PONYVILLE: OUTSKIRTS

The sun rose as the beams of light shone on Fluttershy. She felt her head throb as she felt herself sore all over her body. As Fluttershy opened her eyes, she saw something blurry staring at her. As they focused, they were a pair of magenta eyes, staring straight at her.

"Morning, Were-pony," said Rainbow Dash.

"EEP!" shrieked Fluttershy as she backed away a little. She looked around and noticed that her friends were all here, looking at her with tired yet worried eyes. As she did, her hoof struck something. Looking down, Fluttershy gasped as she saw various half-eaten pastries laid around her, including her mouth. Her heart raced as she couldn't bare it anymore. With great difficulty, Fluttershy began to cry.

"Don't cry, Fluttershy," said Twilight, "You didn't do anything bad…"

"But I did!" cried Fluttershy, tears coming out like a waterfall, "I let it happen again!"

"Again? Fluttershy, you knew that you were… a Were-Pony? How long did you know?"

"Since…yesterday…"

"But why didn't you tell us?"

Fluttershy only looked at Rainbow Dash as she shirked back a little. Twilight understood.

"Oh, Fluttershy… I don't think Rainbow meant it when she said 'Monster Hunt'".

"Actually, I did," said Rainbow Dash, but the other Ponies looked at her with stern faces. "What? I didn't know it was Fluttershy!"

"Either way, darling," said Rarity, "You could have let us know and we could've found a way to help you out".

"But…" began Fluttershy, before Applejack intervened.

"No 'buts' about it, sugarcube," she said, "We're P.F.F.'s, and we are always here to help".

"Besides," said Pinkie, eating a cake slice, "At least you didn't eat all the treats. You saved me one!"

"Okay…" said Twilight, "Back to matters. Fluttershy, just how did this happen?"

"Since… the picnic," said Fluttershy as she stopped crying. "When I went… to see my frog friends… I ran into a wolf cub… and gave it Pinkie Pie's pie…"

"Who knew my pie would be good for wolves too?" said Pinkie, finishing her cake.

"And then…" continued Fluttershy, "There was this 'boom' and the cub got scared… it bit me… and… and…"

"And then you became cursed as a Were-Pony!" said Rainbow Dash. "That explains a lot! Like how you were able to eat all those pastries at Sugarcube Corner!"

"Or how yer able to outrun us," said Applejack.

"Or how your door was knocked away!" said Twilight.

"Or how chocolate pudding is a better substitute for mousse!" said Pinkie Pie. The others just looked at her, roll their eyes, then back to Fluttershy.

"But, Twilight," said Fluttershy, "you said so yourself: there is no cure!" Tears weld up again in her eyes as she got up and tried to leave.

"Hold on, there!" said Applejack, stopping her. "Just where do you think yer goin'?"

"To… where all monsters like me live… The Everfree Forest!" Fluttershy began to cry harder as Applejack tried to comfort her.

"Now why would you go there fer?"

"Twilight's book…"

"Forget what that old book said!" said Rainbow Dash as she stood next to Fluttershy, "Listen, you are no monster, you're a… a…."

"A caring, kind Pegasus who would never hurt a fly, but help it," said Rarity.

"But…"

"Not another word, Fluttershy!" said Twilight, "Book or no book, we will find a way to help you!"

"But how?" asked Fluttershy.

Twilight sighed as she tried to think on how to help her friend.

TWILIGHT'S LIBRARY

"Uh, Twilight?" asked Fluttershy as a metal headband was strapped to her forehead with wires protruding from it. "What is… this?"

"If there's no cure for the Were-Pony, then maybe we can stop you from trying to eat sweets!" Twilight fired up a machine as she placed a tray with two covered dishes. "By using Pavhoof's Theory!"

"Pa-who?"

"Ivan Pavhoof was a scientist who experimented with classical conditioning, which is a form of learning in which one stimulus, the conditioned stimulus or CS, comes to signal the occurrence of a second stimulus, the unconditioned stimulus or US. Now as a Were-Pony is after sweets and pastries, we're going to change its US to a behavior emitted by your organism and cause consequences for eating sweets! Easy!"

"Um…" Fluttershy was lost, "Okay… Spike?"

"Twilight's going to make you hate sweets by instinct so when you transform, you won't go after them".

"Oh! That makes sense".

"Ugh…" shrugged Twilight as she placed the tray in front of Fluttershy. "Now then, one of these trays is wired to, sorry about this, shock you if you touch it".

"Shock?"

"Yes. If we're to have any hope of stopping the Were-Pony's appetite for sweets, this is the way. The scientific method is never wrong! Now, then…" Twilight levitates the cover off one. "This plate has a healthy assortment of carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and celery while plate two, which is wired to let you know…" She lifts the cover. "Has candy. Now, try to choose the right…"

BUZZAPP!

"One…"

She watches as Fluttershy ate the candy, still getting shocked as she did. Spike chuckled to see Fluttershy's hair stand out frizzy, an electrical current running through it.

"Fluttershy! You're suppose to eat the healthy one! I told you the candy was wired to shock you!"

"I'm sorry!" said Fluttershy, eating another candy as she gets shocked again. "Let me try again".

"Alright," sighed Twilight as she gets a bag of candy. "I'm turning up the voltage every time you fail. Now remember…" pours the candy on the plate. "Go for…"

BUUUZZAAAPPP!

"Ugh!"

"Sorry!"

"This'll take a while," said Spike.

TWILIGHT'S LIBRARY: ONE HOUR LATER

"I wonder how long they're going to be down there?" asked Rarity.

"I wonder if Fluttershy will be cured with Twilight's fancy gizmos?" said Applejack.

"I wonder if Twilight knows what she's doing," said Rainbow Dash.

"I wonder if my C.S. Launcher will ever fire again!" said Pinkie Pie, trying to fix her party bazooka.

Before any of her friends could say anything, the door opens as Twilight came out, looking like she lost a battle.

"Y'all alright, Twi?" asked Applejack.

"I'm fine…" said Twilight.

"So, how did it go?" asked Rarity, "Is she cured?"

Twilight just moved aside as Fluttershy came out, her coat covered in dark burnt spots, her mane frizzy as it emitted static, and the tip of her tail smoking. Yet, she was eating a chocolate bar as another shock came to her, but she ignored it.

"Guess not, huh?" said Rainbow Dash.

"I can't believe Classical Conditioning failed!" said Twilight. "It never failed before! I mean that's how I got Spike to stop biting his claws!"

"Hey!" said Spike, "you promised you wouldn't say anything!"

"Either way, it's no use! The Were-Pony seems much stronger than I anticipated".

"Maybe science isn't the answer," said Rainbow Dash, "Maybe we can wear Fluttershy down before the curse sets in! That way, the Were-Fluttershy wouldn't be able to do anything!"

"Ouch, bad name for it," said Pinkie.

"Either way, come on!" Rainbow Dash grabs Fluttershy as they fly out the door.

"Just what did she mean by 'wear Fluttershy down'?" asked Rarity.

PONYVILLE: OUTSKIRTS

"Okay, Wolf-shy!" said Rainbow Dash, wearing a headband and her whistle.

"Keep trying the nickname, Rainbow!" said Pinkie as she sat with the others nearby.

"As I was saying, we're going to burn all that extra energy out of you! Now, drop and give me a hundred! TWWEEEEEEEEETT!"

Fluttershy jumped a bit as she fell down and began to do Rainbow's request. In no time, she was able to do it in just a minute. Rainbow Dash just had her mouth wide open.

"Okay… let's see you do a thousand! TWWEEEEEEEETT!"

Two hours later….

"Oh wow!" said Fluttershy, hopping up and down, "That was so much fun! What's next Rainbow Dash?"

"Three words…" panted Rainbow Dash, out of breath, "Bed…rest…" Her head drops to the ground.

"Giving up already, Rainbow? That's okay, I'll go do another 100 barrel rolls!"

As Fluttershy sped up into the air, Twilight and Applejack brought Rainbow Dash to the shade of the tree.

"I can't believe it!" said Rainbow Dash, "Fluttershy's still at it! She's got a whole lot of energy to burn!"

"It's the Were-Pony curse," said Applejack, "She has more energy than Big Mac does after drinking 6 cups of java!"

Twilight sighed. "Any other ideas? We cannot waste the whole day. Remember, tonight's the full moon, and if we can't cure Fluttershy by then…"

"She'll be a beast forever!" said Rarity.

"I know!" said Pinkie Pie, "Perhaps if she thinks the sweets are… something else, she won't eat them anymore!"

"Okay…" said Twilight, "It's worth a shot".

Pinkie hopped over as Fluttershy floated down, still pumped up.

"Hi, Pinkie Pie!" said Fluttershy, "Are you here to exercise with me?"

"No. I just have something to say," said Pinkie Pie, taking a deep breath, "I hate to tell you this, but…" She pulls out a cupcake. "You know these cupcakes?"

"Yeah…?"

"Just what are they talking about over there?" asked Rarity.

They watched as Pinkie's expression went into a smirk, while Fluttershy's eyes were getting wider as Pinkie's smirk grew wide as she whispered something. Fluttershy jumped.

"They're made from WHAT?"

"That's right! Now, how do you feel knowing the truth?"

Pinkie Pie held the cupcake in front of the shivering Fluttershy, who just stared at the cupcake with a blank expression. Pinkie smiled a real smile as she turned to the others.

"Hey! I think it..!"

CHOMP!

"Worked?" Pinkie looked as Fluttershy's mouth was all over her hoof.

"Sorry, Pinkie, but… I was just hungry from that workout!" moaned Fluttershy.

"Okay… it didn't work…"

"Now what, Twi?" asked Applejack.

"Well, science didn't work," said Twilight, "Neither did wearing her down nor psychological reasoning…"

"Just what did you say to her that you thought would work?" asked Rarity to Pinkie Pie. She just looked around, then whispered into Rarity's ear. Her eyes grew wide. "You're… kidding right? You don't really do that, do you?"

"Of course not!" said Pinkie, "I maybe a wild party animal, but I am no psycho pony making cupcakes…. Like that!"

"Just where did you get that idea?"

"Oh, I have my ways". ("Isn't that right, Darkraptor20?"

"Hey! No breaking the 4th wall in my story! Now…")

"So…" said Fluttershy, taking off her headband, looking sad, "There's no hope for me then. Guess I'll... *sniff* go pack my things…"

"WAIT!" said Twilight, causing everyone to jump. "I can't believe I didn't think of this sooner! Who do we know that can make any kind of cure? One whose mystical and already good at making any kind of potion?"

The others looked at one another, their smiles going wide.

"Zecora!"

TO BE CONTINUED...