//------------------------------// // Fluttershy... // Story: The Hunting Grounds // by ShadowMere25 //------------------------------// H-how could you? It's complicated...It's not what you think. THAN TELL ME WHAT IT IS! You were always so secretive about things and now I know why! Listen to me! Whatever I had done it was for you! It was for all of you...I love both of you... I don't even know who you are anymore... Just let me explain please...you two are the most important people in my life right now...Everything I did was for our daughter. I made a few mist— A FEW mistakes!? You abandoned your family for something you wouldn't even tell us about! Do you have ANY idea what that girl has to go through!? ...No...I don't. ...I-I'm leaving...tonight. We're moving back in with my sister... Wait what!? No! Just listen I can fi— No YOU listen! I have listened to your lies f-for long enough...I'm not going to let her grow up with a man like you...You can say whatever you want but I'm not hearing any of it...not anymore. ...I-I...just at least let me say goodbye... I d-don't know you...I don't know you... D-Daddy? Why is mommy upset? I awoke with a sudden jolt as if someone had just poked me in the side with a cattle prod. It was hot, very hot. My surroundings were the same as they'd been since the incident. Going to sleep in my bunk, in the mangled up ship I had come to call home. I had worked up a cold sweat as I recounted the events of my nightmare... Why...Why would I think about that now? It's been five years... I rolled off from the bunk and wiped the sweat from my brow. I stood up and cracked my neck both ways and took a moment to stretch. A series of cracks and pops providing some much needed relief. My tiny room had looked as if a certain comic book character with adamantium claws had just gone berserk in here. The lights were mostly shattered save for one and it provided some luminescence to the otherwise pitch black chamber. There were papers and other assorted items scattered all over the floor. Mostly because I just hadn't bothered to clean up. Surprisingly after all that happened the ship still managed to stay intact although it was hardly space worthy now. The engines had shut down long ago and without any engineer to get them running again I wasn't going anywhere. I've maintained a small source of power from the solar panels that had been set up outside. A few of them were knocked over in the attack and some even broke but I still managed to squeeze a little bit of juice from what was left. I made what repairs I could but it was mostly a futile effort. This thing was never going to fly again...I may as well refer to it as my big metal coffin... My boots still lay where I left them, a lot muddier thanks to the night before along with my coat and scarf laying on the table above them. I put them on and slid into my coat. The cool feel of the fabric soothed my body. The scarf came last and I made my way to the door as I wrapped it around myself. This heat wasn't going to last, come tomorrow I better make sure I have enough food to last me for the week. The sliding door didn't work and I had to do a little manual override, I made a personal note to get to work on freeing the slide mechanism when I got the time. As I let go it slowly slid back, making a low grinding noise only to stop three-quarters of the way and leaving a small gap. The hallway fared no better than my quarters, more scratch marks...most of the screens adorning the walls were shattered and only a few of the lights still flickered on. At the very center there was a large brownish stain on the walls and floor that trailed off outside. Memories of dragging that man's mangled body came back to me. I wasn't squeamish but the sight had still made me grimace. It—He didn't look as if he was ripped apart even...he looked as if something had...cut the guy in half. I don't know if these things were smart enough to create or even use bladed weapons...but we sure as hell didn't pack any swords. I shook myself off the subject. No need to overanalyze something in a futile effort. Dead is dead after all. Most of the doors were shut and without sufficient power I had to manually pry a lot of them open. The armory had been locked when the incident took place and was spared from the creatures' onslaught. It wasn't much however, a lot of the ammunition had been used up trying to fight them off and I was left with maybe a few hundred rounds. It looks like a lot but it runs out quick. Some of the guns were lost or damaged in the slaughter. I managed to recover a few rifles and a shotgun but I hadn't used them since. I preferred the bow for several reasons, I could recover arrows and if need be, make them out of stuff I find out there. It was silent (which was a definite plus) and deadly in the hands of a skilled archer and hadn't let me down once. Of course that didn't stop me from having my pistol handy...just in case. I kept everything well cleaned and maintained, I couldn't afford not to. Until I get out of here this is all I have. I retrieved my bow and quiver and made for the exit. The ship itself wasn't too big, held enough room for maybe twenty people at most. A red blinking light caught my eye from the darkness of the command room. The distress beacon was still going. I sighed and kept walking. As I approached the rear of the ship I was greeted by a familiar perky friend. Brody was a brawny Shepard with a bite worse than his bark. The last sorry S.O.B to be caught in his path was given the full extent of his fury. When those titanium teeth are biting into your flesh, he doesn't seem like such a cute little doggy. He had tan and black fur with different colored irises...one was brown and the other was grey. He was wearing a specially designed ballistic armor vest that was stab resistant and bullet resistant. It came with a built in temperature regulator to help keep the dog comfortable as well as a few pouches for storing things like dog treats and medical equipment. At first he hated having the thing on but now he doesn't seem to mind it at all. He happily walked over to me and I knelt down to ruffle the fur on his neck. "Morning boy, sleep well?" Jeez, I need to drink something, I sound like Death. He gave a low bark that probably meant something along the lines of. I went to bed on an empty stomach because SOMEONE lost dinner even after being gone for so long, so what the fuck do you think? I chuckled. "...Me neither. We'll find some food today, promise. I just have to deal with our new...guest first." He barked again. This one was probably trying to call 'bullshit'. It probably is too. I'm still highly skeptical of our...guest so no telling how long this'll take. The way it stared at me last night though...It was like a child that had seen a ghost... Truth be told I've never seen that much fear in the eyes of any animal before. I stood up and continued down the hatch leading into the cargo bay—rows of unopened metal crates laying at the sides that I hadn't bothered to open. It was mostly scientific instruments, everything from a Bunsen burner to a biotic scanner. Nothing I knew how to use nor needed, I left them alone. The ones that were of use I had already wolfed out on. Food, meds, tools, the works. Although limited, my supplies would last me a few more months at least so there was no rush. I spotted the rest of my outdoor gear by the exit, my assault pack and poncho laying side by side. I only took the canteen as I was dehydrated as hell right now, that and I wouldn't be heading out to the forest just yet. I approached to ramp control panel and pulled down the red lever. The yellow light above sparked to life as soon as I did. The floor vibrated slightly as the ramp lowered, giving a low mechanical whirring sound as it did. I was met with a cool breeze from the outside. The immensely bright light of day shone through the mild darkness and I held a hand up to my eyes. As they adjusted I immediately noticed the bright yellow blob laying by a metal post across from the ship. I had tied the thing to a pole-mounted work light to prevent it from escaping. It wasn't perfect no doubt, but the thing wasn't in any condition to lug a big heavy lamp with it should it attempt to make a run for it. Brody had heard the door and happily retreated outside to take a dump at his usual spot and then proceed to wander around the area doing what dogs do. Our ship had touched down in a wide open field that held only a few trees here and there. It was the only clear landing zone we could find that was close to the forest. There were several metal tables and pieces of equipment scattered about my campsite. I moved what had no use for me back in the ship. I don't know if I'd ever find a use for them but who knows? I don't know why but I felt a kind of uneasiness as I approached the alien horse thing. I ran a hand over the iron on my hip to make sure it was still there. I'm not about to take any chances no matter how harmless it looked. Looks can be deceiving as I've found out far too many times. Soft, bright yellow fur that stood out from anything else and long pink hair or would mane be the appropriate term? I saw its body gradually rise up then down again, indicating that it was still alive. Good, I'm not going to get answers from a corpse now was I? I was surprised no Hounds or Stalkers had picked it off when I left it out here. It might have been that they were scared of the light or even wary of the thing's unusually bright colors. It had been pretty beat up before I found it which meant It might have been attacked prior to our encounter. No scratch marks or bites just small cuts and bruises, probably because of all the tripping and tumbling of yesterday. It flicked the work light off so it would stop hogging what little power I had. Everything that required power was hooked up to the ship and ran off its battery. I would make use of any power I had during the night to keep the area lit and charged the battery during the daytime. The Stalkers were nocturnal and won't go near any source of artificial light so that was another thing that made them slightly less of a threat. I must've hit the horse thing pretty damn hard because the muzzle was still swollen where the strike connected, although it was no longer bleeding. There was a chance I may have broken something but no sense in dwelling on that. Its eyelids seemed to be tensed up. Oh right, the 'sun'. It was pretty damn bright out here. I shifted myself over so my shadow loomed over its head and as expected, the eyelids relaxed. I honestly thought I was finally losing my mind back there when it spoke. It was so quiet and innocent sounding. What are the odds? Man's first encounter with sapient life and its in the form of a flying, talking horse. With pink hair no less. Judging by the wings I assumed it flew although I wondered why it hadn't done so when it saw me. Were they broken? They looked alright for the most part but then again I knew nothing of its physiology. For all I know it could be a vicious carnivore that shot paralyzing venom at its victims through hidden frills on its neck. When the hell did my imagination just suddenly go apeshit? All things considered I would say it looked about the least threatening out of anything I had encountered so far. I would even go so far as to call it cute. Well, its probably seen better days...But how in the world could this thing speak English? That along with multitudes of other questions loomed through my mind. Enough questions, it was time for some answers. Fluttershy wandered through the cold, soulless wasteland before her. Asides from the sound of her own beating heart there was nary a noise to be heard. She was completely surrounded by wispy white smoke that obscured her from seeing anything but yet at the same time illuminated the area. With every step the pegasus took, the ground would let off a faint glow where her hoof made contact. Above her there was nothing but grey. She could make out various shapes in the fog, including trees and what looked like water plants. "H-Helloo?" She called out ever so softly. Silence. "Hello." She said again, this time louder. "Please...I-if anypony's there...Can you help me?" Silence. "Oh...what's the point?" She asked herself, clearly tired. "There's no one there...I'm c-completely alone." She sat down and hung her head in despair. Although she could feel nothing, an uneasy presence sent cold shiver up her spine. She heard a sound. Soft 'thumps' in the distance getting closer...Hoofsteps? No... Footsteps... She immediately perked up and looked around for the source. Looking over her shoulder she could see a shadow forming within the concealing fog. As it got closer she stood up to face it. Nerve wracked, she tried to remain as calm as she could. She could see that it was seven feet tall and gave the form of a bipedal creature. "W-Who's there...Wh-w-what a-are y-you?" She asked quietly as she backed away slowly. No answer. The shadow simply extended its 'forearm' as if to make some sort of gesture. It passed through the fog into her circle so that she could see what it was. The arm gave the impression of a dragon's clawed 'hand'. Scaly and webbed, there were four individual appendages each ending with a sharp looking claw. It was also wet, as what she assumed was water dripped off from it. But this was not caused the tormented young mare to bear a look of horror on her face once more. No...This time, it was the eyes of the creature before her that instilled such terror. They glowed yellow with a malice she could not even imagine. Before the rest of the terrifying monster could be revealed, she saw what only be described as a torrent of water rushing towards her from behind it... Her eyes immediately snapped open as she felt a cool liquid being poured on her face. "No!" She cried out in terror as she flailed her legs wildly—hitting something as another voice called out, "Woah!" There was a thud. She scrunched herself up and would not dare open her eyes. Simply lying there in what felt like grass, hoping the nightmare would be over soon. One of her legs felt the constriction of a rope connected to some kind of post. Her body ached and was very warm. Her wings hurt when she tried to move them. She seemed to be laying down on some sort of large navy blue sheet. Her muzzle still stung from when she had been hit by— "...Goddamn it...damn pants are wet now..." The voice was faint now but deep and gruff. She opened her eyes slowly to peak at who had spoken, praying it was not what she thought it was...it was. Right there in front of her sat the same creature she had encountered yesterday. The same one that attacked her...the same one that knocked her out cold. It was still wearing the same dark colored clothing along with the scarf but it was no longer covering its face nor was it wearing those goggles. She could now clearly see its ape-like features. It did indeed resemble some sort of primate. Two small eyes, two ears, a mouth and a tiny nose. It even had a short beard. For a moment she half expected to see the thing from her dream. It bore a look that mixed between that of confusion and wonder. For a moment the two just stayed absolutely still just staring at one another. The creature was the first one to break the ice. "Uh...Hi?" It raised a 'hand' to make a gesture reminiscent of a wave. Fluttershy inhaled deeply and her lips began to quiver... "Oh could you please not," And she screamed like she had never screamed before... "That..." It threw its hands up in frustration and clamped its ears to protect them from the mare's high pitched shriek. It then immediately lunged at her and clamped her mouth shut with its hand, muffling her scream. It felt hard, rough and it held a faint odor. She stared terrified into the ape creature's dark green eyes as it looked back at her with a glare that could melt steel. At this point she felt as if she was going to have a heart attack. "Listen! I'm not going to hurt you, but I'm only going to say this once...Shut. Up. If any of those other things hear your incessant screaming...we're both going to have a really bad day...". She simply stared at it, still scared out of her mind. "Do. You. Un-der. Stand?" It said once more, emphasizing each syllable with a poke to her chest. By now Fluttershy wasn't sure of what to make of this. There weren't many other options she had. She couldn't run. She couldn't fight. She was completely at this being's mercy. The only choice she had was to obey and hope it wouldn't decide to kill her. She slowly nodded and the creature seemed to have been put off by her response as if it hadn't been expecting one. It opened its mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of barking. The creature snapped its head up; she couldn't see what it was given her awkward position right now. "Brody, stay!" It ordered and the barking stopped. Who's Brody? She thought. Her captor brought its attention back towards her and gave her a firm glare. "Alright, I'm going to back off now. Can I trust that you won't scream again?" It's voice was more gentle this time but still bore that concrete authority. It said that it wasn't going to hurt her. But could she trust it? She nodded once more. Slowly, it lifted its hand away from her muzzle and she kept her mouth shut as ordered. It backed up into a crouched position with its arms resting on its legs. She thought of making a break for it, but she wouldn't get far with the big heavy post tied to her leg. The two continued to stare at one another. She looked at with uncertainty. It looked back with curiosity. "Hey." It said. "You can talk...right? I heard you speak last night." She didn't respond. "Okaaay...Not gonna talk. Hey, so long as I have your cooperation I give you my word that I pose no threat to you." It made a rotating gesture with its 'hand'. "So work with me here." Fluttershy opened her mouth to speak but was immediately stopped by a very dry sensation in her throat. She hadn't realized how long it had been since she drank anything. To say nothing of how incredibly hungry she was. The shriek-fest just now didn't help either. "Look, I know you can talk, I haven't been on this godforsaken rock that long yet. So why don't you suck it up...and tell me what you are for starters and a name if you have one." It was getting impatient. She didn't know if she could speak with her throat like this and she feared how the creature would react should she ask for water. I don't think I have a choice...Well, here goes. "Um...W-wat-er?" "What was that?" "I ne—ed w-wat—." She repeated in-between coughs while pointing to the dark green canteen that was laying right next to it. It picked up the canteen with its appendages and unscrewed the cap. It came off with a faint 'hiss'. Her captor held the canteen up to her muzzle and tilted it downwards as she opened her mouth. The feeling of the refreshing cold liquid running down her parched throat was very relieving. Right there she could feel a small portion of the pain being soothed off. "Thank-you..." She said quietly as she wiped her muzzle. It looked back at her a little surprised. "Don't...Mention it..." He replied. "Um...So, now that you've had a drink are you willing to cooperate?" "Um...Okay...W-what did I hav—" "You were going to tell me what you are and your name?" It was listening very intently now. "I'm...Fluttershy..." She mumbled softly, hiding behind her mane slightly. "Uh, gonna have to speak up there..." He said holding a hand to his ear. By now she was pretty much certain it was a he. "It's Fluttershy" She muttered once more, this time almost completely inaudible. She retreated behind her hair even further, curling up into a ball. "I still can't hear you." She didn't respond but instead just make a soft, high pitched 'meep' noise. The creature raised an eyebrow as if to say 'Seriously? You're really d—' "...oing this right now?" Oh dear...I though I had stopped doing that. I guess its only with ponies... It gave a low sigh and did what she could only assume was a 'face-hoof'. "If you're not going to tell me your name than at least tell me what you are. Or is that going to be 'muted' too?" Fluttershy looked down, embarrassed. However she was quick to look up once more as she noticed a rather familiar looking tan and black critter walk up beside the alien and sat down. It was a dog... "Oh, is he your dog?" She blurted out. The creature instantly looked back up at her, obviously not expecting the response. The dog started panting happily occasionally sniffing at her general direction. It seemed awfully well behaved. She noticed the strange garb the dog was wearing; it was black too. These aliens seemed to really like dark colored clothing. "Oh! Uh...Brody? Um...Yeah, I guess you could say that..." So that's who 'Brody' is... "You like dogs? As in you know what a dog is?" It asked quizzically. What kind of question was that? "Oh, of course. I...um...I really like animals." Now it looked even more confused. "So...you're saying that you like those big ugly wolf things?" Fluttershy was taken aback by this. What did he mean by that? Did he mean timberwolves? Were there even timberwolves out here? Where ever 'here' was... "You know. The ones with viciously big teeth and claws?" She blinked. "Completely furless like a mole rat? Jet black hide? Beady little eyes? Kill you without a second thought?" He said while making gestures to help emphasize his descriptions. What in Celestia's name is he talking about? She thought. Was this thing okay? No animal in all of Equestria fits the description of whatever he was talking about. Or at least none that she know of... "Um...I've never heard of anything like th—" "Fine, forget it...Losing my goddamn mind here..." It said burrowing its face in its hand once more. Brody advanced towards her now—sniffing at her hooves. Then the dog laid down quietly beside her, pressing its body up against hers. The 'vest' the dog was wearing had pouches and little text in a language she'd never seen before. Must have been their own kind of typography. The vest was very well made as there was not a single flaw in how was weaved. It was rather hard too, almost as if it were some sort of armor. But, armor for a dog? Why would they need something like that for a pet? She thought about asking but decided against it. She did not even know if it was anything like the dogs here in Equestria. The creature seemed to be stressed about something, its eyes were just distraught with worry. The alien actually didn't seem as scary as she thought it was. It speaks Equestrian, and even makes familiar gestures. It was more like a pony than she had thought. If said pony was six feet tall, walked on two legs and appeared from nowhere out of the heavens along with a dog and a big metal bird looking thing. She felt a bit more at ease as the dog cuddled up beside her. She ran her hoof through the dog's fur. It was very soft. She looked back at the creature whom had suddenly gone silent. It seemed to be lost in its own world...or perhaps her world. The realization came to her, this poor thing must have gotten lost and ended up stranded in this creepy forest just like her. At first she thought it was the Everfree that she woke up in but in fact everything here looked so...different. Even the sun looked a bit off. The trees were bigger than any others she had seen. She turned her attention back towards the troubled alien and thought to herself if she wouldn't help this lost creature than who will? With a new found confidence she "Um...Excuse me...sir? Are you okay?" It looked back at her, eyes moist. Was it...crying? It didn't seem like it was actually tearing up but it definitely looked upset. "What? Oh." It rubbed its eyes. "...Y-yeah I'm fine. So, you up to talking now?" Fluttershy did not know what to make of this. Just minutes before it was firm and intimidating but now it just done a complete '180' and was just simply talking. "Y-Yes...My name is Fluttershy. I'm a pegasus." That actually seemed to have lifted a sort of weight from her chest. The creature smiled. "Fluttershy..." It said. "That's an odd name but...a nice one nonetheless." She cracked a small smile of her own, satisfied. "See? Was that so hard?" It chuckled. Yes. "You said you were a pegasus huh? Well figures." "Hmm? What do you mean?" She asked. Had it encountered other ponies before? "I mean I thought you were a pegasus but I wanted to ask to make sure. I—uh...Haven't actually encountered a talking horse before. Or at least I'm pretty sure I was on something when I did." "Pony...I'm actually a pony." She corrected. "Pony. Riiight." It said with a nod. This creature seemed to have a strange mood swing problem. First serious, then annoyed, then sad? Now happy. "Anyways. Fluttershy." It pointed at her. "Are there by any chance more of you ho—er...ponies?" "Oh of course. There's my best friends in the whole world and we all live in a town called Ponyville." "Pony-ville? Jeez...And where exactly is this Ponyville?" He asked. "Oh, well...where is it from here?" He nodded. "I...don't know where it is from here but—" She was cutoff by some muttering from under his breath. The creature held a hand up to his beard. "...I swear they never picked up any signs of settlements anywhere. Was Michael drunk when he gave us that report? How the hell could they've missed it...?" It was now talking to itself... "Um...Excuse me?" She asked nervously. "Wha—Oh!" It exclaimed; she jumped slightly. "Sorry, I haven't had a proper conversation with anyone for...a really long time now. So I apologize if I'm a bit...off. I usually don't talk this much anyways." How long has this thing been here? "Oh. It's okay. I understand, it must be really difficult to be in a place that's completely alien to you. I couldn't imagine being alone through all of it." This being was more like her than he was letting on. "Thanks for the kind words Fluttershy. I'd imagine seeing something like me out of the blue is probably pretty heavy too." She nodded. "Oh, which reminds me. I'm known as a human or homo-sapien if you want the scientific term." "Hoo-man...That's a funny name for a species. Oh! I-I don't mean it's silly or anything, jus—" She was cut off by the creature letting out a hearty laugh and fell back on its hindquarters. "Aah...You're really adorable when you're nervous ya know?" She blushed and hid behind her mane a little. "You remind me of her so much..." Her? Who was this 'her'? She opened her mouth to ask but was cut off by a loud groan coming from her stomach. Her cheeks warmed up even pinker now. Oh right. I almost forgot about that... The 'Human' smiled. She was glad she didn't have to call it the 'creature' anymore. "Looks like someone's hungry. I'm assuming you're a herbivore correct?" She nodded. "Alright then, let's go get something to eat and we'll get to the rest of my questions and If you have any feel free to ask them after." This was good because she had more than a few questions she wanted to ask... "Okay, thank you." She replied. Oh shoot! I forgot to ask him— "Lemme get that rope off your leg and we'll go get you cleaned up." She blinked twice. Cleaned up? She completely forgot about the post tied to her leg. It was only until she looked at it did she start to feel it. "Um...why do I need to get cleaned?" She asked hesitantly. He moved over to her and began to undo the knot on her leg. The black rope wasn't terribly constricting but it was very firm. "No offense." He grunted. "But you look like hammered shit." At this point she was so relieved there was nopony around to see how red she was getting. The rope fell free and a slight pang of relief washed over her leg. She was in fact very filthy and if she could choose to have the luxury of a bath right now she'd take it. There was dried mud all over her and those little cuts were bound to get infected if she didn't do something about them. He backed off and stood back up with a grunt. Brody got up too and wagged his tail happily. "Um. Why did you tie me to that thing?" "Well for a number of reasons. One: I didn't want you running off." This made her feel uneasy. "I just wanted talk don't worry." Phew. "Two: I wasn't exactly certain you were friendly." She raised an eyebrow. Me? Unfriendly? "That and you kicked me in the dick yesterday so..." Oh dear, so I did hit...there. "I-I'm so—" "There's no need for any of that it's fine...Water under the bridge alright? Just so long as it doesn't happen again..." "Okay. Thank you." With that he began walking towards a path leading away from the area and into the thick forest with Brody following suit. "Wait!" She called out. He looked back at her. "What is it?" He asked. "What's your name? I-I mean if you want to tell me, I'd appreciate it." He smirked at her. She gave a 'squee' back. He turned around and walked back towards her, Brody waited by the forest entrance. He held the warm smile as he knelt down to eyelevel. "The name's Miles." He held out his hand. "Miles Davenport."