Previous Chapters
Close
The First Three Days in Hell1,344 words
The Next Day/ Allies1,781 words
Mission: Escape2,210 words

Mission: Escape

Fluttershy was soon shoved into her shared cell with Big Mac, and since it wasn't really creating a problem and they needed more space, she was allowed to stay. She had already begun to tear up, rubbing and imaginary wound. The red stallion gave her a look and asked, "Is everything alright?"

She nodded, "I'll tell you later." Then, making sure he was watching, she looked around quickly, scratched her ear, and then scratched underneath her forelock and rose her hoof strait up when she finished. Watching/listening. Unicorn. He understood.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the night, Fluttershy woke Big Macintosh up. "We can talk now," she whispered.

"How did you know?" he answered, just as quiet.

"Celest- I mean, the Sun enhanced our senses with her magic. We can tell when we're being watched."

"That's not a sense."

"Magical sense, then."

"You're a pegasus."

"Yes, but everypony has some magic in them! Why do you think I'm yellow?"

"Umm... It's natural?"

"Pink hair then!" She sighed. "Look, anyway, I found a way to get us and your squad out of here."

Seriousness returning, Big Mac nodded. "The catch?"

"We have to take Nurse Iris with us. I'm nearly positive she's clear, but if you wish to interrogate her, please, do so after we get out."

"Unless I can see her now."

"What do you—" She was interrupted by a very loud moan. Fluttershy rolled her eyes and hid a smile at the over-dramatic display of "pain". "Oh, help! Please, somepony, help him!" Some guards came and carried him away, while the red pony continued writhing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Redheart." Big Mac was lying on a white makeshift stretcher.

The pony in question turned. "Macintosh." She paused to clean a needle and put it on a table. "May I ask how long you've had your memory?"

"Oh, I haven't. Sure, bits and pieces, but the entirety escapes me."

"How long?"

"Since Fl-Kindness."

"Well, you clearly aren't sick, so why did you come here?"

"I heard you could get us out."

"And?"

"I've come to check."

"Oh, is that all." The nurse turned and peeled away the scar.

"I want the story too."

"Everypony always wants the story! Maybe I don't want to tell you of my failures! Maybe I—" She stopped when she noticed the needle she had just washed pointed at her neck. "You soldiers have the worst manners. Fine, then, I'll tell you. I was captured, blah blah blah, Discord was distracted, didn't reach my mind, blah blah blah, here I am. Now will you give that back so I can wash it?" The needle was returned to her, and she went to the sink.

"So, uh, can I go back now?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, of course." Nurse Iris stuck her head out the door. "Boys? Would you be dears and escort him back, please? Thank you." She stepped out of the way, and two guards "escorted" him.

Big Macintosh looked down at one guard's fishy tail, then up at the other's fangs. Ah, another good ol' day in prison.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, everypony, we've got to do this right," Nurse Iris said. "It's suspicious that all of you are in here, so we need to work fast. Here's the plan." She pointed to the map on the stretcher in front of her, at the courtyard. "Grass Seed, create a diversion. I don't care what you have to do, just do it, and meet Fluttershy, Shoeshine, and I here when you're finished. Cut open the pipes with your magic, and we'll be leaving that way." Her hoof was on a giant rock near the drainage pipes in the yard. "Macintosh, Snowflake, you're too big to fit where we're going, so I want you to take this route through the sewers." She traced a line along them. "We'll all meet up here, just before the exit. Questions?" Silence. "Good. Mission: Escape is under way.

Fluttershy was pacing near the exit, where the two groups agreed to meet up, and looking down into the sewage path. "Where are they, where are they?"

"Dear, it's only been five minutes since we got here," Nurse Iris told her, her luminescent eye's rolling in the semi-darkness.

"Yeah, I think the smell's getting to ya," Grass Seed added.

She shot a glare at him and responded to Iris, "Yes, I know, but you said earlier that we took longer than you thought we would."

Grass Seed butted in. "We wouldn't have if you hadn't been so against killing that giant spider."

"Well, what did it do to you?" she retorted, nearing tears.

"Enough, both of you. Listen," Shoeshine said sternly. They did. Soon, heavy foot falls were audible.

"That must be them!" Fluttershy whispered excitedly.

"Something's wrong," she interjected. "I know those guys. They wouldn't be running like this."

"Yeah, and why would Snowflake be running? It's wide enough to fly. Unless..."

"Something else is there. He is flying. I can hear them."

"What is it?" the nurse asked.

She pointed a look at Grass Seed. "A spider."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweat dripped down into Big Macintosh's eyes. He shook his head, glancing at Snowflake, whose tail would be mere inches from the gigantic arachnid's legs, that is, if it wasn't tucked up underneath him. Facing the front, Big Mac saw a splotch of yellow. "Fluttershy!" he yelled, panting, "RUN!" Soon he could make out other colors as well, all moving away.

Then he was hit.

"Agh!" The sound of pain escaped his throat as he watched Fluttershy pause and look back. "No! Keep going!" He could feel the blood dripping from his hide, but he got up nonetheless, and continued running.

But Fluttershy was persistent. She slowed down enough to meet up with him, and kept his pace, despite his protests. "Are you trying to get killed?" he yelled at her.

"I'm trying to save your flank."

"And how are you going to do that?"

To this, she skidded to a halt, whipped around, and gave the spider her Stare. "Keep going, Macintosh," she said calmly, never breaking eye contact.

"But you—"

"That's an order, Captain." She briefly looked at him, her eyes filled with an emotion that was partially familiar to him.

She was lying in the grass, looking up at him with such love in her—

He backed away, shaking his head. Where was that from? he thought. Love? Ah don't understand, what love? We barely know each other, why would she... His thoughts drifted off as he looked at her. A-Ah guess... maybe— Whatever was next was banished from his mind as he saw the spider coming out of Fluttershy's influence.

It snipped it's mandibles once, and quick as a flash, raised a leg and brought it swinging toward Fluttershy.

Big Macintosh was quicker.

Everything slowed down in that moment. It seemed to take forever for him to back Fluttershy up enough, for the hairy black leg to dig through his flesh, for him to look at her, the mare he protected, the mare he loved, and see her tear-soaked face splatter with his blood.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Macintosh!" she yelled as he pushed her back. His face turned to her, and that beautiful moment of seeing her love returned in his eyes vanished when his blood, his life, covered her face. "BIG MACINTOSH!" Fluttershy screamed, moving him out of harm's way. Looking at his wound, she growled with anger, and faced the monster that did this to him. She flew up right in it's face and shrieked, "How dare you... How dare you! Listen here, mister! Just because you're big, doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge legs, and sharp hairs, and red eyes, and webs... But you do not, I repeat, you do NOT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!... YOU GOT THAT?!"

It backed up just a little. She said,whispering, her pupils mere pin dots, "There is no escape." and bucked the creature right between it's eight giant eyes.

Stunned, it fell back, it's fleshy abdomen exposed, and a thick pipe surrounded by green magic impaled it. She slowly floated back down, panting. "T-Thank you... Grass Seed."

"N-no problem ma'am... That was s-some explosion..."

Suddenly, Nurse Iris hissed. "This doesn't look good."

Fluttershy walked shakily over. There was a deep gash all the way across his barrel, showing that it had just missed his heart, but still cut open everything else. Her senses were overloaded with the smell of blood.

"I can't do anything. We'll give you time alone." The nurse ushered the others away.

Fluttershy looked down with a sad smile at her lover, her protecter, her soulmate.

Big Mac opened his eyes. "Ah'm not gonna make it, am Ah?"

"No," she answered softly, "It doesn't look like you're going to escape this time." She watched as his expression changed from pain to that of resolution.

"Fluttershy," he whispered, for her ears alone, "Ah know we haven't known each other fer very long, but Ah feel like Ah've known ya mah whole life. A-and... Ah love you."

She leaned closer. "I love you too, Mackie. I always have." Confusion bloomed across his face. She kissed his forehead, right between his eyes. "You'll see soon enough."

His confusion lasted only a second longer, and she watched as his memories returned. His emotions twirled and danced gracefully, each one lasting only seconds. He looked up at her. "W-why?" he coughed.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head," A single tear slid down her cheek as she sang softly. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed."

He smiled, eyes closing, and went limp. Just before his heart stopped beating, just before his consciousness faded, Fluttershy gently pressed her lips to his. His last breath was intertwined into the very fabric of her being, to be held within her lungs forever more.

As his body stiffened and chilled, she sat up and acknowledged the onlookers.

"W-what?" Shoeshine whispered, her voice barely audible to Fluttershy. "W-why... Did he... a-and you..." Her tears stopped her from speaking further.

"You'll understand someday. All of you will," she said to her comrades. Everypony had wet eyes.

Snowflake walked over. "Kindness, ma'am, we can't carry him. I-I wish we could, but..."

She hugged him. "It's okay, Snowflake. I understand."

"B-but we should still say some words!" Shoeshine stated.

"Yes." Snowflake stood and said, "Captain, you were the g-greatest ever. We'll never forget you."

"Never," Grass Seed added, now beside him.

"E-ever!" Shoeshine finalized, her voice cracking.

Fluttershy rose, ready for her turn. "B-big Mac, I—" She fell back to the ground in a heap, wailing and sobbing. Her hooves grasped his dead body, and hugged him close.

It was in that moment, in Caterlot, Celestia felt her subject's loss. She gave her phoenix a meaningful look, and the flaming bird vanished.

Back in the sewers, through her eyelids, Fluttershy could tell that it was getting brighter. Sunrise? she thought absently.

"Celestia almighty..." Nurse Iris said in a distant voice.

Now Fluttershy could tell it was warming up, too. What...? Opening her eyes, she saw flames. She started. Then, with a closer look, the flames formed the image of a bird, which was seated on her beloved's leg, nudging it. Understanding, the pegasus released her hold on him, and Philomenia cried onto his wound.

All watched as Big Macintosh took a shuddering breath, and coughed.

The phoenix looked at Fluttershy. Fluttershy nodded once. "Even." The great bird flew back to her home.

After a minute of silence, Grass Seed asked, "What... What just happened?"

Shining with tears of joy, Fluttershy turned and said, "I have absolutely no idea."

Author's Note:

SO! Another chapter! Personalities are of my making. "How dare you... How *dare* you! Listen here, mister! Just because you're big, *doesn't* mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire... But you do *not*, I repeat, you do not! Hurt! My! Friends!... You got that?" came strait from the show. (of course I edited it...) "There is no escape." is from Samurai Jack... thought it'd be cool. Fluttershy's lullaby is here too. Also, I was crying while I wrote this.

Please tell me if there are errors or if you don't understand something.

The "memories" thing will be explain later in the story.

461 views

Previous Chapters