“Greetings, everypony. I’m Jack Maregee. Yesterday, the mysterious creature that has haunted Equestria was seen and captured on camera, for the first time in almost 2 years.”
“The creature, which many ponies are now calling ‘the hulk’, mysteriously appeared in Bachmare Park yesterday afternoon. The military attempted an apprehension of the beast, but with no avail. Despite new weapons within the military’s possession, which can only be described as ‘giant pony robots’.”
“Sources report that General Thunderbolt, a once four-star general of the Equestrian Air Defense Force, was in charge of the operation and has been leading the charge against this hulk since the first sighting. When asked how the general knew where to start looking for the mysterious hulk, he refused to comment.”
“Fillies and gentlecolts, the military is keeping secrets from Equestria’s citizens. How long have they known about this creature that they have developed robotic suits that would be used in its capture? Why does the famed general know about this creature’s whereabouts? Why did the Equestria have to find out about this creature’s existence due to the lives it’s stolen? And how has he pursued this creature for nearly three years, since its first appearance, and still has failed to capture it?”
“As for the hulk itself, the military refuses to comment on its current whereabouts. How are the ponies of this great country suppose to feel safe when a seemingly unstoppable force lurks in hiding? Are the citizens of Equestria safe? I’m Jack Maregee and I’ve got the story.”
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Guam stood outside the general’s office, waiting to be briefed on the operation. He wasn’t concerned, nor was he afraid of what the general might say. The general should have kept better track of his son. It wasn’t his fault that Thunderbolt had family issues. Besides, he was getting the job done. As far as he was concerned, that’s all that was important.
The blue unicorn he hated came from the office to insist on Guam’s entry. Guam didn’t really want to enter the office. It was a waste of his precious time. He wanted to spend his time looking for Fluttershy.
“Sure when she escaped, we had no weapons and no means to track her movements, but we still should have tried,” Guam thought.
Everypony else he’d talked to was too afraid to go up against that monster again. It made Guam sick to see such gutless wimps.
Guam finally stood up and entered the office of the famed general.
The general’s eyes glared at the gray earth pony. “Shut the door.”
Guam did as he was told. He didn’t care what the general had to say. He just wanted to get it over with.
“Sit down.”
Again, Guam complied with his orders, taking the seat in front of the general. There was silence in the room as the general flipped through the folder. It was a common tactic. The silence allowed the mind to wander. To let one’s guard down. It might have worked on anypony else, but not Guam. Guam had sat through too many of these damn briefings to be fooled by such a childish ploy.
Most of the briefings consisted of the other pony ridiculing his decisions in the field.
“Sure, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes out there. Cost some ponies their lives. But they knew the risks. So do I.”
The general continued to flip through the seemingly pointless folder, ignoring Guam completely. This tactic didn’t scare Guam at all. It just annoyed him.
“Cute, general. Cute.”
The general finally closed the folder and stood up from his chair. “I want to know what in Tartarus that was?”
Another common tactic. Standing above another to show superiority. Once again, Guam recognized it immediately. Something he had come to expect. Any other pony might have been intimidated. Guam? He was just angry.
“Sir?” Guam asked. He knew exactly what the general was talking about, but he just didn’t care.
“You fired upon the beast knowing innocent civilians were in harm’s way!”
“That I did, sir.” There was no use denying it. He knew what he was doing the moment he fired the weapon.
“That civilian was my son!” the general was right in Guam’s face.
“And I regret that, sir. But-“
“But what?!”
“But he got in the way of my shot!” Guam screamed in his head. It was all he wanted to scream, but he kept his composure. He needed to. He had to. He wanted to get Fluttershy back and throwing a tantrum wasn’t going to do any good. He learned that lesson the hard way.
“But I was simply doing my job. Sacrificing everything to get my revenge. I think those were your words, sir.”
The general gave a snarl. “That did not mean blowing my son to Tartarus.”
“Well, maybe somepony should have kept a better leash on him.”
The room was dead silent. Both ponies glared at each other with hatred. Guam might have over stepped his boundaries, but he didn’t care. The boy had gotten in the way of his shot. It was his own fault if he died. Not his.
Thunderbolt finally took a deep breath. “You’re not new to this. You’ve been discharged more times then I allow. But I brought you in because of your skill. You’re lucky I haven’t court marshaled you yet.”
Guam was hardly paying attention, but he kept his eyes on the general all the same. He needed to stay on this if he wanted to keep on Fluttershy’s trail. He knew that too.
“Now, you’ve earned your skill by crossing a lot of ponies along the way. I am just going to warn you now. I am not a pony you want to cross. Do I make myself clear?”
Guam finally replied, “Perfectly, sir.”
Thunderbolt leaned on the table, closing in on Guam. “And one more thing.”
Guam’s stern eyes diverted themselves to the general.
“You better be praying that my son is alive. If he’s not, I’m going to personally make sure that everypony knows that you are responsible for his death.”
Guam turned his eyes away and started at the table. All he wanted to do was buck the general in the face and it took every ounce of restraint he had not too.
Thunderbolt slowly sunk back in his chair, taking a heavy sigh. “Dismissed, soldier.”
Guam couldn’t have gotten out of the chair faster. He stormed out of the office, slamming the door shut as he left.
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Darkness. That was all that Crumble could see as he slowly focused back into reality. His body was in pain. His forehead burned. His eyes were hard to open and he felt as if he was moving on his own. Or probably more likely, something was moving him. The jerking back and forth wasn’t overbearing, but it was slightly unpleasant.
“I’m... alive...” he thought.
He tried to open his eyes once more with minimal success. He saw a figure above him. A giant green monster with red hair embracing him in its giant wing. His eyes closed once again.
“Fluttershy?” his mouth finally spoke. Even speaking was unpleasant. His mouth was dry and his tongue ached.
He finally felt the creature stop its movements. He felt himself slide down from his cushioned bed gently onto the ground. He opened his eyes and looked to his left to the see the other pony just a few feet away from him, her back resting against a tree.
Looking forward, he spotted the creature. She was breathing heavily and her movements were slow. The beast fumbled to the ground with a heavy sigh. It rested her head against the ground and slowly closed her eyes. Crumble struggled to his feet, the pain in his hooves made it difficult. He felt as if his legs had just run a marathon. Regardless, he still managed to stand himself up.
While rising to his hooves, he watched as the great giant’s body began to morph. The beast was shrinking, her coat transforming from the dark green hue to its natural bright yellow. Her mane reverted from its red back to the bright pink that was Fluttershy’s mane. Within seconds, the beast was no more and in its place, laid the yellow Pegasus he remembered from his childhood.
He scampered to her side, raising her head in his arm. “Fluttershy?” he called. At first there was no response. He was about to put his hooves on her arm to check for a pulse when she gasped. It caused him to jump, if only a little.
Fluttershy was breathing heavily as if she had been through the workout of a lifetime. In a strange sense, she had. “Where? Where are we?” she asked.
“I don’t know. You’re the one who brought us here.”
Fluttershy placed her hoof on her forehead. “I... I don’t remember anything after...” Her thoughts then raced to her fallen friend. “Cookie?! Where’s Cookie?!”
She was beginning to panic. The very thought of losing her friend caused her to hyperventilate.
Crumble quickly intervened. “Fluttershy, calm down! She’s okay.”
He didn’t mean to yell, but he needed to keep Fluttershy from stressing. And he wasn’t lying. Cookie was okay.
Fluttershy looked behind him to see the fallen mare, braced up against the tree. Fluttershy picked herself up and rushed to Cookie’s side.
“Cookie, are you alright?”
Cookie’s eyes began to twitch, as if she could hear what Fluttershy was saying. Her voice brought her back to reality. Her eyes focused on the Pegasus. She looked happy to see a friendly face. She tried to slide up to a better position, but quickly stopped after feeling a shock of pain. She screeched in agony.
Fluttershy looked down at the pony’s leg. It had been wrapped in bandages and a firm stick, yes, but there was a great amount of swelling.
“I wrapped it as best I could,” Crumble stated.
Fluttershy glanced around her surroundings, hoping for anything that might be of aid. She turned her head to a tree, or more specifically, a type of tree she recognized. She trotted to the tree and picked leaves from the lower branches.
The other two looked at her with blank stares. They weren’t sure what the Pegasus was doing and they still weren’t sure when she arrived by the fallen mare’s side.
Fluttershy set the leaves to the side before tearing the sling off Cookie’s leg, being very careful not to move it. Then she picked the leaves she had taken from the trees and began crushing the leaves between her front hooves. The juices soaked them. “This will help with the swelling. It’s going to hurt quite a bit, but it will help sooth the pain. I’m really, really sorry.”
Cookie took a deep breath and nodded. “Just do it before I change my mind!” she screamed to herself.
Fluttershy then rubbed her hooves on the leg in a massaging motion. Cookie flinched at every second Fluttershy made contact with her leg. She kept her leg as still as she possibly could. It took all of her concentration to keep it from moving, but if it helped her leg, she would remain still.
Crumble shook his head. “This isn’t going to help her. We need to get her to a hospital.”
Fluttershy’s eyebrows rose. “No,” she snapped as she turned her head sharply toward the stallion. She then started to blush. It wasn’t like her to be so stern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. But we can’t take her to a hospital.”
She turned towards Cookie and continued her massage. “She’s a fugitive. Like me.”
Crumble took a deep breath. “Well, what are you going to do?”
“I have to get to Las Pegasus. It’s the only chance I have at... getting rid of her.”
“How are you going to get there?” Crumble asked.
“There’s an old red jeep we could use,” Cookie said, trying to hold back the pain. “If I could get to it, I could-!” She screeched in pain as Fluttershy continued her treatment.
Fluttershy removed her hooves from Cookie’s leg and grabbed the travel bag and started to remove whatever bandages she could find. There wasn’t much left. Crumble had used most of it to create the first sling. Still, she had to treat the injury.
“You are in no condition to be moving. Let alone driving,” Fluttershy wept. “I’m sorry, but you can’t go.” Fluttershy got on her feet looking at a nearby tree and saw some of its bark was chipped off. A good pull or push would rip it right off the tree. It would make a wonderful brace for Cookie’s leg.
Crumble looked in the same direction and as if sensing Fluttershy’s thoughts, he headed for the tree. He placed his hooves on the broken piece of bark and pulled with all his might. The bark cracked as it was removed from its position. It was a much larger piece than either of them expected, but that wasn’t a problem. They would simply reduce the size of it by taking it apart.
Crumble gave Fluttershy the piece of bark. Fluttershy took it, but then hesitated for a second. “Crumble.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“We need your help. We need you to get Cookie’s car for us.”
Crumble’s eyes shot open. “What? Me? Why me?”
“Why me? I’ve already done more for those ponies than I should have.” Crumble thought to himself. “Why am I expected to do more? Why was it so important for me to be involved?”
“Because Cookie’s in no condition to move.” Fluttershy turned her glance to the ground. “And I don’t know how to drive.”
Crumble placed his hoof on his brow, rubbing his eyes in frustration.
“Great. This is just great. Fluttershy can’t drive. Cookie could drive, but is in no condition to. So it all falls on me.”
“Why can’t we just get her somewhere she can get help?” Crumble asked. “Somepony has got to understand?”
“Yeah, like the psycho chasing her?” Cookie asked.
Crumble would have retorted, but what would have been the point? He knew the truth. His father was on a mad quest to find Fluttershy and it didn’t matter who stood in the way of that. If that was ever in question, his recent actions had proven that point.
Fluttershy was right. Cookie wouldn’t last a minute under Thunderbolt’s so called ‘care’. Not in her present condition.
“How did I get myself into this mess?” He took a look into Fluttershy’s eyes. They had that lost puppy look, begging him with those sad eyes. It tore him apart to try and say no to that face. “Oh, yeah. School-colt crush.”
Crumble finally gave a heavy sigh. “Alright. I’ll do what I can.”
Cookie smiled. It was the first time she smiled, since Crumble met her. It was odd to see, but a nice change from her scowling appearance. “It’s at an old auto repair shop called ‘Stan and Jack’s’, where I work.”
She moaned in pain as she spoke. Her leg still hurt. Not as much as before, but it still felt like a knife had dug into her leg. “Just outside of town. It’s a bit rundown, but it will do fine. The keys are in the cabinet on the right, in the drawer with the blue sticker.”
Crumble nodded, relaying his instruction in his head. “Alright, I’ll take care of it.” Crumble started his way down the path Fluttershy had created, when the meek little voice stopped him.
“Please, wait.” Fluttershy made her way to him with his flash drive in hoof. “I need you to take these.” She also held a folder with some papers inside.
Crumble accepted them and began to glance through them. He wasn’t sure what all of it was, but it was loaded with advanced chemistry and even biology. But that wasn’t his area of expertise. He was a physicist. He could read some of it, but most of it looked like it might as well be a foreign language.
“What is this?” Crumble finally asked.
“I need to get this to my friend. He says he needs all of this to cure me.”
Crumble raised his eyebrow. “Your friend?”
Fluttershy nodded. “I need you to send all the data to a Hot Rod Wheels on Encrypt Chat.” Fluttershy started to blush again. “Please.” She was really being forceful. She didn’t mean too. She just wanted to be cured so much.
Crumble was silent for a moment.
“A cure? So ... a normal life? Guess I can’t blame her for wanting that. If I was in her horseshoes, I would probably do the same.”
Crumble understood. He closed the folder and put his hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’ll do my best.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Thank you.
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Crumble traveled for nearly a day and a half. On hoof, it wasn’t an easy journey. Fluttershy had packed some berries to eat for his travels.
While they were delicious, he was hoping for something more filling. Water was also scarce. He had taken a couple of water bottles with him for his journey, but he was almost out. He hadn’t thought Fluttershy had carried them too far from civilization, but he was wrong. It was a difficult journey, but he persevered.
“Celestia, how far did you take us in here, Fluttershy?”
He wasn’t even sure he was heading back into civilization. At least, not for the longest time.
He finally found himself at a highway near the edge of the woods. And where there was highway, there was usually a city nearby. Or at least, he hoped so.
He traveled down the road for what seemed like several hours before he spotted a truck on the horizon. It was coming his way and looked like a transport truck. He held his arm out, hoping for a lift. The truck past him with great speed and he began to lose hope. He continued down his path until he heard a squeaking sound. Like metal sliding against metal. He turned around and noticed that the large truck had stopped. He raced towards the parked vehicle, placing himself to the driver window.
“Hey there, li’l feller,” the large, blue stallion with a thick southern accent spoke. “Where ya’ off too?”
Crumble was still taking in deep breaths, but he still spoke through them. “I’m heading for Hoofington.”
“Well, you’re goin’ the wrong way, son. Ya’ gonna be travelin’ fer’ever, right there. At least, ferty miles ‘fer the next town.”
Crumble shook his head. “Can I get a lift?”
“Hop in. Takes us bit to ‘rrive at Hoofinton.”
Crumble took to the passenger seat of the truck, next to the stallion.
“Wha’cha doin’ all da way out ‘ere,” the truck driver asked.
“That’s... hard to explain.”
How would he explain what just happened? A monster swept him up in its giant wings and brought him in the middle of the woods. That he was on his way to Hoofington to pick up a car from a pony that threatened him in his own home. The car was to take them to Las Pegasus so they would find a scientist who might be able to cure the beast within Fluttershy.
To say it was hard to explain was an understatement.
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Crumble appeared outside the town of Hoofington after the generous truck driver had dropped him off. It was an hour trip and the company went on and on about his wife nagging on him and how he should never have gotten married, but it saved him at least a day long trip. His stomach was aching for food. He longed for the berries Fluttershy gave him. They weren’t filling, but they were at least something.
After traveling through the town, he found the old auto shop Cookie mentioned. The red paint was coming off most of it and wind had torn off pieces of the roof, but it still stood.
He approached the doorway, taking a glance through the glass on the door. He saw an old red jeep. It was definitely Cookie’s vehicle. Or at least, he hoped. He didn’t see any other car’s inside, so he assumed he was right.
He opened the door, a little bell ringing as he stepped inside. He expected to see another pony at any second to greet him. A few moments past with nothing. He glanced around wondering if any pony was with him. However, he was alone in that building. It was creepy.
The building squeaked every so often, but at least this gave him a chance to use their computer. Assuming of course they had one and if they did, the computer had to be able to send the information he needed.
He made his way to the back office to see an old desktop computer. It looked about 10 years old, but it was still functional. He took a seat in front of the old computer and brought the screen up. He opened up the chat program Fluttershy mentioned from the Internet. It wasn’t long before he was contacting Hot Rod Wheels. And it wasn’t long before he received a response.
‘Lil’ Angel? I didn’t expect to hear from you. How are you?’
“How long has Fluttershy been in contact with Hot Rod Wheels? Could she know him personally? No. It’s not possible. Why would she call him Hot Rod Wheels if she knew his real name?”
He thought it might be his real name, but quickly dismissed the thought. He began to type his reply on the keyboard, quickly responding with the first thing that came to mind.
‘I’m not Lil’ Angel. I’m a friend of hers.’
Crumble sent his reply, unsure as to what to expect. While he waited for the reply, he took the opportunity to glance about his surroundings. There wasn’t much to look at though. Just a photograph of a pony with a gray mustache standing side by side with unicorn with a short gray mane, suspended on the wall.
“Jack and Stan, I’d guess?” he thought to himself. The computer beeped with Hot Rod Wheel’s reply.
‘Not Angel? Is she alright? Has something happened?’
He was afraid something like this might happen, but he wasn’t without a response. The truth was sometimes the simplest response.
‘Don’t worry, she’s fine. She just sent me to give you the information you requested. I’m sending it now.’
Crumble removed the flash drive from his sack and placed it into the USB port of the computer. He was surprised a computer this old had a USB port. It would have made this transfer of information difficult without it. But he had another problem. He still had Fluttershy’s father’s notes to send, but they were all pieces of paper. He needed a fax number and, more importantly, a fax machine.
He typed in the commands to send the information to Hot Rod Wheels. He knew it would take a few seconds to transfer the data. He took this time to survey his surroundings.
A fax machine would be somewhere in the office, no doubt near the computer. However, no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find one anywhere. Crumble was just about to give up when he looked down to the floor.
It was an old fax machine, hidden behind one of the trash bins. It hadn’t been used in a while. That fact was spoken in the dust it had collected. In fact, it wasn’t even plugged in. He kneeled down to the floor and pulled out the fax machine from its confinement.
He untwisted the wires and inserted them where they needed to be. He released a cough or two as the dust assaulted his throat. He had just finished when a response came from Hot Rod.
‘Good. But I need ALL the information. There is nothing here about the irregularity in her blood.’
“Irregularity in her blood?” Crumble then thought about the papers that Fluttershy gave him. He scanned through them once more, this time very carefully.
He noticed that there was some sort of mentioning at Fluttershy’s blood. While he didn’t understand all of it, Fluttershy’s blood, according to these notes, was unique.
Crumble sat himself back in the chair and began to type.
‘I know. Unfortunately, it’s all written on paper. Do you have a fax number I can send it too?’
Crumble leaned back in the chair. All that was left to do was wait for his response, which didn’t take too long.
‘Here’s the fax number. 316-481-1925’
Crumble placed the papers on the fax machine and pushed the send command. He allowed the fax to perform its task before closing the chat program.
He heard the sound of the bell ringing in the garage. He knew some pony was entering the building.
There was no time to unplug the fax machine to put it back. He needed a lie and he needed something quickly. Quickly, he gathered the notes in his hooves, not wanting to lose them.
He looked through the glass to see the old pony with gray mustache coming across the garage. The same pony from the picture, with some differences however. His hair was grayer and he wore tinted glasses. The stallion looked through the glass to see Crumble. “Hey, who are you?”
Crumble stammered for a lie to tell, but it quickly came to him. “I’m... a computer repair stallion.”
The stallion raised his eyebrow. “I don’t remember calling a computer repair stallion.”
Crumble started to sweat. What other lies did he have? How was he going to get himself out of this one? He then thought of the mare that told him about this place. She said she had a vehicle here and that she was employed here.
“Cookie called me here. Said she was having computer issues.” He smiled, trying to hide his nervousness.
The stallion shook his head and sighed. “That girl never tells me anything. Kids today, no respect.”
Crumble took a deep breath. “I can’t believe that worked.”
He stepped to the side and allowed the stallion to take to his office. His eyes then fixed on the red jeep that he was to get. Just beyond that, was a red cabinet. The one that Cookie described earlier.
He made his way to the cabinet and began opening the drawers, searching for the keys. He couldn’t remember which drawer it was, until he found the stickers on the front of the cabinet. Cookie had mentioned it was one with a blue sticker and just as he looked, he spotted them.
“Hey, did you hook up my fax machine?” the stallion asked as he came from his office.
Crumble’s hair on the back of his head stood up. He slowly turned around hoping for a good enough lie.
“Um... Yes,” he stammered, trying to come up with a lie. “She was trying to send a fax and couldn’t figure out how. So... it turns out it just needed to be hooked up right.”
The pony raised his eyebrow and shook his head. “That’s odd. She’s always good with that technology stuff.”
Crumble gave a nervous smile. Sure, the pony might not have bought the whole lie, but he bought enough. He hated lying to this pony. It went against everything he stood for.
“Why am I lying for a pony that I hardly know? Fluttershy isn’t that special to me, is she? Sure we played together when we were kids, but that was a long time ago. A very long time ago.”
“What are you doing in those drawers, anyway?” the old stallion asked.
The stallion’s question brought Crumble back to reality. He quickly came up with an answer. “Cookie told me to get this jeep. Told me where to find the keys.” It wasn’t lying, and yet it still felt like lying.
“Oh, so you must be Mr. Popcorn. You’re wife said you’d be coming. I didn’t know you were a computer repair stallion, too.”
“Mr. Popcorn? Who the hay is that? Is that the owner of this jeep? Did Cookie send me to steal this jeep?! Great. On top of everything else, I get to add grand theft auto to my list of crimes today,” Crumble thought to himself.
“Yes. I am.”
The stallion gave a smile. “Well, Mr. Popcorn, let me draw up the paperwork and you can be on your way.”
“Thanks.” Crumble replied. “And not a moment too soon.”
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A beautiful pink mare began to hum a sweet tune as she wiped down her table from a hearty lunch. Her little angel had just had her favorite food. Apple slices and bananas. Posey had given her daughter a treat when she had finished her whole meal, a big chocolate chip cookie. The little filly leaped with joy when she saw her dessert.
Fluttershy was now in the other room, playing with her toys. It warmed Posey’s heart to see her daughter so full of joy and life. Since, not so long ago, they nearly lost her.
She had just put her last plate in the dishwasher when she saw her husband trot through the door.
“Honey, you’re home. I didn’t expect you to be home so early,” Posey greeted. She then took a look at him.
He leaned against the door, a blank stare on his face. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were red, tears were rolling to his cheeks. There were tearstains on his vest. He was very silent. It wasn’t like him at all. “Honey, are you alright?”
“Pack your things. We need to leave tonight.” Bixby headed past Posey, out of the doorway.
“Wait, what?!” the mother stepped back in shock.
The father headed towards the bedroom, his wife closely behind.
“Leave? Leave where? Why?” Posey asked.
Brixy was silent. He franticly opened the closest and searched up and down for something. He reached up and pulled down a suitcase from the highest shelf. He opened it and pushed it towards his wife. “Put some supplies in this.”
Posey shook her head. “Brixy, what is going on?”
Brixy pulled another suitcase out of the closet in a frantic rush. “I’ll explain everything later. Right now, we need to leave.” He turned around and placed the suitcase on the bed. He turned to leave the room, but the pink pony stood in his way.
“I’m not leaving anywhere until you tell me what is going on,” the pink pony snapped. She had never snapped like that before. She was always so kind and gentle. That was the pony she normally was. Not a pony who would speak with so harsh a voice.
Brixy took a deep breath and turned towards the window. “They’re coming. They’re coming to take Fluttershy away.”
Posey raised her eyebrow. “What?! Who?! Who is coming?!”
“My employers. They want Fluttershy for experimentation.”
Posey shook her head. “Why in Equestria would they want Fluttershy? What could they possibly want with our daughter?!”
Brixy’s eyes lowered to the floor. He then took a deep breath. “Because... when she was about to... die. I... injected her with the growth serum.”
Posey’s eyes widened. She was silent for what seemed like several minutes. “You what?” Posey’s voice was harsh and stern, cutting like a knife into her husband’s ears.
Brixy took another deep breath and exhaled deeply. He could understand her not believing what he had done. “I injected her with the growth serum I had been experimenting with.”
“You injected our daughter with a growth serum that was meant for plants?!”
“I modified it.”
Posey raised her voice even louder, “That doesn’t mean you can use our daughter as a living test subject!”
“I couldn’t lose her!” Brixy shouted back. There was silence. Even the air around them felt still. No pony kept track of how long the silence reigned. A minute. Two minutes. Maybe it was only 30 seconds. However long it was, it seemed a thousand times longer.
Brixy spoke again, “I couldn’t lose her. I was desperate. Desperate to save our angel.” He sat on the bed, his head resting on his hooves. Tears continued to stream down his face. “I was scared.”
Posey made her way beside him and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled.”
Brixy gazed into her eyes, and noticed a tear coming from her eyes as well. He gently wiped the tear away. “I’m sorry too. I just... I don’t know what to do.”
Posey kissed him once again. “We’ll figure it out. We always have and we always will.”
Brixy took Posey’s hoof in his own and kissed it gently. They embraced each other as if they never wanted to let go. Brixy exhaled deeply. “What am I going to tell Fluttershy?”
Posey glanced at her husband’s face. “You’ll find the words. You always do.”
Brixy nodded his head and slowly got off the bedside. “I’ll talk to her.”
“I’ll get everything ready.”
Brixy exited the bedroom and turned to his right to see a brown doorway blocking the path of Fluttershy’s room. It wasn’t usually closed. A crack was always left open so that the hallway light would shine in the room.
His daughter was terrified of the dark. And more often then not, she would have a nightmare or hear a scary noise during the night, which would send her rushing into her parent’s room. Posey would sing her one of her lullabies to help her sleep and she would cuddle next to her parents.
Brixy slowly opened the door to see her daughter on the floor, sobbing. Brixy took to her side and gently picked her up off the floor. “Hey, honey, what’s the matter?”
Fluttershy wept uncontrollably, but attempted to speak. Her speech was broken by her unrestrained sobs.
Brixy grabbed one of the tissues off Fluttershy’s nightstand. He then held it to his daughter’s nose. “Blow.”
Fluttershy blew her nose into the tissue. Somehow, she had made it graceful. Whenever Fluttershy sneezed, coughed, or any other action that would normally be presented as inelegant, she would somehow make it seem like a beautiful motion. She seemed to perform this task naturally. Something her father had still been unable to correctly determine.
“Are you... and mommy... mad?”
“No. No, honey. Mommy and daddy aren’t mad,” Brixy spoke in a fatherly voice, holding his daughter tight.
“Then... why are you... yelling?” Fluttershy placed her head on her father’s chest, her arms wrapped around his body. Her sobbing continued to break her speech patterns.
“Because Mommy and I ... are scared,” he finally said. He wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to his little daughter. It was too big for her to understand. Heck, he wasn’t sure he understood it all too well either. But he knew this much, if they stayed, they might never see each other again.
Fluttershy pulled away until she was face to face with her father. “You are... scared?”
Brixy wiped a tear from his daughter’s face. “Very scared. We have to go away, okay?”
“Where are we going?”
Brixy wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t have a plan. He didn’t have a direction. He didn’t have anything. All he knew was he was going to lose his daughter unless he acted.
“We have to go somewhere else, angel. But you’ll be with Mommy and Daddy all the time, okay? We won’t ever leave you.”
Fluttershy let out another whimper. “Promise?”
Bixby hugged his daughter again, tears in his own eyes. “I promise. Mommy and I will never leave -.” An explosion of fire overtakes everything.
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Fluttershy gasps as she awakens from her nightmare. Her heavy breathing filled the air around her, as it did every night. Every nightmare. They seemed to be getting worse. They upset her even more now. Like this was a part of her continued punishment, to watch her parents break their promise again and again and again.
She started to think about her life on the run. She never had much in her life. Very few toys, treasures, and places to call home. But she did have her mother and father who loved her very much. Her father would often get any job he could, so long as they didn’t ask questions. Which was not very often.
Besides that, they lived off the land. Her mother would give her advice on plants that ponies should stray away from and ones that can be used for medical needs.
Fluttershy glanced over to where Cookie was resting. Her hoof was braced with the bark, which kept it from moving. The herbs she had used had helped with the swelling and the pain. The first night wasn’t pleasant for either of them. The pain kept Cookie awake the whole night and Fluttershy attempted to calm her with the soothing herb, but that had taken a lot longer then expected. Not that she could have slept that first night anyway. Or most nights for that matter.
Crumble was out there all-alone. He had no way to defend himself if anything were to happen. Something that Fluttershy held tightly to her heart. If something were to happen to him, it would be her fault. She had already committed so many crimes against pony-kind. She prayed that Crumble would be spared.
Cookie’s moan of pain brought Fluttershy back to reality. “Faust, is it morning already?”
Fluttershy rushed her way to Cookie’s side, digging up the spare leaves next to her. “How is your leg?” Fluttershy asked as she rubbed the leaves between her hooves.
Cookie was silent for a second as she looked down at her leg. She wasn’t a doctor, but she did notice the swelling was half of what it used to be. And it didn’t hurt quite as much, but she was far from walking, let alone running across the country. “Hurts like Tartarus.”
Fluttershy began to rub her hooves on the leg once more, being careful around the actual break. Cookie grunted in pain as she did for the last few days, but she was bearing it better than before.
After a few minutes, Fluttershy stopped and stood up. “The swelling in your leg should go away with a few more days of this. If that’s okay.”
“Yeah, great.” Cookie shook her head. She didn’t see much of a choice.
Fluttershy gave a smile and started to trot for the berry bush not to far from their shelter. It was a tactical place to rest. There was a stream not to far from there and food was aplenty. Best of all, the dense sea of trees made it impossible for aerial surveillance. Since, Fluttershy could never fly very well and was always terrified of heights, the dense forest is where Fluttershy would hide the most if she could help it.
But even in the greatest of forests had a dark side. Fluttershy knew that hunters and poachers would hurt her little animal friends. When they did, she would often get angry. And... well, she didn’t need to remind herself what happened when she got angry.
“So, Flyshy? How did you get so good with medicine?” Cookie asked.
“Oh, well, my mother was a nurse before we were on the run.” Fluttershy turned towards the earth pony with berries in her hooves. “I also met this really nice shaman while I was on the run.”
Fluttershy came next to her and placed the berries on the lap of the earth pony.
Cookie took one of them in her hoof and stuck it in her mouth. It wasn’t the most filling food, but it was food. “A shaman, huh?” she replied, still chewing on her meal.
Fluttershy nodded. “He was a really great pony, even if he did have a little problem.”
Cookie stuffed another berry in his mouth, crewing loudly through it. “A little problem?”
Fluttershy lowered her head. “He was ... strange. He’d wait in a forest like this one. He’d wait for... a monster.”
Cookie raised her eyebrow. Just as she was about to ask about what Fluttershy meant, they heard a rustle in the bushes.
Fluttershy leaped to her hooves and backed away slowly. Cookie lay on the ground as still as she could, preparing for anything.
She wasn’t sure what she would do, but she wouldn’t be taken without a fight.
Within a few second, a familiar pony emerged from the bushes.
“Crumble!” Fluttershy cheered as loud as she could, which was still a soft whisper.
Crumble trudged back to where the duo was. He only stopped when Fluttershy wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” the mare said.
Crumble started to go red. He didn’t expect this sort of welcome. “Yeah, I’m okay. Thanks.”
Fluttershy released the stallion. “Did you send the information?”
Cookie then spoke, “Did you get the jeep?”
Crumble gave a glare at Cookie. “Yeah, I got the jeep. And you could have told me it belonged to somepony else!”
Fluttershy stepped back in shock and fear.
“Why is he yelling like this? And the jeep belonged to some pony else? Why would Cookie do that?”
Cookie shook her head and scoffed. “If you hadn’t had called the cops on Flyshy, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Fluttershy started to whimper.
“If it weren’t for me, neither of them would be in this mess. If I had just let Cookie go, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”
“Hey, I did what I thought was right! Okay?!” Crumble shouted
“Oh, really?! Tell that to my broken leg!”
Fluttershy finally interrupted, “Stop it! Please!”
The forest echoed her projected voice. It was the loudest any pony had heard Fluttershy. She hated to watch friends fight. She hated it when her parent’s fought. They didn’t fight often, but when they did it always upset her. She didn’t want any pony to fight. Ever.
Tears came rushing down her face. Fluttershy exhaled deeply. “None of this would have happened if it wasn’t for me. Which is why I’m trying to fix it. I’m really sorry I yelled. I just... I’m tired of all the fighting.”
Crumble and Cookie were silent as if what they had to say couldn’t change how they hurt their friend. Regardless, Crumble put his hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Cookie followed Crumble’s example and apologized.
Fluttershy gave a slight smile and nodded weakly.
Crumble turned towards the opening in the woods. “It’ll take us a little bit to get to the jeep. We’ll have to carry her there. The terrain makes it difficult for the jeep to get any closer.”
Fluttershy wiped a tear from her face and nodded. They both made their way to Cookie and each of them put her arm on their shoulders to support her. It was awkward, since Fluttershy was slightly shorter than Crumble, but at least, her hoof wasn’t touching the ground.
After a few minutes of trudging through the wilderness, they finally arrived at the red jeep and prepared themselves for their long journey, unaware of what awaited them.