A Bad Day to Fish

by FlashKenshin77

26 - The "Rescue"

They continued to chase him as he went deeper and deeper into the cave system, losing track as he incapacitated the ponies that got too close. They kept right behind him, reusing the same tactics that got him the first time, save he dodged them, whacking them on the wing or in the face as payback.
Mike paused as he somehow ended in a lobby, the walls showing endless tunnels. He charged down one of them, panting as he heard the hoof steps of his pursuers. Finally, he gave them a momentary slip and leaned into the shadows of the wall, trying to be quiet as he got air back. A pair of stallions wandered down the tunnel he chose and he held his breath as he heard one of them curse.
"Buck, we lost him. We have to go tell Metanoia, maybe he can help find him." They turned around, disappearing down back into the lobby.
Mike sighed quietly, slipping deeper and deeper into the tunnel. A few wandered down the tunnel and he stopped cold whenever one would get too close.
"What is it now?!" A voice that sent a shiver down Mike's spine yelled.
"Well, we-we lost him." A guard said quietly.
"You lost him in our home?" There was a moment of silence. "Is he still around?"
"We think he is but we don't know."
"Very well, I shall see if he's still here." Hoof steps rang in the silence as they stopped precariously close to where Mike was hiding. Mike peeked over the side to see a stallion wearing white flowing robes standing there, looking around.
Mike edged as slowly as he could away, trying to find another path to take. He hit something and turned to see a mare standing there, stunned as they stared at each other, neither knowing what to do. Before she could scream, he grabbed her mouth and closed it, pinning her against the wall. "Shh…" He whispered to her, staring into her eyes.
She had leaf green eyes, her coat a dull cream color. Her long black mane fell and covered her face. Her eyes sparkled with fear.
He saw the fear and stared in horror, realizing what he had become. He looked at his hoof, slowly letting her go and helped her off the wall.
She tilted her head and looked at him. "W-who are you?" She asked, her voice quiet and similar to Fluttershy's, just a bit deeper.
"My name is Mike. I'm just looking for a pegasus named Fluttershy…" He whispered. "Who are you?"
She blinked a few times, her long eyelashes flapping slightly. "I-I'm Rose…"
"I'm sorry Rose, but I can't let them know where I am." He looked away, peering down into the darkness. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
She shook her head. "What do you mean, who's Fluttershy?" She asked, confusedly as she looked for guards.
He motioned towards the white robed stallion. "He took my marefriend, kidnapped her so he could use her against her friends."
She gasped. "He wouldn't… He said he would only do what he could to help…"
He shook his head. "No, he kidnapped her right in front of me. There wasn't anything I could do to stop him…"
She stared at him in disbelief. "Bu-but my father, he told me that he was helping ponies… ever since I was a little f-filly…"
He stared at her dumbfounded. "That's your dad? I'm… so sorry but he wasn't telling the truth." Tears leaked out of his eyes. "I just want to find Fluttershy; I don't even want to fight." He held up the stick. "I mean look at me."
She sighed sadly. "I-I… I don't know if I can believe you…" She looked at the ground, refusing to meet his eyes.
"I understand. Just let me slip down a passage and you'll never see me again."
She looked him in the eyes, trying to find any hint of deceit. "I… I think I know where she is."
"You do!? Please, I beg you, tell me where."
She looked around one final time. "Follow me." She said quickly, walking past him and deeper down the path. He nodded and slowly followed her, keeping an eye out for any other pony.
She hid in the shadows, waiting for any ponies to pass before she opened a small door hidden behind a rock. "Stay close." She said, opening it just enough for the two of them to slip through.
The door led to a long stone corridor, hundreds of doors lined each side. Torches were sparse, the few casting dancing shadows down the corridor. Rose snuck down it as Mike stuck close by, thankful that the torches made it hard to see. It also made for good ambush spots. He gripped the stick tightly, his ears trying to hear the faintest of sounds.
"Rose, darling, what are you doing here?" A voice asked from the shadows.
Their eyes opened up as Mike frantically looked around for a place to hide. "I'm looking for Uncle Diable." She said quickly.
Suddenly his white robes reflected in the casted light the torches gave. He stood in front of them. Mike sunk deeper into the shadows, resting a hoof against Rose's side to let her know where he was.
"But he left yesterday to go to the Land of the Desert." The stallion replied, his yellow eyes shining through the darkness.
"I-I forgot." She stuttered, looking around the corridor, frantically thinking of an excuse. "Um… it was nice talking to you." She said quickly walking past him, Mike in tow.
Her dad watched her leave before turning around and disappearing into the darkness. Mike sighed. "That was close. Good job."
She gulped. "I hope Dad didn't see you." She whispered as she led him to the end of the corridor; it led into a small square room with three doors, one on each wall. She walked up to the one opposite of her. "Ok, I think she's in here." She said as she slowly opened the door and stuck her head through the opening.
The door led to a room that could easily fit several football stadiums inside, the ceiling at least ten meters high. A large circular table sat in the middle of the room, at least hundred chairs surrounded it. An entire wall was replaced with a window, the glass stained and dirty from the wind. It overlooked the Land of the Desert, a few town buildings could faintly be seen. A chandelier hung overhead, the candles out. Torch pits hung on the wall, all out as well. The only light was filtered through the window.
"I think she's down there." Rose mumbled as she pointed her hoof at the center of the table. There was a small metal grid, locked, keeping something inside.
He hopped up on the table and glared at the grid, trying to find a way to open it. He grabbed the bars and pulled with all his might; it wouldn't even budge. He panted, leaning down so his snout stuck through the bars. "Flutters?" He whispered.
There was a quiet whimper as he saw her curled in a small yellow ball, her legs bound together and a bag over her head.
"Fluttershy!? Are you alright?!" He asked, struggling against the grid.
She moved her head, the bag staring at him as she whimpered again. Rose walked up next to him, looking at the door. "Hurry…"
He nodded and took a deep breath before he pulled as hard as he could. The muscles in his arms and back strained against the grid, the grid slowly giving. A moment later, with several loud pops and grunts of pain, the grid caved and lifted sluggishly. He leaned down, ignoring his body screaming in pain. He reached into the hole, easily lifting Fluttershy out of the hole. He quickly removed the bag from her as he stared into her face, tears starting to trickle down his face. "Fluttershy…"
Her sapphire eyes opened hesitantly before meeting Mike's emerald eyes, her face stained with tears and her eyes puffy. "Michael!!" She yelled, launching herself at him and burying her head into his chest, crying.
He struggled to hold her, almost falling into the hole. "Shh, its ok Flutters, I'm here." He sat down on the table, resting his head against hers as he felt her heart beat. He tried to calm her down.
She continued to cry, her sobs echoing in the room. "Michael, I missed you so much… I thought I was going to stay here forever…"
He nuzzled her cheek. "I'm sorry it took me so long Flutters; I did everything I could to find you.” He stopped, making her look into his eyes. “But right now we need to be quiet and get out of here while we can." He said, getting up and stared at the chains on her legs, trying to figure out how to get them off.
"We have to go now; you'll have to carry her." Rose whispered, frantically searching for another exit.
He nodded. "Come on Flutters." He hefted her up and kissed her cheek. "We gotta go." He turned to look at Rose. "Lead the way." He said, his eyes red and puffy from crying.
She nodded and headed towards the door, before it was blown to bits. Guards swarmed the room and shouted at the three, pointing their weapons. Rose's father walked past the guards and towards his daughter.
"Rose, why… why would you bring him here?" He asked, sadness leaked in his tone.
"Father, this isn't right. I thought we fought for good. Why would you kidnap her?" Rose asked, stomping her hoof on the ground.
He sighed. "It was necessary…"
"No…" Rose shook her head. "I can't believe you."
"Please, we can talk about this." Mike pleaded, Fluttershy gripping his neck tightly. "I understand that you don't agree with Celestia's politics but we can sit down and discuss this. We don’t need to fight."
"No, for too long we've tried to be peaceful. It got us nowhere; it's time to act." Rose's father stared at the ground for a moment. "Rose, what you did is unacceptable. If you step away from him now, you may live."
She stared down her father, looking at him with a mix of determination and fear. "No…"
His yellow eyes grew wide with shock. "Please Rose…" He pleaded.
She shook her head.
He sighed. "Rose, I hope you know I'm truly sorry." He said, the guards moving past him, their weapons pointed at their throats.
"Wait!" Mike yelled, moving in front of Rose. "We can talk; I have the Princess' ear. Well her eye but that's beside the point. I know you don’t want to hurt her, please, let me go talk to Celestia. I can guarantee an audience."
The father shook his head slowly. "No." He raised his hoof and moved it slightly before turning around. "Do what must be done." He left the room, his hoof steps disappearing.
Mike looked at the guards. "Rose, take Fluttershy and smash that window and fly as fast as you can, get out of here." He demanded, hoofing Fluttershy to Rose.
She looked at him in fear. "I-I can't leave you."
A guard laughed. "Nopony is going to leave. Die!" He yelled raising his halberd. A very familiar roar echoed through the room, so loud the window rattled in its holder. The guards looked around, dumbfounded.
Mike grabbed his stick and launched myself at the guards, dodging the halberd as he whacked the guard as hard as he could, right between the eyes. The guard fell as the roar shook the mountain itself. The remaining guards looked at the attacking pegasus before charging. He dodged one and attacked again. A guard caught him as he dodged and swung the halberd at him. Mike tried to block it with the stick, but that was quickly cut in half and the blade pierced his hoof, cutting deep and severing the bone. He grunted in pain and threw blood into the attacker's eyes.
The guard yelled in pain and stumbled backwards, rubbing a hoof to get the blood out of his eyes. "Die you stupid buck!" He yelled, the halberd high above his head. The room shook violently, almost as if an earthquake had hit, everypony stumbling to the ground.
A blurry silhouette covered the window for a moment before Vaahala's head shattered it, thousands of glass shards raining down. The dragon looked around the room slowly, the glass not even phasing it. He looked down, the guard staring at the dragon in horror. The guard screamed and tried to run before Vaahala caught him, digging his teeth into his flank. Blood poured to the ground as the guard was flung into the air, well half of him did. The other half remained locked in Vaahala's mouth. With an utterly terrifying cracking noise, the lower body disappeared down the dragon's gullet.
The three pegasi watched in fear as Vaahala swooped in and decimated the remaining guards, his mouth dripped with blood. Fluttershy screamed in fear as Rose quickly backpedaled as Vaahala looked at them. The dragon paused, staring at Mike as he maneuvered through the room, crushing the table as he got closer, his scales covered in blood.
"Hey Vaahala, you saved me again." Mike said weakly, his arm still dripping blood.
The dragon smiled before turning his attention to the two mares gaping in horror.
Mike staggered to the dragon, placing a hoof against the scales. "Easy, they're with me. They're the reason why we came here in the first place."
The dragon shook like a dog before he lowered his wings to the floor, looking at Mike. Mike nodded and walked back to Fluttershy and held out his good hoof. "Do you trust me?"
She looked at him, her body shaking in fear. Rose stood next to her, eyeing the dragon. "Y-you want us to climb onto his back?" Rose asked in disbelief.
Mike nodded, gently grabbing Fluttershy's hoof. "I do, I'll be with you the entire way but we have to go now."
Fluttershy hesitantly nodded, her eyes never leaving the dragon. Rose looked at him terrified. "I…" She quickly went quiet before nodding.
Mike helped Fluttershy and Rose up before hopping up himself and wrapped his good hoof around Fluttershy's waist. "Alright hold on, he goes rather fast. Any time Vaahala."
The dragon nodded and headed towards the window. He gripped the frame tightly, getting ready to jump. The wind nearly knocked the three pegasi right off his back. He launched himself out the window and his large wings flapped to keep him steady. A spear flew right over his head, bouncing off a head spike. He turned around a dozen ponies stood at the window, throwing spears and launching arrows at the huge dragon.
Vaahala seemed to laugh, a deep booming noise coming from the back of his throat. He took a deep breath, looking at the window before roaring loudly, and a wave of fire belched from his mouth. The flames engulfed the upper part of the mountain, the heat causing the pegasi to look away. The screams of the roasting ponies rang loudly in the mountains before slowly dying away, the only noise the crackling of fire burning.
Smoke poured out of Vaahala's nose, as if it was a campfire. What they could see of the room that was encased in the flames, it was covered in soot, several burnt corpses huddled by the door. Vaahala then turned around, his wings flapping as he sped them back to Ponyville.
Mike tried to keep his wound away from the others, a trail of blood flowing from his arm. He slumped against Fluttershy as he became light headed, the world starting to disappear into black splotches.
Fluttershy still shook with fear, her eyes closed tight. She felt something hit her and slowly opened an eye, seeing Mike passed out on her. She quickly flung her hooves around his neck to make sure he didn't fall off, the chain almost cutting off his air.
Vaahala flew faster, smelling Mike's blood in the air. He soon landed hard on the ground, a small crater forming underneath him. Guards rushed towards him, helping the pegasi off before pointing spears at Rose.
"Who are you?" A guard asked.
"Wait…" Mike whispered weakly.
The guards halted, waiting for him to explain.
"She's with me. She helped me save Fluttershy..." He sighed. "Anypony got a bandaid?" He asked, trying to raise his barely attached arm.
Fluttershy gasped and Rose looked away. Another guard nodded and quickly galloped away. "What happened?" A guard asked, putting his spear away.
"Vaahala came back and attacked. They had guards waiting for us, that was their base. It was heavily guarded."
The guard nodded and rested Mike's good hoof on his shoulder as he dragged him along towards the returning guard, Nurse Redheart right next to him.
She sighed. "Michael, why doesn't it surprise me to see you again?" She asked, stopping in front of them and looked at the wound. "Oh my, we have to go to the hospital so I can fix this."
Mike shook his head, looking back at Fluttershy. "Could somepony get those cuffs off her?"
A unicorn guard walked up to her. "I'm on it." He said, his horned glowed and the cuffs opened. She stretched her legs before running to Mike and she tackled him in a hug.
He smiled as he rested his head against hers, squeezing her tightly. "Welcome back Flutters, I'm so glad your home." He said, tears in the corners of his eyes.
She dug her face into his shoulder, crying.
"Fluttershy!!" A pony yelled before they were assaulted with pink. Pinkie had joined the hug, the other Elements stood by watching. Fluttershy continued to cry as he hoofed her to Pinkie and the others quickly joined the hug.
Redheart tapped on his shoulder and he sighed as the guard from earlier helped drag him to the hospital. Rose stood next to Vaahala, who had decided to take a nap in the middle of the street.
They made it to the hospital and the guard had to hold him down so he wouldn't move as she realigned the bone and muscles before finally sewing him up. "There, all done." She said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
He smiled at her. "Thanks Nurse Redheart, what would I do without you?" He asked, hesitantly moving his arm before she grabbed it and wrapped it in bandages.
The guard nodded his head. "I'll take my leave now." He said, shutting the hospital room door behind him. She finished wrapping his hoof.
"Now I don't want to see you here too soon, okay?" She said, looking at him concernedly.
"With my track record, I guarantee nothing but I'll do my best." He chuckled, getting up.
"Drink plenty of water and juice and you'll be fine in a day or two." She said, putting the needle away. "So how is Fluttershy?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, she looked fine. I don’t know what happened to her."
She looked at him worriedly. "If there's anything wrong, you know where to find me."
"You'll be the first to know." He said, heading towards the door. "I'll go check on her, make sure she's ok."
She nodded, waving goodbye.
He waved as well and trotted back to everypony, limping slightly. The guards were on high alert and watched him closely as Vaahala was still asleep in the street. Rose was talking to the girls as they all looked at her cautiously.
He waved at her he walked up to the group. "Hey girls."
They looked at him as Rarity held Fluttershy, who had calmed down. Rose stared awkwardly at the ground.
He walked up to her. "Thank you Rose for helping me." He bowed.
She hoofed the ground. "I-I'm sorry…" she sighed and looked at him; her green eyes trying to hold back pain and sorrow. "I-I didn't know what my father was doing…"
He faintly smiled. "Don’t worry, you didn’t know. It's alright."
Tears started to fall. "I-I've been… told lies, everything my father did… he told me what he did helped all…"
He looked at her sadly before hesitantly wrapping his hooves around her. "Shh, it's ok, just let it out."
Tears landed on his shoulder. "I-If I would've known… I-I would've done something earlier…"
"I know..." He looked at the girls, pleading for Twilight to help him.
Twilight walked up to them and patted Rose on the back. "You helped us find and save Fluttershy, we're all in your debt."
Mike nodded. "Without you, I would've been caught and we'd be in a whole lotta trouble."
She looked at Twilight before looking at Mike, her face wet with tears. "C-can I ask you for a favor?" She asked.
"Sure."
"I-I never learned the truth about Equestria… would you kindly show me some of it?" She asked quietly.
He blinked. "Truth? What do you mean?"
"All my life I never stayed in the same place for long, my father was always on the move. I only learned about what he thought was right, what he thought was the truth. I never got to learn anything else."
"OHH!" Pinkie appeared next to them. "How about I give you a tour of the town and introduce you to everypony? I'm sure they'd be glad to meet you?!" She asked with a huge smile.
Rose faintly smiled back. "Sure."
"Yay!" Pinkie said, grabbing Rose's hoof and hopping away. Mike smiled at the pair as they disappeared into town.
Twilight smiled as she looked at Michael. "It seems even in the most hostile places, you can still find friends."
He rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly as he chuckled.
Her smile quickly changed to a worried frown. "While you were gone, Canterlot dispatched a battalion of soldiers to the Land of the Desert."
He frowned. "Why? What about the griffins?"
She looked at the ground. "Martin went with them, he asked you to take his place while he's gone. The next meeting is tomorrow morning. "
"Oh great, I'm not good at this sorta thing."
She sighed. "He trusts you, you can't let him down."
"I'll do what I can…"
"You'll do a great job." She said, trying to smile.
"Yeah…" He sighed and glanced at Dash. "How are you?"
She rubbed the back of her head tenderly. "Better now, that was quite a hit."
"Sorry I couldn't help."
She shooed him with a hoof. "Nah, don't worry about it."
He nodded. "So how is everything here? Everypony and griffin ok? How's Ganir; still a pain?"
Rarity frowned. "He's a brute if I may say so myself."
Mike looked at Twilight. "Still the same? Is he still stalling the talks?"
She nodded. "Yeah, still acting like he's hiding something."
"Hmm…" He tapped a hoof against his chin. "I should try and see what he's up to…"
AJ sighed. "Ya better be careful."
"Me? Be careful? I don’t know how to do anything else."
Fluttershy walked up to him and wrapped her hooves around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug.
He sighed and buried his head into her neck. "I'm glad you're safe."
"I missed you so much…" She replied quietly.
"Me too, so much."
The other girls watched with small smiles.
He pushed against her and smiled, staring into her sapphire eyes before grabbing her hoof. "Come on, we have to go get your animals."
She smiled and nuzzled his cheek. They waved goodbye to the girls before making their way back to the cottage. They walked close to each other, their tails entwined.
"I'm glad your back Flutters."
She sighed and rested her head against his neck as they walked down the dirt path. "Me too, I was scared, I thought I'd never see you again."
"Same here, I felt so helpless." He sighed. "Fluttershy, can I ask you a question?"
She looked up at him, the light dancing in her eyes. "Yes?"
"Do… do you blame us for bringing the UEA here?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Really? But-"
She interrupted him with a kiss, pausing as she closed her eyes. He closed his eyes as well, the world melting around them. They ignored it, just feeling their heartbeat in tandem, happy to have found each other once again. Finally, they broke the kiss and smiled at each other before continuing the quest to her cottage.
They got there and she looked around the cottage before disappearing into the forest a few times. Every time she returned, animals were by her side. The animals seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Every one of them looked happy that she was back, even Angel, who proudly sat on her head. They split up chores and fed the animals as more continued to return and towards the end of the day, all her animals had miraculously returned.
Fluttershy sat on the couch, looking around the cottage with a big smile on her face, happy to be home.
Mike sighed, putting away the broom as he yawned and looked around the cottage. It was back to normal, the animals happily back in their homes. It seemed as if Angel had started to tolerate him as well, giving him a brief nod before disappearing somewhere. "Seems everything is back to normal." He said, sitting down next to her.
She smiled at him and leaned on him, resting her head on his shoulder. "I'm so happy to be back."
"Me too Flutters and I'm sure every animal and pony in town will agree." He said, resting his head against hers.
She sighed. "Did something happen while I was gone?"
"No, well the animals vanished and a few attacks on the town. And the Griffin Prince, Vandir, is here to talk with Twilight and Martin about an alliance." He yawned. "Sorry, I haven't gotten much sleep lately."
She looked at him worriedly. "I heard Twilight say Martin went to the border of the Land of the Desert, what's wrong?"
"It's in total war, the ruler there was overthrown and the UEA are responsible. So Celestia sent in troops to see if she can help, I heard the griffins are also sending some help as well. So she had Martin lead them."
She sighed worriedly. “I-I hope he'll be alright…”
"Me too…" He closed his eyes. "I wish I could've gone with him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
She stared off into the wall, lost in thought. "I hope AJ will be alright too."
"She's strong, I'm sure she'll be fine." He gulped, really not wanting to ask a certain question. "So Fluttershy… they didn't do anything to you while you were captured, did they?" His face was red as he looked elsewhere.
She was silent as her mind put together what he meant as her jaw dropped, her face turning pink. She rapidly shook her head. "Oh no, no, no. Th-they didn't do anything to me…"
He sighed. "Good, I'm sorry I had to ask…"
She was still bright pink. "I-I understand…" She said, quietly.
"Um… I'll leave alone if you want." He said, getting up.
She grabbed his hoof. "N-no, please don't leave…"
He faintly smiled and sat down, resting his head on her shoulder. "Ok…"
She closed her eyes and sighed happily. She wrapped her hooves around him and pulled him closer to her, not wanting him to leave. He snuggled up to her and wrapped his hooves around her waist.
"You don't mind if I take a little nap, do you?" He asked sleepily.
She shook her head and moved his head to rest on her stomach, kissing his cheek. "You deserve a rest." She whispered quietly into his ear.
"Yeah…" He mumbled, slipping into oblivious sleep.
She smiled, making sure he was comfy before leaning back against the couch, running a hoof through his mane. "Sleep tight…" She whispered.