The Little Pony Legend: Tales of Equestria

by MaggiesHeartLove

Chapter 7–Bats!

"Hello everyone. Could you excuse me for a second?

*two minutes later*

There, that should do it. Sorry, recently I've been having a, um…infestation problem. Regarding a certain species of flying rodents!

I'm of course referring to Bats!

Oh, I never understand how people can love these things! Worse, come up with mushy romantic novels based on them where they turn human. Gross!

Interestingly enough, today's story involves bats.

It happened during apple buck season, where a certain apple herder was getting ready for the harvest.

(~)

Bats!

The sun was just about to rise, the night sky was already shifting from dark blue to bright orange and pink. A certain apple pony stood before her orchard, waiting patiently for the run to officially rise.

"Any minute now…"

The majestic yellow orb in the sky rose from behind the hilltops, blessing the earth with its warmth and light. The rooster let out a crow, and the once dark orchard was now lush with vibrant green and red colors, which were brought to life thanks to the first ray of sunlight of the new day.

"Yee-haw! It's officially Apple Bucking Day!"

It was that time of the year once more, the time where Applejack would buck the fresh new apples from the trees to make her family's best apple-themed treats and drinks. After all, Sweet Apple Acres was the best place in Ponyville to get apple pie, apple fritters, apple cider, apple juice, apple sauce, anything. The happy country pony galloped through the orchard, mercerized by the shiny bright apples just begging to be bucked.

"Look at all those apples! Ripe and juicy, perfect for bucking'!"

She did not waste a second and bucked the very first tree, happily admiring the stunning fruit that fell around her. The shining apples of red and green shined like the gems in Rarity's outfits. But, sadly, that moment came to a devastating halt.

When the first apple landed on her hooves, it splattered into gussy yellow much, as if the apple itself had lots its juice and was sucked up dry. The rest was said for the apples that landed on the ground around her. They had all been dried out.

"What the heck is goin' on?"

Then, suddenly, Applejack heard the sound of flapping wings and screeching noises. Her eyes widened and she gasped in shock.

"They're back!"

(~)

The fire bender watched in astonishment as the female Avatar gently healed the fox's wounded paw with her water bending. She and Mako were visiting Fluttershy at her cottage, Korra had offered to help Fluttershy tend to her injured animals.

This side of Korra was one of the many things that made Mako feel extremely lucky to have met her. While the Avatar was mostly hot-headed, independent, and resilient, she possessed such a caring and even motherly side towards animals, which would explain a whole lot more of her close relationship to the ponies, and her being so openly welcome to the rest of the town pony folk.

The fox nuzzled Korra's hand lovingly, earning a smile from the Avatar. "You're very welcome, little one."

"Thank you so much for helping me with the animals, Korra," Fluttershy said thankfully.

"Anytime, Flutters," she said sweetly. Mako noticed one of the baby badgers nudging on his leg. "I think they like you," Korra said as she stood up and approached Mako. She squatted down and took the badger into her arms, allowing Mako to pet it. "Relax, he won't bite."

Mako, with a bit of hesitation, reached out and patted the baby's head. The little mammal let out a happy squeak, making the young man smile. But the one smile that lit up his heart was the one Korra gave him.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a bell ringing. "That sounds like it's coming from Sweet Apple Acres," said Fluttershy.

The bell was also heard by a certain alicorn princess and her dragon assistant, as well as an earthbender who was helping Pinkie Pie with some Sugar deliveries and a raven-haired heiress who was getting her hair done by a certain white unicorn. They all stopped what they were doing and rushed to where the sound was coming from.

(~)

The bell of the Apple Acres barn rang loudly. The rest of the Mane Six, along with Spike and Team Avatar arrived at the barn.

"Attention! This is a Sweet Apple Acres code red! I need all hooves, hands – and claws – on deck!"

"Calm down, Applejack," said Rarity.

"Calm down?! How can I calm down at a time like this?! Vampire fruit bats are attackin' Sweet Apple Acres!"

"Fruit-what-nows?" Korra asked.

"Fruit bats!" Applejack repeated, "They sucked all of the new apples dry!"

"But I thought the fruit bats usually stayed put in the west orchard," said Twilight.

"The fruit bats do, but these aren't just your everyday ordinary fruit bats. They're vampire fruit bats!"

Bolin began to quiver in fear, "Vampire bats?!"

"I'm sure it's not that kind of vampire, Bolin," Asami assured him while speaking in a kind manner.

"I'll be darned if they think they're gonna sink their fangs into my blue ribbon apple." Applejack removed a white blanket that was covering a very large, very bright, looking apple that had the tree it was attached to, bend over due to its size. The group was amazed by this treasure.

"Wow!"

"This here's our entry into the Appleloosa State Fair's produce competition." she exhaled her breath onto the apple, using her tall to polish it, "You know how much TLC goes into getting an apple to grow like this?"

Rarity admired the shiny apple, primarily the fact she could see her reflection in it, "Applejack! When you go big, you really go big!"

"Them vampire bats want to shrivel it up like a raisin!"

"And you want us to help you get rid of 'em, right?" Korra said.

"Exactly!" Applejack winked. But Fluttershy had a different mindset on the matter.

"Oh, I'm sure if we just let them know how special that particular apple is to you, they'll leave it alone."

"Yeah, right. Be my guest." A.J. said sarcastically.

Korra approached the pegasus, "Fluttershy, have you ever even talked to a vampire bat before?"

"Well, um…no. But there's a first time for everything. Right?"

Korra knew she had lost this argument since the pegasus used her own words against her. Which, ironically, made her feel proud.

(~)

Fluttershy flew up towards a tree, the ground was covered in shriveled up apples, and the tress looked almost a pitch black. She opened her mouth to try and speak with the creatures, "Um, excuse me, Mr. Vampire Bat--" another rotten apple was tossed to the ground before her. "We were just wondering if maybe you wouldn't mind leaving that really big apple alone?"

She patiently waited for a reply, smiling hopefully. The only response she got was a patch of seeds hammering at her face. A sure sign to tell her to go away, which she did.

She walked up to Applejack while removing the seeds from her mane with her wing.

"Well? What'd he say?" A.J. asked.

"Um… yes."

Applejack smiled at this news.

"But… it could've been a no."

Applejack's mood dropped.

"This is the first vampire fruit bat I've ever met and, well, it might take some time for me to really understand their language."

Applejack arched an eyebrow, "Uh-huh. And in the meantime, this pest and his vermin friends are gonna go after my prized apple and, while they're at it, every other apple in the orchard! These vampire bats are nothin' but a bunch of monsters!"

Fluttershy gasped, "Monsters?!"

"Uh, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?" Korra said, cringing a bit. Sure, these bats weren't what she would call "adorable", but monsters were a bit of a stretch.

"No, I do not."

As the bats flew out of the tree, music filled the air.

Applejack;

Those vampire bats will give you a fright

Eating apples both day and night

They rest for a minute, maybe three

Then there eatin' every apple in your apple tree

As she sang, more fruit bats but on the apples, sucking them dry as the remains landed in front of her hooves.

They don't care about nada, not zilch, no, nothin'

'Cept bringin' about an orchard's destruction

Bolin shrieked when the bast flew around him. Korra nudged at Fluttershy to say something

Fluttershy;

Now wait just a minute, there's another side to this

And if I did not defend them, then I would be remiss

She flew to one of the trees, where a sweet-looking family of bats, a mother, father, and baby, rested peacefully on a branch.

These bats are mamas and papas too

They care for their young just like we ponies do

The baby bat flew around Fluttershy, nuzzling her face before flying down and landing on Korra's head, snuggling on it as if it were a bed. She had to admit, this little one was pretty cute.

But Applejack wasn't buying this.

Applejack;

Oh, give me a break, you're bein' too kind

These creatures have a one-track mind

The orchard is not their restaurant

But do they ever think what others may want?

No! They don't! And that is just a fact

These bats, they simply don't know how to act

She angrily shooed away two bats fighting over an apple.

Fluttershy;

That's where I have to disagree

They're loyal to their family

Spreading seeds both far and wide

Applejack;

You see one comin', you'd better run and hide!

She wrapped herself around a blanket, giving the impression of a bat, as she sang the next part of her song while demonstrating the devastating state her trees were now in due to the creatures.

They're big and ugly and mean as sin

Will ya look at the state my trees are in?

Fluttershy;

They help your trees, they'll grow stronger faster

Applejack;

They've turned my life to a total disaster!

It now seemed Fluttershy was the only one who disagreed with Applejack, as the rest of the Mane Six and Team Avatar began to agree as well.

Asami;

Well, I for one don't have a doubt

Rarity;

These vermin must be--

Asami and Rarity;

--stamped right out

Rainbow Dash;

I second that, they've got to go

Rainbow and Bolin;

These bats, they've got to hit the road

Applejack;

It comes down to just one simple fact

They've crossed the line, it's time to fight them back!

Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash all galloped around Fluttershy, chanting and singing in unison. Fluttershy, Korra, and Mako were the only ones not singing while Asami and Bolin were.

Stop the bats! Stop the bats!

Make them go and not come back!

Stop the bats! Stop the bats!

Make them go and not come back!

Stop the bats! Stop the bats!

Make them go and not come back!

Applejack;

Yes, it comes down to just one simple fact

They've crossed the line, it's time that we attack!

Once the song came to a close, Korra stepped forward and crunched down to comfort a worried Fluttershy. "I get you're upset about this Applejack, but I think Fluttershy makes a good point too."

Applejack was pretty surprised by this, especially when it came from Korra. But not everypony agreed. Rarity stepped forward, "I'm sorry, Korra, but I believe Applejack has made the better argument. These vampire fruit bats sound downright dreadful."

"Exactly. So let's get to roundin' them bats up so they don't destroy the rest of my orchard," said Applejack.

Pinkie Pie began hopping singing to the tune of Winter Wrap Up, "Fruit bat round-up, fruit bat round-up!"

Fluttershy then spoke up, "Um, excuse me, but, um, what if instead of rounding them up, we... let them have part of the orchard?"

Applejack whinnied in shock before turning around to face the pegasus, "Have you lost your pest-lovin' mind?!"

"Actually, I think she's onto something," Korra said, surprising the others.

"What are you talkin' about?!"

"We do have a type of fruit bats back in our world too. The Monarch Flutter Bat found in the Fire Nation, and from what Fluttershy described they share the same characteristics. After they eat the fruit, they spit out the seeds, so once they hit the ground more and stronger trees grow in their place." Korra explained… which left behind a few bewildered, blinking expressions.

"How did you know that?" Bolin asked.

"I read it in a book once," Korra said with a casual shrug, which still left a lot of the others surprised. Korra pouted in annoyance and groaned. "The compound I grew up in had a library, I needed something to kill my boredom when I got grounded."

"Korra is right. Besides, they're only here because they're hungry!" Fluttershy explained, "If we build a sanctuary for them, they could have their apples to enjoy. After a while, they could even help the rest of your orchard. The vampire bats don't eat the seeds of the apples, and when they spit them out, they grow into even more productive apple trees!"

"Which is exactly what I just said." Korra pointed out.

But sadly, the stubborn Applejack did not approve, "Listen, guys. That sounds real nice 'n' all, but every second we spend buildin' this so-called 'sanctuary' is a second they'll spend destroyin' orchards! You don't know what it was like the last time there was an infestation, but Granny Smith has told me enough stories about it that just the thought of it gives me nightmares!" she shivered, "Granny says we lost a huge section of the orchard that year. They had to ration out apples all winter!"

"What about the cider?" Rainbow asked hopefully, "There was still cider, right?"

"Not…a…drop."

This was enough to get the spirited pegasus all up in a frenzy. "No cider?! No cider?! We need to round up these monsters, and we need to do it now!"

"What's the big deal?" Asami asked, "It's just juice."

Rainbow narrowed her eyes at her, her nose practically touching hers, before zipping away at top speed, creating a gust of wind that caused Asami's hair to cover her face. Once she removed all of it, Rainbow Dash arrived in five seconds flat with a bottle of apple cider in her hooves.

"Try. This!"

The heiress complied, arched an eyebrow, and took a sip of the liquid. At first, she was indifferent, then her eyes snapped open, and stood perfectly still. Bolin waved his hand in front of her face. "Asami? You okay?"

Almost immediately, the heiress grabbed his collar, now looking fiercely determined. "Bats need to go now!"

Applejack spoke once more, "If Granny Smith wasn't with Apple Bloom an' Big Mac checkin' out our produce competition in Appleloosa, she'd be here tellin' us to do just that!"

Fluttershy's ears lowered in sadness as Twilight approached her, "I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I think Applejack is right."

Bolin tapped his chin in thought, "If only we could somehow convince the bats not to eat the apples in the first place."

Twilight gasped in realization, "Maybe there is! Bolin, you're a genius!"

"I am? I am! How am I a genius again?"

(~)

Everyone gathered at Twilight's library and the princess found a special spell in one of her books. "So, there's good news and bad news." she said, "The good news is that I found a spell that can get the vampire fruit bats to stop wanting to suck the juice from the apples. But for the spell to work, I need the bats' complete attention." as she said the last sentence, Twilight was looking at Fluttershy.

"Oh no."

"Fluttershy, I need you to do your Stare on the bats."

"Oh, gosh, I don't know."

"What's the problem?" Rainbow asked, "You've used the Stare plenty of times before! Heck, you used it to scare an equalist right out of his biplane!"

"Yes, but it's not something I take lightly. I've made a vow not to use it except in dire circumstances."

"This circumstance is plenty dire to me!" said Applejack.

"Me too!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash in despair, "Think of the cider! Won't somepony please think of the cider?!"

Asami then took the pony in her arms in sympathy, "Seriously! Have you no souls?!" Mako, Bolin, and Korra looked at Asami with slight fear and concern, then at one another and then back at Asami. "What?" she asked…right after the bottle of cider fell from her back pocket, already empty.

"Did you drink all that cider?" Korra asked.

"Maybe. Kind of. So what if I did? Mind your own business!" the heiress was uncharacteristically jittery which came as a concern to the teens. Asami squatted down and pleated to Fluttershy, "Please Fluttershy, do it for the cider--I mean, me--I mean, Applejack!"

"I'm sorry. I just don't like the idea of taking away the thing that makes the vampire fruit bats Vampire fruit bats! It just feels wrong!"

"But if we don't do this, there won't be any apples left for anypony here in Ponyville." said Twilight, "Doesn't that feel wrong, too?"

Fluttershy looked up at Korra for suggestions or motivation, however, even the Avatar didn't know what else to do. They both didn't want to harm the creatures, but being torn between their friends was too much to bear. The Mane Six all knew how Korra was feeling, as well as Fluttershy, but they all agreed that the bats needed to be taken care of.

Korra then spoke up, "The spell won't harm them physically, will it?" she asked the alicorn. She read a few words on the page and shook her head. "Okay, listen. If Fluttershy agrees to this, right after Applejack bucks all of the apples, Twilight reverses the spell on the bats and then we can calmly figure out what to do with them afterward. Does that sound fair?" The ponies immediately agreed to this plan. Even Mako was surprised by this.

"So what's it gonna be, Fluttershy?" Applejack asked, "Will you do your Stare on the bats or not?"

"Um… Um... Okay, I'll do it."

Asami pounded her fists into the air, cheering, "Yes!" she noticed all eyes were on her, "I mean…good choice."

"Agreed." said Rarity, "I knew you wouldn't side with those icky bats!" she whimpered in disgust.

"They're not icky," Fluttershy said with scorn.

(~)

Back at the farm, Applejack stood before the group, "Alright, everyone. We've gotta round up these beasts with wings first. Time's a-wastin'!"

First, Applejack tied several apples on Pinkie Pie's head, looking like a fruit hat from a fiesta. The pink pony hopped along, grabbing the attention of various bats. Bolin and Asami gathered the bats with baskets of apples. Once swarm began chasing after Bolin and he began screaming as the bats chased him. Rarity, while wearing a contamination suit, levitated a butterfly net to try and capture a bat hanging from a tree. In the process, the net had hit the tree, causing an apple to land on Rarity's mask and slat all over it. The bat smelled the sweet aroma and landed on the unicorn's mask, liking the juice and frightening the pony. She galloped away while screaming in disgust.

"Ew, ew, ew, Ewwww!"

Another group of bats was eating some applied and spitted out the seeds when Rainbow Dash came swooping in to grab them.

"Gotcha!"

The pegasus gathered more and more bats. Pinkie giggled when she placed the apples near a tree, which also had buckets of apples on the branches. Rarity, and the bast that followed her, also stopped there to eat the apples. Bolin and Asami came in and handed the baskets to Twilight and Fluttershy who placed them on the branches. Korra used her airbending to lift the apples which lead a large swarm to the tree and Rainbow Dash came in with the bats she had captured with her speed. The entire tree was now filled with vampire fruit bats.

"Good work, everybody!" Applejack said proudly, "I think we got 'em all!"

"Not all of them!" Mako came shouting and running with another patch of apples and a swarm of bats chasing him. Twilight came in and took the basket, placing it on the branch and Mako stopped to catch his breath. "Glad that's over!"

Applejack then turned to Fluttershy, "Now all we need is for you do to your Stare."

But Fluttershy was still unsure, "Oh, um, are you sure I need--"

Korra squatted down and petted her head, "It won't be for good. Once the spell is reversed we'll find a better home for them. I promise."

"Okay." the sad pegasus flew up to the bats who were already sucking the apples, "I really, really, really hate to do this to you... I just hope you can forgive me…"

Fluttershy closed her eyes for a brief moment, feeling sincere regret for what she was about to do. She opened her eyes, giving the bats the Stare. The creatures hissed at her first, but then they stopped, seeming as if they were locked in a trance.

Applejack smiled in relief at their progress, "Good… Now you go, Twilight!"

Before she could activate the spell, she looked up at the worried Avatar, "I promise I'll remove the spell once the harvest is done."

Korra still felt uncertain but nodded her head. So long as this meant she didn't have to pick sides between her friends. She hated that immensely.

While Fluttershy continued doing her Stare, Twilight activated the spell. Her horn glowed a bright magenta as did the bats, who were still under the trance. During the event, Korra couldn't take her eyes off of Fluttershy, who's intimidating glare was glued straight onto the bats. Suddenly, Korra felt something was off. She couldn't put her finger on it and it didn't seem like something that great. But still, she felt a slight uneasiness in her stomach. Small but it was still there.

Once the spell was done both Twilight's horn and the bats stopped glowing. The alicorn nodded to the others. The deed was done.

"You can stop staring, Fluttershy." Twilight said.

The yellow pegasus ended her glare and looked down at her friends.

"Did it work?" Spike asked.

"Only one way to find out for sure." said Applejack. She nodded her head at Rainbow Dash who nodded in return.

One of the bast rubbed his eyes, feeling like he had just woken up from a dream, when Rainbow offered him and apple to eat. The bat sniffed it twice before turning away in disinterest and flew off. Rainbow cheered with delight, "Ye-he-heah, whoo!"

Even Asami was jumping up and down with joy, "Yeah! Whoo hoo!"

But none were as happy as Applejack was. "My crop is saved! Yee-haw!"

"We'll be drinking cider all winter long!" cheered Rainbow Dash. Asami surprised her with a hug.

"First round's on me!"

"I wanna thank you for your help." said Applejack, "I couldn't have done it without you."

Spike smiled proudly, "Aw, don't mention it, Applejack. It was my pleasure! Really!" The others arched an eyebrow as Spike walked ahead proudly.

"Now all we gotta do is sweep up these cores so I can start buckin' fresh tomorrow morning'!" Applejack was surprised when Asami was now suddenly face with face with her.

"Then you can make more apple cider right? Right?!"

Asami's new attitude still concerned the other teens. "Asami, you sure you're feeling okay?" Bolin asked, almost scared to hear her response. Or rather how she would respond.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" the heiress smiled, right before her eyes began to twitch, which only concerned the others even more.

"Oh, no reason." Mako said, feeling more and more concerned, "You just seem a bit… jittery is all."

"Jittery? I'm not jittery. Why would you think I'm jittery? Maybe you're jittery!"

Korra gently took the heiress by the shoulder, "Yeah, why don't we just take you home?"

The two brothers led Asami away while the others walked beside them. But then, Korra noticed that Fluttershy was silent. Very silent. The pegasus was staring very strangely at one of the fallen apples. The Avatar tried to get the pony's attention.

"Fluttershy?" but she completely ignored her, still fixated onto the juicy red fruit. "Fluttershy? Hey, are you listening to m---OW!!"

Korra had tapped on Fluttershy's head to get her attention, only to suddenly have the pony bite her wrist in response. Korra quickly removed her hand and rubbed the place her friend had bitten her. The others heard her scream and Mako was the first to rush towards her.

"Korra!"

Fluttershy shook her head, trying to make sense of what she just did. "Wha…? What happened?" she noticed the bite mark on Korra's wrist and she gasped, "Oh my goodness! Did I--Korra, I'm so sorry! I didn't know what came over me!"

Mako narrowed his eyes at the pony, "Fluttershy, what's gotten into you?!"

"I--I don't know! I--I'm so sorry!"

Korra placed a hand on his shoulder, "Mako, it's okay."

"She bit you!"

"I'm fine! Look, it's been a long day for all of us. Let's just get some rest."

But everyone was still deeply concerned for their friends. Why did Fluttershy bite Korra all of a sudden? It didn't make any sense. Realizing they weren't going to let it go, Korra had to forcibly shove Mako a few feet away to get her point across.

"I'm fine! Let's just go home." the Avatar walked off, leaving a very confused and devastated Fluttershy behind.

(~)

That night, back at Air Temple Island, Korra was in the bathroom, washing her arm. She could still feel the sting from Fluttershy's bite. Which was still a mystery as to why she did such a thing. I wasn't like Fluttershy to do this. Did something go wrong during the spell?

Korra winced as she bended the glowing waters around her wrist. "Man, I never knew Flutters had such sharp teeth." Suddenly, almost as if my magic, the bite marks dissolved into her skin and her wrist was all healed. "That was…weird." Korra jolted upwards in shock when her mentor's voice called out to her.

"Korra, time for diner!"

(~)

At diner, Korra still couldn't stop looking at her wrist. The bite mark was gone but she felt…different. She soon realized with as due to hunger. She hadn't realized it but she was very, very hungry. Starving even.

Pema walked into the room with a bowl of fruit, for which caught Korra's eye. Primarily the apples.

"Hope you guys brought our appetite." said the mother in a cheerful tone, her white teeth gleaming underneath the lantern on the ceiling.

Pema placed Korra's plate in front of her but, one look at the food and suddenly Korra lost any interest in eating the steaming hot rice and various other fruits. The only fruit she hat set her eyes one were the red, juicy bright ones in the bowl centered on the table.

Tenzin placed his hands together, he and the rest of the family said their prayers. But even when Korra tried to focus, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the apples. Her stomach growled for them, Tenzin's voice turning mute and all she could see, and think about, were the apples. She heard Tenzin say something that ended the prayer and Meelo reached out for an apple first. Only to have his wrist grabbed by Korra at lightning speed.

"Huh?" Meelo looked at Korra in confusion and the Avatar finally came back to her senses, realizing her tight grip on the young airbender's wrist.

"Korra? If you wanted one you could have just asked." Tenzin asked in surprise.

Korra released the Meelo's wrist, not having place a lot of strength into it, and sat up straight. "Sorry. Can I have some?"

"Of course." Pema said while handing out the bowl to her, still a bit perplexed by what just happened. "Take as many as you'd--" her eyes widened at the exhilaratingly fast way Korra took all of the apples from the bowl, leaving behind all the others. "--like?"

The family watched, rather surprised and puzzled, as the Avatar practically gorged herself in nothing but the apples. She ate them almost as if they were the last food on earth, not once touching the rest of her food. They knew she had a large appetite but this was stretching it. Korra ate the apples in less than five minutes, leaving only the seeds behind and not even the core of the apples remained. She let out a small burp and covered her mouth.

"Excuse me." she got up and stretched her arms, her jaw outstretched as she jawed. "Thanks for dinner." she said gratefully and prepared to leave.

"But, you haven't eaten the rest of your food, sweetheart." Pema mentioned, pointing at the untouched meal.

"I'm already pretty stuffed, but thanks." Korra walked out of the room cheerfully, leaving the rest of the family to stare at one another, silently asking the same question.

What just happened?

(~)

Korra tossed and turned in her sleep. Her body was sweating, she couldn't rest. She was hungry again. The hunger burned like wildfire in her stomach, clawing at her insides like an angry wild animal. Her throat was dry as if she had been walking in the scorching hot desert son for weeks. Maybe months. Her closed eyes twitched and squinted. All she could see were apples.

Those big… red… mouth waveringly sweet, juicy, crunchy, delectable apples. The images wouldn't leave no matter how hard Korra willed them to. It was then she realized, she didn't wish to forget.

Her eyes snapped open and sprang towards the window, moving like a gust of wind, not once awakening the sleeping Naga. The Avatar scouted the gardens, her nose up high, sniffing the air while some droll dripped from the left side of her lower lip. She knew she had smelled it. It was near.

She heard the sound of a lemur who flew down from a tree to grab an apple. But just as it was about to take a bite, the little creature heard the Avatar call out to it from the tree branch. Her ominously low and raspy voice pierced through the nighttime silence like a knife cutting through skin.

"Mine."

Korra lunged forward to grab her meal. The lemur flew away, dropping his apple in the process, which Korra devoured in here seconds. The following morning, none of the apple trees bore any of its namesake fruit.

(~)

"Apple Bucking Day, take two!"

The rooster crowed once the sun rose up over the hills. Just like the day before, she galloped happily.

"Yee-haw!"

With the bats gone, she could finally buck the apples in peace. "Time to collect those juicy, sweet apples!" she bucked the first tree and happily watched as the first apple fell.

Her happiness quickly died once the once beautiful apple was now splattered onto the ground.

(~)

Twilight couldn't believe it. "The spell didn't work!" she said in shock. The apples were still sucked up dry just like the fruit bats left them the previous day. Team Avatar and the Mane Six were gathered at the orchard when Applejack called them to see what she had uncovered.

"You're darn tootin' the spell didn't work!" said the angry country pony.

"But this doesn't make sense." Mako said, scratching the back of his head, "We saw it work fine yesterday."

"Maybe it had an eight hour timer or something?" Bolin said, "What do you think Korra?"

But the Avatar wasn't looking so well. Ever since she woke up this morning she had felt like an anvil had hit her head. Strands of hair stuck out messily from her ponytails, and somewhat faded dark bangs hung under her eyes. She posture was sluggish and every once in a while she kept dozing off, and she felt her stomach was about to explode.

"You sure you're alright, darling?" Rarity asked with concern.

"You've been acting like this all morning." Mako said, placing a hand over her forehead. She didn't have a fever.

"I'm okay." she insisted, "I just didn't sleep so well last night."

"I think we're gonna have to take more extreme measures!" said Applejack, focusing on the task at hand.

"I hear ya, Applejack!" said Rainbow Dash, "C'mon, everybody! Let's track down those vampire bats!"

The team rushed towards the trees where the bats all stood, completely calm….and not eating any of the apples that were on the tree they stood on.

"They're not eating anything." said Asami.

Indeed she was right. None of the bats ate the apples. In fact, some were even using them as chairs to read a book. How in Equestria they ever got those books (or knew how to read) was beyond them.

Rainbow offered a reading vampire bat an apple, but he only swatted it away from her hoof, not once prying his eyes off of the pages. Rainbow winced when the apple landed on Rarity's horn.

"Wait a minute... I don't think these bats are the ones that sucked my apples dry." Applejack said in realization.

"But if the vampire bats aren't eating your apples who is?" Rarity asked, after removing the fruit from her horn.

"Fluttershy, you're our animal expert," Twilight said, "Do you know of any other creature that might be capable of this?"

"I'm sorry. I don't." Fluttershy replied. Their guess was as good as hers. The spell seemed to still be working, much to Fluttershy's distaste, but if the bast hadn't eaten the apples, then what did. Only a vampire fruit bat could cause this, maybe more given how there were even more sucked up dry apples spread across the field than last time.

Mako took one of the rotten apples and studied it. "There's only one way to find out." he said.

Twilight nodded her head, thinking the same thing. "We'll have to catch whoever it is in the act."

"Exactly!"

"And how do you propose we do that?" Rarity asked.

"A stakeout!" both firebender and alicorn said in unison, catching everyone, and even themselves by surprise.

(~)

"The witching hour…" Rainbow said in a spookily voice as she and the others walked the orchard at night. The moon was full and the ground was shrouded with rotten cored apples, leftover by the mysterious creature.

Bolin shivered at the pony's spooky voice. "Could you please not talk like that."

"Keep it together Bolin." said his brother, right after he heard the sound of an owl hooting in the distance. Bolin instinctively clung on to his brother, who only sighed while shaking his head.

"Maybe we should just call this off." said Fluttershy, "Not sure about the rest of you guys, but I'm really hungry…" she said the last word as she gazed up at a single in tact apple hanging from a tree. Drool dripped from her mouth before she gulped and snapped herself out of it.

"Oh, Fluttershy, it'll be okay." Rarity said in encouragement, "Don't forget, darling, we're all in this together. Right Korra?…Korra?"

Rarity noticed that, like Fluttershy, Korra too had become distracted, her gaze pined to another in tact apple. Her lips were slightly parted, her tongue licking the side of her upper lip. Mako snapped his fingers in front of Korra's face, and the Avatar shook her head, blinking in surprise.

"Huh? What?"

"You zoned out." he said, "You feeling okay?"

"I told you, I'm fine!" she said defensively, "Will you stop pestering me?" Korra realized her outburst, which really was out of context. Korra immediately regretted her actions, "I'm so sorry. I guess I'm a little hungry too. Let's just find this thing and get it over with."

Korra walked on ahead, while the others briefly shared worried looks before following her as well. Fluttershy flew up to the Avatar. "Korra, are you still mad about what happened yesterday?"

Korra stopped and spoke sweetly to the pony, "No, sweetie. I'm not mad."

"I still don't know why I bit you. It's so not like me."

"You were probably stressed from everything that happened. Don't worry about it."

"Does everybody have their signals?" Applejack asked.

Rarity and Twilight used their horns to create magic beams in the sky in the same symbols as their cutie marks. Pinkie Pie took out a flashlight, which she held with her bang, and shined a signal with balloons identical to her cutie mark. Bolin and Asami both had flashlights, Asami's depicted the Future Industries Logo while Bolin's was that of the Earth Kingdom emblem.

"Now remember, only use the signal if you see somethin' suspicious."

Both Bolin and Pinkie saluted, "Got it!"

"Something suspicious…" Pinkie Pie said. The two got started right away in spotting anything suspicious at all. Pinkie Pie noticed Fluttershy sniffing an apple. She pointed the flashlight at the pegasus, startling her.

"Whatcha doin'?!"

Flutteshy shook her head rapidly, as if she had been in a daze. She galloped away while Pinkie Pie placed her flashlight back into her mane, while eying Fluttershy suspiciously.

Applejack stopped at the entrance of a picket fence, "Alright, now everybody split up. We'll each patrol our own row of the orchard. Whoever orwhatever's destroyin' my apples has gotta be here somewhere."

The ponies, teens and dragon each split apart from one another to search for the mysterious creature. Mako, however, spotted where Korra was heading and inconspicuously followed her.

(~)

Korra walked around the orchard, looking for any signs of the creature. She heard a twig break and spun around with fire daggers at the ready.

"Easy, it's just me!"

Korra lowered her defenses once she realized it was just the firebender. "Mako? What are you doing? A.J. said to split up."

"I know, I just wanted to mark sure you were alright."

"Mako, I know you're protective, but I can take care of myself."

"That's not what I mean. You've been acting strange ever since Fluttershy bit you, which in of itself is strange."

"Will you just give it a rest, already? I told you, I'm--AH!" Korra never got to finish her sentence. She clenched her stomach, getting down on her knees and Mako rushed to her aid.

"Korra!"

The Avatar groaned, her skin turning pale. "So…hungry…"

She must be suffering from low blood sugar. Mako gently placed her beside a tree and went in search for something. He spotted and apple from a second tree and quickly took it.

"Here, I found…Korra?" once he turned around, Korra was gone. She was nowhere in sight. "Korra? Korra!"

(~)

Fluttershy continued down her path across the orchard. "I have a bad feeling about this. A really bad feeling about this…" her eyes caught sight of a bright apple hanging from a tree. Suddenly, her once teal eyes began to change color to a blood red. She gazed upon the fruit, mesmerized by its appetizing appearance.

"That apple... It looks...so juicy... and sweet…"

(~)

"Korra? Where are you?"

Suddenly, a flash of brown swooped down and stood in front of Mako. The figure was partly shadowed as it snarled at him. The creature moved in closer and Mako could make out its body shape. It was the body of a human, but had claws on booths its hands and feet, huge wings and piercing red eyes. Once the moonlight shined on the figure, Mako immediately recognized who it was.

"K…Korra?"

It was indeed Korra! Somehow she had now turned…into a half-bat creature! Her hair was messy, her pants were torn to reveal her clawed feet, and her hands had long sharp claws and bat wings were on her head. Her once beautiful eyes were now piercing red.

Mako didn't know what to do now, he couldn't fight Korra. He didn't have to when the creature lunged forward but Mako jumped away in time. However, it was not him she was aiming after…but the apple he had found. She bit on the fruit, revealing her long vampire fangs and sucked the fruit dry. She spun around to face Mako, who was still unsure on what to do next. All she did was snarl and flew off into the night. Mako quickly got up and ran to find his friends.

(~)

Pinkie Pie and Bolin suddenly heard something run across the trees. "What was that?!" Pinkie Pie asked.

Bolin gasped, "Look!" he pointed towards a rotten apple, splattered on the ground, completely dry of juice.

Pinkie Pie inspected it closely before exclaiming, "Suspicious!" she giggled, "It's pony signal time!"

Somehow, someway, her bang came to life and too out her flashlight. But before she could use her signal, the same figure ran past them again, hidden in the shadows. Bolin yelped in fear and grabbed Pinkie Pie into his arms while he trembled.

(~)

Rarity hatted having to walk around a scary orchard at night. She saw a shadow past through the ground. "Who's there?" she asked.

Above her head, she saw what appeared to be some kind of large figure flying above her head. As large as one of her human friends.

"Oh, well, there's obviously no need to worry about that shadowy figure overhead... " then, the same figure swooped over her once more. With her horn, Rarity levitated the water from her waterskin and readied herself. "Alright, whatever you are…bring it!"

She spotted something rustling in the bushes and her eyes narrowed in determination. She galloped ahead, water whip in tow, and hurled the water at her opponent.

"OW!"

Rarity stopped and slid to a halt. "Huh? Wait a second. I recognize that voice." The figure stood up, rubbing his head from the powerful water attack. "Mako? Where did you come from?"

"I was trying to find you guys. It's about Korra!"

"Where is she?"

Before he could reply, the figure flew above them once more. "Maybe we should pick a better place to talk."

"Agreed. Let's go find Rainbow Dash."

(~)

Rainbow Dash was laser shaper focused as she hovered around the orchard. She then spotted a strange animal-like shadow fly right above her.

"Uh… who's there?" the wind blew on the levees and Rainbow caught sight of something from a few feet away.

"Answer me or you'll regret it!" but despite her warning, the figure did not respond. "Fine, have it your own way!" with fire in her hooves, Rainbow speeded towards the figure and began attacking it, "Take that, you, you, you... scarecrow…?"

Her opponent turned out to be nothing but hey and some old clothing, which was now singed with small flames. Then, another figure flew overhead, this one being much larger than the previous one. There was definitely something among them.

(~)

Asami and Twilight heard the owls hooting in the distance but then they spotted Applejack's signal up above. A light with three apples.

The two reached the country pony, who had her flashlight standing straight on the ground, her mouth and eyes wide open in baffled shock.

"Applejack, what is it?" Asami asked until she looked at what Applejack was looking at and her eyes and mouth two widened.

Twilight was at a loss for words when the others arrived as well. Mako and Rarity were the last ones to arrive.

"Guys! Thank goodness! We--" Mako cut himself short once he saw what they were all looking at.

Hanging from a tree branch were not one, but two figures, wrapped up like cocoons. Pinkie PIe hung onto the branch, also upside down, showing the flashlight at the two creatures.

"Suspicious!"

The first, smaller, creature opened up its wings to reveal itself as….Fluttershy! Now a bat-pony! Her yellow coat was now darker in color, her eyes were red and her mane was messy. Her cutie mark was now three pink bats instead of butterflies and she had two sharp fangs in her mouth and her once feathery wings were now bat wings. The creature next to her was the now bat-Korra. The two hissed and snarled at the ponies.

Fluttershy's tongue stuck out and she sucked the juice out of an apple. Korra did the same with another apple nearby. Pinkie Pie tried to get their attention.

"Fluttershy? Korra? Yoo-hoo!"

Both the bat pony and Avatar hissed at Pinkie, causing her to fall from the branch.

"That's not Fluttershy…" Rarity gasped, "That's Flutterbat!"

"And Korra!" Bolin began, "She's turned into….KorraBat!…..yeah, doesn't really cary the same drama, does it?"

"We've gotta get them down from there!" Twilight stated.

Asami shoved Mako forward, "Try talking to her!"

"Me?!"

"No, Amon. Yes you!"

Mako gulped and tried to talk to the now vampire pony and woman. "Uh…Korra, Fluttershy, could you guys maybe come down so we can talk?"

"And, please, do stop being vampire bats." said Rarity.

However, the two simply hissed in response before sucking up more apples. Rainbow Dash flew up to the two to try and knock some sense into them both. "Korra! Fluttershy! It's me, Rainbow Dash! Why don't you cut the bat act and come on down?!"

Fluttershy hissed as she opened up her wings and slapped Rainbow Dash away.She yelped as she spun in mid air before stoping, looking surprised at Fluttershy's brute strength.

"Whoa! Maybe we should just let them come down when they're ready."

"Look out!" Asami exclaimed before she and the others ducked down when the two bat creatures flew over them and into the sky.

Pinkie Pie started to panic. "Giant bats on the loose! Run for your lives!" The terrified pony began digging a tunnel when Twilight walked up.

"Pinkie Pie, calm down!" Twilight turned her head back to the two bat hybrids, hanging upside down in another tree. "See? They're back on the… branch."

"They're just biding their time! Waiting for the right moment to pounce!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, "Pinkie Pie, bats don't eat ponies. Not even vampire bats."

"But, maybe vampire ponies eat other ponies!"

Bolin screamed in terror, "Ah! That means a human vampire eats other humans! I'm not taking any chances! Scoot over, sister!" he jumped into the hole with Pinkie Pie and used his earthbending, while Pinkie use her bang (now being used as a drill) to dig a deeper tunnel.

"How did all of this happen?" Asami asked.

"I think this was actually our fault." Mako said with regret.

"Our fault?" Rainbow asked.

"No, I think he's right." said Twilight.

"And how'd you figure that?" Applejack asked.

Twilight then used her magic to create a square image-like hologram as a use of demonstration. In it appeared images of the bats, herself and Fluttershy while Twilight explained the situation.

"Okay, so this is me, these are the bats, and this is Fluttershy doing her Stare." the image showed a sonar-like image appearing out of Fluttershy, demonstrating her Stare's effect." The spell was supposed to go right onto the bats like this, but somehow the spell must have backfired." the image showed the Twilight figure casting her spell and the bats glowed, which then reflected onto Fluttershy, turning her into a bat pony. "It took the vampire fruit bats' desire to be vampire fruit bats and transferred that desire into Fluttershy." the images disappeared.

"But then how did Korra turn into a bat?" Rarity asked, "That's what I don't understand."

"When Fluttrshy bit her!" Mako stated, "It must have caused the same desire Fluttershy had in her system to become transferred into Korra."

Spike was shocked, "Wow! I've heard of girlfriends being like monsters but this is ridiculous!"

"C'mon!" said Twilight, "We'll reverse the spell and make it right!"

The ground opened up and both Bolin and Pinkie popped out. "Then what are we waiting for?" said Pinkie Pie, "Let's save Fluttershy and Korra before those things eat us all!"

"Or bites us!" Bolin added

The Flutterbat and Korrabat hovered over them and swooped down.

"Hit the deck!" cried Rainbow Dash.

Everyone ducked in cover when the creatures flew above them, screaming in terror. Bolin pointed forward, "Follow those bats!"

The group ran off to seek their friends, not realizing they both had landed on a tree branch. They groaned and hissed as their ears began to turn sharp and bat-like. Korra licked her lips, her hunger was still alive. As was Fluttershy's.

(~)

"I can't believe we lost them!" said Rarity.

The friends searched nearly half the night and still no sign of their friends. Twilight was growing more and more worried. "Oh, Korra, Fluttershy, where are you?"

Asami then heard something hissing and turned around, "Found them!"

Korra and Fluttershy swooped down once more, this time landing in front of them. Fluttershy hissed at Applejack while Korra hissed at Asami. The heiress was backed up against a tree as she tried to reason with the vampire girl. Though, do to her dislike of bats in general, that was not going to be easy.

"Uh, hey Korra. Who's a good bat creature? Who's a good, pretty little bat creature?" Asami winced when Korra hissed angrily at her, "Did I mention pretty?--AH!" Asami ducked when Korra came hurling at her, only to realize it was the apple on the tree she was really after before taking off once more.

Fluttershy closed in on Applejack. "Fluttershy? Look, I know you're still in there so please. Please snap out of it?"

But the bat pony only hissed and went after the apple on the tree behind Applejack. Both the bats tossed the now juiceless fruits into the ground. "If they keep this up, your whole crop will be gone in no time!" said Rainbow Dash.

"That's the least of my worries." Applejack said sadly as she watched the two bat creatures fly into the night, "I just want my friends back."

"We can't get them back unless we corner them and reverse the spell!" Mako stated.

"It's no use!" Twilight said in despair, "I think the only way we're gonna catch them is if we find a way to lure them closer to us."

"But even if we can, how are we gonna get them to stay still long enough for you to do your reverse spell?"

"Aww, if only we had Fluttershy to do her Stare on the Flutterbat and Korrabat." said Pinkie Pie.

It was then that Twilight got a brilliant idea, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Bolin asked.

"We get Fluttershy to do her stare!"

"How are you going to do that without getting bitten?"

"You'll see."

(~)

This was the last chance to save their friends. Twilight levitated a large object wrapped in a cloth and placed it on the ground.

"Okay, let's get our friends back." said the alicorn in a determined tone.

Rainbow Dash removed the cloth to reveal the object was in fact Applejack's prize winning apple.

"Action stations!"

Everyone got into their positions and Applejack took a knife in her mouth. Rainbow looked at her with sympathy, "So much for having the winning apple in the Appleloosa State Fair, huh?"

As sad as it was, Applejack knew this sacrifice was needed to save her dear friends. She would never forgive herself if she allowed them to be bats forever.

She sliced the side of the apple, allowing the sweet smelling juice to come pouring out. Rainbow flapped her wings at rapid speed to spread the sweet aroma.

In no time, Fluttershy and Korra immediately caught whiff of the scent and speeded towards their juicy fruit, hissing as they did and their large bat wings flapping.

"They're coming!" Rainbow cried out.

"Now!" At Twilight signal, Mako hurled a rope at Korra, entrapping her waist as she struggled to break free. Bolin tossed another rope, capturing her right arm while Asami capture her left with another rope. The four kept the powerful bat woman at bay while the bat pony was nearing the giant apple. Applejack kicked it away and Fluttershy saw a mirror, held up by Spike, and caught sight of her own reflection.

She tried to fly away but was stopped by another mirror, held by Pinkie Pie. She tried to shake away the hypnotic effect they had on her until she was stopped again by a third mirror, held up by Rarity. Once Fluttershy was stuck in a trance of her own Stare, the Korra bat slowly stopped as well, almost as if she too was under the same spell.

Twilight quickly activated her magic and a magenta glow circled around Fluttershy. The same glow then traveled to Korra, entrapping her as well. From within, the pony and Avatar felt their bodies change. Their ears returned to normal, Korra's wings were no more, Fluttershy's cutie mark was back to butterflies and her coat as pale yellow once more. Korra lost her fangs and claws and her once torn cloths were fixed once again. Once the spell was complete, the glow dispersed into various glowing bats which traveled across the orchard, reaching the fruit bats themselves. Their desire for fruit had returned.

Fluttershy and Korra now laid on the ground. Mako quickly took Korra into his arms while the Mane Six surrounded both her and Fluttershy. The pony was the first to open her eyes, which were back to cyan color.

"Oh… where am I?"

Korra groaned and she too opened her eyes, which were blue once again. The entire group cheered happily. Their friends were back. Mako helped Korra stand up and embraced her in a spinning hug. Korra was still surprised by all of this but hugged him in return.

Applejack hugged Fluttershy, "Thank goodness you're okay! Both of ya'll" she hugged Korra's leg.

"But… what happened?" the Avatar asked.

"I can't remember anything." said Fluttershy.

Pinkie Pie jumped in and explained everything….Well, kind of. "You turned into a vampire pony and Korra was a vampire Avatar!"

"What?!"

"I tried to eat ponies?!" Fluttershy asked in shock.

"I tried to eat people?!" Korra too asked in shock.

"Of course not!" Pinkie Pie said happily.

"So we weren't vampires?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes!" Pinkie replied.

"Yes we were, or yes we weren't?" Korra asked.

"Yes, you were!" Pinkie replied.

"But we didn't try and eat anyone?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes!" Pinkie replied.

"We did?!" Korra asked in shock.

"No!" Pinkie replied, shaking her head.

"I'm confused…" Fluttershy said.

"My head hurts." Korra said, while rubbing said head.

"Mine too... and I was there!" said Rarity.

(~)

The next morning, the vampire bats were now save and happy in their own part of the Apple orchard. Applejack had decided to comply with Fluttershy's previous advice and build a sanctuary for the creatures. Bolin finished hammering the sign that read "Vampire Fruit Bats" and Applejack smiled proudly.

"Looks great, Applejack." Korra said proudly, while a certain little bat rested on her shoulder, "Now the bats can have a place to call home and you'll get bigger and better apple trees for next season." the bat nuzzled against her cheek before flying off to meet his family.

"I'm real sorry I didn't take your suggestion in the first place Fluttershy." said Applejack, taking off her hat in apology.

The pegasus simply smiled, "That's okay. Everything worked out in the end. And now you can have more apples thanks to the seeds."

Rainbow Dash came in between the two, wrapping her hoof around both of them, "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Applejack nodded, "Yup! More cider too."

Rainbow Dash flew up in victory, "Yea-he-heah, whoo!"

Even Asami was delighted, "Yes! Apple cider! Sweet, juicy, cider!"

"No!" the three teens exclaimed in union.

"No more cider for you!" Korra said sternly, "That stuff's making you loopy!"

"And that was just one bottle!" said Mako, "Imagine if she had unlimited free access!"

Asami scoffed, "Please, you're exaggerating." her eyes then snapped open when she heard a bottle cap being popped off, and saw that Pinkie Pie was drinking a familiar liquid.

"Pinkie…where did you get that?"

"Oh, I've it from got my own Apple Cider stash back home."

Asami's left eye started to twitch and the rest of Team Avatar did their best to hold the crazy heiress down as she tried to snatch the bottle from Pinkie Pie.

"Just a sip! Just one!"

"Yeah, she needs an intervention." said Bolin.

(~)

At Fluttershy's cottage, Spike was writing down their latest installment into the journal. "Okay, got the part about the spell, Korra and Fluttershy turning into bats, building a sanctuary…"

"Be sure to put in there that I came to see that my short-term solution was a little short-sighted." said Applejack.

"And that you shouldn't let anypony pressure you into doing something that you don't think is right." said Fluttershy, "Sometimes you have to tell even your closest friends 'no'."

"Now, how about we celebrate our stronger than ever friendship with a nice, ripe, juicy apple?" Applejack showed everyone an apple and Korra immediately felt sick.

"Oh, no please. No more apples for at least three years."

Pinkie Pie poped in wearing fake vampire fangs, "Stand back! I vant to suck its juuuice!"

She bit onto the apple, only to have her fake fangs get stuck in it. Everyone laughed happily at the joke, now feeling their bond had grown even closer than before.

Now if only they could find a way to help Asami with her cider problem.

(~)

"Oh, my! That certainly was a terrifying tale, wasn't it?

But a very important lesson to learn about peer pressure and not picking sides all willy nilly. It's always good to see the neutral side of things. Of course, this was just Korra's first time in this with just her friends. She would need to learn a lot more if she was going to use this in an even bigger situation latter on in her future.

But you all know how that story went.

Tune in next time for another installment of;

Tales of Equestria!

(~)

Comments

[MLPMekarm]

Asami really dose need help with her cider addiction. big time help.