Harmony's Warriors: Flutterhulk

by Avenging-Hobbits

Act II - 06 - Your Guilty Past

“YOU!” the sudden shrill voice of his father caused the young colt to freeze.

“Um, yes father?” the small, thin snow white pegasus said, his voice meek and quiet.

“Laddie, you failed.” The burley griffin spat, his body towering over the young colt. “Those boys over there,” he pointed a talon in the direction of a small clutch of griffins who were rough housing. “You let them beat you.” He emphasized his words with a sharp poke.

The young colt nodded and hung his head in shame. It was true. He had joined in the game in hopes that they would accept him as one of their own. But, no such luck. They merely mocked him and beat him up, giving him several nasty bruises and a black eye.

“B-but daddy, I tried to fight back…but they’re so much bigger than me…and stronger….” He started to cry a little.

“I’ll have none of that laddie!” the griffin suddenly barked. The colt shied away at the sudden verbal assault.

“You lost because you were weak! I’ll have no weak children in my family understand?” the griffin stomped a talon on the ground. “Quite the opposite, I only raise STRONG sons. Sons that are the BEST at EVERYTHING. Do you want to be a failure?” he raised an eyebrow.

The young colt nodded. “No father…I don’t want to be a failure…”

The griffin scoffed. “No need to worry about that laddie, you already are one.”

The colt hung his head and simply nodded. His father was right. He was a total failure. He wasn’t even a griffin, but a pony. A mere pony. He had no claws, no talons, no sharp teeth and no sharp beak. Just a measly pair of wings that were too small for his body. He was small and tiny, the runt of the family, and the laughing stock of the school. Even his name was a failure: Snowflake. It sounded like a girl’s name.

“That’s why,” his father suddenly spoke, a strangely warm smile crossing his beak, considering his typically stern and strict personality. “I’m going to whip you into shape. Make you the best. Because I will not withstand anything less than the best. Understand that laddie?” The griffin then leaned down and looked the colt in the eyes.

“Laddie, you must learn one thing, and one thing only about life.”

Snowflake looked into his father’s golden eyes. “What father?”

“It’s that nobody likes a failure. Or a whiner. So no more crying or weeping. Opposite. You’re going to pull yourself up by your…” he paused, eyeing Snowflake’s hooves with apprehension, as if he forgot something. “…hooves and make yourself better than them. Nobody here is going to respect you if you always play the victim. You must be the better griffin. Make something of yourself so that you will never, ever have to face this kind of treatment again, understand laddie?”

The colt nodded. “Yes father…”

The griffin patted him on the head and stood back up. “Good then laddie. And that way, you can stand up for yourself, and not be just another punching bag.” He turned and started to walk away, leaving the colt alone, crying softly.

“I’ll be the best…the best at everything daddy…I promise.”

Snowflake stood in his cabin’s bathroom aboard the zeppelin, which was now on its way back to Equestria.

Intensely staring into the mirror, he repeated his mantra over and over again.

“You are the best, Snowflake. You are the best at everything.”

It was part of his morning routine since he was twelve years old and he wasn’t about to stop it now. He had clawed his way up from being a laughing stock to making something of himself. He was the single most decorated member of the South Griffinhiem army, and a pony to boot, and was on his way to becoming the most decorated member Equestria’s military.

Whatever it takes…whatever it takes to be the best. He thought.

He thought back to the Griefstadt crime scene. That civilian mare had made a point. Something was off about it. How could a pony so meek and fail looking as this ‘Fluttershy’, be possibly capable of such extreme acts of violence?

No, it had to be somepony else, he thought as he turned around and sat on his bed, laying back to look at the ceiling.

Or something else…

...something with power.

Fluttershy stood in the diner, staring towards the door, still trying to piece together what had happened.

Someone she’d never met before and hadn’t even said a word to in greeting, had, for some reason, found it a good idea to fight for her.

She looked down at the floor of the diner. The five griffins still lay there, looking almost as if they had been through a slicing machine of some kind. That’s when it hit her.

She had claws. Fluttershy had been around Griffins long enough for her to know that, by no means, was having three giant knives shooting out of the mysterious griffin’s knuckles was in any way normal. She looked down at the gang sprawled along the floor. The sheer amount of blood on the floor confirmed her suspicions. They were probably all dead.

Fluttershy suddenly felt as if she was going to throw up at the grisly sight. Unable to bear the sight of another set of bloodied bodies, she bolted out the door, grabbing her backpack and running as fast as she could, tears in her eyes.

Gus himself merely watched the strange Pegasus run out of the diner, unable to quite fathom what caused the pony to suddenly run out sobbing. He then looked down at the floor and turned a shade of green at the rather gruesome sight before him.

“Oh my goodness…that’s going to take quite a bit of cleanin’.”

Fluttershy just kept running and running for what seemed like hours, finally coming to a stop near an old beat up street lamp. She looked around. The diner was now a mere tiny spot of light in the distance, and ahead, the road stretched out endlessly into the darkness.

She was totally alone again. Her body once more ached and groaned in pain. What was she to do? It seemed that death followed her everywhere she went, regardless of her own actions.

“Oh why oh why oh why…” she sobbed, falling against the light pole, collapsing to the ground. She continued to cry, occasionally looking up at the sky as if she was looking to some higher power. After what seemed like hours, she finally succumbed to the feeling of exhaustion that washed over her, her emotions now completely spent. She closed her eyes, still wet and puffy from her crying, and fell asleep.

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a beautiful, seemingly endless field of red poppies. She looked up. The sky was a beautiful bright blue, with not a single cloud in the sky.

“Fluttershy…” a voice called out. She looked around for the source of the voice. Strangely, there seemed to be nobody else in the field but her.

“Um…hello? Is there anypony out there?” she called out, hoping that it was maybe just the wind playing tricks on her ears.

“Fluttershy…over here.” The voice called out once more. She turned to look in the direction the voice seemed to be coming from. Her eyes were greeted by a strangely familiar building that hadn’t been there before. It was the house that her family had lived in back in Ponyville.

“Fluttershy…please come here.” The voice called out again, seeming somewhat stressed. Fluttershy got up and started to walk towards the house concerned that maybe the source of the voice needed help of some kind.

As the house came closer and closer, she noticed something seemed off about it. It’s light powder blue paint scheme seemed to have faded, and attained an almost reddish tone on top of it.

“Um, hello? Is there anypony in there?” she called out, standing by the front gate, which had seemingly sprouted out of the ground as she got closer.

“Fluttershy please…I need your help…please…” the voice called out, now seemingly in some kind of pain. Fluttershy looked around, taking notice that the sky had suddenly become cloudy and dark, with large storm clouds looming overhead.

“Okay, I’m coming!” Fluttershy called out, walking up to the door and fiddling with the doorknob. It was, strangely, unlocked, and the door clicked open with a strange moaning groan coming from its hinges.

A feeling of unease crept into Fluttershy’s mind. Something seemed off. The house felt strangely vacant. It looked just like it did back when they had moved out.

Suddenly Fluttershy heard the voice again.

“Fluttershy please….I need you…” it cried, once more sounding like it was in pain. Fluttershy turned towards the sound of the voice, which was coming from up the staircase.

Funny… Fluttershy thought. We didn’t have a staircase in the old house.

The voice called out again, except this time it was a strange inarticulate moan. Fluttershy started up the staircase, her concern for the source of the voice, whomever it was, growing by the second.

She reached the top of the staircase to find herself in their Canterlot apartment. The various bad memories involving the place made themselves evident by a sudden rolling thunder from outside.

“Hello! Is any pony there?!” Fluttershy called out, concern in her voice. “I’m here! Where are you!”

The strange voice groaned again. It was coming from the kitchen.

Fluttershy ran towards the sound, entering the kitchen to find a horrifyingly familiar sight.

It was the day the last vestiges of her childhood died.

Her father lay on the floor, battered and bleeding, while her mother cowered in the corner, sobbing. In the center of the room stood a young Pegasus filly that looked exactly like Fluttershy did at that age. Her coat was a strange shade of bright green and her mane was a wild red mess. She suddenly turned towards Fluttershy with a murderous look in her eyes. She let out a demonic shriek and leapt towards Fluttershy.

Fluttershy’s mind told her to turn and run, but her body remained locked down in fear. The demonic filly impacted Fluttershy and sent them both tumbling. Fluttershy kicked desperately to get the filly off of her.

The monstrous creature let out another shriek as they tumbled out of the kitchen and into the living room.

Fluttershy finally managed to kick the monster nice and hard, sending it flying into a nearby wall, where it exploded in a puff of smoke. Shaking herself off, Fluttershy immediately ran over to her parents.

“Mother! Mother!” Fluttershy grabbed her mother. “Mother are you okay?”

“Oh Celestia why, why, why, why, why…” was all her mother was able to choke out between sobs. “Why did this happen…”

“Why did what happen?” Fluttershy asked as she checked her mother for injuries. As it turned out, her mother was perfectly fine, with the exception of a black eye.

Her mother looked into Fluttershy’s eyes.

“Why did you have to kill him?” Tree Flower sobbed.

Fluttershy’s widened and she turned to the bloody body of her father. “Daddy! Daddy are you okay!” she sobbed, tears forming in her eyes.

He turned his head limply towards her. The entire left side of his face was caked in dried blood. “I’m…I’m so sorry…” he whispered before he fell unconscious.

Suddenly, everything seemed to fade into a reddish sepia tone and everything went quiet. Fluttershy looked around.

She was once more in the field, except now, instead of just red poppies, the entire field was blood red. She looked up at the sky. The clouds were blood red as well.

“What’s going on?” Fluttershy thought aloud now frightened as to what might happen next.

Suddenly, as if to answer her question, small droplets of red liquid began to fall from the sky.

Is this…blood?! She thought as she tentatively tasted one drop that had landed on her hoof. Her tongue found the instantly recognizable metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Now utterly terrified, she turned to run, desperately searching for some form of shelter. Suddenly the ground from beneath her feet began to shake violently.

A monstrous demonic looking jet black alicorn burst forth from the ground and looked down at Fluttershy, it's snake like eyes burning with demonic hatred.

“YOU MUST PAY!” it roared before it lunged down at her, transforming mid leap into a demonic version of herself, complete with blood red hair and green coat.

Fluttershy let out a blood curdling scream and everything went black.

“NO!” Fluttershy awoke in a cold sweat. She looked around. The first thing that caught her attention was the fact that she was no longer in the middle of the desert, but rather in a rather modest motel room.

What am I doing here? She thought as she spotted her backpack and hoodie on the floor across from her bed.

She looked over next to her to the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 12:30 PM on April 22nd.

How long was I out? She wondered as she quietly got out of bed, put on her hoodie out of habit and opened her room’s door, peeking out into the empty hallway.

“Um…hello? Anypony there?” she quietly called out.

Maybe I’m still dreaming...

She started to quietly walk down the hallway, towards what she assumed was the front desk.

Music came from the direction she was heading, along with barely audible whistling.

She entered what looked like the lobby, a rather modest affair, consisting of a small desk and a couple of chairs and a key rack.

At the desk there was a small griffin that Fluttershy discovered was the source of the whistling, and a small stereo where the music came from. The griffin was rather enraptured in drawing. Along the walls of the lobby were pinned up various doodles of various things ranging from rather garish political cartoons to just random shapes.

“Um, excuse me…” Fluttershy asked, walking up the griffin.

The griffin looked up from his doodles. “Oh, hello there, how you feeling?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane again. “Um, fine…just fine...thank you for letting me stay.”

The griffin shrugged. “The least I could do. Say, I didn’t get to catch your name?”

Fluttershy paused. She hadn’t even expected to be here right now, so she was broke for a name. She looked around the room, searching for something to base a name off of.

Her eyes fell on a rather disturbing drawing of a dove exploding into a monstrous mechanical eagle.

“Um….” She continued to search the walls, finally catching sight of something that might work.

“I’m Bright Sky.” She smiled, hoping that the griffin hadn't noticed her stalling.

"Really? Nice name. My name is Gerald." He reached a talon out in greeting.

Fluttershy shook his talon, casting a glance down at the drawing he was currently working on.

It was a strange, disturbing image of a face seemingly screaming for help or in pain, but the face was emerging from what looking like a white brick wall. It chilled her to the bone. She looked back up at the wall, realizing that it was covered with drawings of a similar nature, all very dark and disturbing.

One depicted what looking like a sea of blood morphing into a sea of paws all surrounding a giant white monolith. Another was what looked like a giant mechanical crab-like machine.

None of this seemed to match the personality of the seemingly very kind hearted griffin.

"Um...I see that you draw..."

The griffin turned and glanced at the wall behind him. "What? You mean those? Oh those are just doodles, nothing more."

There was another pause between the two, neither quite sure what to say next. The music continued to play elegantly from the radio.

"Um..." Gerald started to say, looking around the room. "Would you like to sit down or something? I know there isn't much." he motioned to one of the chairs.

Fluttershy looked at the chair. "Um, no thank you, but I'd love to know if you might have any newspapers available?"

The griffin nodded. "Yeah, sure, they're right over there, the paperboy just left." he pointed towards a small pile of fresh newspapers.

"Thank you very much." Fluttershy said, quietly walking over and picking up a copy and tucking it under her wing.

"Um, do I have to pay?" she asked.

The griffin shook his head. "Nope. Its on the house and so is your room, since you seemed pretty destitute."

Fluttershy smiled. She didn't have to pay? It seemed almost too good to be true. To finally have a nice warm place to sleep and not have to worry about being kicked out.

"Thank you so very much." she beamed, turning to go back to her room. For as nice as the lobby was, the strange drawings made her feel uneasy.

"You're welcome, least I could do for you." The griffin replied, turning back to his drawings.

Fluttershy nodded and left the lobby, as the music ended and the DJ spoke.

"That was Marezart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major K467, second movement. You're listening to 82.5 KLAS FM, your source for the finest classical music Equestria has to offer. And now for the news..."

Fluttershy continued down the hallway, just happy to be somewhere warm and safe for the day, instead of some empty wasteland. She entered her room, and flopped down on the bed, relishing in the nice clean sheets and comforters. She quickly fell asleep, a contented smile on her face.

Meanwhile, Gerald continued his doodling, not really paying much attention to the news reports ramblings.

Nice mare, he thought. Seemed a tad skittish though, wonder why…

As if the radio was reading his mind, the news reporter moved on from local affairs onto the next subject, which instantly caught Gerald’s attention.

"Equestrian authorities have uncovered some new evidence in the hunt for Fluttershy Braveheart, well known escaped terrorist..."

Gerald’s ears instinctively perked up. He had been keeping tabs on this story, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"...authorities say that she was most likely involved in the violent deaths of several gang members in the North Griffinheim town of Griefstadt. Authorities say to be on the lookout for a yellow pegasus a light pink mane, blue eyes and a triple butterfly cutie mark. If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, please contact the local authorities."

“Wait what?” Gerald said, turning towards the radio. His mind suddenly flashed the image of the skittish mare from just a few moments ago. She perfectly matched the description that the news reporter had given. Gerald’s eyes widened and he dropped his pen, ignoring his drawings.

Grabbing the phone, he fumbled with it for a few seconds before dialing the number for the local police.

“Um, hello, yes I’d like to report a sighting of Fluttershy. Yes, I believe she’s at my motel…”

The voice on the other end seemed mildly surprised. “Seriously? Right there?”

“As serious as all get out officer.” Gerald replied.

“Okay then, we’ll come and get her, remember, whatever you do, don’t try and do anything. She’s incredibly dangerous.”

Gerald nodded. “Of course. Goodbye.” With that, he hung up the phone and leaned back.

“Well….let’s hope they get here soon…”

Hoofcuff let out a sigh as she and Starlight busied themselves with a game of chess.

“Checkmate boss. That’s the fifth game I’ve won today.” Starlight said, emphasizing his words by magically nudging his rook into her king.

“Damn it.” Hoofcuff facepalmed. “This is exactly why I prefer poker to chess.”

Starlight simply shrugged, a cocky grin on his face. “Told ya, I’m the chess master. Nopony can beat me.”

Hoofcuff gave him an unimpressed look and laughed. “Well, Hoofcuff, one day you’re going to meet somepony who’s going to wipe the floor with you.”

She then got up from the table they were sitting in and, walking over to the coffee machine, poured herself a cup of coffee.

It had been three days since they left Griefstadt, and it had been the single most incredibly boring three day period in Hoofcuff’s entire career.

They hadn’t been able to find anything belonging to Fluttershy asides from the backpack, several dozen bottles of painkillers and a ripped up old hoodie in a nearby river.

So, with no real reason to continue, the zeppelin had set a course back into Equestria, where Hoofcuff would probably end up being forced to write a report on the hunt and what a waste of her time and effort it was.

And that’s what drove Hoofcuff up the wall. She had been given what seemed an incredibly interesting case, but ended up being simply a dead end.

So the group had spent most of their time in their rooms, going over aspects of the case, hoping that they would have a reason to continue.

Hoofcuff hated the idea of being dragged to some third world country, looking over a crime scene, then being shunted back into a large flying cigar back to Equestria.

But, it seemed the General was determined to continue. But a quick call from Canterlot had seemingly forced him to comply and drag them all back. Not that she hadn’t heard his protests, in some of the most colorful language she had heard in a long, long time.

But, either way, here she was, moping around, and losing chess game after chess game to Starlight.

Just as she was about to return to the table to lose another game, however, a thin unicorn in a military uniform burst in.

“The General wants to see the both of you right this moment!” he said.

Hoofcuff raised an eyebrow. “Why? Is it about the case?”

“Yeah! Somepony just phoned in saying they saw her.” The pony replied, a smile on his face. “Do you know where Snowflake is? The General asked for him as well.”

“In his cabin, he’s been locked in there since we got the news we had to go back.” Starlight replied.

“Okay then! Thanks!” And with that, the pony darted off.

Fluttershy was awakened by a low droning noise.

What in Equestria is that? She groggily wondered as she dragged herself out of bed, rubbing her eyes. She glanced over at the clock. It was about noon. The date on the clock read the 25th.

I’ve been asleep that long? She wondered, surprised by the fact that she’d been asleep for almost two days straight.

That’s when she heard it. A voice shouting orders over a megaphone. She peeked out the window of her room. Her eyes were greeted by the sight of dozens of ponies milling about outside.

Oh no! He must have reported me!

Panicking, she made her way straight for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

The bathroom was an awfully tiny affair, consisting of a small cabinet, a sink, a toilet and a small shower.

She stepped into the shower, and turned on the water, washing away at least three days worth of grime and desert dirt.

Come on Fluttershy...pull yourself together...maybe they’re looking for another fugitive…oh who am I kidding? They found me!

Fluttershy stepped out of the shower and opened the small cabinet. Inside was some old shaving cream, a straight razor and some deodorant.

She closed the cabinet and looked into the mirror build into the door.

What do I do? She thought, running her hoooves through her mane. Suddenly it dawned on her.

I can cut my hair!

She flung the door open and grabbed the razor, making sure it was nice and wet. Grabbing it tightly, she started to cut off the various strands of her wet mane.

However, due to her lack of experience in the area of hair cutting, her mane only ended up looking like it had gone through a shredder. And it was still pink as ever.

I need some kind of hair dye or something… she thought, leaving the bathroom and searching for some kind of dye or paint she could use to change her hair color. Finding nothing she started to pace the floor, trying to calm herself down and think of a way she could avoid being noticed.

She looked back into the bathroom. There was a small window facing towards the street. Peeking out, Fluttershy looked around.

There was a small corner store just across the street from the motel, and thankfully, there was nopony in military uniforms running around outside of it. As a matter of fact, from what she could tell from her window, most of the ponies were rather preoccupied with the front of the motel.

She paused, thinking what to do next. The corner store probably has some kind of hair dye or something… she thought.

She quietly grabbed her backpack, opened the window and sunk across the street, pulling her hoodie over her face so that she couldn’t be recognized.

I’ve gotta get out of here…maybe if I move quickly they won’t notice me… she thought as she trotted across the street.

After what seemed like an eternity, she entered the corner store, making a beeline for the hair product section, not saying a word to the pony behind the counter.

She grabbed the first bottle of hair dye she saw and slipped into the bathroom.

The radio played a little louder, except instead of music, it was tuned into a news station.

“And in other news, well known technological genius and robotics guru Rarity Belle has shocked everyone with her admission that she is the mysterious figure known as Iron Mare, authorities have long expected her involvement…” and the rest of the report was drowned out by the sound of the faucet as Fluttershy wet her hair again and started to run the dye through it.

After a few minutes, her mane had gone from light pink to dark brown, and she moved on to her tail, leaving puddles of hair dye on the floor of the bathroom.

Once finished, she stepped out of the bathroom, making sure not to attract the attention of the pony behind the counter.

She looked out through the store window and froze.

Outside the back of the motel she had been in mere moments earlier, there was now a veritable army of ponies, all in the dark green military colors of Equestria.

Oh no...how did they even get here so fast?! She thought. As if to answer her question, she caught sight of a large zeppelin hovering in the sky above.

She had to get out of town, before they noticed her. She looked around, hoping that there was some form of escape. Her salvation came in the form of the sight of a small train station, where passengers were waiting for the next train.

Oh thank Celestia! Just get on the train, and you’ll be scot-free.

She quietly stepped out of the store and started down the street and towards the small train station.

It was only as she neared it did she notice that the various military ponies were directly in her path. She would have to cross directly through them in order to get to the train station.

Taking a deep breath, she plunged through the crowd, hoping they might not recognize her. She kept her head downward; making sure that nopony could get a good look at her face.

She accidentally bumped into a rather short slate grey mare with a dark red mane, wearing a windbreaker with a shield and eagle logo.

“Oh I’m so sorry…” she whispered out of habit, hoping that the mare hadn’t gotten a good look at her. The mare simply gave her a quick glance before turning back towards the motel.

Fluttershy decided now was a chance to pick up the pace, and she shifted into a canter. She finally reached the train station and tried to blend into the crowd.

She ended up standing next to a small group of pegasi Fluttershy cast a quick glance and nearly fainted at the sight of one of the pegasi standing next to her.

It was Firefly. She looked much older now, but her mane was still cut in the same tomboyish mane cut. Fluttershy started to panic again.

Oh no, why did this have to happen, of all the mares in the world I could have chosen to stand next too it had to be her! I don’t want her to get hurt!

“Hey don’t I know you?” Firefly’s familiar voice suddenly asked. Fluttershy cast nervous glance in her direction.

“E-excuse me? I don’t k-know who you’re t-talking a-about…” She stuttered in response, pulling her hoodie over her face, hoping that Firefly hadn’t gotten a good look.

“Seriously? I feel like I know you. I’m Firefly, from Ponyville? Maybe we bumped into each other there once?” Firefly said, raising an eyebrow.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No I have no idea who you are. I’m from Tree Branch. Never been to Ponyville in my life.”

Firefly looked somewhat confused, before her expression changed to that of embarrassment. “Oh really? Wow, my mistake.” She began to run her hoof through her mane. “Geez that was awkward,” she laughed. “I mean you look almost exactly like a friend I used to have.”

Fluttershy gave an uneasy smile. “You’re right…that is awkward. Sorry for confusing you.”

Firefly smiled and shrugged. “Eh, no biggie. Happens to the best of us.” She then turned away, scanning the train station, apparently looking for someone.

“Oh well, better find Cloud Burst...Celestia knows that he’s probably still harassing the ticket guy for a lower price. Heaven knows my little Scoots is dying to see us again.”

“Oh really? Who’s Scoots?” Fluttershy asked, her own curiosity for her long lost friends’ present life getting the better of her.

“Oh she’s our daughter. Light of our lives.” Firefly smiled. “Cloud Burst was asked to check out the local weather team here, and well, I had to come, so we left her with my sister. We’re finally going home now…” she paused, her smile fading slightly. “If Cloud Burst can stop haggling the ticket ponies at every train station we go to.” She looked back at Fluttershy. “Say, I didn’t catch your name, might as well right? No use being rude.”

“Um…I’m Bright Sky…” Fluttershy quietly answered; using the name she had used the motel owner.

“Well, Bright Sky, it was nice meeting you.” Firefly extended a hoof in greeting. Fluttershy weakly shook it.

“Yeah…nice meeting you.”

Firefly nodded and turned towards the ticket booth, where a dark orange pegasus with a blue mane was busy haggling with the ticket booth operator.

Firefly’s a mom now? A sad smile crossed Fluttershy’s face. She relaxed slightly, the thought of her old friend with a husband and a filly of her own touching her heart, and also highlighting Fluttershy’s own plight. She would never be able to have a family of her own. Not as long she remained on the run.

Suddenly however, a loud voice snapped Fluttershy out of her wistful thoughts.

“THERE SHE IS!”

Fluttershy cast a fearful glance over her shoulder. The mare she had bumped into earlier was leading a squad of troops and they were heading directly towards her.

Fluttershy bolted away, running as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hoofcuff stood in front of the motel. She still wasn’t quite sure as to why they need an entire military unit for just one fugitive, but at least they had a lead.

As it turned out, Fluttershy had disappeared, having slipped away mere moments before they arrived.

Now quite frustrated, Hoofcuff wandered through the crowd, wondering where on earth the pony had disappeared to.

If I were Fluttershy, where would I go…

Suddenly she was roughly bumped by a pony wearing a purple hoodie.

“Oh I’m so sorry…” the mare whispered, her voice shaky.

Hoofcuff simply shot the mare a quick glance.

She had a long flowing dark brown tale, and a mane that had been cut sloppily. On her flank was a trio of butterflies.

Something caught Hoofcuff’s eye. At the base of her tail was a clump of pink hairs. Instantly the gears in Hoofcuff’s mind began to turn.

Why is the base of that mare’s tail… before her thought had even had a chance to finish, she noticed the trio of butterflies on the yellow pony’s flank.

“It’s her!” she almost shouted, trying to turn and follow the pony. She lost her in the crowd of soldiers and onlookers, however, and Hoofcuff once more began to curse the so-called ‘aid’ they had been given.

If it was just me and Starlight I would have her already!

She hopped up and down in the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of the purple hoodie that Fluttershy was wearing.

Her prayers were answered as she caught sight of her target, standing next to a pink pegasus with a blue mane. As the pink pegasus turned towards the ticket booth, Hoofcuff seized her chance.

“THERE SHE IS!” she practically screamed, pointing towards Fluttershy, who turned at the sound and instantly bolted.

Within seconds, the crowd all turned as one in the direction Hoofcuff was pointing and suddenly Snowflake leapt into the air into the air and soared in the direction Hoofcuff was pointing. Hoofcuff motioned towards Starlight and the two of them galloped as fast as possible after the surprisingly fast pegasus, followed by a gaggle of military troops.

Their target disappeared behind a corner. As the group came around the corner, they were greeted by a totally empty street.

Hoofcuff looked skyward, only to see Snowflake, circling like a vulture. Suddenly he pointed towards the ground.

“She went into the sewers!”

Hoofcuff looked back at the street to see an open manhole cover.

“Starlight, let’s go. We’ve gotta gopher.” She ordered as she clambered down the hole. Starlight groaned.

“Dang it boss, these are brand new horseshoes….”

Hoofcuff simply gave him a disgruntled look. “Starlight. Their horseshoes. Their SUPPOSED to get dirty.” With that, she jumped into the sewer, followed by the still grumbling Starlight.

The two unicorns eyed the sewer ahead of them as a couple more ponies joined them in the pipe.

“Okay, I want you two,” she pointed at two military unicorns. “To go down there.” She pointed down the pipe behind them. “And me and Starlight will take this direction. Got it?”

The two unicorns nodded and started down the pipe in the direction Hoofcuff indicated. Meanwhile, Starlight and Hoofcuff started down the pipe in front of them.

Fluttershy stumbled through the sewer, completely and utterly lost. The stench from the filthy water flowing and tumbling around her feet burned in her nose, and she was doing her best not to vomit. Her mane was now soaked from all the water pouring around her and hung in front of her eyes, blocking much of her field of vision, with the cheap mane dye draining from it and dribbling around her. It smelled incredibly similar to hoofpolish, it’s strong order overwhelming her and making her feel somewhat woozy. It didn’t help that her hoodie was soaked as well, her having stumbled several times, and now it clung to her body like a wet blanket, feeling as if it weighed a ton.

Gotta keep moving... she thought, pausing to try and find an escape route. She had reached a fork in the pipe system, and from behind her came the distant clamor of the small army that followed behind her. Without a moment’s thought, she darted to the left. She could feel her heart rate steadily climbing higher and higher as she ran. Relax Fluttershy...relax...don’t let her out...just don’t yet her out....just don’t let her out... she thought, hoping the sudden burst of adrenaline wouldn’t cause her to lose control. The burning sensation of lactic acid stung in her legs and abdomen and her breaths were in short pants now.

Her eyes darted desperately until she caught sight of an opening in the pipe to the left. Veering towards it, she suddenly felt the pipe beneath her plunge downward, all of a sudden loosing her footing and sliding downward, the flow of water only managing to make her mane completely cover her eyes and water to spill into her nose and throat. She swung her arms about wildly, hoping desperately that she might grab onto something to slow her descent. She felt a sharp tug and all of a sudden came to a stop, her hoodie suddenly tugging at her body and tightening around her neck like a noose, the zipper pinching her skin. However, this meant that at least her head was above the flow of water now, and she brushed her mane out of her eyes, searching desperately for what was tugging at her hoodie and thereby strangling her.

It turned out that the hood had somehow managed to get caught on a piece of metal jutting from the pipe wall. From what Fluttershy could see in the incredibly dim lighting, it appeared to be some kind of handle, probably meant to help sewer workers to climb out of the pipe. Reaching around, she clawed at it as best she could, desperate to free herself from the death trap. Unable to reach the rung, she started to panic.

Oh no...I'm going to drown! She thought as the water continued to pour around her in a torrent. In her panicked state, her heart rate was now climbing even higher and she could see green beginning to tint her field of vision. No please...not here please not here! She thought, struggling to keep herself in control of her own body, as she could feel New Fluttershy struggling wildly to break free. She could feel the zipper of her hoodie scraping against her skin, sending little jolts of pain through her body.

Wait! The zipper! She realized, and instantly her now slightly green hooves grabbed at the zipper, tugging at it with all of her might. The normally mundane, but now positively wondrous sound of the zipper opening greeted her ears and she felt the constricting hoodie open up around her, and she let herself start to slip free. The sleeves however, still wrapped around her forelegs like the tentacles of an octopus, and she tore at them desperately. In a sudden burst of strength that she could only believe was a result of New Fluttershy, she ripped her forelegs free, finally released from the hoodie. The water carried her body down the pipe a ways, until she found her footing again and grounded to a halt, sliding up against the wall. Taking a deep breath, she started to try and coach herself down from her panicked state.

Calm down..deep breaths Fluttershy, deep breaths... She repeated to herself, as her heart rate steadily dropped lower and lower, and the green started to drift out of her field of vision. However, her attempts at calming herself were interrupted by a sudden cacophony of noise and Fluttershy froze, her heart rate spiking in panic. She scrambled down the pipe a little more, glancing behind her to be greeted by a surprising sight.

Splashing around in the water was the same short, slate grey unicorn mare that had been leading the chase. Fluttershy's body tensed up in fear, and she huddled in the shadows, hoping the mare couldn't see her. The mare, however, seemed totally distracted searching for something that had she had apparently lost when she fell down into this pipe. Fluttershy felt something metallic bump up against her hoof. Her eyes drifted downwards and she was greeted by the sight of a small pistol laying at her hoof. She found herself reaching for it tentatively, and she picked it up. Her heart rate was still spiking given the tense situation, and her hooves trembled.

Meanwhile, the unicorn was splashing around in the water, "Where is it?! Where is it?!" The unicorn hissed, obviously searching for the weapon Fluttershy now held in her hoof. Fluttershy found herself walking slowly towards the unicorn, gun held in her hoof, secretly hoping that maybe she could buy herself some time...somehow.

The other unicorn, however, suddenly froze in place, and Fluttershy pointed the gun towards her in a panic. The other mare slowly stood upright, Fluttershy tracking her with the weapon.

"Okay, you got me fair and square." The mare said as she turned around slowly, forelegs raised. Her face however, changed from a wary one to a completely shocked one when she saw Fluttershy.

Fluttershy did her best to hold the weapon steady, her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. “P-please…” she begged. “L-leave m-me a-alone, I-I d-don’t w-want t-to h-hurt y-you.”

The unicorn simply blinked, seemingly unable to process what Fluttershy was saying.

“P-please, I-I’m n-not a m-monster…” Fluttershy whimpered, her hoof now trembling uncontrollably.

The other mare gave Fluttershy a confused look before speaking. “I don’t care!” She said, still holding her hooves up.

Fluttershy herself was now drawn a blank. Unsure of how to respond to the unicorn's surprisingly blunt response, she started to back away. “T-then leave me a-alone, p-please.” And with that she finally let the gun drop from her hooves into the water and turned to run away into the sewers.

Hoofcuff stalked through the sewer, her gun levitated in her magic, ready for any treat. She and Starlight had made their way down the pipe for a while before hitting a fork. Deciding it would be best to split up, the two had gone down their separate pipes.

She listened carefully for any noises that sounded out of place, like footsteps or panting. All she could hear was the sound of water flowing and dripping, the occasional rat squeak as they ran by her feet and the dull roar of where the sewer emptied out.

Suddenly a loud banging noise came from a pipe opening directly to her right. She spun around and cast an illumination spell.

A beam of light shot from her horn and into the pipe as she scanned it for the source of the sound. Along the wall of the pipe ran a line of cables, probably telephone ones. The pipe sloped downward, allowing the water to drain off into more sewers. Suddenly something caught her eye. It was a very familiar dark purple hoodie that had apparently gotten caught on some metal.

Hoofcuff grinned as she started to make her way into the pipe. She stretched a hoof out to grab onto the telephone cable so that she wouldn’t slip and fall. She grabbed on and started to steadily make her way down.

Suddenly her hooves slipped on something slimy and sent her tumbling down the pipe and into the water below. After a brief moment of sputtering and choking on sewer water, Hoofcuff emerged and lit her horn and looked around. She instantly noticed that her gun was missing. She dived back down into the water searching wildly for her weapon.

“Where is it? Where is it?!” she whispered to herself. Suddenly she froze. The distinct feeling of having a gun pointed at her back caught her attention. She stopped searching and slowly stood back up.

“Okay, you got me fair and square.” She said as she turned and was greeted by the absolute last pony in the world she expected to see.

Fluttershy stood in front of her, completely soaked, gun in hoof with her mane hanging around her head like a dead animal, dripping off what looked like gallons of brown hair dye.

“P-please…” she begged. “L-leave m-me a-alone, I-I d-don’t w-want t-to h-hurt y-you.”

Hoofcuff simply blinked.

“P-please, I-I’m n-not a m-monster…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“I don’t care!” Hoofcuff said, holding her forelegs up.

Fluttershy started to back away. “T-then leave me a-alone, p-please.” And with that she unexpectedly dropped the gun into the water and turn to run away into the sewers.

Hoofcuff waited for a second before pulling out her backup gun and fishing her original gun out of the water and putting it back in the hostler. She started to gallop after Fluttershy.

The dull echo of footfalls steadily grew louder and louder as the pipe steadily became brighter she approached the end of the tunnel. She rounded a bend in the pipe and was greeted by Fluttershy, this time clambering up a ladder up the surface.

“Fluttershy!” Hoofcuff shouted. Fluttershy froze and turned around, a terrified look on her face.

“N-no, please, leave me alone.” Fluttershy begged.

“I’ll leave you alone when you turn yourself in.” Hoofcuff replied.

Fluttershy stepped up another ladder rung.

“Fluttershy stop moving right now!” Hoofcuff shouted, aiming her gun directly at Fluttershy’s head. “Fluttershy if you do not stop moving I will shoot you and I will not miss!”

Fluttershy stopped. “B-but New F-fluttershy won’t like that!”

Hoofcuff scoffed. “Look Fluttershy, I don’t know who the hay this ‘New Fluttershy’ is nor do I care. Now, I want you to start down the ladder and don’t try anything.”

Fluttershy nodded meekly and did as she was told. Hoofcuff started to walk towards her, keeping her gun pointing at her in case Fluttershy tried to make a break for it. “And don’t you even think about flying away.” She shouted at Fluttershy as she stepped closer.

Fluttershy nodded and stepped onto the floor of the pipe, falling down on her knees. Hoofcuff levitated a pair of hoofcuffs and slapped them on the pegasus, who was now crying.

“Oh stop whining. You’ve given us enough trouble as it is.” Hoofcuff grumbled, as she forced Fluttershy to her knees and escorted her out of the pipe.

General Iron Will smiled grimly at the sight before him.

His main target, the very thing he had been doggedly searching for more than ten years for, was finally in his hands.

The yellow pegasus lay on the floor of the padded interrogation chamber, quiet as a mouse, looking as if she’d just been run over by a train. Her mane was now matted and damp, and her coat was filthy. She looked like the single most pitiful creature in the entire universe.

Iron Will let out a contented sigh and opened the door to the chamber.

“Well, well, well…hello there my little pony…” he chuckled as he pulled up a small chair and sat down in front of her.

“You’ve caused quite a bit of trouble you know.” He pulled out a portfolio and slammed it down on the table in front of the pegasus, who flinched as if a bomb had gone off.

“P-please….I d-don’t w-want to h-hurt y-you…” she whimpered, her voice somewhat slurred.

Iron Will scoffed. “Oh please. I know for a fact that you can’t hurt me right now. You know why?”

Fluttershy shook her head sluggishly.

Iron Will smiled. “Well my little friend, that’s because we’ve got you doped up on enough tranquilizers to put half of Canterlot into a coma.” He leaned down and roughly patted her on the head like a dog.

“Now, since you’re finally here, our little nerds in science are going to have an awfully fun time with you.”

Fluttershy weakly looked towards him. “What are they going to do to me?” she whimpered, tears in her eyes.

Iron Will shrugged. “Oh I don’t know. Probably cut you open, take organ samples, fill you with needles and IV’s, I don’t care. All I care is that, I finally got you.”

He stood up and walked towards the door. “Good night…freak.” He flicked the light off, leaving the pony alone, weeping.