My Little Wasteland

by ThatBronyWithTheClipOns

Chapter 6: Seeking Help

Spike traveled to a deeper part of the Everfree Forest that most would never go to. But he was on a mission, and he knew exactly who to find in these parts of the forest. As he got closer to his destination, he began to get more cautious and look out for anything possibly dangerous. When in a flash, Spike hit some sort of trip wire that got him tangled up in a load of vines. He was then surrounded by animals of various sizes, all in attack positions. One in particular got close up to Spike’s face; a white rabbit wearing battle makeup.

“Angel Bunny?” said Spike.

And that’s exactly who it was. He gave Spike a surprised look and then hopped off real quick. Barely a minute passed when Angel returned with a cloaked figure.

“What are you doing in this part of the forest,” asked the cloaked figure. “Everypony knows this area is off limits.”

“You can cut the façade,” said Spike. “I know it’s you, Fluttershy.”

“Um…” fumbled the figure. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

“Fluttershy, it’s me, Spike,” he said.

The figure pulled down the hood to reveal that it was indeed Fluttershy. She had a harder look to her, but it was indeed her.

“Nopony has called me that in a long time,” she said.

“Oh yeah,” he said. “You’re called the Beast Mistress these days. I see you from time to time in my bounty lists.”

“I can’t believe it’s you, Spike,” she said. “You’ve grown so much. Oh my…and your poor eye!”

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” he said.

“And you’re really a bounty hunter,” she said.

“I had to do what I could to keep Twilight safe,” he said.

“Oh right…Twilight,” she said solemnly. “Um…how is she doing?”

“That’s questionable,” he said. “Whenever I come back she seems worse mentally. I don’t know what’s going on with her. She seems to be muttering all the time to herself. I keep having to go further out to find good bounties so I can buy food…and that’s why I’m here. I need your help Fluttershy.”

“But…why me?” she asked.

“You’re the only pony I can trust,” he said. “You know damn near everypony out there wants Twilight dead. Rarity never leaves her house anymore, I doubt Applejack will come back since she no longer has the farm, and of course Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are still nowhere to be found.”

“I don’t know, Spike,” she said.

“You’re the element of kindness,” he said. “You of all ponies should understand.”

“I’m not the same pony I was back then,” she said. “Things have changed.”

“Clearly you haven’t totally lost your kindness,” he said. “Look at all these animals you have. That you’ve been doing all you can to protect them. It’s exactly what I’ve done to keep Twilight safe. You know she didn’t cause all this on purpose…Please, Fluttershy? You’re the only one who can help me. I need somepony else I can trust to keep Twilight safe from whoever might find her.”

“Alright, Spike,” she said. “I’ll help you.”

“Great,” he said. “First though, can you get me down from here?”

“Oh…um…sure,” she said. “Terribly sorry.”

Futtershy motioned her animals to cut Spike down from his entanglement.

“I’m surprised you’re still so shy,” he said. “I figured somepony called the Beast Mistress would sound a bit more threatening.”

“Well, I know you,” she said. “Any run of the mill pony trying to harm my animals I’m going to be on the offense. But I guess when talking to you I remember the times before.”

“I know what you mean,” he said.

“So where is Twilight,” she asked.

“The ancient castle of the princesses,” he said. “Few know about it, seemed like an obvious place to hide out.”

“So, do you want me to keep her company as well,” she asked.

“I’m really not sure about that,” he said. “Part of me feels she would enjoy seeing one of her friends. But after all this time, and everything that’s happening with her, I don’t know how she’ll respond…we’ll have to see when we get there.”
“I hope she’ll be ok,” she said. “I have missed her. I’ve missed all of them.”

As they walked to the castle, Spike updated Fluttershy on what he could in terms of where everypony was.

“While I haven’t run into them, I’ve heard all kinds of stories involving Applejack and her siblings,” he said. “Rarity won’t come out of her house; last known thing she designed were my clothes here. Sweetie Belle sings at a local bar to earn money for them. I see her a lot too.”

“Oh,” she said. “Are you and Sweetie Belle seeing each other in any other fashion?”

“If you mean dating,” said Spike. “Then you’d be right. It’s not a perfect relationship, but we do what we can. I can be gone for over two weeks depending on how long it takes me to collect a bounty.”

“Sounds like a hard life,” she said.

“Can’t be any easier for you I’m sure,” he said. “You’re living deep in a dangerous forest. I still can’t believe you’ve got timber wolves on your side.”

“Like you, I did what I had to survive,” she said. “Some was a result of being more violent. Other times I managed to take command simply using my stare. As for the timber wolves, I actually had to fight a leader of the pack to gain their respect.”

“Incredible,” he said.

“I suppose it is,” she said, blushing a little.

Of all the ponies, Fluttershy seemed less changed by everything. Spike was amazed by this, yet not totally surprised. This gave him hope that things could improve eventually.

They made it to the castle; Spike told Fluttershy to wait for him outside so he could talk to Twilight before inviting Fluttershy in.

“Please go away,” said Twilight.

“As I said before,” started Discord. “If I was able, I would. I don’t exactly know how this happened, or if I’m ever going to be able to leave your mind. But I can tell you this, I’m not the one causing your mental issues. But I think you already knew that…Does your dragon companion know the source of your problems?”

“No,” she said. “And I have no plans to tell him. He has enough to worry about.”

Twilight then heard Spike walking towards her. She wasn’t sure if he heard her again speaking what appeared to me nonsense.

“Spike?” she said. “You’re back already?”

“I have something important to tell you,” he said.

There was a moment of silence, as Spike wasn’t sure if she’d take this news well. But he knew he wouldn’t get the answer by saying nothing.

“Fluttershy is here with me,” he said.

Twilight’s eyes went wide in amazement.

“She is,” she exclaimed. “Where? Can I see her?”

“She’s outside,” he said. “But are you sure you can handle seeing her?”

“Of course I can, Spike,” she said. “I know I don’t appear all that well right now, but I can handle seeing a friend at this point.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back,” he said.

While alone, Discord began to Speak again.

“The shy one,” he said. “I never would’ve guessed she’d survive in this crazy world.”

“Fluttershy is stronger than she appears,” said Twilight.

Spike returned with Fluttershy standing next to him. Fluttershy gave Twilight a light smile. Twilight’s eyes went wide again, and she began to cry. She ran to Fluttershy to embrace her estranged friend.

“Oh Fluttershy,” exclaimed Twilight. “I never thought I’d see you again!”

“I know what you mean, Twilight” said Fluttershy, also starting to cry. “I wish I had never abandoned you to begin with. It was wrong of me.”

“Don’t say that,” said Twilight. “I don’t blame you at all for your choices. You seem different somehow.”

“Well…um,” stammered Fluttershy. “I have a bit of a reputation now as a warrior.”

“Really,” said a surprised Twilight.

“She’s called the Beast Mistress by most,” said Spike with a sly smile. “She’s even aligned herself with a lot of the creatures in the forest.”

“That’s amazing, Fluttershy,” Twilight said giving her another hug.

But then Twilight began holding onto her head and convulsing.

“Twilight” said a worried Fluttershy. “What’s wrong?”

Spike ran to Twilight and began to embrace her.

“This has been happening for some time now,” said Spike. “I don’t know what’s causing it. I’ve tried everything I can to figure out what’s wrong with her, and found nothing. This is why I need you, Fluttershy. If somepony came across this place and found her, I don’t think she could defend herself.”

“Oh dear,” said Fluttershy. “I’ll do my very best to keep her safe Spike. I pinkie promise.”

Spike hadn’t heard the pinkie promise declaration in some time. A flash of memories came back to him upon hearing it.

“Thank you so much, Fluttershy,” said Spike, giving her a hug. “You and your animals can make yourselves at home. There’s plenty of room in this old place. I’ll feel a lot more relieved knowing that someone is here to look after Twilight.”

“You’re welcome, Spike,” said Fluttershy. “Thank you as well. It’s good to see somepony from the past.”

“Angel,” exclaimed Twilight, grabbing him and giving him a big hug. “I can’t believe you’re still around! Are you wearing war paint?”

“I should get going I guess,” said Spike. “I have more mouths to feed.”

“We can also find food in the forest,” said Fluttershy. “Don’t overdo yourself.”

“I won’t,” said Spike. “I’ll see you all as soon as I can.”

Comments

[CIA]

Honestly I'm not suprised by the war paint angel

[Roach of Wrath]

Flutershy is a badass

[ThatBronyWithTheClipOns]

1672837 Oh I always pictured Angel being decked out in war paint if need be.

[HungryPony]

How about some upgrades for the castle ?

[Nopony in Particular]

Angel with war-paint? Seems like something the little rodent would do.

[TheLonelyPony]

I've been looking forward for you to release new chapters and now they're here! Overall this is quite an enjoyable chapter. Fluttershy FTW!

[Aura Zero]

Ok this is starting to make a little more sense... Hope Spike finds the rest and bring them together again...