//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: The Tale of Two Pegasi 
// by PvtFlutters 
//------------------------------//

	Fluttershy awoke in the cave. She looked around but Sigma was nowhere to be found. Where had he gone? Did he abandon her? She got up. It was easier to see now that it was daytime. Even so... he was gone. Fluttershy heard strange noises by the entrance. Someone was coming. She quickly hid behind a rock. The human passed through the waterfall and into the cave.
"Fluttershy?" the man said. She recognized the voice-it was Sigma. She jumped out from behind the rock and ran towards him, but stopped when she saw what was in his hand. It was a dead rabbit with a blood drenched coat. "I was out of MREs, so I had to go hunting. Sorry, I would have told you but you were asleep," Sigma said.
"Why did... How..." she began.
"Survival, I've been on this mission for two weeks. My supplies didn't last. A pony such as yourself wouldn't understand," Sigma explained. She watched as he sat down by their old camp fire and lit it up once more. There was no point in protesting about him eating the rabbit. Fluttershy walked toward the waterfall. "Where are you going?" He asked.
"I don't want to be around to see this," Fluttershy said, and she walked outside. The woods were alive with creatures. Creatures much different from the ones back home. It was much like the Everfree Forest. Animals and plants cared for themselves. Clouds moved on their own.
"Head Up!" Fluttershy said to herself. She wasn't about to break down again. She had to be strong if she was going to survive through this. She looked around. Suddenly an idea came to her: She had been sad this whole time, and not even thought that perhaps the human world had something to offer. Then, as if it had been perfectly planned out, a white rabbit hopped out of the bushes. Fluttershy couldn't believe her eyes. It was Angel! She had given up hope of finding him as soon as she arrived here. It was good he hadn't done the same. She raced toward him with all of her speed and scooped him up off the ground. She hugged him so tightly, he indicated he was choking. Fluttershy laughed and loosened her grip on him.
Her wings opened and she lifted off the ground, high into the sky. She zoomed toward the clouds and burst through. Up here in the clouds... she forgot all of her troubles. She didn't care. It was too great a feeling that even the worst of news couldn't dampen. She soared low and cut a cloud in two. It was almost as if she were home. Angel turned his head from the ground to Fluttershy. She was soaring freely through cloud after cloud. It made him happy to see her so happy.
She suddenly remembered that she had left Sigma in the cave. She looked around from her cloud city and found the waterfall. She made her descent and landed with Angel on her back. She entered the cave and found a note. It read:
"Fluttershy, not sure if you'll find this but I needed to go. I found an opening in the complex. Please don't follow me, It's too dangerous." Fluttershy gently placed the note on the ground.
"He said stay, so..." she said. Angel tapped his foot against her. "I know he could be in trouble, but-" she began but was interrupted again by Angel's tapping. "We don't even know the way!" Fluttershy told him. Angel pointed at her wings. Fluttershy opened her wings and looked at them. "Maybe we could give it a try," she said.
Fluttershy took to the clouds. By doing so she'd be able to spot the complex and get in. After five minutes of flying, she came across the complex...although the sight of it scared her.  There were guards everywhere, and there were towers to the left and right of the main gate with mounted machine guns. It was obvious that there was some big secret inside there. Fluttershy wasn't concerned with their secrets though-she had a bad feeling that Sigma was in danger. She looked around the complex for a clearing where she could land without being seen.
A small ventilation duct was on the roof of one of the buildings. She saw her chance and went for it. She landed on the roof without anyone spotting her. The duct was small... perhaps too small for a human. She began to wonder what "way in" Sigma was talking about. It was obviously not the ducts on the roof. Although it didn't matter much-if he found a way in, he must be inside.
Fluttershy dove into the duct. She fell quite far until she hit the bottom with a hard thud. She slowly got into crawling position, it was the only way to fit through. She looked up the duct and smiled to Angel, signaling that it was OK to come down. Angel jumped and Fluttershy caught him. He jumped from her arms and led the way through the vents.
It was near pitch black inside the vents, so the pair stayed close to one another. Fluttershy's back began to ache; the vents were a tight fit even for a pony. The two reached an opening in the vents where air flowed down to the inner complex. Angel looked at Fluttershy, and she nodded in agreement. Angel began to unscrew the bolts that held the bars in place. Fluttershy thought about her current situation. It wasn't too late to back up and fly out. Who knows? Maybe Sigma was OK... but she had a nagging feeling he wasn't.
Angel unscrewed the last bolt and jumped up and down with all of his might to make the bars give way.
"Mind if I try?" Fluttershy asked. Angel shrugged and hopped aside. Fluttershy held out her front hooves and brought them crashing down on the bars. She quickly regretted it. For the first time in her life, Fluttershy had used too much strength. The bars fell to the ground with a loud clang. Angel looked at her, eyes wide and jaw dropped. The pair began to hear footsteps coming from further down the hall. Fluttershy backed up deep into the vent, and Angel did the same. The guard reached for the bars and picked them up. He shook his head and took out a radio. He said a few things into it and walked away with the bars in hand.
Fluttershy wasn't sure if she had been caught or if he thought the vents were too small for a human to fit through and that the bars had just come loose. Either way, she wasn't going to stick around to find out. She quickly jumped down from the vent and stretched out her back. Angel followed and landed on her back. She wasn't sure how deep she was in the complex, but she was definitely in some kind of basement. There were no windows and the walls were of a pure grey. Vents and pipes were covering the ceiling. Perhaps the secret Sigma was after was down here. Maybe he was too. But there were hallways and doors everywhere-where was she going to start? She looked at Angel for advice. He looked at their options and closed his eyes. Then he pointed to take the hall to the right. Fluttershy nodded and set off. She was doing everything perfect so far... but for how long would her luck last?