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The Pabulum Circus4,931 words
Choice To Be Made3,907 words
Thunderbolt's Vendetta6,190 words
Aftermath4,886 words
Secrets Revealed3,167 words
Foreboding Events4,952 words
Past Friendships5,603 words
The Return of the Beast8,870 words
A Journey Renewed7,419 words
I, Monster4,502 words
The Great Butterfly Migration5,701 words
Professor Smoulder6,391 words
Ravage4,562 words
Thunderbolt's Sins11,212 words
Battle at the Molhoofend Dam5,043 words
Epilogue/Lonely Mare3,444 words

The Return of the Beast

Bachmare Park was a place that played a key part of Fluttershy’s memories. In her childhood, her mother would take her to this park everyday to play. She remembered her love of playing in the sandbox with the sand tickling her hooves. She remembered seeing all the little critters that would wander into the park.

However, as wonderful as those memories where, one very important fact stood out. She was always playing by herself. Not because the other kids were mean. Well, most of them weren’t anyway. She was just a very shy pony.

One day, a group of much bigger ponies started bullying her. They made fun of her because she wasn’t a good flyer. She couldn’t help it. She had always been that way, even when she was very little. They would chant cruel things like ‘Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy can hardly fly!’

It would always make her shrivel up and cry, and, most of the time, her mother would instantly come to her rescue. But this time was different. Her mother had stepped away for a moment, so nopony was there to save her. Everything seemed hopeless. That is, until an Pegasus pony colt, around the same age of the bullies tormenting her, stepped in and told them to knock it off. They quickly backed away.

She would often see this stallion hanging around the swing set, and a part of her wanted to go and talk to him. But, every time she tried, her own shyness got the better of her and nothing came of it. Like her, he didn’t seem have many friends. That day, he came to her side and comforted her. He was really sweet. He asked her what her name was. When she told him, she what his name was.

His name was Crumble.

She never did tell him about being on the run. She didn’t really understand it herself, but she knew her father had stressed that keeping that detail a secret was important.

But she was lonely. And here was somepony who wanted to be her friend. She was desperate to share everything. It tore her apart lying to him.

She remembered Crumble telling her about his father. She knew he was some kind of military stallion. It frightened her a bit to be so close to a pony that was supposed to be hunting her, but if Crumble’s father was anything like him, he would understand.

But it didn’t matter. She still lost her family, but she knew deep down, Crumble wasn’t to blame. He couldn’t have known.

“Flyshy?” Cookie’s voice broke Fluttershy out of her thoughts. Fluttershy’s eyes turned to her friend on her motorbike.

“I’m sorry. I was just... remembering things.” Fluttershy looked back to the park. She lowered her head as the memories replayed in her mind.

Those days seemed so long ago. Back when she didn’t have a care in the world. Before she was alone. Before ‘she’ was a part of her life. Before she lost the two ponies that she cared about more than anything.

“Really? You’ve been here before?” Cookie asked.

Fluttershy just smiled back at her friend. “Are you sure you can’t come?” she asked, secretly hoping that Cookie might be able to come along.

Her hopes were dashed, however, when Cookie shook her head. “Sorry, got things to do.” Her motorcycle gave a thunderous roar as she ignited the engine.

“Well, thank you. For everything you’ve done,” Fluttershy said, doing her best not to cry as she readjusted the pack on her back.

They had spent most of the day filling her pack with food, water, and first aid kits that she might need on her trip. Heck, Cookie had even packed in a small blanket for cold nights.

Cookie had paid for it all, but it wasn’t in Fluttershy’s nature to just take charity. She promised she would pay her back one-day. Now that she knew how to send mail, she could send money the next chance she got a job.

“Don’t worry, it’s no problem. Take care,” Cookie said as she started on her way down the road.

Fluttershy watched as her friend as the horizon kept consuming her. She watched as one of her only friends, rode off into the sunrise.

As much as she wanted Cookie to come along, even just to keep her company, Fluttershy understood exactly why she couldn’t. Cookie had a job here. A life. Something Fluttershy envied. Cookie had told her about her job as a mechanic. She complained about how she hated that job. How she hated the grease and the sweat and the long, exhausting hours.

Fluttershy understood that Cookie was unhappy with the way her life was heading, but her life was still better than the one Fluttershy was living, that was for sure.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Cookie had a steady job, she didn’t have to run from place to place, and she didn’t have to constantly look over her shoulder, or worry about being shot at. And most importantly, she didn’t have to control her emotions for fear of an uncontrollable beast destroying everything around her.

Fluttershy just wished she could have stayed with Cookie and try to start a normal life here. But she couldn’t stay here. It was far too dangerous to try. She had to move on.

Fluttershy started to look back towards the park when something caught her eye. She looked towards one of the trees and refocused her vision. If she had just given it a quick glance, she would have surely missed it. Her heart sank like a stone when she figured out what she was seeing.

Within the trees, a heavily armed pony snuck about, armed to the teeth. They had found her again. And this time, they were very close. Fluttershy’s feet took over her body and she started running through the park as fast as possible.

“How could I have let them get so close?!”

Fluttershy darted through the park as fast as her legs could carry her, passing the old playground. Several ponies gave her an odd look, but she didn’t take notice them. She was too focused on escaping.

“I’ve got to get out of here, Faust get me out of here!” Fluttershy silently prayed. She hoped she could escape before they had a chance to capture her.

“For Faust’s sake, don’t let ‘her’ come out.”

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General Thunderbolt cursed under his breath as he saw his target pick up her speed as she galloped through the park. He had made his orders very clear. Nopony was to move in until he gave the word. It enraged him to no end to see such recklessness in his troopers. Yeah, they were eager. Maybe even frightened. But that was no excuse for an idiotic slip up like that.

“How in Tartarus did she see us?! Who bucking moved?!” the general shouted as his mobile unit moved down the street towards the park.

“Sir, we are in hot pursuit,” a voice over the radio spoke.

Major Strawberry picked up the responder and spoke into it, “What about the other one? The one on the bike?”

There was silence for a second before there was a reply. “She’s going around back to the park.”

“Damn it! She going back to help Fluttershy!” the general thought, stamping his hoof.

Thunderbolt rose to his feet abruptly, stealing the responder from Strawberry. “Get her too, dammit! She’s aiding a fugitive!”

The general then tossed the responder back onto the rack and returned to his seat releasing a heavy sigh. He put his hoof on his chin, waiting impatiently for any news relating to Fluttershy’s capture.

He looked to his son, who sat next to him.

Crumble looked back towards him with a stern look.

The general just smiled. “You did the right thing, boy.” He put his hoof onto his son’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Crumble shook his head. He turned his head and stared off the other way. It was clear to the general his son didn’t approve of this.

“Why the buck is that brat angry at me? He’s the one who called us!”

The general, realizing he was wasting his time, turned his gaze to the chase. Fluttershy was all that mattered.

“It doesn’t matter. All I need is that filly then everything will be perfect,” Thunderbolt thought.

His son didn’t matter. His morals didn’t matter. Not even his own life mattered. Even since that filly entered his life, all that mattered was his name... and his revenge.

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Fluttershy could hear the distinctive sound of mobile units closing in behind her. A heavy revving sound caused her pulse to jump. It was hard to make out how close it was with her heavy breath, her heart rate, and all her chaotic thoughts filling her ears and mind.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a motorcycle pulled in front of her. She shrieked. Fear took over her body. They were on top of her. She then took another look at who mounted the bike. A wave of relief swept over her. It was Cookie Crisp.

“Come on!” Cookie shouted.

Fluttershy heeded her friend’s words without a second thought and climbed aboard the bike, taking a seat behind her friend.

Cookie accelerated the bike as quickly as she could. It looked as if she was making a run for the woods. At least if they reached those, they could easily disappear into it.

Just then, a bombshell went off near them, sending them off course. Cookie quickly corrected herself and put them back on course.

Fluttershy cast a glance back over her shoulder to see artillery cannons mounted on assault vehicles. They looked like they were getting ready to fire again. Fluttershy felt her heart rate start to climb exponentially. She took several deep breaths, doing her best to calm herself down.

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Assault vehicles barred the path of the motorcycle, preventing them from heading towards the woods. Cookie shook her head and swore.

“There must be a way out,” she thought. She looked to her right to see a small hill. The gears started turning in her head. It was a rather small hill, no doubt about it, but, with a little bit of luck, they just might be able to do what Cookie had in mind. She pulled a hard right causing the bike to turn towards the soldiers behind them.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Fluttershy stuttered, her voice laced with fear.

Cookie could barely hear her. Her voice wasn’t nearly loud enough to be heard over the roar of all the engines filling the air.

There was another loud prolonged whistle that cut through the air and was followed by another bombshell that went off nearby. Cookie and Fluttershy tucked their heads in reflexively to shield their eyes from the dust, dirt and bits of flying debris.

As the dust cloud cleared, Cookie shook her head and regained her focus. She drove pass the hill, but there wasn’t much time before the enemy was on top of them. She had only one chance to make the jump. The vehicles from the front began to close in, getting as closer and closer. She made a sharp left turn to position herself directly facing the hill. “Hang on!” Cookie shouted over her shoulder.

She felt Fluttershy’s hooves wrap even tighter around her waist. The engine roared as Cookie gave it everything the bike could take. The bike accelerated, kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake. Cookie could hear Fluttershy’s deep breathing. She sounded terrified. Cookie couldn’t blame her. To be perfectly honest, she was terrified too.

“Celestia, I hope this works,” she thought, biting her lip.

She kept accelerating. The bike started to soar up the hill. Cookie revved the bike even harder to compensate for the hill’s curve. Then, finally, after what seemed like an eternity of climbing, there was a sudden feeling of weightlessness, and the bike soared through the air above the vehicles below.

The weightlessness ended however, when the bike landed hard, shaking its passengers. Cookie shook her head rapidly, trying to cure her blurred vision. Once her vision cleared, however, she saw an army of vehicles turning to pursue them. That jump had bought them some time, but not a lot. Cookie once again revved her bike and turned towards the woods. The trucks were closing in however, edging closer and closer by the second.

Suddenly, another bombshell exploded in front of them, sending a rain of rock and debris falling over the two ponies. Cookie and Fluttershy’s heads ducked into their chest, but this time, Cookie didn’t see the ditch made by the explosion. The bike’s front wheel dipped into the ditch and threw the bike completely out of control, sending Fluttershy and Cookie soaring through the air like ballistic missiles.

Cookie hit the ground hard and tumbled and skidded across the ground until she stopped just short of a tree just on the outskirts of the woods.

Dazed and confused, Cookie slowly tried to drag herself to her feet. Just as she tried to move, a sharp pain shot up her hind leg. She cried out in agony.

She looked to her hind leg to see it was bent out of its normal position and she couldn’t move it. Swelling had begun to show and her hoof was twisted around. She had some other cuts and scraps on her body, but they were less important than her hoof.

Her mind then jumped to Fluttershy.

“Where’s Flyshy?”

She franticly looked around her to try to find her friend, remembering not moving her leg in the process. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that a few yards from where she laid, Fluttershy lay on the ground, whimpering.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy looked towards her friend. She was obviously badly hurt. Her leg was twisted unnaturally, most likely broken. She had several cuts around her torso, which were bleeding and a gash across her forehead that was also bleeding, quite profusely in fact.

Fluttershy knew she needed help, to do SOMETHING, but her body was in too much pain to move. She tried to move her front legs, but no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn’t move. On top of that, the rumbling roar of the oncoming military onslaught only grew louder and louder. Her only friend was completely and utterly helpless and Fluttershy could do nothing to help her.

And it made her angry.

Very angry.

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Cookie meanwhile watched in shock as the small Pegasus pony that she had called friend began changing from her normal yellow color to a light green hue, which rapidly grew darker. The various nicks and cuts on her front legs started to close instantly. She started to grow bigger and bigger, her muscles growing larger and larger by the second. Her high pitch whimpers descended into a series of deep, almost demonic growls. And she kept growing. Her hair began to change as well, darken to a blood red hue and her coat was now dark green.

Cookie watched in horror as her once tiny friend transformed into a massive green goliath. The beast that replaced Fluttershy let out a deafening roar. The soldiers that had been pursuing them stopped in their tracks, with some of them backing away, fear on their faces.

The creature took a step towards them with a growl. There was a brief pause as the two groups regarded each other. All of a sudden, all hell broke loose. The soldiers firing everything they had at the beast. SMG, rifle, and artillery shells battered the creature’s skin. The monster gave a screech and stepped backwards, causing the shells to come very close to Cookie.

“Shit!” Cookie shouted as several shots impacted dangerously close to where she was. She tried to move, but the incredible pain in her leg reminded her that she was still immobile. She had no way to escape, and unlike her giant friend, she most certainly wasn’t bulletproof. Her thoughts all moved to the subject of her death. She was most defiantly going to die here, trapped between an army and a giant green behemoth. Perfect.

Cookie suddenly noticed she was in shadow and looked up. Above her, the beast loomed, wings spread wide, as if protecting her. Cookie’s mind was drawn a blank as to the creature’s motivations. Why was it protecting her? Did it see her as a friend?

Cookie had another thought. “Could this… monster possibly be Flyshy?” As insane as it seemed, Fluttershy and this monster were one and same.

The sound of the bombardment, however, snapped Cookie out of her mental wanderings and back into the real world. Cookie watched wide eyed as the beast took several steps towards the enemy, the shells and bullets bouncing off it like rubber balls. Cookie noticed that the creature was making her way towards the downed motorcycle. Even on the ground several yards away, Cookie could see that Fluttershy was way to big for that motorcycle now.

“What could she want with the bike?”

As if to answer her question, the giant’s hooves picked up the motorcycle and hoisted it over her head.

“No, not the bike!” Cookie shouted in vain as the beast hurled the bike towards an artillery cannon. The soldiers arming the cannon quickly leapt in all directions in a mad scramble for safety. The last pony had just jumped clear just the bike came smashing into the cannon with a force that bent it towards the ground like a pretzel, putting it out of commission for quite awhile.

Fluttershy then charged for the troops as they continued their assault. The bullets continued to bounce off her like ping pong balls, not a single round even managing to burse or even scrape her green skin. The beast slammed her body into one of the assault vehicles before it had a chance to escape. The force of the blow sent the vehicle on its side as if it were a toy, sending several ponies flying.

The creature then moved for what was left of the artillery cannon. It wrapped its massive hooves around the cannon and tore it from its hinges. She unleashed a cry of rage as the metal bolts were torn from their resting places. She threw the cannon at the side of a nearby assault vehicle, slamming into it. The force of the impact is so great; it caused the jeep to smash into the one next to it, turning both into a scrap pile.

The ponies on hoof scampered away like mice in a desperate attempt to escape the giant’s wrath. Fluttershy unleashed another deafening roar of rage.

Then out of nowhere, a missile slammed into her body, exploding on contact. The force of the blast sent the Pegasus back several feet. She glanced to the sky and descending upon her were three armored figures.

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The Hulk Busters set themselves down in front of the green goliath. “This is HB 1, roll call. Please respond,” the first pony within the armored suit spoke through his headpiece.

“Roger that, HB 1. This is HB 2, here,” a voice over the headpiece spoke.

“HB 1, this is HB 3 here,” a second voice spoke.

“Alright, let’s see what these babies can do,” HB 1 replied as a message appeared on the screen projected in front of him, stating his weapons were locked onto the screeching behemoth.

A Gatling gun mounted on the pony’s shoulder unleashed round after round at the monster. The monster was slowly and steadily driven back by the rounds as they pummeled against its body. Growls and bellows of rage and pain filled the air as it’s fought to stay upright. The other two machines unleashed their firepower as well, completely surrounding the monster.

However, as if driven by a supernatural force, the beast started to slowly rise as it unleashed another growl of rage. One of the Hulk Buster robots changed tactics and launched one of its missiles towards the monster. The missile impacted in the monster’s shoulder, causing it to stumble to the ground. The beast attempted to rise to it feet once more, but was again thwarted by another missile attack. The Hulk Busters continued their seemingly endless barrage, feeling certain they had won.

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Thunderbolt’s grinned with excitement as he surveyed the carnage. His Hulk Buster robots were performing even better than he had anticipated. With this much firepower, it was only a matter of time before Fluttershy was defeated and finally captured.

Crumble, however, gazed upon the battlefield and saw something else. He had been studying the beast’s behavior closely and noticed something when it first transformed.

“I know I should be cheering for those robots, but... I can’t. Why in Tartarus not?” Crumble thought to himself

He looked off into the distance and saw the mare that Fluttershy had been traveling with earlier. Ever since the crash, she had been sitting there, still and almost lifeless. At least, that’s how it looked from his distance.

“Isn’t that mare who was with Fluttershy when she came to my home? Why doesn’t she move? Is she ... dead? I... I didn’t want this.” Crumble began to panic. His breathing became heavier. He had to know, could he have doomed that pony to death because of his selfishness?

“I didn’t want anypony to get hurt. I just wanted there to be a simple arrest. To take them into custody. No harm, no foul. Not this… senseless war!”

He looked down towards one of the soldier’s surveying the battle and noticed he had a pair of binoculars. “Can I borrow those? The binoculars, I mean?” Crumble asked, motioning towards the binoculars.

The soldier turned towards him and gave him an odd look. His hooves moved to the binoculars and the stallion shoved them into Crumble’s hooves.

“Thanks.” He muttered, lifting the binoculars to his eyes.

He focused his gaze towards the mare as she continued to lie, motionless. He readjusted the focus again until he could see the mare clearly. He studied her carefully, taking into detail her injuries. There was a huge gash across her head, several cuts on her body, blood coming from her mouth and what seemed to be a broken leg, given how it was twisted.

“Holy Faust! She’s hurt! Bad!”

He didn’t even notice pulling the binoculars away from his eyes. All he knew was that that pony was in need of proper medical attention, less she loose the leg. And an Earth Pony without a leg was as good as dead. He turned towards his father, who was entranced with the sights and sounds of battle.

“Hey!” Crumble shouted.

His father didn’t budge. He continued his watch on the conflict as if he were looking at a beautiful painting.

“Hey!” Crumble shouted once again, this time louder.

“Not now, boy!” the general shot back, not even attempting to look towards Crumble.

Crumble let out a groan. He should have expected this. His father would always act like this. He was always one to put everything else aside for what he wanted. Whatever the mission was, it always took prevalence over his family. That obsessive streak had destroyed his family and along with it, any respect Crumble might have had for his father.

Well, Thunderbolt’s pride wasn’t going to cost that mare her hoof.

Crumble opened the side hatch to the vehicle and leapt into the battlefield.

The general finally turned at the hissing of the hatch opening. By the time his gaze reached it, his son was gone.

“What the buck are you doing?!” the general shouted, hoping his voice would follow his son. He poked his head from the hatch exit and spotted his son running straight into a war zone.

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The Hulk Buster units continued their barrage against the giant with no signs of slowing down or letting up. A flurry of fire, bullets, explosions and screams of pain filled the air surrounding them. Everything within a hundred yards felt their power as it shook the world around them.

Fluttershy finally found her footing and started a slow and steady march towards the first Hulk Buster. She growled as the Gatling gun continued to punish her body, but she didn’t stop, her rage growing and growing. Her hooves started to move faster and faster and the slow march quickly morphed into an out of control gallop. The Hulk Buster launched its propulsion system in its hooves and took to the sky in an attempt to avoid her grasp.

It was a futile attempt. Fluttershy leapt after it using the force of her powerful legs to reach the height of her opponent. The beast slammed into the suit of armor causing its flight path to quickly fall apart, swerving wildly. The pilot attempted to regain control, but the unit became compromised as a huge green hoof smashed against the side of it. The beast began tearing out the inside mechanisms of the machine. Seeing no other choice but to abandon his suit, the pilot punched the eject switch in front of him, launching the head off the machine, followed by the seat he sat in.

With the pilot gone, the robotic pony fell to the ground with the beast still attached to it. Clouds of dust filled the air around the massive beast. Even more so as Fluttershy began smashing her hooves into the robot’s body. Pieces of metal and glass dispersed with each hit.

The second Hulk Buster unleashed a wave of fire towards the green goliath. Fluttershy turned her attention to the robot pony behind her, her rage now focused on her new opponent.

The flames danced around Fluttershy, burning her skin and causing even more pain. She unleashed a mighty bellow as her massive wings stretched out from behind her back. She flapped her wings and unleashed a powerful burst of wind that sent the Hulk Buster’s fire blast towards itself. The pilot covered his eyes to shield it from the intense light of the flame, causing him to cease his attack. When he refocused his vision, all he could see was a massive green Pegasus at his cockpit window. And she looked anything but happy.

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Crumble galloped across the battlefield, doing his best to avoid the hail bullets and explosions along the way.

“What in Tartarus am I doing?!” he screamed at himself as he felt like a bullet just blazed by his ear.

There he was, rushing through a war zone to help a pony that had threatened him in his own home. He didn’t understand why he was doing it. He just knew he couldn’t stand by and watch another pony in agony. He had to do something to repay for his actions.

Sounds of the war behind him kept him moving faster. He was not eager to be in that hellhole. A place where every sound seeming like the last one you would ever hear. While you silently prayed that some higher being would watching you, even if you didn’t believe in a higher power. And Crumble wasn’t one to believe.

“What does dad see in this madness?”

He quickly put those thoughts behind him and focused on getting to the edge of the woods, where the fallen mare laid.

He continued to scamper through the plains of war, jumping left, then right, then left again. His ears were ringing of the gunshots, explosions, and Fluttershy’s screams of rage. He felt his heartbeat thundering against his chest, as if it was about to burst free. Despite being deafened and exhausted, he continued down the stretch until he finally reached the brown mare.

He quickly made his way beside her. “Are you alright?!”

The mare grunted in pain, trying her best to stay still. “Do I look alright to you?!” She moaned as she attempted to keep still and calm.

Crumble looked towards the leg and saw that instead of the brown he was expecting, every part of the skin below the break was a light blue and twisted backwards. His physician training taught him to spot that very quickly, but even without proper training, it was obvious what that was. “Oh, Faust. You’re hoof has had circulation cut off!”

“What the buck does that mean?!” the brown mare shouted. She regretted it a second later as a sharp pain shot up her leg once more. She couldn’t even talk without feeling the pain. Hell, even breathing hurt.

“It means your not getting blood to your leg. I have to realign the leg.” He placed his hooves on the mare’s broken leg, the mare grinded her teeth in agony. “Just so you know, this is going to hurt.”

With that, he twisted the leg with all his might to try and align it back into position. His ears rang with the scream of pain coming from the brown mare’s lungs that sounded as if he had just cut the leg from her body. The screaming continued for several seconds.

Crumble looked around him to see a small bag a few yards from where the injured pony lay. Crumble recognized that bag. It was the one Fluttershy carried when she came to his house. If she had planned to travel, logically she must have a first aid kit. Crumble quickly took to his feet and ran back for the bag, hoping to Celestia he was right.

He was only a few feet from the bag when a missile exploded several yards from where he was. The force of the blast caused him to be hurled on his back. His ears started to ring, painfully. His head throbbed with pain like a ton of bricks had just landed on top of him. His whole body was in agony, but he couldn’t give up.

“Celestia... just get up... Get up...”

He slowly rose to all fours. He looked down and there were several scratches across his body, he figured from the blast. Nothing serious, but that didn’t stop his ears from ringing or head from pounding. He limped his way to the bag, which survived the blast.

“Thank Celestia.”

He dug it out from where it lay and put the straps in his mouth. With as much strength as he could muster, he hobbled his way to the fallen mare. With any luck he would be able to tend to her leg. All he had to do was make it to her in one piece. She was only a few yards away, but in this war zone, it might as well have been miles. It became increasingly difficult to trot and his head was in so much pain, all he wanted to do was rest. He shook his head, attempting to refocus his efforts, and pressed forward.

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Guamadillius continued to watch and wait as the beast tore through the last of the Hulk Buster robots. He wasn’t impressed with the robots at all and was thankful he wasn’t a part of them. They were big and klutzy. Of course they’d be mincemeat.

One of the robots had been airborne after Fluttershy attacked the other. The second one’s glass window had several cracks in it, one of its front limbs were missing and sparks were coming from exposed wires. Yet for all the damage, the pilot was suffering only minor burns due to the sparks within the machine. The first robot had created enough of a distraction for the pilot of the second Hulk Buster to escape though the eject seat.

However, with a new target in her sights, Fluttershy wasn’t about to back down. She roared at her aerial enemy, as her opponent unleashed more than a hundred rounds towards her. She growled as the bullets crumbled against her skin. The beast wrapped her arms around the second Hulk Buster robot and lifted it off the ground, ignoring the shots being fired at her. With a quick spin of her hind legs, she tossed the robotic pony towards her aerial combatant.

The Hulk Buster pilot quickly and harshly turned his vehicle to the right. He narrowly avoided the fifteen ton steel pony, but before he had a chance to recover, he found himself in the grasp of the giant green goliath.

The Pegasus had leapt at him after she had tossed the robot. The pilot tried to break free of the monster’s grip, but it was infinitely too strong. He and the beast fell to the ground hard, an explosion of dust marking their impact. The beast unleashed a mighty roar as her deadly hooves smashed into the metallic pony’s body. The pilot could only watch and cry out in terror as giant green blurs smashed again and again at his only protection.

Guam wasn’t sure if the pilot was dead or not. And honestly, he didn’t care. All he knew was that it was his turn to try his luck.

“I knew those damn robots weren’t going to work,” he thought to himself. “But now, it’s Guamadillus’s turn.”

He lifted his rocket launcher beside him and aimed it at the beast. The beast that had just tossed away the robotic pony like it wasn’t even a threat. The truth was... it wasn’t. Guam knew he was the only pony left that could take Fluttershy down. He pulled the trigger, unleashing his lightning fast projectile upon the unsuspecting beast.

The rocket exploded on impact with the great behemoth. When the fire and dust cleared, the creature looked upon the hill where the blast had came from, straight at Guamadillius. Just like he wanted.

“That’s right, bitch. Focus on me!” Guam shouted, smiling. He was finally going to go one on one with, and he was going to have the time of his life.

The beast gave a thunderous roar and started for him. Guam quickly gripped another rocket from his nearby bag and started to franticly slip the rocket into place. To be honest, as much as he enjoyed all this, he was still a pony, and therefore scared. He was dead scared of the eight-foot tall monstrosity heading straight for him, but he was a soldier.

“Fear is all part of the job,” he repeated to himself. And, also, he enjoyed the feeling of fear. It got his blood pumping and his senses heightened.

He had finally slipped the rocket into place when his eyes spotted the beast only a few feet from him. Guam knew he wouldn’t have time to aim his weapon. He had to get out of there as soon as possible. As the creature lifted its massive hoof, Guam readied his legs to spring to the air at the first twitch of Fluttershy’s body.

As predictable as the sunrise, Fluttershy’s hoof came straight for Guam. The earth pony, using his legs, leaped towards the left and straight out of Fluttershy’s path. While in the air, Guam quickly readied his aim and unleashed his rocket. The force of the blast had sent him soaring back several feet.

The fire blast had burned portions of his body, his face, and his front hooves. The injuries were far less extensive then they should have been. He could feel burns across his face, but he had been in fire blasts before. They were... mild compared to previous close encounters with rockets.

He briefly wondered if this sudden lack of pain was a side effect of the serum.

The ringing in his ears distracted him from his thoughts. He could barely hear himself think. But that was part of the job too. He quickly leaped to his feet, knowing the fight was far from over.

The beast came from the smoke cloud; its lungs unleashing another mighty roar. Guam reached for another rocket but only felt empty air. He was out. He glanced down into the bag and saw that all he had left in his arsenal was his empty rocket launcher and a pistol. They still had a trap set for the great beast however. A trap that was yet to be sprung. But that didn’t mean Guam wasn’t going to have his chance with the beast.

“I ain’t running! So give me everything you’ve got!” he shouted towards it, goading it on.

The creature slowly approached him, growling in rage as she inched forward. Guam took his rocket launcher in hoof and tossed it as hard as he could at the creature. The creature used its massive hooves to knock it away from her without any resistance.

Guam, using the momentum of his throw, took his opportunity to draw his pistol and spun back into the face of the beast. The beast was on her hind legs with both front hooves right above him. He had only a second to move, before the beast would smash him. He dove forward underneath the creature’s legs and behind her, just as the massive hooves slammed where he had been.

Guam quickly spun around, after gaining his footing, and unleashed a salvo of gunshots at the beast.

Fluttershy growled as the bullets belted her skin. She darted for her much smaller adversary, sweeping her hooves as she approached him. Guam dove over Fluttershy’s massive arm. Guam rolled back to his feet and fired round after round until the characteristic ‘click’ of an empty chamber greeted his ears. Guam, knowing his weapon was useless against the beast, tossed it aside and readied himself as the beast turned toward his direction once again.

“Just you and me, then.”

The beast swung her arm towards the gray earth pony. Guam quickly stepped out of the way before the hoof came crashing down. Guam lifted his front hoof and swung as hard as he could at the beast’s face. The beast flinched, but it was Guam who was feeling the most hurt. Despite how invigorated he felt, how strong he felt, it felt as if he had punched a brick wall. His hoof tingled in pain, but he shook it off.

“This is just part of the job. Fear, pain, panic.”

Everything that he was feeling was just part of his job description. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. For him, it was like being reunited with an old friend. He felt alive, as he hadn’t for a long time. There was something exhilarating about risking his life in a battle where the odds are stacked against him. The thrill of the unknown, the unexpected, and the unanticipated.

All of these feelings he felt as his hoof struck the beast’s body. The creature swung her front hoof once more, attempting to find her target. Guam ducked under Fluttershy’s attack, and countered with another mighty blow to the beast’s face. The beast retaliated with a sweep of her front limb, this time catching Guam in its path. Guam was sent through the air like a rag doll and he crashed into the ground.

Guam slowly picked himself up. His body throbbed in pain. He felt as if he had been run over by a tank. He diverted his eyes to where the great green giant was. The beast wasn’t even tired. It looked as if it could go on forever.

“Get her into position!” the voice of the general ringed in his ear.

Guam knew that fighting Fluttershy was pointless. Even with his enhancements, he was still no match for her. His swore under his breath at the thought of running from a fight, but he knew he was in a war that he could not win.

Guam turned around towards the troops and darted his way towards them, with the beast not far behind.

“Next time…” he muttered.

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General Thunderbolt had so far been impressed with Guam’s performance. He had battled Fluttershy even longer than even he anticipated. He thought for certain he would be crushed in the first minute. However, Guam proved that he was stronger, faster and more agile then any ordinary pony. Of course, that was the point of the serum. The general smiled as his soldier fought his war for him, just like a good soldier should.

“Good Guam, just keep my girl busy for me,” he thought.

Thunderbolt watched patiently as Guam led Fluttershy straight into position. Like a lamb to the slaughter, the earth pony was leading her perfectly into their trap.

“Are the secondary units ready?” Thunderbolt asked.

Major Strawberry relayed Thunderbolt’s question to one of the officers who was in charge of the second string of Hulk Buster units.

“Affirmative, Major. Operation: Flutter Fry is ready to go,” the officer replied.

The general gave a cruel smirk at his men’s diligence. It brought him joy to see such loyalty, such vigor and such diligence to the right cause.

“Ponies like that should be commended for their services. Most ponies don’t realize the risks these mares and stallions take every day. The risks we all take every day. But if the world knew of the monsters in the world, they would cower under their beds, crying for their mothers. Monsters that we are slowly losing our ability to control. That’s why you’re important, Fluttershy. You’re the way of the future.”

Major Strawberry, as if reading the general’s mind, spoke, “Then you are clear to engage.”

Peering the opening, the general could see the beast being confronted by two more Hulk Buster robots as they appeared from the sky. The creature roared at the sight of her mechanical enemies. The robots shoulder plating opened to reveal harpoon like devices pointed straight towards Fluttershy. A second later, the harpoons launched at the giant at lightning speed, wrapping around their target.

The beast roared as the harpoon’s tightened their grip upon her. Just as she began to struggle, as surge of electricity blazed through the wires and into her body. The creature screeched in pain as the voltage continued to ravage her.

“Set voltage to maximum,” Thunderbolt barked.

While the general couldn’t hear the confirmation of his orders, the fact that the beast began to scream in pain even more than previously was evidence of his troop’s compliance. He smiled grimly, as she thrashed back and forth, battling to free herself. But it was all in vain, as the wires would not come loose and the electricity made it difficult for her to gain control of her muscle movement. She started to tumble to the ground, her mighty roars dissolving into whimpers of pain.

“Finally! That bitch is finally down!”

General Thunderbolt couldn’t help himself, but a smile crossed his face once more. Fluttershy was finally going to be beaten. The amount of electricity being poured into her body was unimaginable. However, even if it weren’t enough to kill her, it would probably be enough to knock the fight out of her. In reality, that was the all general really needed. He grinned and continued to watch, as Fluttershy remained trapped like a caged animal.

The creature gave a growl of pure fury. Like any caged animal, its captivity only made it angrier. And the angrier an animal got, the more dangerous it became. She slowly placed her front hoof firmly in front of her and pushed herself off the ground, with the other legs following the first’s example. She finally stood back on all four legs, standing firm and strong. Fluttershy growled as she wrapped her hooves around one of the wires holding her.

The general could only watch dumbfounded as the beast did the impossible. They were hitting her with an unimaginable amount of power and yet, against all this, she was still standing.

The beast unleashed a powerful bellow to the sky, signifying her power. She jerked the wire as hard as she could to her left, sending the first Hulk Buster robot to smash into the other. The machines toppled to the ground, their entire left half bent and shattered beyond recognition.

Fluttershy reestablished her grip on the wire for the first robot. Using all of her might, she whirled her body around in a spinning motion, dragging the machine with her. After giving it enough momentum, she released the wires from her grip, sending the machine straight for one of the mobile units.

Thunderbolt and every pony within the vehicle panicked, ducking for cover as Fluttershy hurled the metallic pony towards his only protection. The mobile unit shook violently, as if it was having its own personal earthquake. A very powerful earthquake. The sound of two metal forces slamming into one another pierced their eardrums like a burning needle. Every pony was tossed to the floor. Computer screens fluxed and some even shut down entirely. Electrical sparks were shooting from various wires. There was the smell of burning wires and hot metal in the air.

“Every pony out! Now!” Thunderbolt yelled.

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Flutterhulk screeched to sky with ferocity as the second Hulk Buster unit was slow to rise. The robot unleashed another missile at the beast. The missile slammed into the creature’s body, causing her to be tossed backwards several feet. Fluttershy regained her footing quickly, before the second missile impacted her. She remained upright and took a glance to her left. She saw the remains of one of the other Hulk Buster units she had previously destroyed. It was one of the limbs torn from the robot’s body. She picked it up with her hooves and tossed it into her attacker’s direction. Before the metallic pony had a chance to move, the limb cut through its right legs, causing it to collapse to the ground.

She unleashed another roar up to the sky. All of her opponents had been defeated. She turned herself around and started for her downed friend. She was breathing heavily. Her body was covered in burns and scratches.

It didn’t matter however, as they healed in mere seconds.

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Crumble finished wrapping the leg of the earth pony with the bandages he had found in Fluttershy’s travel bag. After firmly splinting the injury with the nearest stick he found, he cushioned the injury as much as he possibly could. As much as he tried to concentrate, however, the sound of the battle behind him was certainly distracting. There were the sounds of Tartarus breaking loose behind him. The creature’s cry of rage and pain, the sounds of gunfire and explosions, not to mention the screaming pony, whose leg he was working on. He could tell she was not one to suffer in silence. Not that he blamed her. It was painful. He just wished she wasn’t so darned loud.

There wasn’t much in the travel bag that he could have possibly used for padding, save for a small blanket. Still, he kept it tied to his back, just in case he needed it. He knew the injury wasn’t as severe as it could have been. But it was still a broken leg, and this pony needed proper medical attention.

He was about to rush back for help, to get a proper physician, when a large dark shadow came overhead. Fear suddenly took precedence. His breath stopped in its tracks as he slowly turned around. His eyes beheld the massive beast. It was larger than anypony Crumble had ever seen. It growled at him, inching forward. Crumble started to panic and began backing away from the injured pony in fright.

“No, Flyshy!” the fallen earth pony shouted. The beast stopped its tracks, turning its attention to her injured friend. “It’s okay.”

The beast didn’t move. She was still breathing heavily, however. Still growling at the Pegasus pony, as if she wasn’t sure that she could trust him.

“Is she... talking to her? To it?” Crumble’s mind raced. The fact that the beast had halted its movement was amazing. “Is she somehow able to control it?”

“Tell her its okay,” the earth mare whispered in his ear.

Crumble took a deep swallow. He wasn’t sure what he was doing. Here he was, an average stallion, face to face with the most unbelievable thing he had ever seen. Sure he had heard the stories, but he never imagined anything like this. The stories didn’t do her justice at all. He took a slow and steady step forward. “Fluttershy?” he asked.

The creature glared at him and gave a growl.

Taking a chance, he inched forward again. “It’s okay.” The creature’s shoulders, which had been tense, slowly started to sink.

“It’s alright.” He felt as if he was talking to a filly. Granted it was a very big filly, but her reactions to aggression and non-aggression was very noticeable. He continued to repeat his lines. “It’s okay. Relax. I’m a friend.”

Her bright emerald eyes eased their tension and her breathing became more controlled.

She was calming down. Crumble was astonished at this passive behavior coming from this seemingly rage driven creature. He wasn’t sure what to believe was more miraculous. The fact that Fluttershy was this unbelievable creature or that simply talking down this beast was more effective than trying to blow her up.

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Guam slowly stood up as he watched the beast turn around and trot away from the war zone. It insulted him to think she could just ignore them as if they weren’t even a threat. That he wasn’t a threat. He turned to his right to see one of the Hulk Buster units still on the ground. It was heavily damaged and sparking heavily. He also spotted the pilot inside. He looked conscious, but immobile.

Guam made his way to the soldier, taking to his side. “Does this machine here still work?”

The soldier moaned in pain. That wasn’t the respond Guam had wanted. He looked down to see a piece of glass had pierced his front hoof and it was bleeding badly. Guam put his hoof on the glass and started to push it deeper into the pony’s skin, slowly. The soldier screeched in agony.

“Does this machine still work?!” Guam shouted.

“No! Just the weapons!”

Guam released his hoof from the glass and grabbed the pony by his collar. He pulled the body out with just one hoof. The pony should have taken all of his strength to move, but Guam was able to move him with relative ease. He then tossed the pony to the ground.

After slipping into the robot’s cockpit, he could see the pony was telling the truth. The robot wasn’t mobile and wouldn’t be flying anytime soon. But he wasn’t being completely honest about the weapons. The Gatling gun, flamethrower, and electric wires were all off-line. However, there were still two missiles in the reserve. Which was all Guam really wanted.

“I’ll show you that nopony beats Guamadillius, Flutterbitch!” he seethed.

With those words, he pressed the switch and unleashed two missiles traveling at high speeds towards the great behemoth.

“Guam, you idiot!” he heard the general’s cry of disapproval. By the time Guam had fired his projectiles, he saw the familiar figure of the general’s son within breathing range of the monster.

The beast turned her head to see the missiles coming for her. With great haste, she expanded her wings and wrapped them tightly around the two ponies that stood before her. A second later, the missiles found their target, consuming her in a flash of fire.

“No!” Thunderbolt shouted. Thoughts of his son’s corpse filled his mind. This beast had cost him everything, and now it had cost him his son.

Guam meanwhile, could only look upon the destruction impassively, hoping that the beast was finished. “Sorry, general. But it had to be done.”

Just as the general began to mourn, a figure began to take shape through the flames. The green giant stood tall with her wings cradling the two ponies that she protected. Neither of them was moving. They couldn’t make out any other details. They weren’t even sure if either of them was alive.

The beast raised her head until her eyes met the general. A sharp growl is heard in the silence and a second later, the figure vanished into the flames.

Author's Note:

Author’s Note:

Hey, guys. Fireemblemspider here. Just want to thank you guys for reading Chapter 8 of the Incredible Flutterhulk. Please favorite if you guys enjoyed it. Also, click on the link to watch for more updates on this and future stories. http://fireemblemspider.deviantart.com/ And of course, don’t forget to comment below. Tell me what I’m doing right. Tell me what I’m doing wrong. Tell me what I can improve on so I can be a better writer, achieve my dream, and you guys can get better quality writing.

Also a big huge thank you to Brony1995 for his hard work and dedication. I know you have a had a lot on your plate lately and I want you to know that I really do appreicate your help.

And you guys can help me say thank you by following him and reviewing his work as well. Here's the link to Bronyman1995.

I want to thank all you guys for reading. Chapter 9 will come sooner than this one, so be on the look out for it. Have a great day you guys. Stay happy, stay safe, stay warm or cold or whatever it takes to make you comfortable. Party on.

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