Genetic Dead End

by peacevic

Chapter 2

Genetic Dead End ch. 2

Fluttershy was wishing she had just stayed home today.

Not that it wasn't nice getting to spend some time with Trixie- it was. They hadn't really had a chance to hang out in the time Trixie had been in town, and the magician had been pretty excited to catch the concert later tonight. But now some crazy ponies were trying to kill others and, once again, she and her friends were caught in a deadly situation. This constant adventuring was almost enough to make her long to be back in flight camp.

Plus, she wasn't all that big a fan of rap music.

"So, uh, my name's SusP.E.C.T. What's yours?"

That roused Fluttershy from her mental hoof-wringing, and she snapped her attention to the unicorn beside her. The green unicorn who'd been ordering everypony around was Peacevic, she recognized him from the promotional poster Trixie had shown her. Peacevic was as famous as Sapphire Shores, or Countess Coluratura, and he seemed to be friendly with this unicorn. Did that mean that SusP.E.C.T. was famous as well? Should she have known his name? She hid behind her bangs in embarrassment.

It didn't help that she thought he was sort of cute. He certainly wasn't the kind of stallion that Rarity would fall for, and Rainbow Dash would definitely leave him in the dust. But there was something about the slight stallion that she just, well... liked.

Finally, she replied, "I'm F-Fluttershy."

SusP.E.C.T. sighed. Did she do something wrong? Was he nervous? He's the famous one, why is he nervous?

"So... How do you know the Princess?" SusP.E.C.T. asked.

"Um, we met while she was organizing the Summer Sun Celebration," she whispered. "On the day of the Nightmare Moon incident..."

Sus' eyes lit up. "You were an Element of Harmony?! You're like... a superhero! Like out of a comic book, or something!"

Fluttershy didn't say anything. She was too busy remembering... less than pleasant events.

"Oh, sorry for nerding out. You probably don't care about comics." SusP.E.C.T. smiled glumly. "Pretty mares aren't exactly the usual demographic, after all."

"Oh- no no no, it's not that," Fluttershy reassured him. "It's just... I was sucked into a comic book once."

"Really? Please tell me it was as awesome as it sounds!"

Fluttershy shuddered as she thought about it. "It was scary."

She didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she decided to change the subject. The girls were always saying she should be more assertive, and Trixie had even been teaching her some confidence-boosting tricks the magician used whenever she knew she'd be facing a tough crowd. Not to mention her monthly correspondence with Iron Will, which she did not mention to her friends because of what happened last time.

Plus, she felt like she could be brave around him.

"What about you? How did you meet Mr. Peacevic?"

It was SusP.E.C.T.'s turn to hide in his hair. "It's... kinda embarrassing."

"Oh won't you tell me, please? I promise I won't laugh." She gently touched his shoulder to lend her support, a feat which was easier to perform when one had wings to maintain their balance while moving forward.

He blushed at her touch and stammered, "I-I gave him my demo at a show."

"That doesn't sound very embarrassing at all," she said. "In fact, it was rather brave of you."

He chuckled. "I didn't know what I was doing at all. Back then I didn't realize that most artists don't actually listen when somepony hoofs them their demo. Even Peacevic doesn't do it very often, and I've never seen him get in contact with anypony when he does. But he called me. Now here I am, fighting necromancers. Life's weird, isn't it?"

"It really is." She smiled, and he smiled back, and her mood lightened considerably.

At least, until he pointed in front of them and said, "Look over there."

Up ahead were two ponies in cloaks, sitting at a small fold-out table. Behind them was a tiny shrine that was stuffed full of old-looking artifacts and decorated with odd pictures and symbols. The hooded ponies hadn't yet noticed them, as they were too engrossed in their card game.

"You think that's the altar Mr. Peacevic was talking about?" Fluttershy squeaked as they ducked around a building's corner.

SusP.E.C.T. gulped and nodded.

"What are we going to do? How do we get past those guards?"

"I think I have an idea." Fluttershy could see the gears turning in Sus' head as he spoke, "It's probably really bad, though."

She didn't say anything, giving him time to work it through.

"I'll distract them. They've been pretty sneaky so far, so I'm guessing they won't try anything too noticeable. Once I've got their attention, you circle around and mess up the altar." Sus poked his head out from behind the corner so he could look again.

Fluttershy shuffled uncomfortably. "That sounds dangerous..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine."

"No, I mean for y-" Fluttershy stopped talking when Sus suddenly turned around, looking like he had something to say.

He hesitated momentarily, seemingly concerned he had given her the wrong impression with his abruptness, then swallowed hard and said what was on his mind. "Um, Fluttershy? I know someone like you probably already has a special somepony, but all the same would you maybe like to... go on a date? After all this is over, of course. Assuming we survive."

Fluttershy would've preferred it if he'd stopped a couple sentences earlier, but for the most part... "I'd love to."

"A pony like Peacevic'd probably give you a quick kiss right now, but... y'know."

"Yeah." Fluttershy was nervous, too.

He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Okay, here I go."

Sus walked towards the hooded ponies, one of his forehooves extended in a wave. "Hey, guys! I was looking for the concert area, but I got a little lost and I was wondering-"

"He's friends with the Troubadour!" One of the cultists shouted, pointing at SusP.E.C.T

"Get him!"

"'Kay, bye." Sus bolted, having the presence of mind to gallop away from where Fluttershy was hiding.

Fluttershy waited until she was sure that nopony would see her, then cautiously crept to the altar. It was a shame she had to desecrate it, as some of the designs were actually quite pretty. But on the other hoof, it was about to be used to kill a bunch of ponies. She gently tipped it over. Priceless artifacts shattered as they hit the ground.

Satisfied that it was destroyed enough, she lifted off and started flying in the direction Sus had fled. Maybe she'd be able to help him out.