Blueblood helped Fluttershy up, “My apologies, Fluttershy, but I’m afraid Applejack makes a more compelling argument. These vampire fruit bats are unwanted pests that have to go.”

“So let’s get t’ roundin’ `em up so they don’ destroy th’ rest o’ mah orchard,” Applejack declared, Pinkie hopping in tow.

“Fruit bat wrap up, fruit bat wrap up!”

“Excuse me but, um, what if, instead of rounding them up,” Fluttershy tried, “we let them have a part of the orchard!”

Applejack whinnied in disbelief as she and the others gave Fluttershy an incredulous look, “Have you lost yer pest-lovin’ mind?!”

“They’re only here because they’re hungry,” Fluttershy reasoned with her gentle voice, “If we built a sanctuary for them, they could have their own apples to enjoy, and 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!”

“AJ, you know she makes a good and reasonable argument,” Midnight said but Applejack ignored him as she approached the butter-yellow pegasus.

“Listen, Fluttershy, tha’ sounds real nice an’ all, but second we spend buildin’ this so-called ‘sanctuary’ is a second they’ll spend destroyin’ orchard! You don’ know wha’ it was like there was an infestation! Granny Smith’s told me enough stories about it tha’ just th’ thought of it gives me nightmares… Granny said we lost a hee-uge section of orchard that year – We had t’ ration out apples all winter!”

“What about pies, there was still pies, right?” Soarin spoke up, not liking the sound of this story.

“Not. A. Crumb!” Applejack shook her head, causing Soarin to spaz out!

“No pies…?! Not even a crumb??!?! We gotta round up these rats with wings an’ we gotta round `em up NOW!”

“And Midnight,” Applejack turned to her brother, “if Granny Smith weren’t with Big Mac, Apple Bloom, and Twinken checkin’ out our produce competition in Appleloosa, she’d be here tellin’ us t’ do just that!”

Midnight looked nervously at his sister giving him a stern look, and Fluttershy looking sorrowful that nopony was on the vampire bats’ side. As much as he wanted to make a resolution mutually beneficial he sighed as his loyalty to his family caused him to cave. He looked to Fluttershy, saying, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but… Applejack is right, and this is my home too! I can’t allow these bats to endanger our livelihood…”

Fluttershy looked away sadly when Midnight, a brow raised in intrigue, spoke, “But perhaps…!”

Midnight led everypony to his workshop and waited for him to come out.

“What do you think he’s doing in there?”
“Ah dunno, but knowin’ mah brother it’s bound t’ be some real good hocus-pocus.”
“There is nothing ‘hocus-pocus’ about the ambitious and delicate arts of magic, dear Applejack.”
“Who cares, so long as we get pie in the end.”

Fluttershy didn’t partake in the conversation, still sad that nopony was supporting her idea, and only hoped that whatever Midnight came up with it wouldn’t hurt the vampire bats. At that moment, the door opened and out walked Midnight, announcing, “I’ve got good news and bad news – The good news is I believe I’ve got a spell from one of the books Twilight gave me that can bewitch the vampire fruit bats into losing their taste for apples except…”

He approached Fluttershy, continuing, “…to make sure the enchantment works, I need the whole colony’s complete and undivided attention.”

Noticing the way Midnight was looking at her, it dawned on Fluttershy that she gasped, “Oh no!”

“Flutters, I’m afraid I need you to use your Stare on the bats,” Midnight confirmed, feeling a little guilty.

“Oh gosh, I don’t know…” Fluttershy was troubled.

“What’s up, Flutters? You’ve used the Stare plenty of times before,” Soarin pointed out.

“Yes, but it’s not something I use lightly,” Fluttershy reasoned, “I’ve made a vow not to use it except under dire circumstances.”

“This circumstance is plenty dire t’ me!” Applejack said in a pushy manner.

“Me too! Think of the pies… Won’t somepony think of the poor delicious pies?!” Soarin whimpering in a rather overly-dramatic manner.

“I’m sorry, but I just don’t like the idea of taking away that what really makes the vampire fruit bats vampire fruit bats,” Fluttershy responded, starting to get upset. “It just feels wrong!”

“But Fluttershy, unless we do what needs to be done, there won’t be any apples left for Ponyville,” Midnight reminded her. “Sweet Apple Acres will go under and we’ll lose our farm! The vampire fruit bats can find another source of food but we can’t! Doesn’t that feel wrong to you?”

All eyes were on Fluttershy, whose aquamarines shifted uncomfortably, not knowing what to do or say.

“Everypony, let’s go to the house,” Midnight announced, “Fluttershy has to make this decision herself, without any of us trying to pressure her.”

“But Midnight-” Applejack started to protest only to shy when he gave her a glare worthy of the former tyrant his master was. Sighing, “Aw’right…”

But as they left, Applejack gave Fluttershy a look that she couldn’t decide was hopeful or warning.

The friends all waited for about a half hour before they saw Fluttershy appear from the orchard and walk sadly towards them, Applejack asking, “So what’s it gonna be, Fluttershy? Will ya do yer Stare on th’ bats `r not?”

“Um… Um…!” Sighing, Fluttershy answered, “OK, I’ll do it…”

“Good choice, dear,” Blueblood said proudly of his friend, “I knew you’d choose our good friend Applejack’s welfare over those disease-ridden vermin.”

“They’re not disease-ridden…” Fluttershy muttered almost irritably.

Soarin flew up onto the roof of the house as he shouted, “I call the first slice o’ pie when this is over!”

“Not so fast!” Applejack reminded him, “We gotta round up these beasts wit’ wings first; time’s a-waistin’!”

After everything else had been prepared, Applejack tied the band around Pinkie’s head, holding a bushel of apples on top. Nodding to her, Applejack stood aside and Pinkie started hopping about the orchard, passing by the trees whose branches hung heavy with vampire bats. Seeing the delectable treats on the pink ponies heads, the leather-winged fiends took flight.

In a different part of the orchard, Blueblood, wearing something akin to a beekeeper’s outfit held a pole with a sliced apple dangling from it in his aura and waved it around, getting the attention from the ravenous rodents and shrieking almost like a filly when they came after him and he ran.

Soarin meanwhile gathered up bats the old fashioned way, zipping about in a blue blur, snatching the bats from their roosts, and before long the three of them converged at a tree that had more apples set as bait and the gathered parasites began to feast. After making sure none of them were going anywhere, Applejack declared, “Good work, everypony, Ah think we got `em all!”

She then looked to Fluttershy, saying, “Now all we need is fer you t’ do yer Stare.”

“Oh! Um, are you sure I really need…?” Fluttershy trailed from her question but sighed when they all nodded yes. “OK…”

She flapped up towards the bats, “I really-really-really hate to do this to you. I just hope you can forgive me.”

She then closed her eyes… and snapped them open into the infamous Stare that could stop even the grumpiest animal in its tracks. Almost at once, the vampire bats took notice, almost looking as though they were in a trance before Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Good…” Applejack whispered before saying, “Now you go, Midnight.”

“Alright…” Midnight stepped up, his horn flaring, his aura enveloping all the bats, who did not notice as they were still transfixed by Fluttershy’s Stare, the yellow pegasus maintaining that powerfully disapproving look that could bore through even the most ornery beast.

Midnight completed the spell and looked up curiously, “Fluttershy, it’s done. You can stop now.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and gathered herself, as Spike asked the million-bit question, “Did it work?”

“Only one way t’ find out fer sure,” Applejack replied before nodding to Soarin.

Soarin took an apple and held it up to a bat that was rubbing its eyes clear when it noticed the treat. It gave it a sniff before turning its nose up at it and flapping off, Soaring cheering, “He didn’t want it!”

“Muh crop is saved, YEE-HAW!” Applejack reared up, happily flailing her forelegs, Soarin coming down to give her a high-hoof, adding, “We’ll be stuffing our faces with pie all winter-long!”

“Ah wanna thank y’all fer all yer help,” Applejack said to them gratefully.

“Don’t mention it, Applejack, it was my pleasure, really,” Spike said not-so-humbly that Midnight smirked and cast a spell.

Spike Whoa’d as he felt a nasty headache and his head balloon up before it deflated out his ear, the little dragon groaning as Midnight asked, “I’m sorry, Spike, who was it exactly that helped Applejack?”

Spike growled indignantly before he stomped off, Applejack saying, “Now all we gotta do is sweep up all these cores an’ get buckin’ t’morrow.”

Fluttershy lingered when she sniffed something and her eyes feel in wonder upon a nearby apple on the ground.

Once again, Applejack had woken up before the crack of dawn, eager again to get started apple-bucking, certain that this time around would be for sure.
“Apple-buckin’ Day, take 2!”

Yee-hawing as the warm embrace of morning feel upon her orchard, Applejack trotted through the trees, “Time t’ collect those juicy sweet apples!”

She bucked her first tree and watched with a smile as one apple fell, only to frown when she heard it go ‘SPLAT’.

“MIDNIGHT!!!”

Midnight looked down on the mushy apple, sheepishly saying, “I guess… the spell didn’t take.”

“Yer darn tootin’ th’ spell din’t take!” Applejack retorted as she and her bother stood up, Blueblood, Pinkie, Soarin, Spike, and Fluttershy present as Applejack declared, “Wer’ gonna have t’ take more extreme measures!”

“You got it, AJ!” Soarin flew up, “C’mon, everypony! Let’s clear out those vampire bats”

Soarin led the charge as they all hurried into the orchard… only to find the bats not exactly taking a lunch break. Most of them just roosted and minded their own business, one was reading, so Soarin held up an apple to it curiously. Noticing the big blue pegasus in its reading light, the bat rudely wing-slapped the apple out of his hoof and returned to its novel, Blueblood side-stepping to avoid the apple.

“Wait a minute…” Applejack was perplexed but her eye for detail was enough to tell her, “Ah don’ think these bats’re th’ ones tha’ sucked muh apples dry!”

“But if the vampire bats are not the culprits behind your mushy apples…” Blueblood brought up.
Midnight finishing the concern with, “...who is?”

They all looked to the butter-yellow pegasus, Midnight asking, “Flutters, you’re the animal expert – Do you know of any other creature that could do something like this?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t!” Fluttershy was as dumbfounded as the rest of them.

Sighing, Midnight declared, “Then there’s only one way to find out – Catch the culprit in the act!”

“And just how do we accomplish that?” Blueblood asked.

“A stake-out…” Midnight smirked mischievously.

Next Chapter: 156. Bats! - Part 3 Estimated time remaining: 75 Hours, 54 Minutes