more horrifying than beautiful).
9087699
Nothing in particular. It just kind of, well, grew as I wrote it.
9087718
It's a very nice image. I'd link the one I mentioned, but it doesn't conform to the "E" tag of the story with its grimdarkness.
Random thought; the animals have now built an effigy and successfully enticed their spirit protector to inhabit it. Cue Fluttershy's new existence as a nature goddess.
9087738
Well now you've got me curious! Send the link in a PM perhaps?
9087757
Sent!
awwww fluttershy hugs are best reward
Well, that explains where the regrowing legs came from. Leave it to Discord. That's not quite what that phrase NORMALLY means, but I suppose it's kinder to the frog... :D
Speaking of which, something tells me that Dissy's going to have a rather bad crush during this week, should he arrive.
9087815
If I remember rightly, I think that bit started as some sort of Unlimited Breadsticks joke, but it took nearly a thousand words of irrelevant and convoluted backstory (for a frog we were never going to see again) to make the joke work. But I still needed him for the leg so...
Let's say then that he sells then to a griffin merchant to bring in a little cash to help with the bills.
9087830
o.0
Yeaah, that's not disturbing at all...
Honestly, though, it works fine as-is. Discord doing weird but small things that make twisted sense is pretty much his M.O.
Okay, that was incredibly cool. And amazingly heartfelt from Fluttershy's many, many friends.
So, how long until it turns out that they either can't or won't transfer to the bodies Twilight's been growing?
9087815
That's putting it mildly... that description practically screams "draconequus" in all but the quadrapedal stance! All without abandoning the "Fluttershy" goal!
9088002
Well, let's just say that there will be consequences for not following Twilight's instructions and for not paying attention to her lecture. Consequences that she very much spelled out (but no one remembers because that chapter came out months ago).
9088057
And also because she was so very boring
9087764
Could you send me that link? I'd love to see it.
This is pretty well up there in the good kind of "weirdly touching stuff".
9088488
Can I quote that on the cover page?
9088531
Quote away.
9088057
I was wondering about that...
Brown fur? Oh dear. On top of all of the living or once-living tissue, Fluttershy's new body has a bit of Discord in it.
Still, fascinating chimeric construction. I'm sure Discord would approve... though I get the feeling that Fluttershy will get hit hardest by the side effects of using inadvisable materials. That's a lot of patterns at once.
It's things like this chapter that make me hope that there will eventually be an episode focused on the pets.
Sure it was done in the comics, but I barely remember it.
Flutters was the cutest one by far until now
AJ will be made of apples. Not Apple trees or the like, but some 100% apples. No one will notice the difference.
Either that or she'll be an apple tree. As in a single tree she'll animate as a pony treant. Ponies still won't notice the difference
Rainbow will be made of clouds. More specifically, she'll become her bed. And then proceed to nap on Applejack.
Twiggles will be books. Screw the golem rules, she can be made of her one true love!!!
Spike will be practical and just stay ghostly. The crusaders will find it awesome
I just discovered this story, but it'd be really nice if it updated sooner than next year, please?
Edit: shame it's everyone, we won't even see one of them referencing the pain of not having naughty bits for a week.
Actually... Animals did Fluttershy. They are very unlikely to forget those. VERY.
Hell if I know how she'd feel about that. Most likely not mention it at all to preserve her sanity and not die (again) from the awkwardness of it all
Good work so far, as a set-up for some amusing shenanigans when it all (and each of them) falls apart.
I'm somewhat disappointed that I didn't get the reference in the title of Rarity's chapter right away. Really, you say 'other' anything and mix it with button-eyes and it ought to bring Coraline to mind. Having caught it though, it makes me think that each of the bodies so far could easily be translated into a horror story. Cakenstein's (Cake 'n pie?) Monster is obvious of course. Other sister wouldn't take much to turn the chapter into a horror swerve, just have the real Rarity show up right as the button-eyed one is instructing Sweetie to go into the basement by herself.
The 'Druidic Lich' is probably the most chilling though. A pony who doesn't realize or refuses to accept that they are dead, and so wanders the Everfree with a decaying body, replacing the failing pieces with bits and bobs from anything she can catch.
But talking about the story at hand, I can't help but speculate as to the remaining temporary bodies to be:
Rainbow using clouds would make sense, and there would be potential for humor in a lazily thrown together cloud-body repeatedly falling apart/deforming and needing to be repaired. I suppose she could stuff it into a flight suit and attach some actual rainbows for mane and tail at least.
Applejack I'd expect to end up with a wooden form of some kind, possibly carved into pony likeness and maybe with some additions to make chores easier. She's generally practical, so there's a chance she won't care so much about resembling a pony as much as being able to do her share for the farm. She'll still wear a hat though.
I look forward to seeing what you decide to do with the rest of this story.