Tale of a monster hunter

Chapters

Chapter One - Howling in the night (Edited)
Chapter Two - Poisoned Memories (Edited)
Chapter Three - Ghosts of the past (Edited)
Chapter Four - Smarter than they look (Edited)
Final Chapter - Pillar of light and hope
Prologue - The hunter (Edited)

Chapter One - Howling in the night (Edited)

Fluttershy stood before an old wooden sign. The wood started to rot a long time ago and the paint had faded, but was still readable. "Welcome to Ponyville!" it read. Fluttershy went onward, and, after a few minutes, finally reached the town itself.

Big dark buildings made of stone were mixed with much older wooden houses. Some of the wooden buildings had parts that looked really new. It seemed that this place had a big fire not a long time ago. The town square was filled with common ponies going for their business. With little regard for personal space, they strayed into groups, very close to each other. As Fluttershy passed by, she saw several beggars with signs, asking for food. Several of them were with kids. Not far from their place of 'work', several gritty shelters were built; probably not a single nail was used during its construction. Fluttershy also took a look at the market where most of the ponies dwelled. The place was so crowded and loud, it was hard to breathe. She noticed a big fenced off space where most of the traders kept their products. Every stack was carefully named so nopony would accidently take something. But it never happened accidently. Fluttershy also noticed several rats, crawling through the piles of food in this improvised storage.

Fluttershy didn't pay attention to all of this – after all, she was not here for medical revision of the market, besides, mayors were usually pretty greedy when it came to extra pay. She made her way through this market and reached the town hall.

She opened the ornamental door and went inside. This was very different from what she saw outside. The floor was covered with a pretty rug, probably made out of foxes. The wallpapers were bright and appealing to the eye, with interesting pattern consisting of circles, swirls and straight lines. All throughout the walls, candle holders were hanging, lighting the room with a sooth light. Behind the stand, in the middle of the room, a pretty red mare with dark mane was standing and smiling.

"Hello and welcome to the residence of Ms. Mayor Mare. How can I assist you?" she asked, without letting down that fake smile. Fluttershy walked over to the stand, pulled out an envelope from under her cape, and threw it on the stand.

"I've got an invitation from your Mayor," she said coldly.

"Oh, yes, Ms. Van Fluttershy, is it? We've been expecting you. Please, go upstairs. The mayor's office is just to the right," the secretary replied in a soothing voice. Fluttershy silently bypassed the stand and went upstairs.

The upper floor was even fancier than the reception room. The walls were full of paintings and pictures, depicting previous mayors of Ponyville. The last one was especially expensive – it was in color. Mayor Mare sure doesn't mind spending money on fancy things for herself, Fluttershy noted. She approached the most expensive door she found here. It was made from red beech – an extremely rare tree in these parts. The door handle was made from your typical metal, but was covered in silver. The door itself was nicely decorated, and fancy – a master's work, no doubt. Fluttershy opened the door and entered the room. Her eyes filled with tears immediately, for the room was full of tobacco smoke. She coughed as the disgusting fumes filled her lungs. Fighting the desire to run out of the room for some fresh air, she ventured inside. The walls were filled with all kinds of trophies – bull horns, wolf hides and even a dummy eagle. Instead of a rug, the floor was covered with a bear hide, colored in shiny silver. To the left of the entrance was a couch which looked very comfortable. To the right, some cupboards, imported from Gryphon Hill, stood. Inside of them, the Mayor kept some rare and expensive drinks. In front of the entrance, a desk, made from northern birch, stood , and Mayor Mare was sitting at the table, smoking a tobacco pipe.

"Ms. Van Fluttershy. You finally arrived. Please, have a seat," she said, looking arrogantly at her. Fluttershy sat down on the couch. Mayor Mare took a quick look at her (it's amazing how she can see through all this smoke).

"Isn't it a bit hot here? You can hang your cape on the rack if you want. The hat too," she said, smiling.

"No. I don't take off things when I'm at work. Especially the hat," Fluttershy replied.

"All right then," Mayor replied and put the tobacco pipe on the desk. "We're both serious ponies, so I'll get right to business. We have several reports of supernatural attacks in different parts of the town."

"Several, huh? You never mentioned that in your letter," Fluttershy said.

"Well, while you were on your way here, several...things....happened."

"Things, eh?" she sneered and Mayor looked at her angrily, then she continued.

"The most recent is from the maternity hospital. One of the personnel saw a dark figure, leaning over some little babies. She managed to scare it away, though, but I fear it will return," she said and picked up the tobacco pipe again.

"What else?" Fluttershy asked.

"The rest of the assignments I will put on the special board. After you're done with this one, go ahead and take the rest from it," Mayor replied, smiling.

"When do I get paid?" Fluttershy said coldly.

"After you've completed everything, come to my office and you will get your reward."

Fluttershy nod, got up from the couch, and was about to leave.

"Oh, if you need any help or information; there are Royal Guards stationed in our town. You can talk to their commander, Rainbow Dash, if I remember correctly."

Fluttershy froze in place. Oh, she would rather hear the cacophony of a siren concert instead of that name.

"What? Rainbow Dash? Oh, I will visit her, be sure of that," she said viciously.

"You know Commander Dash? Great, you will get along then! See you!" Mayor said her farewells. Fluttershy exited the room, and proceeded downstairs. Oh, yes, they will get along. Especially with such a 'wonderful' pony like Rainbow Dash!

Several minutes later, Fluttershy was already making her way to the Royal Guard outpost. For so many years she never heard that name, but now, the time has come to settle some old scores.
***

A few minutes later, she finally reached the outpost. The giant flag with Royal Guard insignia on the top of the building certainly navigated her through these filthy streets. Right in front of the building, a couple of guards gathered, like for some kind of show. Fluttershy slowly approached the crowd and squeezed through these massive armored stallions. They didn't seem to notice her, even when she pushed them away gently. Finally, she was able to see what show these soldiers considered to be worthy of note. She saw her old friends, those idiots from the inn, standing in line. Unfortunately, Fluttershy chose the wrong direction to enter, because now she was staring at their backs. But she was able to hear what was happening.

"So, you say some broad came into the inn and beat you up?!" a very angry, and yet so familiar voice spoke.

"Y..y..yes," their leader replied. He was stuttering – must be the shock after almost having his brain pierced.

"She was freakish! She had this wide brimmed hat and some kind of a blade on her wrist! She fought like a demon!" another one shouted.

"She cut my leg, Commander! Ahh!!" screamed the one who charged at Fluttershy in the inn.

"Damn, we have another freak on the loose. Like all this supernatural shit wasn't enough!" the voice roared. Smiling, Fluttershy pushed her way into center.

"I believe the world you are looking for is a poor victim," she said mockingly. All the guards quickly turned their heads to her, including those standing there lying in their commander's face.

"It's her! By the Ursa Minor's giant jaw, it's her!" one of them screamed, backing away in fear. Suddenly, they were moved apart violently by their commander, finally allowing Fluttershy to see her. Oh, she would never forget this multicolored mane. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. All these colors were proudly worn by Rainbow Dash. She didn't change at all since the last time they met. She looked right at Fluttershy. Oh, that little scar on the right side of her face, long and wide, and her blind white right eye. All these little presents Fluttershy gave her when they last met.

"Oh, so I finally get to meet... Wait a minute," Rainbow Dash said, surprised, and came closer to Fluttershy.

"You...So you were the one who attacked my soldiers?" she said, hiding the notes of hatred in her voice.

"Not really, commander Rainbow Dash. I was attacked by your soldiers, to be more exact," Fluttershy replied calmly.

"Don't you play games with me, Fluttershy! I know you – and you are as vicious as any demon!" Rainbow Dash reacted brashly.

"I am flattered. I could never even hope to hear such flattening words from you," she replied, smiling from under her hat. "I just entered the inn for a bottle of whiskey when I noticed your men getting absolutely drunk there. I wanted to avoid trouble, but their comments about my...flanks left me no choice."

Rainbow Dash turned her head around, almost boiling from anger. These poor fools looked at her with their eyes full of fear.

"I'll deal with you morons later," she growled at them and turned back to Fluttershy. "Why are you here? Usually you never crawl out of the inn, when there is no opportunity for gold."

"Well, Mayor Mare hired me to deal with some supernatural things here. Looks like you and your dimwitted friends over there are doing great work draining the town's alcohol supply and not actually solving anything," she said smiling mockingly.

"I try to help these ponies! You go where blood flows and tears fall, so you can profit from it. You seek only money and wealth where ponies bleed and cry! You circle around the battlefields where we fight the injustice and after the battle is over, you feed on the dead and wounded!" Rainbow Dash said, staring right into Fluttershy's eyes, looking to see hatred or even a bit of regret.

"Oh, powerful words, oh great leader. My services do cost, but you know why? Because I am the best. I do my job better than anypony. I actually justify my prices, but you seem to eat on governmental budget just because you wear the badges. What did your Royal Guard do to justify the taxes humble ponies pay? I can tell you, Dashie," she said, smiling viciously. "Not. A. Fucking. Thing!"

Rainbow Dash opened both of her eyes, both healthy and blind, as a grimace of hatred distorted her face. "You little piece of—"

"Calm down, Dash. You can't be angry when it's the truth. Besides, it looks like you will have to work with me if you want to keep your position in this town. Mayor wouldn't have called for me if you did your job properly," Fluttershy interrupted her, and then walked away as the guards parted before her.

Rainbow Dash turned to her soldiers. They looked at her; their hearts were filled with fear. Rainbow Dash looked completely calm – and it wasn't a good sign.

"50 strikes with the whip. Each," she said calmly as the guards dragged the delinquent away to exact their punishment. She then raised her head, watching Fluttershy walk away. She looked, and her scar started to pulsate with pain. Goddamn stupid bitch! Rainbow Dash would never understand what drove this greedy bounty hunter forward. What kind of a heartless bitch do you have to be to put money before the lives of common ponies?
***

Fluttershy slowly entered the maternity hospital through the main entrance. To her surprise, it was quite clean. Good thing that the Mayor at least cares about the children. A young nurse, a white unicorn with light-green mane, approached her.

"Ms. Van Fluttershy?" she asked quietly, it seemed she was very shy. Fluttershy looked at her and smiled.

"Yes, that I am. You have trouble with some supernatural creatures, I heard. I would like to talk to the pony that saw the beast," she said kindly, trying to calm the young pony down.

"Yes...she is a bit busy right now, but I will take you to her," she said, and started quickly going somewhere down the corridor. Fluttershy followed her. They walked past many windows through which one could see many children lying in their cradles, sleeping or screaming, demanding food. Finally, they entered the wing of the hospital which was far more quiet and sorrowful – here live those fillies and foals who were left by their parents. This wing was far more dark and depressing, but still very clean. On the note board hanging beside the doors which led to the cabinets, pictures were hanging; those which the caretaker of the group chose as the best. There were butterflies, rabbits, cows, and many other beautifully drawn animals. But amongst every set of happy and bright pictures, there was one drawn in black and white. A small representation of the author, standing on a hill, looking right at you. Above her head, a few words were floating; words that made Fluttershy turn away from the picture.

"Mommy, Daddy, take me home."

The letters were written very sloppily and the grammar was sometimes off. It was understandable, because only young ponies drew pictures like that. Very young ponies, when they still hope that they would have a family, just like everypony else.

Finally, they reached their destination. It was a door to a hall, a very simple one. Laughter could be heard behind the door. The nurse slowly opened the door and Fluttershy saw all the children sitting on the many chairs and benches, staring at the stage. There, a pink earth pony was juggling 5 pins at once while balancing on a ball, and, it seemed that way to Fluttershy, doing a stand-up comedy. A very lame stand-up comedy, one might say, but the children laughed like crazy.

After 5 minutes of performance, the pony jumped down from the ball and bowed down to the ground as the kegs fell right on her head. She stumbled and fell in a funny way. The hall laughed loudly and then applauded to her. She got up smiling and bowed down again.

"And now, my sweethearts, I have to leave! But do not worry, I will be back in no time!" she screamed happily and the hall applauded to her. After that, she ran away from the stage. The nurse nodded to Fluttershy, asking her to follow. They both carefully proceeded backstage as the children happily greeted one of their own, as he got up to the stage, preparing to sing.

Behind the stage, they finally met. The nurse approached the pony-performer and hugged her.

"Thank you, Pinkie. You were amazing as always," she said quietly.

"I wouldn't dare to be any less! I can't disappoint my little crowd after all!" Pinkie replied and smiled.

"The hunter arrived, you should talk to her immediately," the nurse said and quickly went away to the hall, probably to watch the rest of the concert.

Fluttershy approached Pinkie Pie and looked at her. Oh, by all that is holy, her eyes! Fluttershy had never seen eyes so bright and happy. It felt like she ate the sun, and now, she radiated happiness and warmth wherever she went.

"Oh, hello! My name's Pinkie Pie! What's your name?" she said and her mouth broke in a wide smile.

"Van Fluttershy," Fluttershy replied calmly. Suddenly, Pinkie started to jump in place.

"Oh, wow! A real Monster Hunter! I never saw a Monster Hunter before. But I know how they look like, with their wide-brimmed hats, and leather capes, and strange gadgets! So cool! Also, I wanted to ask, why do you have this Van in front of your name? Does it mean anything?" she asked, closing her eyes in joy.

"It's a tradition. Every monster hunter adds it to his name," Fluttershy replied, surprised by this pony's hyper active behavior.

"Oh, cool! That sounds like lots of fun!"

"Yeah, whatever..." Fluttershy grumbled. "What do you do here, anyway? You don't look like a nurse."

"Oh, I entertain them. I come here when they have these concerts and do tricks to make them laugh! Aren't they adorable when they laugh?"

"So, you work as a clown?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't work here. I work at the library, sorting books. I do this for free!" she said, smiling.

"For free? You do this for free?"

"Of course. I enjoy it and...It seems unfair to take money from kids," she said, and looked into Fluttershy's eyes. She turned away.

"Yeah, right. So anyway, let's get back to business," Fluttershy replied seriously. "I need you to tell me everything you remember about that beast."

"Oh, it was scary. I was just going through the corridor on the upper floor when suddenly, in the window, I noticed this BIG grey monster leaning over a cradle. I rushed inside and it hungrily turned its head to me. I made the scariest face I could, but it didn't back away. Instead, it attacked me! I dodged its attack and bit its arm. Its fur was so not-tasty and rough. It howled loudly and escaped through the window. Yuck, it tasted like big ball of fur!" she said, talking very quickly. Fluttershy barely managed to understand what she was saying.

"Hmph, you've got yourself a werewolf," she replied.

"Wow, a werewolf! It must be dangerous!" Pinkie replied.

"Let me be the judge of that. Anyway, you won't have to worry anymore. I'll deal with this monster," Fluttershy said, adjusting her hat.

"Can I...look? I've never seen how Monster Hunters work before."

"No. You're better off not knowing," Fluttershy replied coldly.

"Ahh, pleeease. I really do want to see. Pretty please!" Pinkie said, staring right at Fluttershy with her gigantic round puppy eyes.

"ARGH! All right, you can look! Just stop looking at me like that!" Fluttershy said, annoyed.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Pinkie shouted and proceeded to hug her. Fluttershy gently pushed her away.

"Just don't interrupt me, okay?"

"Okay! I will be as silent as a manticore in the shop...wait…" she replied, looking puzzled.

"Whatever. Wait for me upstairs, I need to prepare some traps," Fluttershy said and went away, looking for a quiet place to make some traps. She had no time to waste, so she decided to make traps right here, in the hospital. She just needed to make sure that no kids would stumble upon her.

After 10 minutes of search, she finally found a storage room where the janitor kept all his things. Because the janitor himself was at the concert, Fluttershy could safely make traps there and prepare herself.

Fluttershy took off her wristband and put it on the table. She carefully removed the little blade from it and reached under her cape to take her most precious weapon. The pinnacle of engineering, the perfect tool for a true hunter; a little decorative metallic tube didn't look threatening at all, but when Fluttershy attached it to the wristband and put a little silver bullet inside, it was ready to take lives. Fluttershy looked at this little masterpiece – she was attached to this pretty weapon. She called it Angel.

Now, it was time to make some traps. Fluttershy sighed – she didn't like to make traps. Not that she was bad at it – it hurt her, badly. She carefully untied the node that kept her cape on her, grabbed the cape with her teeth, and, slowly, gently started to take it off. She moaned in pain and frustration as it pierced her body, reaching every nerve she had in her body. She withstood the pain, slowly removing the cape and placing it on the table. Fluttershy turned her head to check on her wings, and the painful picture was renewed in her memory yet again. Instead of the great majestic wings Pegasi wore with pride, two tiny weak stumps rested on her back which were barely able to lift her up without causing her tremendous pain.
A few puny feathers were sticking out of them and Fluttershy actually noticed a few more growing. Maybe one day, they will be beautiful again and carry her into the sky. But now, they were a painful reminder of her first kill. It may sound strange, but these wounds were not caused by a monster, but by a pony.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard a noise. Startled, she quickly turned around, hiding her wings.

Who the hell is here?! Nopony is supposed to be here!

"COME OUT!" she growled ferociously. Her soul was overtaken by wrath and hope at the same time – whoever was hiding here, they've better not see her without the cape, but if they did see her, she'll tear them apart with her bare hooves!

"Please...don't be angry, I'm coming out," a weak childish voice reached her ears. A filly Pegasus jumped out of the box and landed right in front of her. She was of dark orange color and had purple mane and tail.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you on the concert?" Fluttershy asked, calming down a bit, but still sounding cold.

"I don't go to concerts. At all. All the kids bully me all the time," she said, sounding sad.

"Why?"

"I can't fly. I mean, at all! I tried but I can't! Stupid wings!" she replied quietly. Fluttershy looked over her head at her wings. They were really small; she never saw wings this small. Fluttershy turned away for a second, remembering something.

"Hmph...Listen...what's your name?" she asked nicely.

"Scootaloo..." the filly replied, almost crying.

"Listen, Scootaloo...so what? You can't fly – so what? You don't need wings to be great. And if anypony doesn't agree with you on this, and insults you because of this – you don't listen to them, you don't get sad. You punch them right in their arrogant face. As hard as you can," Fluttershy said, trying to express a smile that won't scare this poor thing away.

"He-he...okay...thank you, Ms. Van Fluttershy," she said, finally smiling.

"How do you know my name?" Fluttershy replied, surprised.

"You're the best monster hunter in the world! I heard so many stories of your adventures and heroic deeds!" she said looking at Fluttershy with her eyes full of hope.

"Heh, that's neat, kiddo. Stay safe...and visit the concert, okay? You can't show what you can do if you hide in the boxes all the time," she said, and Scootaloo ran away, smiling. This little filly had awoken so many scars on Fluttershy's soul, so many painful memories of her own childhood. After all this is done, she should visit this little filly. She seemed, like, very nice . But right now, she needed to deal with this werewolf.

Fluttershy turned to her cape which was lying on the table and turned it around. The internal side of the cape was composed of many pockets. Gun powder, the most precious thing, was lying safely in a waterproof pocket, knives of every size, and many metals were strapped to it in a special way – so they would not hurt her. Golden, silver, bronze, and a special blade she used for executions. Now, where were those...ah, there. She opened another pocket and took out a big carcass of a bear trap. It represented a jaw with sharp metallic teeth. It was completely safe for now, for it didn't have any mechanisms. Fluttershy carefully put every bolt and gear in place. After the mechanism was complete, she grabbed a bottle of liquid silver and carefully oiled the teeth of the trap.

Fluttershy knew that she was facing a young werewolf. Mature hunters never retreated from battle, so this one had probably never had a single bite of flesh. That must be the reason he crawled into the maternity hospital – some little chunks of meat, or little babies lying in their cradles – it was all the same to them.

Finally, all preparations were complete. The trap was ready and so was she. Fluttershy silently put the cape back on; it didn't cause that much pain when she was putting it on. She put the wristband with the Angel on her, and adjusted her hat.

"It's hunting time!"

Fluttershy went upstairs, and met Pinkie Pie there.

"You finally arrived! So, what are we going to do?" she asked smiling.

"You will stand back. If you are really so suicidal to participate in the hunt, I am not going to hold you back. But if you get hurt, don't come crying to me," Fluttershy replied coldly.

"You don't have to be so mean, y'know," Pinkie noticed.

"It comes with experience. Some call it adulthood. I call it sanity,” Fluttershy replied, giving her a piercing glance. Pinkie just smiled innocently.

"Wait here and observe from the window. You can have this," Fluttershy said, throwing a little crossbow to her with a leather strap on its bottom. "You attach it to your wrist. Tighten it out, or it might fall off. When I catch the werewolf, you point it at him. Just in case he fights back."

"Oh, cool!" Pinkie said, putting the crossbow on her wrist and tightening the strap. "Do not worry, Ms. Van Fluttershy, I will not fail you."

"Good. Tell the nurses to evacuate the children from the room of the previous attack. We will be staying there. Werewolves always come back when they failed to get to their prey," she said and went away to put the trap in place.
***

The night fell upon the world. The stars were shining brightly and the moon was full. Fluttershy always wondered why the black stains on the moon formed a unicorn head, but she could never think of an answer. The black clouds were randomly passing by this moon.

Pinkie was sitting in the center of the room, half asleep. After Fluttershy put the trap in place, she never got upstairs. She stayed on the street, hidden in a bush. So Pinkie was left alone in the room to wander. She napped for a few minutes several times, wrote a poem, and tried to prove a mathematical theorem in her head, but she was still bored. Finally, she heard something outside, and it wasn't Fluttershy.

A big, grey werewolf was slowly making his way through the hospital yard. Darkness was hiding him and he slowly crawled on his four paws. The front paws were much fitter to cut and rip than to walk, but the young one enjoyed walking this way. It made him look more menacing. He put his left paw in front to make a step when suddenly the trap closed, piercing his paw. The liquid silver added to the pain as it burned through his flesh, paralyzing his left hand entirely. He unleashed a loud howl and noticed a pony coming out of the bushes.

"The hunt is over for you, dog. Don't fight back and I'll ensure that you die quickly," Fluttershy said coldly.

"Grghr, you silly hunter! I am not alone, grhrg! You die now!" the werewolf gargled out words. Fluttershy smiled – of course he was not alone. Where younglings dwell, the pack followed. She noticed several shadows, running across the roofs. They were fast, agile, and nimble. In just several jumps, three adult werewolves landed right near her, growling, with froth dripping from their mouths.

"Ghrargh...my brothers will tear you apart, hunter!" the young one growled. Fluttershy looked at the adult wolves. Their claws were at least ten inches long, their teeth sparkled in the moonlight, and their eyes were full of primal rage and hatred. They couldn't talk, as they have long ago gave up into the feral state, but they felt affection towards each other and they were ready to protect their pack till the last drop of blood.

Fluttershy smiled viciously from under her hat. The young idiot just made her job easier – she wouldn’t have to hunt down the whole pack now. She lifted her hoof with the Angel, pointing at the biggest one.

"Howl!" she growled, and the Angel unleashed the bullet, piercing the big one's head, blowing away part of the brain. He fell down, as blood and the rest of his brain were flowing out of his head. His comrades were startled by the sound and dawdled for a second. The second was all Fluttershy needed.

She jumped on the werewolf closest to her, knocking him down. The wolf tried to fight back, but she rammed her hoof right into his throat, causing him to choke. Enraged, the last werewolf jumped right at her. In this moment, his and her eyes met. In this very short, small moment, the werewolf looked right into Fluttershy's eyes, and his heart filled with something the lycanthropy should have taken away; this heavy, metallic, hurting feeling of fear. Now, Fluttershy was the predator, and he was the prey.

She punched him right in the face, crushing his jawbones and causing him to lose balance and dig into the ground with his face. He tried to get up, blood streaming down his face, but Fluttershy got a hold of his head. She violently twisted it, breaking the werewolf's neck. Even Pinkie heard the disgusting sound. Smiling like a shark that smelled blood, Fluttershy reached under her cape and took that special blade – Moontongue. Its handle was decorated with two snakes twisting and entwining together. The steel reflected the moonlight, giving the impression it be made of ordinary metal which it wasn’t.

Fluttershy slowly approached the young werewolf, as he tried to crawl away in fear, crying and wimping like a little puppy. He completely forgot that he was twice her size; all that mattered now is getting away from this demonic pony!

Fluttershy came closer and closer, holding the blade in her mouth. She was smiling viciously, expecting a great execution. The werewolf unleashed his last howl, as she impaled his head and twisted the blade. The blood sprinkled from the wound, getting a bit on her face. Fluttershy didn't pay attention to that and drove the blade deeper then pulled it down, cutting the werewolf's flesh and bones right down to his belly. Then she pulled the blade out, admiring her work. The gaping wound exposed several of the werewolf’s internal organs, and blood streamed down his chest and onto the ground. A very good kill, indeed.

She wiped the blade on her cape and put it back under it. Every worthy enemy would stay in her memory forever – as a bloodstain on her cape. Pinkie leaned out of the window, horrified and amazed at the same time by this slaughter.

"By the sun's warming gaze!" she said, staring at all this

"So, did I satisfy your curiosity, Pinkie Pie?" Fluttershy asked and Pinkie just nodded silently with her mouth wide open. She sneered cynically.

"Call the Royal Guards to take care of the bodies. They finally have a job they can handle. Don't want any kids to see all this," Fluttershy said.

"Yes..yes! I'll get right on that!" Pinkie replied and went off. Fluttershy sighed – the poor pony would get nightmares about this for sure. She felt a bit tired after this day and headed off into the local inn for a good bed and maybe a drink. This day has been full of events, and even the best monster hunters need a nap.

She didn't want to stay in the hospital any longer. By some reason it was hard for her to be next to Pinkie – her happy attitude made her feel uneasy. The 'sorrowful' wing of the hospital didn't help that much as well; it woke up old painful memories. Right now all she wanted was a bath, and a bottle of whiskey.

Chapter Two - Poisoned Memories (Edited)

Mayor Mare was sitting at her table, smoking her tobacco pipe and revised the latest reports. So many complaints from the residents – it was baffling. The idiots wanted sufficient housing, health care, and a new school. Darkness take them, it was impossible! She recently gave out three times the budget for this winter to fix up the maternity hospital, and these fools wanted more! Every time the elections came, these idiots got more and more demanding. New school, new buildings, new hospital! What else would they want her to build – a bridge to the freaking moon?! Mayor Mare swept the papers away. Like hell they'd get that budget! Winter was soon, and she'd much rather give the gold to the Sweet Apple Acres, so they would have something to eat!

"The requests, eh, mayor?" a voice called out to her from the smoke of her own tube.

"Yes, the damn morons want their lives to be like fucking Canterlot! FUCK!" she screamed and jumped from her seat.

"Woah, watch your language, m'lady. We had an agreement – your financial problems will be resolved after our....'agreement' is fulfilled," the voice suavely reminded.

"Yeah, I know. Right now, everything is going according to your plan," she said and looked out of the window at all the crowd down there. Filthy maggots, crawling in the dirt, that's what they were! Leeches on her damn croup! Morons, idiots, alcoholics, bandits and just plain maniacs! This town was nothing but trouble since the first time she was re-elected.

The figure in the smoke took out a bottle of wine and put it on the Mayor's desk.

"Here, have a drink, mayor, relax. Everything is going to be fine, I am sure of it. The plan cannot fail, it's perfect," the voice said.

"I hope you're right. Still, I want to be sure," she replied.

"As you wish. Just don't fuck this up," the voice said, and the figure disappeared. Mayor Mare sighed with relief. This stupid idiot always loved to appear out of nowhere. At least he paid well. She opened the bottle of wine and drank; the only thing pleasing her soul in this rundown hole of a town.
***

Fluttershy was standing in front of the mirror. It was old, dusty, and cracked in a few places. She looked at herself – bloodshot eyes and a terrible headache. The hat was squinted. It seemed she didn't even take it off when she went to sleep. The cape was misplaced a bit, but that was no problem. Fluttershy sighed and took a comb from under her cape. She sometimes thought about how much this cape means to her – her protector, her helper, her trophy room. She took off her hat, and the cascade of her pink mane fell down. She looked in the window and started slowly combing her hair.

One time, a bandit caught her without her hat. He froze in place and just stared at her. Her beauty made him unable to move as he gawked at her gorgeous mane. Her pink curls flew on the wind and they rounded around her pretty face like a frame, capturing this moment of beauty. It seemed that bandit just fell in love at first sight. Too bad for him, for he continued to stare, as Fluttershy plunged the blade into his chest, killing him quickly.

Fluttershy smiled, straightening out the tangled curls. The pain it caused was nothing, almost unnoticeable for her. Some mares would brag if they had a mane like this, using it at every opportunity to get in the purse of a rich royal stallion. Fluttershy understood that a long mane could cause troubles in battle, but still, she didn't want to cut it off – she deemed it pretty adorable and being the monster hunter didn't mean she had to look ugly. After finishing combing her mane, she quickly hid it under the hat once again. But because she wanted to stay pretty didn't mean she would be any less professional.

Finally dressed and ready to go, she left a coin on her bed for the cleaning services and left. The morning wind was even colder than yesterday. The sky was yet again covered by grey muddy clouds, but the streets were empty. Most of the ponies were still slumbering, or started to get up, preparing to go on their daily routine. Fluttershy went to the special board which was hanging right on the town hall. The Mayor carefully pinned every request to this board, likely to free some space from her desk. Fluttershy quickly looked through all of them. They were all from different parts of the town. Feeling a bit hungry, Fluttershy decided to take the assignment from the farm. Maybe they'd let her have a bite of some apple pies after she was done. Ponyville produced some good quality bakery, and, once a year, a festival was held here. During it, the town was much cleaner and welcoming.

After several minutes of walking through the streets, she arrived to the Sweet Apple Acres. And what a sight it was! Hundreds and hundreds of apple trees; so much yellow and red! It was such a different sight from the dark-green forests or the grey town. This mix of colors pleased Fluttershy's sight and soul. Her concentration was interrupted by a loud argument.

"I told you before, and I will tell you again – I can't give you any more food supply! We barely scraped enough to survive the winter, let alone for trade!" a loud voice with interesting accent spoke.

"I'm sorry, but I have my orders. I was told to requisition food for the Royal Guard. So please, step aside, and let us take it," a indifferent monotone replied.

"And what do you suppose we should eat?! I've got a family, for sun's sake! Have a heart, would ya?!"

"Listen, I don't have time to deal with this shit! If you don't let me through, I'll have to arrest you!"

Fluttershy hurried up to take a look at this interesting discussion. When she arrived, she saw a guard and an earth pony, supposedly the owner of the Acre. She was of orange color and had a blonde mane. The hat she was wearing reminded Fluttershy of her own.

"Well, then go ahead, you iron head!" she growled at the guard. He seemed unimpressed. He just nodded to his comrades who stood beside him, and they formed a circle around the earth pony.

"You said it yourself," he replied. Fluttershy thought that it would be wiser to stay hidden, but she couldn't miss a chance to show these rascals and Rainbow Dash where they belong.

"Hey, officer, what's the matter?" she said while approaching them. The guard turned to her.

"None of your concern, hunter. Be on your way!" he replied angrily. Fluttershy just giggled.

"Hungry, eh? How about you stop wasting your money and buy some food instead of stealing it from the farmers?" she said, and looked right at this guard. "I recommend you get away from here as fast as you can. You know what I can do."

The guard grinded his teeth, but accepted, and told his comrades to follow him.

"And tell your commander that I'm sorry for that mess near the hospital," she mocked the guard one more time. They didn't react and just walked away.

"Thanks, hunter. I thought they were really going to arrest me," the earth pony said.

"I'll never miss a chance to piss off these idiots," Fluttershy said, smiling.

"I can't believe commander Dash just ordered them to take our food. I've supplied her for three months in advance, what else does she want?"

"Her soldiers eat a bit more than they should. Anyway, I heard you had some snake trouble," Fluttershy said, turning to her.

"Ah, yes, the hydra. The damn thing appeared in the pond and already ate several of my workers! We are cut from one of our gardens! All the squads Rainbow Dash sent there got eaten!" the earth pony told. "My name's Applejack, by the way. What's your name?"

"Fluttershy," she replied coldly.

"Seems very familiar. Rainbow Dash once mentioned something about you," Applejack said thoughtful.

"Did it have 'stupid', 'evil', and 'selfish' in the same sentence?" Fluttershy asked cynically.

"Well......yes," Applejack replied.

"I thought so. I'm a bit hungry – mind if I have breakfast here and get to work then?" Fluttershy asked.

"Sure. Granny Smith is making breakfast right now. You're welcome to join, we always value good company," Applejack said and went to the house.

Fluttershy sneered. Equestria still actually had some ponies that didn't drown themselves in self-pity, greed, lust or hunger for power. She remembered one time when the client tried to kill her, after the job was well done, in order to not pay. Poor chap was probably still eating through a straw. Still, first impressions could be false.

She went to the house. It looked very comfortable – not very big, but not too small. In some parts, the paint started to fade, but otherwise, it looked pretty new. The inside of the house was even prettier – it was bright, warm, and dry. The rug in front of the entrance was made of simple wool; you could buy these in any market. Fluttershy made her way to the kitchen. A big round table stood in the center with five chairs nearby. A big earth pony and a small filly were sitting at the table, expecting their breakfast. Soon, they were joined by an old earth pony; Fluttershy figured it was Granny Smith.

"Attention everypony, we have a guest today! Please, meet Fluttershy, the monster hunter," Applejack declared and Fluttershy stepped out of the shadows. "Fluttershy, this is my little sister, Applebloom," she nodded towards the little one, "this is Granny Smith, and my brother Big Macintosh," she nodded towards the big pony.

"Really? A monster hunter?" Granny Smith said as she adjusted her glasses.

"Wow! That is so cool! The hat, the cape – it all fits!" the little Applebloom said, jumped from her chair, and approached Fluttershy. "Rainbow Dash told me about monster hunters. But she said they are all selfish bounty hunters who care only about profit. You don't look, like, selfish at all."

"Applebloom, it's not nice to talk to strangers without introducing yourself first. Go back to your seat," Applejack said discontentedly.

"Okay...sorry," Applebloom said resentfully and went back to her seat.

"Well then, Fluttershy, take a seat; the cake is ready!" Applejack said, smiling, and went away to take the cake from the stove. Fluttershy silently sat down near the Big Macintosh. He didn't pay attention; he seemed too occupied with his own thoughts. Applejack brought the cake and put it in the center of the table, preliminarily dividing it into several pieces. The room was filled with the sweet smell of freshly baked bread. Applebloom was almost jumping on her chair, craving for that cake. Fluttershy wondered when the last time she was actually eating at a legitimate table in a warm house was, and not in some rundown inn watching out for her purse. This warm atmosphere of an actual family was so relaxing and, even if Fluttershy was a complete stranger to them, she still felt comfortable. She closed her eyes, letting herself drown in this welcoming atmosphere of an actual home, a place where you would want to be...
***

"Hey, pink-mane, pass me the salt," the unicorn with pitch black mane rudely ordered. "Hey, Fluttershy, are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"

"O..okay..." she replied unsurely, and slowly passed him the salt. Then she looked at her breakfast – a mish-mash of hay, vegetables, and ketchup; completely uneatable unless you had salt – which she had just passed. Fluttershy sighed – might as well just leave. She left the table, and went out of the canteen. She hated her group – they never left her alone, never let her sit down in the corner and sob a bit.

She walked through the grey corridor which lead from the canteen to the living rooms. They were large, sometimes several groups slept together in one room. Eventually, there weren't enough beds to put all the kids to sleep, and somepony had to sleep on the floor. Usually, it was Fluttershy.

The dull grey walls were worsening her headache – she never had a good sleep, the floor was usually too cold to sleep. The only thing she got was a thin bed sheet; which didn't warm her at all. The headache was getting worse and worse, and Fluttershy decided to look out of the window. There was a yard with old rusty metallic swings, a merry-go-round which didn't work, and a field for volleyball, overgrown with grass. Thick white mist was slowly crawling down on the ground, which usually meant that the caretakers won't let them go outside – it wasn't unusual for children to run away from here at night or when it was misty. Fluttershy thought about this a lot, but she never had the strength to do it. She looked outside hopelessly – was she really destined to live here forever? Would this orphanage be her prison for the rest of her life?

"Hey, pink-mane!" a voice rudely interrupted her thoughts. Fluttershy turned around to face a big Pegasus with silver mane and green coat. Blazing Wind, the queen as others called her. Despite being a girl, she loved fighting and despised anypony lesser than her.

She was always surrounded by a group of kids who obeyed her every whim. They changed from time to time as she grew tired of them.

"What are you doing here? You know that only big girls are allowed not to go to breakfast," she said, coming close to Fluttershy. She was cornered near that window.

"I– I– I didn't mean to—," Fluttershy said, with a voice that trembled with fear.

"You didn't mean what; to insult me? Sorry, you already did!" Blazing Wind replied, and struck her across the face which caused Fluttershy to fall down on the cold floor.

"Oops, is it too much for you, Fluttie?" Wind grinned evilly, and stepped right on Fluttershy's wing. She shrieked loudly in pain and agony.

"Oh, my, why so loud! You don't fly anyway. You're too weak for it! You hear that?" Blazing Wind whispered right in her ear. "You're weak and insignificant! I can do whatever I want to you, and nopony would even care! I bet your own parents left you because you were weak!"

Fluttershy held back tears, and only moaned from the pain. It was almost impossible to withstand such suffering, as the pain in the wings was only multiplying, but Fluttershy didn't cry. If she did, everypony else would laugh at her.

"Leave her alone!" a brave voice reached her ears. Enraged, Blazing Wind turned to the source of it.

"WHO WAS IT?! Who do you think you are giving me orders?" she said, and suddenly went silent.

"Leave her alone, or I will make you regret that!" this angry voice said. Blazing Wind stepped away from Fluttershy.

"You're not worth it, pink-mane. Ha!" proclaimed she proudly and walked away from her.

Fluttershy was lying on the floor with her eyes closed, afraid to move a muscle. Suddenly, that same voice talked to her, only this time it was kind.

"Are you all right?" it said. Fluttershy opened her eyes to see a pair of two kind purple eyes looking right at her.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," she said, and helped Fluttershy to get up. She slowly turned her head and looked at this pretty blue colored Pegasus with multicolored mane.

"My name is Rainbow Dash. What's your name?"

***

"Fluttershy, are you all right?" Applejack interrupted her descent into memories.

"Oh? Ah, yes. I just…didn't sleep very well today..." Fluttershy answered and shook her head as if she just awoke from a dream. The plate with a piece of cake was lying right before her. She quickly ate it, enjoying the taste. So sweet compared to the leftovers the innkeepers called 'soup'.

The time passed by, as they continued to sit around.

"Fluttershy, can I ask you something?" Applejack said whereupon Fluttershy silently nodded while chewing on another muffin. "Do you have a family?"

Fluttershy froze in place, and slowly swallowed the muffin. That came out of nowhere. She struggled to find an answer, thinking of everything she could remember as an excuse.

"I travel a lot. I don't really have time for it," she replied.

"Well, what about your parents?" Applebloom intervened in the conversation. Applejack looked at Fluttershy, supporting this question.

"I don't have a family. That's all," she replied coldly.

"That's not right, dear. Everypony should have a family," Granny Smith said.

"Eyup," the big pony whose name was Big Macintosh agreed.

"It seems I will be the only one. Thank you for the warm welcome. I'll get to work now," Fluttershy replied before she got up and went outside quickly. She always hated when ponies started asking about her family. It was not their fucking business!

Applejack followed her immediately. She approached Fluttershy with a guilty smile on her face.

"Hey, listen, I didn't want to insult or anything. I'm sorry, all right? Didn't know you had them...parent problems," Applejack said, but realized, a little too late, that she just made the situation worse.

"Oh, I have problems. I have a LOT of problems. But family is not one of them!" Fluttershy snapped with mild annoyance in her tone. "I've lived long enough to realize its unimportance."

"Don't say that! Everypony has a family, regardless," she defended, trying to fix the situation.

Fluttershy slowly turned to her, piercing her with an angry gaze. "Listen, you don't know me. You don't know my life. So don't stick your nose into my soul, okay?! Good. I'll kill this hydra and be on my way," she rebuked, sounding very pissed off.

"Okay...sorry," Applejack said, regretting the decision of asking that question.

"Do you have any quiet place where I can revise my equipment without being disturbed?" Fluttershy asked bluntly.

"The barn should be empty right now," she suggested, and Fluttershy went there. Applejack tilted her head, watching her go. Something was odd about this hunter – very odd. She should definitely talk with Rainbow Dash; ask her to tell the whole story.

Fluttershy entered the barn and found a table where the farmers usually sorted the apples. She always found hydras a more interesting prey than any other monster – it was not a question of gadgets or tools, it was all about your strength and agility. However, preparations were always necessary.

Fluttershy reached under her cape and took out a bottle of strange blue liquid and a syringe. There were two types of hydras – common and poisonous ones. Hydras developed venom when they ate specific plants which didn’t grow in Equestria, but far to the south, in the warm lands, they did. So the venomous hydras did not inhabit Equestria – unless somepony imported the plants from the south and fed it to a hydra. During the War of Clans, this tactic was used. Nowadays, it never happened – unless you were powerful enough (and foolish enough) to have a domestic hydra and wanted it to be poisonous. Still, there were no guarantees in the hunt – you couldn’t be too prepared. Fluttershy filled the syringe with the liquid from the bottle and injected it. She felt a bit nauseous and her visions blurred, but it was just temporarily. The antidote that ran through her veins and her heart would ensure that, if she were to be poisoned, the hydra's poison wouldn't kill her. Now, all that was left was to choose a proper blade. Fluttershy decided to pick a common metallic blade, just extra-long. She replaced Angel with the blade, and gently hid it in her cape. Now, time to move out.
***

"What do you mean she didn't let you take it? Applejack may be a bit stubborn sometimes, but eventually she will agree!" Rainbow Dash shouted at the guard whom she had sent to requisition the food.

"Well, everything was going....relatively well, until....the monster hunter showed up," he stuttered.

"What?! Agh, son of a...! First she beats up my soldiers, and then she turns us into some cleaners for her mess, now this!" Rainbow Dash raged whereupon the guard slowly backed away from her, for he knew that the commander had quite a temper. Finally Rainbow Dash cooled off a bit. She went to the window and looked outside. The market was crowded with insects and rodents, and the streets filled with the poor and the beggars — and there was nothing she could do. She couldn't just go to Mayor's office and make her care. The law she promised to uphold and enforce bound her. Maybe Fluttershy was right, and she couldn’t do anything to help Equestria? Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and remembered the words her mentor, commander Pure Heart, said to her:

"Remember, Rainbow, no pony is above the law."

Rainbow Dash turned to the guard. No pony was above the law – and Fluttershy thought that being a monster hunter gave her the right to do everything. Every monster hunter thought this way. That is why she joined the guards – to fight for truth and justice, and not for coins.

"I'll talk with Applejack myself. You are dismissed," she dismissed the guard and he quickly left. Rainbow Dash swiftly looked at the picture of her mentor on the desk; it was strapped with a black ribbon. Whatever happens, she would stay loyal to her principles. She sighed, got up, and went to Sweet Apple Acres, expecting a hard talk with Applejack.
***

The wind blew through Fluttershy's hair as she approached the grove where the hydra was. At this time, the hydra is probably hunting here, so Fluttershy didn't need to worry – it would find her. She slowly walked through the grove, watching for every movement, every sound. Her blade was ready to cut, and her soul was prepared for another fight. Her mind already made up some sweet ways to execute the overgrown reptile.

Finally, she heard a hissing which seemed to come from behind three apple trees. Fluttershy smiled, for this hissing meant an intention to attack. She moved her wrist and the blade snapped out of its resting place, ready to cut, while the ground began to shake, and trees started to drop like leaves.

The sound of cracking wood pierced the wind, as the hydra rushed towards Fluttershy with a speed that shouldn’t be possible considering its size. But Fluttershy was quicker, as she dashed to the left, evading the attack. The hydra quickly turned around and hissed with all its three heads which were all as big as Fluttershy, and it could swallow her in the blink of an eye. The middle head dashed towards her, intending to do just that. Fluttershy quickly ducked to let the head fly over her head, then moved her hoof with the blade upwards and slashed. The two other heads roared in pain as the middle head tried to shake her off; Fluttershy quickly cut the hole wider and wider. Then, she, through disgusted by the idea, rammed her blade right inside the neck, causing its edge to come out the other side. The hydra reared its head, and Fluttershy quickly clung to the hydra who took her up. She didn't pay attention to that as she sliced the muscles that connected the head to the main body, severing the middle head which fell down and spilt sticky blood all over the place. Fluttershy jumped off and landed near it. The remaining two heads unleashed a terrifying roar, as the left one puked some green liquid right at her. Fluttershy suddenly felt very sick, her vision started to darken, and her headache became unbearable; Poison.

Fluttershy could barely hold her balance as the right head used itself as a hammer that smashed right into her and sent her flailing against a tree. She stood up while she felt her breakfast coming up her throat. She held it back, as the left head rushed in for the kill. Fluttershy barely managed to dodge this attack, and the head which she just dodged rushed past her, biting a tree instead. Its fangs got stuck inside it and it angrily tried to free itself while Fluttershy gathered all her strength and slashed the neck right where the head was connected. The pain forced the snake to dash back, snapping off all its teeth that were still stuck in the tree trunk. The right head roared as the left head, barely connected to its neck, dangled in the wind. Fluttershy smiled, but her strength was leaving her. Her knees gave in and she fell down on her wings. The world started to spin, the disgusting mass was slowly coming to her mouth, and colors started to change. The green became blue, the sky became purple, and the hydra looked like a demon. The hallucinations were really distracting, as she tried to concentrate on the last remaining head. Fluttershy realized that she couldn’t kill this last remaining head in a fair combat, so she just stood there and waited. The last head wasted no time, quickly dashing towards her and gobbling her up.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad inside the hydra, if you could ignore all the pulsating veins as well as the terrible smell; this horrendous smell that reached Fluttershy's lungs and awakened her briefly from this acid trip. She impaled the neck from inside and twisted the blade, thus widening the bleeding gash, cleaving the head from the hydra's body. After losing the last head, the body helplessly fell down and Fluttershy crawled out of the hydra, covered in poison and blood. The world was still swirling around, and threw different colors at her. She tried to walk forward, but slipped on a puddle of the hydra's blood and fell down. She looked up to the sky, and it suddenly changed its color to green. Losing strength, Fluttershy slowly fell asleep.
***

Rainbow Dash approached Sweet Apple Acres. Ah, nothing changed here at all. Just like the first day she was assigned here in Ponyville. Just like every autumn, the groves of the apple trees dressed up into all shades of red and yellow. She always thought that the nature was much more beautiful in autumn than in any type of the year.

Not far away, she saw Applejack, who seemed to be taking a walk, and quickly approached her.

"Applejack, I need to talk to you!" she began seriously.

"How ironic. I want the same thing. Why are you requesting even more food from us? I've already supplied you for winter, what else do you want?!" Applejack snapped at her, sounding really angry.

"The amount you gave was twice lower than expected! You forgot to mention that detail! Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"The harvest this year was twice lower than expected too. That is the reason."

"Oh, listen, Applejack, we're friends, right?"

"Right..."

"So, how about you supply me and my soldiers with food, and I will assign my men to guard your supplies?"

"Hmm, the attacks from the raiders are quite often this time of year. I think I'll agree. I hope we'll have enough food to manage winter," Applejack said thoughtfully.

"Don't worry. I'll try to convince the Mayor to buy food from other towns. I hope she'll listen,” Rainbow Dash tried to assure her.

"I doubt it, but still, never lose hope," Applejack replied which brought a smile onto Rainbow Dash’s face.

She and Applejack became quite close friends since she arrived here. Some thief once tried to steal Applejack's purse, but Rainbow Dash quickly seized him – that was how their friendship began. They always helped each other when need be, and, when there wasn't much work, they hung out together in parts of the town that weren't full of filth.

"Did the eponymous monster hunter arrive here yet?" Rainbow Dash inquired.

"Yes, though she's already departed to fight the hydra," Applejack drawled casually, and Dash's jaw dropped.

"FIGHT THE HYDRA?! ALONE?! This is suicidal, even for her!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"What's so wrong about it?" Applejack tilted her head as Rainbow Dash fixed her with her glare.

"Have you ever seen an actual hydra?"

"No..."

"The smallest one can crush your whole house in an instant! It's suicide to try to fight it one on one! She's not only selfish, she's suicidal!" Rainbow Dash explained and hurried up to the pond where the hydra was last seen.

After about ten minutes of running through the groves of apple trees, she finally found the battlefield and was utterly shocked. Fluttershy was lying in the pool of hydra's blood, with the beast's headless body lying right behind her. Rainbow Dash quickly approached the seemingly unconscious Fluttershy. Just as she took the last step towards her snapped she her eyes open.

"Oh....Rainbow.... didn't think I would see your ugly face here...." – she drawled drunkenly at the newcomers.

"Shit...you're poisoned! That's the effects of the hydra venom! I need to get you to doctor right now!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Get away from me, Dash...I need no help from you!" Fluttershy growled, and, to Rainbow Dash's surprise, actually got up.

"Sometimes I wonder if you really are a pony. Now I see: you are a demon. You just won't die," she said gloomily.

"Fuck off..." Fluttershy snarled, and started slowly walking away, tripping and falling with every step.

Rainbow Dash looked towards her. So many years have passed since their last rather unfriendly meeting. She was angry at Fluttershy for her selfishness and indifference for the pain of others, for causing her pain...but somewhere deep down within her soul she hid a dream... that everything would change.

Fluttershy slowly walked away from the battlefield, once again victorious. The antidote, while not saving her from the effects of the poison, neutralized it, and protected her from a painful and agonizing death. Two or three hours – and she would be all right. Fluttershy wondered; why did Rainbow Dash even come here? Why would she try to help her? It made no sense. Maybe she wanted her to feel guilty; maybe she was trying to be a hero. That didn't matter – the hydra was dead, and the job was done. Before getting the next assignment, Fluttershy decided that it would be wise to take a break and rest for a day. Going to the market, buying something, and make some new weapons and gear – a very good relaxation for her. She tripped on the stone, and leaned on the tree, trying to hold her balance. It was strange to see a venomous hydra here. Maybe it was just a coincidence, and some filthy rich bastard was now wondering where his hydra went. Maybe it was a leftover from the War of Clans. Who knows, but Fluttershy didn't think too much about it. She didn’t get paid extra for investigations.

Chapter Three - Ghosts of the past (Edited)

"Hello, and welcome to Cakes Family Bakery! How may I assist you?" Ms. Cake asked when Fluttershy entered the bakery.

"Um.. hello... I would like to buy...a..um... a cake," stated Fluttershy, making long pauses while speaking.

"Well, we have all kinds of cakes. Take a look at our display and pick the one that you like," she said, smiling. Fluttershy approached the display wherein all kinds of bakery products were arranged. She felt a bit hungry with so many sweet things right before her eyes. But a very small fact knocked her right back into her senses – the prices were abnormal. A small cake would cost as much as a good sword – and that was the cheapest one.

"You know, I think the cake is a bit much... do you sell muffins?" said Fluttershy who tried to smile – she failed. The poor Ms. Cake looked as if Fluttershy was trying to eat her.

"Yes, of course we do. Here, take a look!" she spoke, and put a tray before her with muffins of every color and size; so many to choose from! Fortunately, they seemed to cost much less than the cakes – the cheapest one had the same price as a dinner of three courses.

"Nice. I'll take the blue one," decided Fluttershy and Ms. Cake smiled.

"You have a good taste! Will you be eating here, or outside?"

"It's a present. Could you package it in some pretty way?" she questioned. Ms. Cake looked at her surprised – a package for one muffin was quite unusual.

"All right, then. Wait a second," she went away for two minutes. When she returned with the muffin, it was packaged in a foil with a pretty red ribbon attached to it. "Here you go!"

"Thank you," Fluttershy thanked, and threw a bag of gold on the counter, afterwards putting the muffin under her cape in the hope it wouldn’t crumble apart, and left the bakery.

The streets were full of ponies that were going somewhere. As Fluttershy passed them by, they turned around, whispering things that were indistinct to Fluttershy. The news of her morning battle with the hydra passed across like a plague. It was almost three o'clock, but it seemed as if the whole town knew what happened. Some were talking about a hydra being the size of a castle; others replaced it with the dragon. Ponies certainly loved to talk about nothing.

She made her way through the streets, and soon, she reached the maternity hospital. As she walked through the halls to the orphanage wing, she thought about how many years had passed since she was a child. She met quite a lot of ponies which dreamt of becoming a child again, of being not serious yet again, running around and playing games all day long – that was what usually meant to be a child, to have fun.

Growing up in an orphanage took away many things, but it also gave something in return; something that not many would understand, or accept. It was like a trial, a fight children were forced to endure. Those who endure had a chance of having a normal life, just like anypony – your own family, your own little house, your own life. Those who were broken by the difficulties, and were unable to live with the fact that they were not needed, took evil into their heart; the everlasting anger, hatred, greed, desire or just a plain grudge. They could be defeated by it, fall to it or... tame it, make it their weapon in the fight to live in this world. It happened very rarely, and never on itself. There must be a teacher, a mentor. Somepony who could guide you, train you, help you turn your evil into the greatest weapon, a weapon that would make your heart harder than granite.

Fluttershy reached the game room where most of the kids were at this time. She rapped on the door and a caretaker, a pretty unicorn with green mane, opened the door.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked.

"Is Scootaloo here right now? I would like to talk to her," Fluttershy inquired. The caretaker looked at her quite surprised.

"Yes, she's here. I'll call her for you," she nodded and closed the door. In a minute, Scootaloo came out and closing the door behind her.

"Ms. Van Fluttershy? You're back?" she looked up to her with big surprised eyes.

"Yeah, I just..uh... wanted to know how are you’re doing," Fluttershy replied and grinned awkwardly.

"I'm doing okay, thank you. I'm in a bit of trouble, however," muttered Scootaloo who cast her eyes down.

"What's the matter?"

"Well, I followed your advice, and when some ponies tried to mock me again, I...“ she mumbled, biting her lip.

"Got into a fight, eh?"

"Yeah... I'm sorry if I misunderstood your words and you didn't mean that I really needed to punch anypony—"

"That was exactly what I had in mind. Believe my experience, it doesn't matter how much rebukes they will get, until you let them taste a bit of their own blood, they will never leave you alone," Fluttershy said, feeling a bit proud, "Oh, also, I have a little present for you here."

She took out the muffin that was still securely wrapped in the foil, and gave it to Scootaloo. Her eyes became as wide as dinner saucers when she saw it.

"Is it... for me?! A muffin from the Cakes Bakery?! Thank you so much!!!" she shouted as she unpacked it.

"They are so sweet and tasty... and we never get sweets in the canteen! Thank you so much!" she shrieked, and jumped right at Fluttershy to encase her in a hug.

"He-he... all right, kid. Glad you like it..." she replied awkwardly, and Scootaloo let her finally go.

"Nopony ever gave me presents before! Thank you so much!" she said, jumping in place and smiling.

"Good...good.... want to take a walk? I don't like standing around for too long," offered Fluttershy and the orange filly nodded. Soon, both went through the corridors together.

Scootaloo started telling Fluttershy many stories, most of them she picked up from books and fairy tales. Fillies this age had such rich imagination. Fluttershy remembered that she used to write songs and music, sometimes even singing them for herself.

They made their way out of the hospital and started circling around it in the yard. The rare trees were colored red and yellow as sparrows quietly played in their foliage. Fluttershy's soul, for all these years, felt peace. Memories, that didn't hurt, but were sweet and beautiful, came back into her mind.

***

"That's a really cool song!" Rainbow Dash asserted after Fluttershy finished reading the lyrics. She smiled in return.

"Thank you! I've been working on these since last week. They took much time and efforts, but it was worth it!" she replied.

"One thing though – you write a lot about, you know, nature and friendship and stuff... could you write something... well... cool?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying not to offend her.

"Well, I can try. I'm not that experienced in the way of coolness, though," mumbled Fluttershy as a faint red crawled upon her cheeks.

"Don't worry, I can help you! You know, imagine that you are in a race, and you're going nose to nose with your arch-nemesis! The wind is blowing through your mane, the crowd is cheering, and the finish is close! It's you or your enemy! You speed up, and so does he! But, in the last second, as the last effort, you speed up and... BOOM!" she screamed as she jumped on her bed. "You finish first, and win the gold medal! That is awesome!"

"Okay... yeah... a race... good," Fluttershy replied. She never participated in any race. Not with her wings.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a race. Anything that makes you feel at the top of the world will do!" Rainbow Dash said and Fluttershy nodded – that would be much easier indeed.

"You want some sweets?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"Sweets? Um...well, yeah... but where are you going to get them?" Fluttershy asked perplexedly.

"Blazing Wind keeps some in her room. I knew exactly where!"

"Oh... but won't we get in trouble for stealing?"

"Pff, don't worry. I am as silent as the night itself. Besides, what could she do to me? She's just a dumb bully. Don't worry; I'll protect you if something happens."

"Thank you, Dash," Fluttershy smiled at her friend.

"I'll be back in no time. Wait for me here!" Rainbow instructed, and went out of the room. Fluttershy smiled even more – it was so good to have a good friend, one who was always ready to support you.

***

"Scootaloo... do you have any friends here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Not… really. Nopony wants to be friends with me. Don't know why..." she responded sorrowfully. "Can you...be my friend?"

Fluttershy stopped right there. She was very careful with making friends, as the last friend of hers left a gaping wound in her soul and crippled wings. She really wanted to say no... But she couldn't bring herself to do it. After all this was done, her life would considerably change for sure.

"Of course, I can be your friend," mumbled she shyly.

"Yay! I finally have a friend! And not just a friend – a badass monster hunter!"

"Where did you learn that word?" Fluttershy asked in a surprised tone.

"Pinkie called you like that when she was telling about your battle with the werewolves," Scootaloo said innocently.

"Figures," Fluttershy replied, and they continued their peaceful walk around the yard.

She found out a lot about her little friend during that walk. The way she looked at her made Fluttershy cry a little on the inside – she looked at this little thing, and saw herself. Only she was much happier than Fluttershy was – maybe because she just made her first friend, and that this friend was not a treacherous asshole.

The time flew by, as they spent it all talking. About two hours later, they finally decided to stop.

"I'll have to go now, kid. I've still got some things to do," Fluttershy announced, and Scootaloo’s expression turned gloomy.

"Oh, why do you have to leave so soon?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow, I promise."

"I'll be waiting for you!" she chirped, and ran away. Fluttershy looked at her, and wondered, how this happened. Why did she suddenly get so attached to this kid? Maybe that was a good thing, and she would finally find some peace in this rotting world.

The rest of the day was hers to spend. She decided to head to the market to buy some grindstones -–smaller than those in a smithy, but still pretty useful. Every blade required a certain amount of care; oil them to protect them from rust, and a hoof to sharpen them. Some demanded less, some more, but all received it.

***

Rainbow Dash was sitting at her desk in her office, looking at yet another unsolved case. These things were slowly piling up on her desk, creating mountains of paper which forced her to do more paperwork. The fun thing was that if they skipped some procedures during investigations, they could have caught the criminals. But the law demands so, and so should it be.

The other pile of papers on her desk consisted of complaints from the residents of Ponyville about the behavior of her soldiers. Looting, fighting, sometimes sexual harassment – all kinds of things they called 'harmless fun'! Well, this harmless fun was bringing horrible headaches for their commander.

Fluttershy's visit brought even more doubts into her soul. Just in two days she fixed so much Rainbow Dash would spend at least two years solving, with all the procedures and questions. She really didn't want to believe it, but Fluttershy did more for this town than Rainbow Dash could ever do. She looked at the picture of her beloved mentor.

"I'm trying so hard to help... I uphold and enforce the law, just like you taught me... and yet 'lawless rascals', these monster hunters you so despised, do more than I could ever hope to do.... What am I doing wrong, Pure Heart?" she demanded and looked thoroughly at the picture, like expecting it to answer. She imagined what he would say now.

"You must never give up, Rainbow. Every problem has its solution; you just have to look closer."

Yes, like it’d be that easy. Rainbow Dash looked at the stack of papers, and fell down on her desk – so much paperwork! She couldn't stand the neat handwriting of complaints anymore! This word, written in big red letters, was the bane of her existence. Rainbow Dash sighed heavily, and decided that now was a good time to take a break. Besides, the pub shouldn't be too crowded right now, and she would be able to drink in peace. With these thoughts, she went out of her office, and ordered the secretary to sort the files Dash already signed. The secretary nodded silently, and Rainbow Dash left the building and went towards the pub.

She opened the doors and inhaled this horrible, and yet so dear smell of an old place. This place was the oldest in Ponyville, it was the second thing that was built. The first one was the Acres. The walls were covered in fading yellow paint; the tables were old and crumbling. There was an inscription on the left wall, the pride of this pub – the autograph of King Lazarus who visited Ponyville several centuries ago during his reign. He really liked the cider that was made here, and carved his initials on the wall of the pub as a sign of gratitude. This signature was painted over by vandals almost every year, and every time the current owner removed the paint so the signature would stay here forever.

Rainbow Dash approached the bar.

"Oh, Commander Dash. Unusual to see you here," the bartender greeted, sounding surprised. "Usually it's only some guards on patrol, but the commander herself..."

"Don't get used to it," Rainbow Dash grumbled.

"Yes, yes, that's what everypony says. Just this one time, this one last time. They always come back for more. Anyway, what do you want?" the bartender responded sarcastically.

"Cider, please," Rainbow Dash odered. The bartender quickly poured the cider from the big barrel into huge wooden mug, and handed it to her. The liquid was hissing and bubbling. Rainbow Dash drank some – tasted like apple juice, only much more sour. It left a strange taste on her tongue, only strengthening the thirst. She didn't understand why King Lazarus liked this cider, but maybe it was different several centuries ago. Or maybe this cider was several centuries old.

Rainbow Dash noticed a quiet corner with a table and two chairs. She bought another mug of cider and sat down there. Looking around, she wondered why some ponies visited this place every day, sometimes even skipping work (or, in some cases, school) to come here. This place looked dreadful and the drinks were terrible. The old walls barely held the outside cold, so if not for the fireplace and warm fumes of alcohol, it would be colder than outside. Rainbow Dash drank a bit of her cider and thought about the oncoming winter. The amount of crime would surely skyrocket – ponies needed to eat, and the food had been rather pricy this autumn. Everything indicated that there would be yet another Winter Crisis. As much as that sounded strange, she loved dispersing the crowd during the riots. The feeling of control she got when the crowd was being cornered and decided to go home. That sense of victory! Maybe the winter wouldn’t be too bad after all.

The good memories of her training days warmed her heart. Those were some of the best years of her life. Although she and her fellow female students had to live in a pretty old barrack, it was still fun. They talked a lot before sleeping – training, weather, sometimes boys. Once in a while they sneaked out to the boys' barrack. Nothing naughty though, the rules were pretty harsh concerning that kind of stuff. She remembered their parties after successful raids on the streets – oh, what a spectacle that was! Dancing on the tables while being completely drunk was almost necessary. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself – the most dances she now knew, she learned from those parties.

Rainbow Dash looked through the window and saw that it was already evening. She must have spent at least several hours sitting here. She went out and looked at the darkening sky. The wind became even colder, but the warmth of the alcohol still persisted. Rainbow Dash slowly made her way to the Guard station, looking at the town. It was still the same dirty dump, but now, she felt much better. She actually had some plans. Now, she understood why King Lazarus liked the cider. It brought ideas into his head.

Rainbow Dash reached her office and fell on her chair. There were some things left to be done – at least hundred more complaints to fill, several more cases to check. It also seemed that Fluttershy's contract was almost fulfilled – there was only one job for her left. Rainbow Dash might as well help her – she despised monster hunters, but she was doing a right thing now. Why not help her out? Fluttershy was staying at the local inn, so tomorrow morning would she get a visitor. Persuading her would be hard, but Rainbow Dash was sure Fluttershy would listen to reason.

***

The trip to the market was not fruitless, Fluttershy noted. She was standing at the desk in her room, looking at several new blades she bought. While searching for grindstones, she saw these babies and just couldn't resist. Sharp, shiny and ready to sink into foes, they all deserved a place in Fluttershy's collection.

Fluttershy replaced several of her old knives with the new ones. She didn't want to throw them away, though – scrap metal was always useful. She carefully put the blade between the floor and the desk, and hit it with her hoof right where the blade was connected to the handle. The sound of breaking metal flew through the stale air of her room. Fluttershy then did the same thing to all the knives that served their sentence. The handles were useless, with sharp pieces sticking out of them, so she put them in a bag and left them there. Maybe the inn owners would make good use of them. She tied together the blades and put them under her cape, where she kept the normal knives. Carrying sharp blades like that might be dangerous, but she knew what she was doing.

Finally, after sorting the purchases, the day came to an end. However, she didn't feel like going to sleep at all. She was still a bit dizzy from the hydra poison, but still...

This filly, Scootaloo, wasn't going away from her mind. In such a short time Fluttershy felt so attached to this child. It felt ridiculous, she only knew her for, like, a day, but so many details of her life reminded Fluttershy of her own life. The more she thought about it, the more her soul hurt. Scootaloo was almost the same age as Fluttershy when she lost hope in all good. She never liked to remember it, it was like a thorn in her hide, which she couldn’t remove – over time the pain ebbed away, but should something stir it up, it would hurt more than before.
***

It was just an ordinary day in the orphanage. Fluttershy, after her singing classes, was slowly walking back to her room. She started taking classes not long ago, maybe two months ago, by Rainbow Dash's suggestion. She was making quite a progress – the teacher said she had a good voice and tact. Sometimes, when it was quiet, she wrote her own songs. Mostly short ones, about nature and friendship, but recently she started working on a big project. She had been working on it for a week already and managed to finish the first verse and the chorus. The theme of the song was a secret, for it was a special song, a dedication to something dear to her heart.

Fluttershy finally reached the room, where she and Rainbow Dash lived. To be fair, she was lucky to be an outsider – she lived alone in her room, so Rainbow could freely settle with her. When she finally got a roommate, the nights of reading books with the room lit only by the weak fire of the candle were gone. Now, they spend entire evenings talking or discussing things, with Rainbow Dash telling of her incredible achievements, and Fluttershy listening in silence. Sometimes Rainbow would plead Fluttershy to sing something, but she always refused, blushing like a tomato.

The room was strangely quiet – Rainbow Dash didn’t have any training at this time. Maybe she was asleep, tired after the training. Fluttershy slowly and quietly opened the door and entered the room. Rainbow Dash wasn't here – in fact, none of her things were. Her bed was carefully cleaned and none of the posters she had hung on the walls were there. The backpack she kept near the bed, where she kept all the sports stuff, was gone. Everything was gone!

Shocked, Fluttershy ran to caretaker's room. It looked like Rainbow Dash ran away! She told Fluttershy that she wanted to run away, but she couldn't even guess that Dash really meant that! She couldn't have gotten far; Fluttershy might be able to find her yet!

She opened the door of the caretaker's room and ran inside. The caretaker, a unicorn with red mane, almost fell from his chair.

"Hooley-dooley, girl, what happened? Did you just see a ghost or something?" he asked while getting up from the floor.

"Rainbow Dash ran away! I came back to our room, and all her things were gone! I mean, everything!" Fluttershy blurted out, breathing heavily.

"Oh, child, relax. She didn't run away, she was taken. This commander of the Royal Guard came here and took her. Said he's going to train her. Dash was actually pretty happy," the caretaker replied.

Fluttershy remembered some of Rainbow Dash stories – she always dreamt of becoming a Royal Guard. Almost every story she told involved these heroic ponies, fighting evil and bringing justice.

"So, yeah, something like that... Are you all right, child?"

"Yes... I am..." Fluttershy whispered, and slowly walked back to her room.

Rainbow Dash left to become a Royal Guard, a profession of her dream. Finally, she would take the place she wanted so badly. But… what about Fluttershy, her best friend? Why did she leave her like that, without even leaving a note? Did she forget? But how could one forget about one’s friend just like that? Maybe it was too sudden, and she didn't have time. If she had time, she would definitely say goodbye... but why did she leave her here? They were friends – friends were not supposed to leave each other like that! That just wasn’t right! That wasn’t how friendship worked!

Fluttershy returned to her room, and lay down on her bed. Rainbow Dash just didn't have time, that's all! She wouldn't do this... She couldn't...

The last remnants of hope left Fluttershy. Was there even a friendship? Maybe she was just sticking with her out of pity, because Fluttershy was so weak. It hurt her soul as she realized the truth – she never had a friend, she just had a protector. Somepony who helped her in the time of need, but didn't really care for her. When the time had come to leave, she left, left her alone in this place. Forgetting all the time they had spent together like it was nothing. Maybe for her it was nothing, but for Fluttershy it was everything. Everything!

She put the copy-book, where all her songs were written, on her chest and crossed her hooves around it. She closed her eyes and tried to hold back the tears. She would not cry. Never. Never again in her life. Never again a single tear would drop from her eyes. She swore that on the most precious thing she had – the copy-book with her song, dedicated to her best friend forever and ever; Rainbow Dash.

What was waiting for her in the future – Fluttershy didn't care. She was lying in her room, on her bed, all alone, as the last brinks of belief left her. Her beliefs in goodness, friendship, love. All that seemed so pointless and idiotic now. All these fluffy things, all these songs about being friends and all – complete bullshit.

***

Fluttershy smiled to herself – how stupid and naive she was back then. But right at that moment, her eyes opened. She grew up extremely fast in that one moment.

Every child had such a moment when it realized that all this sugar like reality was faked. But for most, this moment came when they were prepared. Fluttershy hadn’t been prepared, and it came like a stab in the heart. This cold, metallic truth piercing a crying, hiding child. No mercy, no feelings, just cold truth. The child cried and shrieked, it didn’t want to believe that all these people were different – they weren’t kind, they weren’t caring, they just did what they have to. It realized that the world around it is an evil, dark place. It would rather much consume it; swallow it whole, than accept it. The people, who just a moment ago, smiled in its face, now spit on its back. In the family, it was much easier –it was backed up, this child was protected by mother and father, who delivered the truth much more gently. Friends also helped softening up the blow.

Fluttershy hadn’t had anypony to back her up. The one she thought of as her best friend delivered this blow. Slowly, painfully twisting the cold blade into her heart, rubbing her weakness in her face. She was betrayed, left to die, forgotten in that orphanage, bleeding from the wound in her heart, in her soul.

Her life from that point could be called bitter, but she finally saw the truth, was blinded by it, and was lying in the darkness, helpless and blind. She would have lived like that forever, eating junk from the table of the greater, like a rat, but a stranger came to her aid. The stranger, who changed her life, and opened her eyes. The stranger, who gave her a chance to live again.

***

"Hey, you! Pass me the salt!" a rude voice interrupted Fluttershy's concentration. She slowly lifted her head, and looked at the one who spoke. The unicorn with pitch black mane. Seemed familiar.

"Hey, are you deaf?! Pass me the salt!" he repeated. Fluttershy said nothing. Instead, she grabbed the salt with her teeth and threw it right into the boy's face. It hit him right in the forehead, shattering, and piercing his flesh. He fell from the chair, screaming in agony and pain.

"Here you go," Fluttershy snarled coldly as her neighbors looked at her. They were scared. Some tried to help the boy who lay there and bled. Fluttershy left the canteen without saying anything else.

The same grey walls, the same corridors – she was so sick of all this. Several months had passed, but she still feeled this emptiness in her heart. This emptiness, slowly filled by anger and hatred.

She stopped near the window and looked outside. It was misty and cold, the old swings were almost crumbling. The sky was grey, as always. Sometimes, Fluttershy thought that the sun had left the sky forever, and nothing but grey rainy clouds would now cover the world.

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind her back. Such a familiar voice.

"Oh, look who we've got here! Our little pink-mane friend," Blazing Wind snarled. Fluttershy turned to her. Just as always she was surrounded by her 'friends'.

"Skipping dinner again? I thought I taught you the lesson... oh, I didn't. I was rudely interrupted that time. That was so long ago, yeah?" she mocked her, as she came closer. "Gives me the feeling of déjà vu, to be honest."

Fluttershy looked down, as Blazing Wind came closer to her.

"Now, we can finish our conversation!" she cooed, as she pinned Fluttershy to the windowsill. "Where is your friend Rainbow Dash? Oh, yeah, of course, she left. I guess she didn't need such a pathetic friend like you!"

Fluttershy said nothing, only looked right into Blazing Wind's eyes. She staggered for a second. Then, she bit her hoof.

The metallic taste of blood filled Fluttershy's mouth. It was warm, and a bit salty. Blazing Wing shrieked in pain, and tried to wrest her hoof away, but that only made things worse. The more she pulled, the stronger Fluttershy's teeth were sinking into her flesh. Finally, Fluttershy released her, and Blazing Wind took a step back, holding her bleeding hoof before her face. The wound looked very deep, as the blood was flowing rapidly. Blazing Wind looked at Fluttershy – blood was dripping from her mouth, her pink mane was half covering her face. Fluttershy looked back right into her eyes, and Blazing Wind shuddered – nothing but burning hatred was in those eyes which looked so innocent years ago.

"Ah...ah..." Blazing Wind stuttered in fear, slowly backing away from Fluttershy. But she didn't have enough. Enraged, she jumped at Blazing Wind and pinned her down on the ground. The blood from her teeth was now dripping right on her face. Fluttershy looked at her, like a wolf looks at its prey, when he was about to devour it. She rammed her hoof into Blazing Wind's throat, making her spit out the air she breathed, emptying her lungs, after that she slowly started choking her.

Blazing Wind barely managed to look at her supposed 'friends' who slowly backed away and stared in horror and fear, as their 'undefeatable' leader was at the brink of death from the hooves of some innocent girl.

Fluttershy felt her enemy's fear and it only fueled her desire to finish her off. She increased the pressure, her soul was steady and emotionless – she would kill this bitch.

Suddenly, somepony grabbed Fluttershy from behind and dragged her away. She fought back ferociously, but the caretaker who had grabbed her was much stronger. Then other caretakers came, as they gathered around, trying to help Blazing Wind. Fluttershy observed as they dragged her away to the medical bay.

"What's gotten into you, Fluttershy?!" the caretaker screamed at her, she didn't reply. She didn't even look at him. She just stared down at the ground, completely silent. The caretaker sighed, and led Fluttershy to her room, and locked the door. Fluttershy sat on her bed and looked at the empty neighboring space. This emptiness was worse than any bully – it put pressure on her heart, it made her feel alone. Soon, Fluttershy fell asleep, as the silence and emptiness lulled her.

***

"Hello, sir. How can I help you?" the caretaker greeted, as the dark grey earth pony with brown mane entered. The wide-brimmed hat was covering his head, and he was dressed in a strange cape.

"I'd like to adopt a child..." he stated emotionlessly. A very strange fellow, the caretaker noted.

"Okay... follow me, the kids are resting right now, but I'll lead you to the caretaker's room, you'll wait there until the quiet time is over," she odered. He slowly nodded in reply and followed her to that room.

As they were passing by the corridor, he was looking around, noting, it seemed every detail. Suddenly, his gaze fell on one specific door.

"That door. Why is it closed?" he asked. The caretaker looked at it and sighed.

"You see, the girl that lives there is a bit...unstable. Several weeks ago, she attacked her fellow student and almost choked her to death! We let her out sometimes, but she gets in a lot of fights, and behaves very violently in general. What a shame – she used to be such a sweet girl" the caretaker said with sorrow.

"I would like to talk with her" requested the stranger. The caretaker looked at him surprised.

"What? You...are serious?" she asked and he nodded silently. The caretaker approached the door and opened it. She started thinking that this stranger was a bit cuckoo, but she didn't hesitate. He entered the room, and she closed the door behind him

The stranger looked around, and saw Fluttershy lying in her bed, looking at the wall. The child didn't move, only breathed heavily. He slowly came to the neighboring bed and sat down on it.

"Hello, child," he said. His voice was far more soothing this time, more kind. Fluttershy didn't even turn to him however. He smiled from under his hat.

"I imagine what you think right now – who is this moron, disturbing my peace? Why is he here, why won't he mind his own business? You don't know me, child, and I don't know you.... but I can understand you."

Fluttershy slowly turned around and looked at him. She tried to look angry to scare him away, but he didn't react to that.

"I was told about your behavior. I can even sense what is inside your soul. You may not understand it, but I feel your anger, child," he continued and came closer to her. Fluttershy tried to move away, she even hissed at him, but it didn't scare him away. He slowly touched her chin with his hoof and lifted her head up so she would look into his eyes.

"You are so beautiful. So pretty... and yet, inside you, anger lives. Something’s awoken this hatred, this anger inside you, and now, you fight back the world that wants to hurt you, ferociously, angrily," - he went on, quietly and kindly. Fluttershy didn't want to drive him away anymore. This stranger seemed to feel her pain.

"Poor, poor little thing. What kind of pain has awoken such anger inside you? Do not worry – others may blame you, but I know how you feel. I know this feeling, when the emptiness inside you is filled with anger like a wound, on which blades fall," – he almost whispered now, and started caressing her around her head, slowly and carefully. "There is something about you, something really special. Something unordinary..." he went quiet for a moment.

"Tell me child – do you want to live a new life? Because I can offer you this only once. Follow me now, and I will lead you away from this life, forever. You will never return, and your life will never be 'normal'. This anger inside you – it will never fade, but I can help you to tame it. If you follow me, your life will be hard and dangerous, the path I walk is painful and sorrowful, but it's the only way if you want to leave at peace with your hatred. So, child, will you follow me?"

"Yes," Fluttershy whispered. The stranger smiled to her.

"Good. Go with me now. Don't take anything with you – everything you have from your previous life must stay," he decreed and went to the door. Fluttershy got up and took the last look around her room. Then she looked at her copy-book, wherein that song was, never finished. Fluttershy closed her eyes and said goodbye in her mind. She really wanted to cry, really bad, but she didn't allow herself to. She was strong now. She would never cry.

Fluttershy followed the stranger through the corridor. He turned to her, and smiled.

"You would like to know my name, it seems. I ditched my true name long ago. I call myself Amos. What is your name, child?"

"Fluttershy," she whispered quietly.

"Fluttershy... a good name. Keep it," he said. "A long road awaits you, Fluttershy. A hard and dangerous path. But if you walk it, if you conquer it... you will become a great monster hunter. Let's go."

***

These memories – so bittersweet. Master Amos became like a father to her through all these years of training. He was always near; ready to correct a mistake, to help, to point in the right direction.

Fluttershy smiled to herself. Going back into memories brought pain, but was quite refreshing. Remembering things she couldn’t change was a good waste of time. She looked outside – it was already darkening. Fluttershy took a bottle of whiskey from under her cape (she always kept some, just in case) and drank a bit. Insomnia and frequent nightmares were quite a problem for her, but she discovered that a little bit of alcohol before sleep helped. Not too much, however, or the nightmares would be even worse.

***

"I will say once again – I had no part in this!" Mayor Mare shouted angrily as her hidden companion looked at her with his burning red eyes.

"Of course you did! No pony alive can defeat the hydra one on one! Especially a venomous hydra!" he growled, but Mayor Mare just shrugged.

"It seems that she's just that good. Sorry, I can't help you with this one," she replied smugly. The stranger didn't seem too happy.

"Don't mock me!" he shouted. Mayor Mare was staggered – it was the first time he had gotten so angry.

"The plan was perfect, it couldn't fail!" he continued. "Well, it seems I'll have to send my servants on this one."

"Oh, that's serious. You think your servants can handle the hunter better that the hydra?" Mayor said sarcastically and earned a hateful glance from him

"Your humor is not amusing me, mayor!" he replied. Then, just as usual, he disappeared.

Mayor Mare fell down on her chair. This was getting tiring. She started to wonder why her mysterious friend wanted Fluttershy gone, as he didn't explain anything. Still, his money was good, and the deal was a deal. She just hoped that these 'servants' could take care of the monster hunter. She looked outside – it was getting darker and colder. The winter, the dreaded and feared time of year, was drawing near. The land would be covered in white snow, and nothing would grow. The cold would bite you, and force you to preserve warmth at all costs. But that was the least of the problems during winter. At least this stranger's money would help them last one more time... hopefully.

Chapter Four - Smarter than they look (Edited)

It was early in the morning, but Fluttershy was already on her hooves, and heading to the board for her last contract. Finally, she would leave this town soon, maybe even this part of the country – winter was very poor on contracts, and most money went into repairs, new weapons, and food. The south border sounded like a very good idea – those deserts were littered with monsters, and ponies living there would certainly pay a good amount to get rid of them. Fluttershy approached the board and took a look at the last hanging piece of paper. The request came from somepony named ‘Rarity’, apparently a very rich fashion model. The address on the request matched one of the most fancy and expensive houses. The only place that was fancier than that was the town hall.

Fluttershy made her way to the manor. This must be one of the prettiest houses she’d ever seen – the paint was new and bright, the wood sturdy and strong. Fluttershy rapped on the door. To the left and right of the entrance were pots with fake flowers, resembling white roses, she noted. It looked quite nice.

The door was soon opened, and Fluttershy heard moans of pain and heavy breathing from inside. The butler, a white earth pony with pink mane, looked at her.

"You are the monster hunter, I presume?" she addressed the hat-wearing hunter politely.

"Yes, you are right," Fluttershy said, eyeing her suspiciously. "Can I talk to Rarity?"

"Unfortunately, no. She is gone on an important meeting and will not return for at least a week. Do not worry, I'll give you all the information you want," she explained, and suddenly a loud scream interrupted her.

"Oh, do not worry about that. You see, while Ms. Rarity is gone, she allowed the local hospital to use her house. There is not enough room in the hospital itself, so they decided to house the sick here. Do not worry, they are not contagious," she calmed Fluttershy. "Please, come in, I'll fill you in on the details."

The inside of the house was much less appealing. The sick were lying right on the floor on silk sheets. Doctors were barely holding their balance when finding their way between the patients. The moaning and crying was annoyingly loud. The butler carefully led Fluttershy through this improvised ward which mostly resembled a war hospital. Finally, they reached a quiet room which looked like Rarity's office. The butler entered quickly and Fluttershy followed only to find a very unpleasant surprise.

Rainbow Dash sat there on the couch and seemed to wait for something. When they entered, she got up quickly. Seeing Rainbow Dash here felt the same as opening your eyes in the midnight, only to see some psycho holding a knife at your throat – surprising and annoying.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Fluttershy asked coldly and bluntly.

"I want to help," she replied evenly. Fluttershy looked at her angrily.

"I thought I made it quite clear – I don't need your help!"

"I wasn't asking for your permission," Rainbow Dash parried. Fluttershy sighed heavily. It was clear that Dash wouldn’t leave her alone. At least she could be useful somehow, but Fluttershy highly doubted it. The only thing sidekicks ever do is waste time and get into trouble.

"Argh, whatever!" Fluttershy murmured.

"Please, I'd like to ask you to calm down," the butler said. Her feigned politeness was starting to get annoying. "Sit down, and let me give you the information."

While everything in Fluttershy was resisting, she forced herself to sit down near Rainbow Dash, and fought off the urge to punch her in the face. The couch was quite comfortable however – or maybe Fluttershy was just too used to rough springs in old inns.

"It began not a long time ago. Rarity started complaining on the weird noises at night. She said they were coming from the basement. Rarity never uses this basement, so you can say it's abandoned. So, when Rarity left, and the patients were moved here, several of them claimed to have seen a strange creature that resembed a pony, though looked like a monster. Then, they started to disappear," the butler explained.

"Why didn't you report it?" Rainbow Dash interjected surprised and somewhat annoyed.

"We did," the butler hit her with the cold truth. Rainbow Dash calmed down immediately – she realized that the report was probably in the piles of papers she hadn’t checked yet, drowning in the ocean of other problems she hadn’t resolved yet. It felt horrible to realize, that this ocean would only grow. The butler continued,

"I highly suspect that whatever kidnapped those ponies lives in the basement. I closed the trapdoor leading there, so the creature won't escape until I find somepony who can kill it," she finished. Fluttershy sneered.

"I'll deal with it. If it is down here, I'll kill it."

"Ehem, we will kill it," Rainbow Dash intervened. Fluttershy gave her an annoyed look.

"You're only going to be nuisance! If you want to help then help, but don't get involved in the fight. That's strictly my business," she told Rainbow Dash.

"Ha, I can stand for myself, no need to worry," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Believe me, if you die down there, Dash, I will not give two shits!" Fluttershy grumbled. Then she checked the blade in her wristband – since she didn't exactly know what they were dealing with, she could not prepare properly. She decided that the blade would do the job, seeing as the creature lived in the basement for quite a while and didn't kill every resident of it – then it wasn’t very aggressive.

"Let's go," Fluttershy ordered, and the butler obediently led them to the trapdoor leading to the basement. Rainbow Dash followed.

The trapdoor was locked and tied with chains – the poor butler was really scared when she was locking it, surely. The butler took the key, opened the lock and took a step back as if inviting Dash and Fluttershy down there. Fluttershy opened the trapdoor, and the cold wind blew right in her face. The darkness ruled in this basement – nothing was lighting it.

"Dash, take the lantern," Fluttershy commanded. Grumbling, Rainbow Dash grabbed a lantern and they both descended by the ladder.

Several shelves made out of wood were standing by the walls. They had rotten long ago and were almost fully covered in cobwebs. The air was cold and wet, like in some cave, and the sound of spiders crawling away from the light could be heard. At first glance, this basement was completely normal, if not for how ancient it was.

"Looksh emptshy," Rainbow Dash tried to talk while holding the lantern with her teeth. Fluttershy approached some rickety chest and pushed it away, revealing a tunnel.

"You weren't looking hard enough," stated coldly and Rainbow Dash shook her head as if saying 'whatever'. "You go first"

"Waiths a bhit," she objected, and tried to attach the lantern to her chest armor. Fortunately, she managed to do it and not even break the glass. "All right, let's go".

Rainbow Dash crawled into the hole, and Fluttershy followed her. The ground was cold; sometimes the roots were sticking out of the walls, scratching their sides.

"Tell me, Dash – why the hell did you come here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Don't you think it's not the best place to have conversations?" Rainbow Dash hissed, sounding a bit annoyed. "I told you already - I want to help"

"Yeah, yeah, like that always ends well!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Listen, are we going to hold a grudge against each other forever like this?" Rainbow Dash replied. The tunnel ended before Fluttershy could answer, and they both got out. They found themselves in some cave, which wasn't natural – somepony dug it out. They noticed a way forward, much wider this time.

"I don't see why not," Fluttershy rebuked, after she’d cast her eyes hither and yon. "Sins like that are not easily absolved!"

"You brought it onto yourself! I was enforcing the law, and you were about to break it! I had to stop you!" she shouted, enraged.

"So that's how you enforce the law?! By attempting murder?! Typical!" Fluttershy parried in an angry, but still somewhat calm voice.

"It was an accident! I didn't want that to happen! I wanted to help you!" Rainbow Dash screamed. Fluttershy suddenly twitched.

"An accident? Help me?! HELP ME?!" she now screamed and rushed at Dash, knocking and pinning her down at the floor. Fluttershy lifted her hoof, and the knife appeared from the wristband. "I'm going to kill you for these words!"

Rainbow Dash used her wings to turn around, knocking Fluttershy from away from her, and got up quickly.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she shouted. Fluttershy looked at her ferociously. Suddenly, she grabbed her cape and took it away, revealing the crippled remains of her wings.

"This is what you did to me! This is what you did to me, you bastard! You took my wings!" she screamed in anger. A cold professional inside her disapproved of such outburst, but the scorching fire demanded immediate bloodshed.

"And you took my eye!" Rainbow Dash parried, but Fluttershy didn't even flinch.

"It's a reminder... a reminder of your past sins, you traitor!"

"I already told you – I had to do it! It was my duty!" Rainbow Dash shouted, misunderstanding what Fluttershy meant.

"Duty?!... You left me alone, left me to die! And you think it was your duty to do so?!" Fluttershy lowered her head, trying to fight back the rage, trying to keep the cold head, but the hatred was too powerful, and the memories too bitter to forgive and forget. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!"

"Your friend!" Rainbow Dash screamed rashly. "I thought I could help you, but—" she started to rant, but Fluttershy couldn't hear anything after 'your friend'.

The professional in her mind finally shut up. The world around her slowly turned red, concentrating solely on Rainbow Dash, standing there and rambling something about help and responsibility.

"RAINBOW DASH!" the shriek echoed form the walls as Fluttershy unleashed a fast flurry of attacks with her blade. Rainbow Dash was caught off guard, and the first strike hit her in the chest armor. The dull pain cooled her down, and allowed to react to the next attacks. She barely managed to dodge them; every strike was so close to her body she could almost feel the cold of the steel. Dash then quickly hit Fluttershy in the chest, pushing her away. She wanted to talk her down, but Fluttershy rushed for another attack before she could even open her mouth. Rainbow quickly flew up in the air, reaching the ceiling of the cave quickly.

"Calm the fuck down!" she screamed at Fluttershy, but this painful reminder of the things she couldn’t do enraged Fluttershy even more. She pointed her blade at Dash, and then the loud sound deafened her. The cave quickly filled with smoke, and hellish pain pierced Rainbow Dash's chest. She lost her balance and fell down. Dash screamed from this sudden pain, and from the pain in the back, as the floor was solid rock. Fluttershy approached to her lying opponent, and hit her right in the face, forcing Dash to roll over on her back. She, however, managed to see what hit her – out of her chest armor the knife was sticking out. Fortunately, it didn't reach her flesh, and was stuck in the armor.

That was a relief, of course, but this wasn't the time for celebration, as Fluttershy pinned Dash down, and started beating her face with quick and painful strikes. After about five hits to the face, Dash managed to block and catch Fluttershy's hoof in a special hold. Then, she knocked her down, and quickly jumped at top of her, trying to restrain Fluttershy's movement. She was twisting and trying to turn, but Rainbow held her good – she couldn't get out of this.

"CALM DOWN! Fucking calm down, you psycho!" she screamed, but Fluttershy managed free on of her hooves and viciously hit her right in the throat. Rainbow Dash quickly jumped down, choking and coughing. Fluttershy quickly got up, but didn't attack as she watched Rainbow Dash coughing blood. This was a quick and effective attack, one of her favorites. Rainbow Dash desperately tried to breathe in, but the pain didn't let her. She was slowly chocking to death. The blood was slowly filling her mouth, and soon, started flowing out of it. Rainbow Dash started slowly walking towards Fluttershy, leaving a trail of her own blood mixed with spit. Fluttershy suddenly dashed towards her and hit the side of her throat. Rainbow Dash fell down on the floor, and gasped – she was able to breathe again. She breathed fast, trying to consume as much oxygen as possible.

Fluttershy approached her, and looked down as Dash slowly recovered.

"...Sorry... Sometimes I just can't control myself," she stated coldly. Then she found her cape and put it back on. Rainbow Dash spat out the blood and got up.

"What the hell have you done to me? I couldn't breathe," she pawed the ground.

"A special move. I attacked a weak point in your throat which misplaced a single vertebra in your neck, blocking the respiratory ways. Hadn't I moved it back to its place, you would have died of anoxaemia" Fluttershy replied emotionlessly.

"That's a bit brutal," Dash remarked.

"That's the way I live, Dash. That's how I survive," Fluttershy replied.

"I see... I'll have to admit, you're really good," Rainbow Dash said. Fluttershy just sneered. That last time was before she finished her training with Master Amos, so Dash was underestimating her skill even now.

***

Master Amos was a great mentor and took real care of Fluttershy, while also not letting down at the training. Fluttershy trained almost all the time, but Amos never let her overstrain herself – sometimes it was even worse than being unprepared.

Fluttershy loved him like her own father, or even more. However, he was feared by other ponies, and even his fellow monster hunters. He had a strange view of the world – he viewed bloodshed and a hard life in this world as retribution. Punishment on the whole pony kind, a well-deserved punishment. Every time he saw destruction, he enjoyed it, sometimes even too much. He also found pleasure in brutal kills – even when the monster was harmless, he would kill it in the most brutal way possible.

Amos often viewed himself as the punisher, the executioner, the necessary evil, but the Guards didn't think so – he was never welcome in any town, unless it was really far away from civilization. They never got to sleep in any town – usually it was always roadside inns, or they just made camps somewhere in the forest.

***

That night, they made their camp somewhere in the deep forest. The sky was clear and revealed hundreds upon hundreds of stars. The moon shone full and bright, and crickets were filling the air with their songs. Amos was sitting near the camp fire, watching the flame dance. Fire was one of the most beautiful things in the world – the way it shook in the wind, the warmth it brought and pureness it wielded... Simply marvelous. Big fires were a spectacle to behold, but this flame was contained by rocks which were carefully placed around it. The soup in the kettle above the fire was boiling. When Fluttershy returned with some herbs, they would have themselves some great soup, or, considering how bad Amos was at cooking, a very mediocre soup.

Amos looked into the darkness, and his mind was filled with hard thoughts – Fluttershy was getting better every day. She could handle the blade almost like it were an extension of her hoof. However, she couldn’t learn all the aspects of a real fight when fighting monsters. They were feral, guided by instincts, and were very predictable. If she really wanted to experience the fight, she must combat those who used cold logic.

He had heard of a bandit camp nearby the town they had visited early on. The rumor was that their leader was an extraordinarily good fighter. Although Amos wasn't really content with this idea, he knew for certain that, if he wanted his little Fluttershy to succeed in this world, she had to pass this exam.

Amos sighed heavily – when he took Fluttershy, she was broken and pathetic, filled with rage. He taught her how to live in peace with her inner demon, how to control it and use it when necessary. Now, the girl had to make her first kill. Most teachers would be impressed by how she reached the skill ceiling so fast, but Amos felt so unsure about this. He couldn't imagine Fluttershy killing a pony, the very thought scared him. His other side, however, rejoiced in the knowledge that his student had grown up so fast, and now was about to enter the real world; the world that demanded sacrifice in the form of blood.

The sound of rustling grass disturbed his concentration. In several seconds, Fluttershy sat down beside him, looking pretty satisfied with herself.

"So, did you find any herbs?" he asked, and Fluttershy put the bag full of various flowers near him. Amos smiled, "Good. Nice work as usual, Fluttershy"

"Thank you, Master," she replied. Amos carefully took the kettle and placed it near him. He carefully tasted it, and cringed a bit.

"A little less horrible than usual," he said.

"Master, don't misjudge yourself like that. Your dishes are always great," Fluttershy assured and Amos giggled. She always tried to make him happy, even calling his concoction 'tasty food'.

"Fluttershy, I know how bad I am at this cooking stuff. Don't try to tell me otherwise," he said, smiling. "I'll appreciate if you gave me some more critique."

"Oh, okay. If you really want it," Fluttershy said sheepishly. Amos smiled.

"Well, you brought the herbs, that will certainly improve the taste," he noted as he took a red flower and crumbled it into the soup, then tried it again.

"Mmm, much better. Get your bowl; it's supper time," he said.

In several minutes, they were enjoying the soup. The herb made it taste much better than it was. They were silent, but Amos' soul was in great doubt, and he looked incredibly grim. It was hard not to notice.

"Master... is something bothering you?" Fluttershy asked carefully.

"Yes... It's just that you have reached your skill ceiling, Fluttershy. There is nothing more I can teach you," he said sorrowfully. "But you still have much to learn, but you have to learn it yourself."

"Does that mean I have to leave?" she asked and her ears dropped.

"Oh no, you are not getting rid of me, young lady," Amos said, trying to sound cheerful. Fluttershy giggled. Her laughter was so pleasing for the ears.

"You will have to pass a very hard test. Not that it is hard to accomplish, it's hard to force yourself to do so... There is a bandit camp not far from us. Their leader is infamous for his cruelty… and fighting skills. You will have to sneak into the camp... and kill him," Amos finished. Fluttershy looked at him.

"Kill him? He is a bandit... He steals and kills other ponies just for his excitement. He deserves it. I don't understand what you're so worried about, Master," she said. Amos sighed.

"Maybe you're right... but still... I have this feeling in my gut... that something will go wrong," he said worryingly. Fluttershy hugged him.

"Master Amos, don't worry. You know I can handle myself just fine. I'll sneak in, kill the son of a bitch, and get out," she said, trying to calm him down.

"I know, my child. Still, watch yourself," he said, and kissed her forehead. "Now, go get some sleep. You will depart tomorrow"

***

Fluttershy snuck through the forest. Not a single unnecessary move, not a single mistake – she was the predator on the hunt. The stripes were holding her, so it wouldn't drag on the ground, and the always faithful wristband with the blade inside was thirsting for blood.

The bandit's camp was near. Most of them were gone, probably on a raid, so there shouldn't be too many of them. Soon, she could the see the camp – the many tents swayed in the wind, and the smoke from bonfires was whirling around in it. Fluttershy soon spotted the biggest tent, and figured that must be where her target resided.

She slowly made her way through the camp, avoiding patrols and lonely guards that stood and gawked. It took Fluttershy 10 minutes to reach the leader's tent. She crawled under one of the cloth walls, and was able to peek inside – the bandit was looking at a map, probably planning the next raid. Fluttershy grinned and slowly crawled inside. Fortunately, he was so stuck up on planning that he didn't notice her.

Sometimes, you only needed one small betrayal to get your whole life ruined. That day, Fluttershy was betrayed by a small twig on the ground. She didn't notice it and stepped right on it, making it unleash the loud 'crack'. The bandit quickly snapped his head around.

‘Well... fuck,’ Fluttershy thought to herself as she triggered the mechanism that released her blade from the wristband.

"A...girl? What in the...?" the bandit exclaimed and noticed the blade. He quickly figured out that Fluttershy was from the monster hunters, and, undoubtedly, a formidable foe. He, however, cared more about his life than his pride, so he quickly grabbed the sword from the table with his teeth, and proceeded to run away.

Fluttershy quickly ran after him. The bandit leader called for help, but, surprisingly, the camp remained silent. He freaked out, shouting curses and damning his sloppy henchmen.

The chase continued for good five minutes until he was finally cornered. The cliff was steep, and he would surely break himself a lot of bones if he fell from it. He stopped just in time, or else he would have fallen.

"Listen... whoever paid you... I can pay double," he said. His voice was shaking.

"No money can save you, criminal. Your life ends here," Fluttershy stated, hit him viciously on the head, and threw him away from the ledge. She wanted to deal with him personally – it wouldn’t be the gravity that’d kill him.

"Freeze!" a familiar voice shouted. "Royal Guard, don't move! I am authorized to use force!"

Royal Guard. That's why the help didn't come for the bandit leader – the Royal Guard had arrived just in the nick of time. Fluttershy looked at the source of the sound… and was frozen in place. Right before her, after so many years, stood Rainbow Dash, wearing a chest plate with special gauntlets on the hooves for non-lethal takedowns.

"Stay right where you are... Wait a second! Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash said, looking straight at her. Fluttershy was, of course, surprised, but tried not to give that away and just hit the bandit on the head, knocking him unconscious.

"What.. what are you doing here? Why... how..." Rainbow Dash muttered, staggering at every word.

"Does it matter? Or, to be clearer, do you even care?" Fluttershy replied coldly. She barely managed to keep the coldness of her heart, as many emotions were overtaking and the desire to separate Dash's head from shoulders became stronger and stronger.

"I... I do care. How could you say that? We haven't seen each other for so long... but this is really a bad place and circumstances for our reunion," Dash said. "You look so different..."

"Everything has changed. I changed. You changed. This 'reunion' is just a coincidence. Now, please, leave," Fluttershy parried.

"I will, but this guy is going with me. He's under arrest from now on."

"Oh, no. He has to die," Fluttershy said and Dash cringed.

"What?! Why..." then she saw the wristband. The secret of manufacturing of these wristbands was passed since the first monster hunter who made them. While the monster hunters were not an organized group, they had managed to share this secret with each other and keep it hidden from everypony else. This wristband was their symbol, aside from the cloak and the wide-brimmed hat.

"You're... one of them now?" Dash uttered.

"Yes, I am one of the monster hunters. So?" Fluttershy said angrily.

Rainbow Dash sighed heavily. Monster hunters were even worse than Pure Heart told her. Not only were they prone to lynching, but they also used children, ponies the age of Rainbow Dash, who was a cadet at that time, joined these hunters and committed murders while having the audacity to call it 'justice'.

"But... they're evil! They find those who can't protect themselves and take money from them for protection! They kill criminals without trial and investigation and call it justice, and you're okay with that?" Rainbow Dash asked disbelievingly.

"Evil? So, actually bringing criminals to justice and doing the job properly is evil... and leaving your friends behind is not evil? That's perfectly alright – great fucking logic!" Fluttershy shouted. The emotions finally broke through the thin wall of coldness she tried to protect her soul with. "Do you know how hard our life was? We never slept in a legitimate bed! We were never allowed to stay in towns for long, because ponies were afraid of us! They despise and fear us, but when they have a monster or a bandit threatening them, they run to us, waving their hard-earned cash in front of our faces! And we help them!"

Rainbow Dash staggered a little bit. Leave her friend behind... That was the mistake which haunted Dash for a long time. When Pure Heart offered her to go, she’d been happy, but she didn't know how Fluttershy would take it. She’d been afraid to tell her, afraid for the first time in her life. So she left without telling anything, hoping that it would be better for both of them. She was wrong. Now, she faced the consequences.

"Fluttershy, your anger doesn't make you the judge, jury, and executioner. It doesn't matter what your mentor told you – monster hunters are bunch of evil greedy ponies, who see only profit! You can still go back to normal life! Come with me – I can help you!" Dash implored.

"Normal life? My 'normal' life was over when I realized that I had no friends to begin with! Who wants to be a friend with a wimp who can't protect themselves? Nopony! So now, there is no normal life for me. I have only one way to go!"

"Then you give me no choice! Step away from the suspect, or I will be forced to put you down!" Rainbow Dash shouted and took a fighting stance.

"Go ahead! TRY!" Fluttershy growled, and she was ready for combat.

Rainbow Dash quickly flew up into the air, and rushed forwards, using her gauntlets as a battering ram. Fluttershy managed to dodge, but Dash quickly turned around and knocked her down, hitting her in the side. Fluttershy tried to fall back as far as she could to avoid the next attack. Dash quickly flew up, and descended right where Fluttershy was supposed to be, trying to crush her. After the dust settled down, she looked around and realized that she’d missed. The counter-attack was quick to follow as Fluttershy unleashed a flurry of attacks, hitting her in the face and chest armor. The dull pain pierced Dash's chest. She staggered for a second, and Fluttershy delivered a crushing blow right in her face, knocking her back at least two meters.

She got up, spitting out blood. Some teeth were broken, and the metallic taste of blood disorientated her. Fluttershy rushed towards her, and jumped, hovering in the air not high above the ground. She flew right towards Dash, intending to knock her down. Rainbow quickly snapped out of her little shock, and quickly delivered an uppercut, right when Fluttershy was close to hitting her. Fluttershy made a semicircle in the air and fell on the ground, landing on her back. She slowly got up, reeling and spitting blood.

"As much fun as that was, it ends now!" Rainbow Dash said, and Fluttershy sneered.

"Tired already? What's wrong, Dash, can't keep up?" she mocked and rushed towards her. Dash was ready for this attack, so she dodged to the left and counter-attacked, punching Fluttershy in the face. What she didn't expect was that Fluttershy would block this punch with her hoof, grab her hoof in a hold, and throw her over her head to the ground. Dash quickly rolled away from her and got up, shaking her head, trying to fight off the shock. Fluttershy followed up her success with several heavy blows to the head and finished it with an uppercut, lifting Dash up in the air. She didn't stop there however – Fluttershy flew up to Rainbow Dash, hit her right in the stomach and dragged her like this for three meters, then threw her on the ground.

Dash managed to land safely, but the pain was unbearable.

"That's it! Game's over! You're fucking going down!" she shouted, and dashed right to Fluttershy, who was still in the air, and delivered a massive flurry of attacks, aiming for head, body, and neck. Then she flew up even higher, and used her body as a spear to dive into Fluttershy and crash into the ground with her.

"Had enough?!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she delivered one punch after another to Fluttershy's face. Suddenly, Fluttershy blocked one of the punches and managed to shove Dash away from herself. Then she quickly rushed forward to her and hit her in the chest armor several times, pushing her away with this dull pain. Rainbow Dash tripped over some rocks and fell down, coughing.

"Yes, I've had enough.... of you!" Fluttershy snarled, and looked at the unconscious bandit. She couldn't wait to return to Master Amos to tell him about the completed mission and this amazing battle.

"I…won't let you do this! I will not fail! I will not let you fall!" Dash screamed suddenly, and hit the ground, throwing a heap of dust into Fluttershy's eyes. She screamed loudly, and stepped back, rubbing her eyes desperately.

"Ah, son of a...!" she shouted, as the specks of dust were scratching her eyes and lids. The pain was not very strong but the eyes were such a sensitive organ that any damage she dealt to them was multiplied by at least a thousand.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath as she slowly got up. Fluttershy continued to flail angrily through the air and shouting curses. Finally, it was over. This battle was the hardest she ever had – not even the training with the pro-Guards could be compared to this. At least, now everything was over, and she would be going back home soon.

Suddenly she noticed that Fluttershy was no longer trying to hit the air. She was looking right at her with her blood-red eyes, and something sparkled at her wrist. Rainbow Dash quickly figured out that that it was a blade, and prepared to dodge, but Fluttershy dashed towards her with abnormal speed. The blade sparkled in the sun as it flew from the top to the bottom, cutting the right side of Dash's face. The edge of the knife whistled as it separated the flesh and cut the white of her eye.

Rainbow Dash jumped back and unleashing a chilling shriek, holding the wound with her hoof.

"Agh...f..fuck... ah..." she moaned as the blood was flowing out faster and faster. Rage filled her soul – this was unforgivable! This pain, this wound – this was over the edge! She opened her healthy eye, and saw Fluttershy trying to cut the air. It seemed that the dust still continued to blind her. Enraged, she hit Fluttershy in the face as hard as she could. Fluttershy flew back, and almost fell off the cliff, but managed to grab onto it.

"Ah, you... shit!" she screamed as she tried to pull up, but failed. Rainbow Dash looked at her, covering her bleeding wound. There she was, clinging to her life. If she fell, nopony would ever look for her, surely. If they’d find her body, who would be able to prove that Dash was responsible? Dash sighed, as she fought off these stupid thoughts – she was a Guard, and her duty was to uphold the law and protect lives. She would never leave a pony in trouble, no matter who he or she was. She ran towards Fluttershy as fast as she could to help her, but those seconds of hesitations now betrayed her – Fluttershy could no longer hold onto the cliff as the dust in her eyes hurt more and more, the places she got hit in started to pulsate with pain. She lost the grip, and the earth gave away as she fell down.

She hit the side of the cliff which consisted of sharp rocks sticking out of it. They impaled Fluttershy's back, making her scream, and then she started to roll down. As she fell, the rocks tore and destroyed her back, leaving huge wounds. The fall continued for a few seconds, but for her, it seemed like an eternity – the suffering and pain seemed endless. Finally, the fall ended, and she fell down on the ground, forming a puddle of blood under her.

Rainbow Dash looked down with horror at the bloodied rocks and Fluttershy's maimed body. How could this happen?! She failed... Rainbow Dash looked down there and thought about going down and trying to help, but she was so scared right now! It was her fault – she’d put her in this situation, and she didn't help her. Rainbow Dash looked around, approached the still unconscious bandit, and looked at him. She sighed, and flew away to get medical help for her and some guards to carry this moron to the cell. Her wound started to pulsate with pain again, and the blood poured out even faster. The thought that she just left her friend to die was biting her conscience hard, but the guilt didn't allow her to return. She hoped she would be able to forget this.

Fluttershy was slowly dying in the pool of her own blood. The shards of rock in her back disturbed the wound, causing tremendous pain every time she tried to move, or even flinch. She slowly opened her eyes to be able to see again. Her vision was dark and blurry. The taste of blood filled her mouth, this speck of a flavor, like licking metal. Fluttershy tried to move her wings, but the pain pierced every muscle of her body when she tried, and the bleeding increased heavily. She wanted to see how her back looked like, but the pain and tiredness didn't allow her to even move. She looked at the forest, and thought to herself ‘This is it.’ She’d die here, alone, under some cliff, without accomplishing anything in her life. Her sight slowly darkened as she slipped more and more into dreams, slowly and painfully. Darkness slowly claimed her and dragged her away from this world.

***

Amos was quickly running through the woods. His mind was filled with worrying thoughts and images. Several hours had passed and Fluttershy hadn’t returned yet. This was unlike her – if she was late, she would always send a letter via bird, or inform him in any way possible. She never disappointed him – so Amos was worried. What happened to his student, his friend, his... daughter? Sometimes he regarded Fluttershy as a daughter he never had, but he quickly snapped out of it – bonds were good, but too much bonds would tie you up.

He was approaching the bandit camp from the other side, because the patrols of Royal Guards were standing in his way. When he noticed them, he understood that things had gone south. Maybe Fluttershy got captured.... no, no, that was impossible. She always had some kind of hatred towards Royal Guards – when she saw one, she would always spend the rest of the day in a downed mood. Then that must mean.... Amos hurried up. Whatever happened, it was not going to be good, and the faster he’d get there, the better.

Finally, in the distance he saw the side of the cliff. It seemed he went the wrong way – he'd have to go around it. Dammit, another hour lost....

Suddenly, he noticed something near the cliff side; a mix of colors – red, light-pink and light grayish gold. Amos decided to take a closer look and approached.

He saw a lot of screwed up shit. That kind of shit that’d stay in your mind like a parasite, feeds on you, making you wake up at night with a loud shriek covered in cold sweat. Shit that’d drink your sanity and spit out nightmares, breaking and twisting your sanity like ‘twas a toy. But all that paled in Amos's mind before what he saw now.

Fluttershy was lying in the pool of her own blood, unconscious. Sharp pieces of rock were sticking out of her back, and what once were normal wings now were just chunks of flesh and bone as blood was dripping from them. Her face was half-covered in blood, and the horrifying wounds on the back looked like some giant creature had cut her with its claws. Amos looked up, and saw the bloodied rocks – these claws had been stone.

"By the... Fluttershy! Can you hear me? Are you alive?!" he screamed as he approached her. He heard quiet breathing, and he felt better – she was alive. The wounds looked very deep and serious, so he had to transport her out of here as fast as possible. He found a big wide branch and carefully placed Fluttershy onto it. She probably felt horrendous pain, but she didn't even moan, not even a single sound came from her.

As he dragged her back to the camp, he could not stop talking to himself.

"I knew! I knew I shouldn't let you go! But I am a moron, so I did! Please, don't die on me, sweetheart! Please don't die on me!" he shouted, but Fluttershy didn't respond. Her eyes were closed, and she was quietly breathing, clinging to life.

"Fuck....fuck.....FUCK! Don't you dare die on me, young lady! I won't let you!" Amos shouted loudly, his voice breaking, just like his sanity. He started rambling about good times, and how the years he spent with her were the best years in his worthless life.

"Don't you dare... to leave me! Don't you dare... please... don't die..." he went from loud screams to whimpers. "Nooo... don't leave me... please—"

He tripped and fell, got up and fell again, but he continued to drag Fluttershy's unconscious body along with him. He didn't know how long he was going – it seemed like an eternity, but finally, he reached the town.

Ponies turned around, and slowly started to gather around, but Amos paid no attention to them. He continued to go to the final destination, the hospital.

Several doctors ran out of the building, followed by several corpsmen. They quickly put Fluttershy on the stretcher and carried her away. One doctor stayed to calm Amos down, as he was screaming, shouting and rambling.

"Please, sir, calm down, everything will be all right!" the doctor tried to speak, but Amos looked at him with his mad eyes and grabbed the doctor.

"Please, save her! She is the only one I live for! I can't live on without her! It's my fault! YOU MUST SAVE HER!" he shouted, but soon, with the help of a corpsman, the doctor managed to calm him down.

***

Amos sat in the waiting room of the hospital. The sedatives the doctor gave him started to kick in, and he was emotionlessly staring at the white wall. His head was filled with dark thoughts and self-punishing remarks. It was all his fault. He knew he shouldn't have sent her there, but he did, and now, she paid for his mistakes. He knew that something would go wrong and it did.

He remembered all the times he had been worried that much – all that felt so childish and unnecessary compared to now. Now seemed like the most important moment in his life. He had to be with her, right here, right now. He must be here for her; she believed in him, she trusted him. His little girl.... his daughter he never had. Right now, Amos understood what those crying mothers felt, when they begged him to find and kill the bandit that brutally raped and killed their daughters. Those eyes he could never forget – sorrowful, filled with tears, no doubt like his right now.

After several hours of just sitting there and fighting back his self-induced insanity, he noticed the doctor coming out of the operating room, sighing and taking off his medical mask. Amos quickly got up and approached him.

"Sir, your girl is the luckiest pony in this world to have you. If you had brought her here even several minutes later, she would have died. We managed to save her," the doctor said, and Amos sighed with relief.

"The spine was not fractured, luckily, but the wounds were very deep. She will need a lot of time to recover. However... we couldn't save her wings," he said with regret. "She will never be able to fly again."

"That is.... very sad... But she is alive, and that is what matters. Can I see her now?" Amos asked, and doctor shook his head.

"No, she has to rest right now. Come tomorrow – don't worry, we'll take good care of her."

Amos nodded, and returned to his seat. He knew he could trust the doctor, but he would never leave her unattended. He would stay here, and if anyone tried even to knock on her door who wasn’t a medical personnel, he would cut them into tiny ribbons.

***

"Fluttershy? Is everything all right?" Rainbow Dash asked, and Fluttershy shook her head.

"Yeah, yeah. Just a little bit dizzy. Let's go," she shrugged her off. They continued down the cave, going deeper and deeper. This little memory trip, however, helped Fluttershy to take control of her emotions, gather up her thoughts and keep a cool head.

As they went deeper, the air got heavier and more vile. Unknown black substance started to appear on the walls.

"Hmph, disgusting," Rainbow Dash said, as she looked at the giant ball of this sleaze on the wall. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Certainly. Changelings' den," Fluttershy replied.

You could look all around Equestria, but you would never find a creature more vile and repulsive than a changeling. They looked like ponies and resembled their physique, but their bodies were rotten, torn and maimed. Some say they are the spirits of evil ponies who took form, but it was wrong. There was no magic concerning these creatures. Interestingly enough, unlike normal ponies, changelings were not divided into Earthlings, Pegasi or Unicorns – they possessed all the features, which made them even more dangerous. However, they didn’t seem to possess any intelligence, and were closer to insects, they lived in swarms, and built dens to inhabit them. Their way of living was what made them dangerous – to build their hives and dens, to reproduce and continue to exist, they must feed. Many hunters and scientists tried to find out what exactly they feed on, and the results were shocking. To reproduce, they used special magical flows to drain you of your love – it was their favorite dish. Then, when you had run out of it, they started to drain everything that was left of your soul. Finally, when you were but a shell, they devoured your flesh and used its biomass to create hives.

"This is weird. How could changelings establish a den under a house?" Rainbow Dash said, looking at the walls.

"Who knows. Maybe there is another entrance to this cave, and they just dug the tunnel to the house. It doesn't matter that much right now – we have to destroy this hive. Do you have any explosives on you?"

"Sorry, I don't usually carry around three tons of dynamite," Dash replied, making an attempt at humor.

"Too bad. Still, we've got the lantern, and there is some oil in it. These hives burn quite good. After we kill all the inhabitants of this nest, we'll set it on fire," Fluttershy remarked. "The fire should not damage the town; it will all burn out in the underground."

"Good. Because we don't need any more fires here," Dash said. "How many do you think there are?"

"Not many. If this was a big nest, this town would have been their feasting ground already," Fluttershy replied way to merrily given the situation.

Several minutes passed, and they finally reached the main cave where the majority of the nest was. The ground and walls became even more vile and repulsive, they felt... alive. Walls were pulsating and the ground was moving up and down like it was alive. The smell of rot and corpses was suffocative. Rainbow Dash started coughing, and tears started to form in Fluttershy's eyes.

"The smell.... uh..." Rainbow Dash said, coughing. They looked around, and saw that there were no more tunnels. So, where were all the inhabitants?

"Don't let your guard down. It is a trap," Fluttershy advised, and Rainbow Dash nodded. They took a few steps forward, and the lantern finally dropped its light on the most horrifying features of changeling hives.

Behind a thick membrane, a pony, a patient from the hospital, floated in some kind of liquid. Fluttershy came closer to take a closer look, and almost vomited from what she saw – the skin was slowly evaporating from this poor fellow. His belly was already digested and only guts were floating in this liquid, slowly disappearing. Dash and Fluttershy now finally knew how exactly the changelings turned ponies into material for their hives – they digested them alive, turning their body into liquid. So, right now, they were literally walking on corpses.

"This is fucked up..." Rainbow Dash said, looking at this, and noticed a couple more cocoons.

"We can't help them anymore. Let's burn this place down as fast as we can," Fluttershy said. Suddenly, something landed right behind them, causing Fluttershy to snap her hear around.

The changeling looked at her with its blank eyes. The construction liquid was dripping from its mouth; the sharp teeth were covered in this dark mud. It moved its wings, which looked like the wings of a fly. Fluttershy knew how putrid the changelings were, but this one... She could see the veins pulsating under its body, channeling whatever these things had for blood through body.

"Dash, move slowly. Very slowly," Fluttershy whispered, and Rainbow slowly turned around.

The changeling came closer to them and started sniffing the air. Fluttershy carefully unsheathed the blade from the wristband. The monster sniffed the air some more, and then suddenly unleashed a loud chirr which sounded like a mix between somepony belching and screams of agony. Four more changelings landed near them, all looked very hungry.

"Shit..." Fluttershy cursed, and the closest changeling jumped right at her, aiming for her neck. She ducked and plunged the knife right into its eye, piercing it and reaching the brain, killing it instantly.

"Dash, take that one on the right. I'll deal with the rest," Fluttershy shouted, and Dash nodded.

The two changelings were slowly coming at Fluttershy, chirring and bellowing. She quickly dashed to one, aiming for his head, but it dodged her attack and bit her hoof.

Fluttershy screamed as the long teeth pierced her flesh. She tried to shake it off, but the changeling only strengthened its grip. The second changeling was slowly coming towards her with the expression of his face barely resembling a smile. Fluttershy quickly reached under her cape and took out Moontongue, and then plunged the blade deep into the chest of the changeling that had bitten her. The monster finally let her go, jumping back and screeched in agony. The second one roared and started to run towards Fluttershy. She quickly took a silver blade and sliced the changeling's throat when it was close enough. As the lymph was pouring out of the wound, the monster fell down, dead. The changeling with the blade in its chest was still rolling on the floor in pain. Fluttershy started to walk towards it, limping, but Rainbow Dash jumped at the monster and started hitting its head until it stopped moving.

"I believe that's yours," Rainbow Dash said, and pulled out Fluttershy’s special blade and threw it to Fluttershy. She caught it and hid the blade under her cape.

"I was doing fine myself, you know," Fluttershy grumbled.

"Sorry, I just killed mine, and thought you might use some assistance," Rainbow Dash said, but Fluttershy just smirked.

"It seems these were all of them. Prepare to set this place on fire," Fluttershy said, and while Rainbow Dash was pouring oil from the lantern all over the place, she bandaged her wound. It was deep and ached like hell, but with good treatment it could be healed. Good thing she always carried some basic first aid equipment around.

"All right, done," Rainbow Dash stated. The light of the lantern went dim and weak.

"Good. Do you have matches with you?" Fluttershy asked.

"No, but I can do something better," Rainbow Dash replied, took a rock and starting striking it against a nearby boulder. After about twenty failed attempts, a spark came out and set the oil on fire. The flame quickly burned the oil out and set the biomass on fire. The fire was spreading scarily quickly.

"Let's get out of here," Fluttershy said, and they both headed back into the tunnel. The fire behind them grew bigger and bigger, the heat was baffling.

However, two figures stood in their way. The light of the fire hasn't befallen them yet, so they were hidden in darkness.

"Who the hell are you two?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, and one of the figures rushed towards her and knocked her down. Finally, Dash was able to see his face, and the attacker looked like one of her lieutenants.

"What the fuck?!" Dash snarled as he tried to hit her in the head. She managed to dodge it and knock him back. The second attacker was one of her soldiers as well.

"Shit... I can't use my wristblade with the wound and all. Dash, catch this!" Fluttershy shouted, took out a silver blade from under her cape and threw it to Rainbow Dash. She caught it and went forward to attack the enemy.

Fluttershy was about to take out a blade for herself when the second attacker jumped at her and pinned her down to the ground. The odds were not in her favor – this guy was bigger and stronger, Fluttershy's injury prevented her from using the wristblade. The guard looked at her with hungry eyes and opened his mouth, showing sharp, almost knife-like teeth.

There was no time to ponder why these guys attacked them or why they had these teeth – the fire was getting closer with each passing second and Fluttershy could feel its heat. She remembered a tip from Master Amos.

"When you don't have a weapon, make one."

Fluttershy gathered up all her strength and plunged her teeth into the guard's neck. Disgusting liquid quickly filled her mouth, causing her stomach to push the lunch out of it, but she didn't let loose. The guard tried to scream, but couldn't, as he tried to shake her off, but Fluttershy only strengthened her grip. She got up, still holding the bastard's neck in her mouth and then turned around, causing him to either follow, or risk getting his throat ripped open. When she released him, she pushed him away, right into closing flames. The fire quickly consumed him, started to eat away his flesh, and the bastard unleashed a chilling... chirr?

Fluttershy spat, trying to get his blood out of her mouth, only to notice, that it was lymph, not blood. She looked at the burning one, and saw how the flame suddenly turned green, engulfed him, and then disappeared. It wasn't a Guard – it was a changeling, but a different one. Fluttershy turned to Dash, who was still fighting back the other monster. When he heard his comrade's chilling chirr, he quickly drew his attention to him.

"No!" he shouted and wanted to rush to his aid, but Dash used this moment of distraction to plunge the blade into his chest. He screamed loudly as the green flame engulfed him, revealing his true form – yet another changeling. This time, Fluttershy was able to examine him closely.

Unlike the changelings in the nest, whose flesh was rather soft and resembled rotting meat, his flesh was hard and sturdy, almost like armor. Fluttershy quickly figured out that it was chitin. The blade was stuck in his chest, causing him to bleed, but the monster didn't even flinch. He just ripped the knife out of his chest and threw it away. He glanced at the burning remains of his friend.

"You fucking bastards!” he shouted, and suddenly, his face assumed the expression that you usually had when you just unintentionally told somepony a secret. He backed away, looking in the emptiness in complete terror as Rainbow Dash jumped at him and knocked him down.

"All right, you insect! You’re going to tell me everything you know!" Rainbow Dash growled at him. He looked at her with hatred in his eyes.

"Dash, we don't have time, the fire's getting closer!" Fluttershy urged, and picked up the thrown away silver dagger. Dash sighed and hit the changeling in the face, knocking him unconscious.

They proceeded to escape the cave, leaving the changeling to die.

Finally, they reached the tunnel that lead back to Rarity's house. There, they were finally able to catch a breath.

"What the hell were those things? These were changelings, but... they were intelligent and had these freaky disguise powers," Rainbow asked, scratching her head.

"They looked different. They acted different. Are they a new breed?" Fluttershy said to herself. "But how can a new breed be some much more intelligent and smarter than the original?! Something is going very wrong."

"At least their hive is destroyed. Who knows – maybe we breathed in some hallucinogenic fumes there, and now we're just seeing things."

"Are you joking? I bit that asshole right in the neck, he was real!" Fluttershy said coldly.

"Anyway, we should get out of this cave. I'll make sure to send a couple of guards for clean-up," Rainbow Dash said and crawled into the tunnel. Fluttershy sighed and followed her.

***

"A changelings' hive! Sweet sun! I hope you destroyed it," the butler whimpered, and Fluttershy nodded silently, fixing the bandages on her wound.

"Good. I suppose I'll have to thank you. Who knows when these things could have gone out of hiding – we would be missing much more than several patients," she said while trying to regain some dignity.

"You can't put thanks on the bread. Remember that," Fluttershy replied and went to the exit. "Have a nice day."

The butler shook her hand and returned to her duties. There was a lot of dirty clothes and crockery for her to wash. She shouldn't put it all away at the last hour.

Fluttershy returned to her room in the inn. The changelings weren't going out of her head – what were they doing here? Why did they attack? She had been in situations like this before – she was hunted, put on the wanted list, she even had a reward for her head in some town, but this situation was something new. Either it was pure dumb luck that she met those two, or there was something bigger behind this, something much bigger.

Their ability to disguise themselves was especially worrying for her. The changelings were called that way only because of their close resemblance to normal ponies, but these really justified their name. They could be around anywhere, watching her every move, stalking her. All this was unsettling and awoke paranoia in Fluttershy. They could walk right up to her and stab her in the chest, and she wouldn't notice.

Fluttershy sighed, took a bottle of whiskey and drank a little bit. It soothed her nerves a little, but her decision was clear. She would get out of here as fast as she could. Possibly as far away from the heartland as she could while she was at it.

She started gathering up her things, there weren't much; she never planned to settle anywhere for long so her things were always packed up for new travels. Besides, there weren't many things to carry around anyway – everything fit perfectly in her cape.

Everything was ready for her department. Fluttershy left some coins on the bed as payment, and headed for the Mayor's residence to receive her payment.

***

Mayor Mare was sitting at her desk, looking through some old documents. They were old trading contracts with several companies about the delivery of food. She hoped to renew them as soon as she possibly could – Sweet Apple Acres’ harvest this year was very poor, and the winter was drawing closer and closer. It was getting colder, and, probably, the first snow would fall out, maybe even this week.

Her concentration was interrupted by her secretary coming in.

"Oh, what the hell happened again? Don't tell me more complaints came!" Mayor Mare said in an annoyed voice.

"No, miss, the monster hunter came back. She says the job is done," the secretary replied.

Mayor Mare felt her heart rate increasing. She felt dizzy and started fidgeting around the table, looking for a bottle of cognac she recently put here. In her dizziness, she didn't notice it and pushed it off the table. The bottle fell on the floor and shattered.

"Miss, are you all right? Should I bring your medicine?" the secretary asked worriedly and Mayor Mare shook her head.

"Just give me a new bottle," she said. The secretary opened the cupboard where all the drinks were, took a new bottle of 'Raimy Martif', and placed it on the desk along with a glass. Mayor Mare opened the bottle and filled the glass almost to the brim, then proceeded to drink it all.

"Shit, this thing's good.... Anyway, wait a second,” Mayor Mare said, took keys out of the pull-out drawer of her desk, and proceeded to go to the safe which stood in the corner of the room. She opened it, counted out a big sum of money, put it in the bag, and gave to the secretary.

"Here's her payment. She may count – the entire sum is here, maybe even more," she said and secretary left her office. Mayor Mare sat in her chair and poured herself another glass.

If her mysterious 'friend' was just bluffing about his early threats to hang her on a tree with her entrails, she would certainly never get re-elected for the next year after the winter that would surely take away many lives. If she wouldn’t get re-elected, she might as well kill herself – there was nothing else she could do. This goddamn shady deal was her last hope, and it didn't work out.

Her life was slowly coming to an end. At least, she wouldn’t freeze do death, or starve and rot in the snow. However, that thought wasn't even a bit relaxing.

***

Fluttershy left the town hall after counting every piece of gold. There were several coins extra so Fluttershy left them at the secretary – she didn’t take charity, you paid what you owed, not a coin less or more.

As she passed through the streets, her mind was clouded by more and more thoughts. This place started to get to her – she had visited so many towns, big and small, and yet this hole was stuck in her memory. Maybe it was because of her meeting with Dash. Maybe it was because of Scootaloo.

When Fluttershy remembered Scootaloo, something in her chest started to hurt. Heh, she knew her only for several days, and yet, now she was stuck in her memory forever. Fluttershy started to think, what would happen if she left without telling her anything – it would be safer for her, as she would be in danger near Fluttershy. Besides, she was just a child... but wouldn't that be a betrayal? Just like the one Fluttershy suffered through?

Fluttershy stopped at the corner of some building and leaned against it. She started to understand – maybe back then, many years ago, Rainbow Dash had faced a similar choice. Maybe she too had to pick between friendship and the safety of her friend. The pain in the chest became more twisted and powerful. All this was taking its toll on her.

Fluttershy decided to finish this – once and for all. The only way to know the truth was to ask, ask Rainbow Dash right in the face. It had to be done – if Fluttershy left now, what point was there to live anymore? Right now, she felt like she had different goals – not mere survival, but truth. She had to find the truth and make a decision.

After several minutes of walking, she reached the Royal Guard station. The place was rather crowded with many Guards resting, and doing something in the yard. Fluttershy entered the building. Near the entrance, she was stopped by a patrol pony, who was on the shift here.

"Good morning, miss, can I—" he stopped when he recognized Fluttershy. He probably saw her when she first visited Dash.

"I need to talk to your commander, Rainbow Dash. No, I am not going to cause trouble, I just want to talk," Fluttershy said, predicting what he is going to ask.

"O...ok then. Go right ahead – upstairs and to the left," the guard instructed, and Fluttershy went to Dash's office.

The only remarkable thing she saw in these look-alike halls was the wall of honor where the pictures of the best officers hung. 'We are proud of our comrades' - it read in red letters above the pictures. Heh, must have writ reports faster than others. Every one of them seemed to Fluttershy like a milk drinker, an amateur – maybe in real life they looked different, but on these portraits they looked more like some kind of clerks in a town hall than protectors of life and enforcers of law.

In several minutes, she reached Dash's office. She opened the door and looked inside – it was a very simple office, compared to the one Mayor Mare had. Most of the room was occupied by cupboards which contained towers of papers. Rainbow Dash was sitting in front of her desk, made out of oak, and read something. The creak of the door disturbed her, and she looked up, right at Fluttershy.

"Fluttershy? Surprised to see you here," she said, and, with a gesture, invited Fluttershy to come in. She closed the door behind her, found a chair, moved it to Dash's desk, and sat down.

"Do not get used to it. I just need you to tell me something," Fluttershy said, looking at Rainbow Dash with all seriousness.

"Well, sure, what do you want to know?" she replied.

"I need you to tell me – why did you leave me behind many years ago?" Fluttershy asked, and Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Since when did you start to care?"

"I didn't. It doesn't concern you – I just need to know."

"Listen, don't think I am some kind of a heartless bitch. I imagine you must have suffered through a lot... but it was hard for me as well."

"By the sun, Dash, quit your whining! I need a direct answer – why!"

"Uh… I thought that would be better for you... When Pure Heart offered me to go with him, I thought what you would say... how you would react... I couldn't bring myself to tell you that I'm leaving. You were always so... sensitive. I thought that any bad news could outright kill you... so I didn't tell anything... I just left."

Fluttershy sat there, weighing every word. Now she understood, now she knew what was what. Now, she knew what to do.

"Listen, if it is possible... could you ever... forgive me?" Dash asked. Fluttershy continued to look at the wall, and then, suddenly. went to the exit. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I'm going to not repeat your mistake, Dash. However, I can tell you for sure – you can sleep with a clean conscience from now on," Fluttershy said, and left quickly.

Dash sighed with relief. She didn't know what Fluttershy was talking about, why she needed to know the reasons, but she felt so much better after this short conversation. It was like dropping a mountain from your back after carrying it for the majority of your life. Maybe she would find Fluttershy after some time and they'd sit around together as friends, tell each other stories...

Dash found a clean piece of paper and started writing an order on it. She remembered the disguised changelings, and her decision to conduct an investigation. They were disguised as her officers – so she would start checking her own comrades first.

***

Fluttershy was walking fast to the hospital. Many things were clouding her mind, but at the same time, she felt much better. She was glad that she made the right choice and talked with Dash – now, she would not repeat her mistakes; she would not let another child fall.

She made her way fast, without paying too much attention to the surroundings now. This entire rabble didn't matter anymore. Fluttershy finally saw the chance to accomplish something really big. She saw her chance to drag somepony out of the abyss, the abyss that hid near you, waiting to swallow you. She would save Scoots, like Amos saved her many years ago.

Finally, she made it to the hospital. She rushed through the grey corridors, quickly going to the orphanage wing. However, she did notice that it was awfully quiet. She didn't see any nurses or nannies in the corridors. That seemed very strange to her – usually there were more sounds. Fluttershy knew that she was probably being paranoid right now because of the changeling attack, but she still prepared herself for a fight if necessary – the wristblade on the recovering hoof was ready.

She made it to the playing room where all the children were at the time. She carefully opened the door and took a peek inside. To her relief, everything was just like she would expect – children were playing, several caretakers were watching over them. Fluttershy entered the room as the children stared at her. Out of this crowd of children, Scootaloo ran and approached her.

"Hello there, Scoots, how's it going?" Fluttershy asked.

"Pretty good. I didn't think you would come again, but I was stupid to doubt you! You're even more awesome than I thought!” she said, smiling, and Fluttershy tried to smile in return.

"Kiddo, I will leave the town very soon, maybe even today," Fluttershy said, and Scootaloo turned very pale. "But I have a proposition for you. Tell me, child, would you like to come with me?"

"Come..with you? You mean, like, forever?"

"Yes, forever"

"Forever-forever?"

"Yes, forever times infinity. So, do you want to?" she asked, and Scootaloo suddenly jumped at her, encasing her in a hug.

"Yesyesyesyesyes," she squeaked very quick.

"All right, good. Don't take anything with you – everything you have from your previous life must go away, because you will live a different life from now on. Let's go," Fluttershy said, and finally she noticed something really weird – the caretakers were all looking straight at her, with eyes showing no emotions whatsoever.

"Scoots, right now I need you to do exactly as I say," she whispered to Scootaloo. "Follow me, and don't look back. Keep up, and don't fall behind."

"Okay..." she whispered back, and they slowly started to walk to the door, but the path was blocked by one of the caretakers. However, he was unaware of Fluttershy's disregard for common rules of behaving, for he didn't expect her to violently push him away. She and Scootaloo, who looked around scared, got out of the room, and were cornered by at least five 'doctors'.

Fluttershy suddenly felt very dizzy, and the world started to whirl around her. She couldn't control herself anymore as she fell down on the floor. The world started to turn black. She couldn't do anything, as she fell deeper into the sleepy abyss. The last sounds that reached her ears were the screams of Scootaloo, as she tried to fight back.

"Let... her...go..." Fluttershy uttered her last words, before she completely lost herself in the dream.

Final Chapter - Pillar of light and hope

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, but the blur and dizziness were not going away. She tried to shake away the sleepiness, but this cause a horrible headache, like she was smacked in the head with a hammer. She tried to look through the blur, but this attempt made her sick. Fluttershy tried to move her hooves, but she couldn't. She moved her limbs a bit and figured out that she was chained to some kind of a cross. The chains were already warm from her body, and she felt pain where they were connecting to her flesh.

Through the annoying ringing in her ears, she managed to hear sounds of beating. The rough sounds of impacts echoed in her ears. The flattened moans of the victim reached her ears.

"Master... we thought we would please you..." - the voice said, then it was interrupted by a loud sound of a sturdy metal connecting with flesh.

"YOU INSOLENT, IMBRED MORONS!" - the loud shout pierced Fluttershy's ears, causing pain and even stronger headache.

"I thought I was clear when I ordered to remove her - quietly. Q-u-i-e-t-l-y" - the angry voice growled. "You decided to kidnap her in front of the fucking children! YOU FUCKING CRETINS!"

He growled for several minutes, beat somepony up, then seemed to relax a bit.

"Now, because of your idiocy, we will have to silence the truth. Get back to your posts, when I come out, we shall commence the purification" - he said in a disappointed voice. "Oh, it looks like she is conscious. Wake her up"

A stream of cold water flew in Fluttershy's face, clearing away the dizziness and sleep. The blur was gone, and she was able to see again.

The room she was in was quite big, and seemed very old. The dim light of a lantern, hanging under ceiling was lighting the room. The walls were made of stone, but they seemed very old, and were covered in moss. The floor was stone, with pieces of trash and brick lying everywhere. Both walls and floor were darkened, as if there was a fire. Fluttershy figured out that this was the basement of an burned down building. She couldn't figure out which one, however, as there were several of these in this town.

She saw at least six changelings, like those that attacked her in the cave before, standing around a body. That body was of another changeling, but he was viciously beaten and bleeding. The lymph was pouring out of his mouth, as he tried to crawl away. The pieces of bricks and rocks were cutting his belly, as he was slowly bleeding out.

Suddenly, Fluttershy was approached by an unicorn. He was white, his mane was the color of light amber, and his face was so comely, that Fluttershy felt the need to punch him right now as hard as she could. She noticed that there was a piece of cloth wrapped around his neck, decorated with gold, and there were several badges of honor attached to it. It wasn't hard to figure out that this asshole was of royal blood. A politician, straight out of Canterlot.

"Slept well?"- he asked politely and suavely.

"Who.. the fuck are you?" - Fluttershy asked in a weak voice, as the headache was still persistent.

"It doesn't matter. If my servants were not as stupid as they was, we would not be having this conversation right now" - he said, and looked angrily at the changelings.

"What do you want from me?" - Fluttershy asked.

"I want you dead"

"Then.. why didn't you kill me?" - Fluttershy said, but he punched her in the face brutally.

"Because when I saw you, I couldn't resist. I had to bring you here, for some... experiments . But, before I kill you, I will tell you why you have to die - you see, to be respected among the high rank changelings and especially the queen, my mother, I have to prove myself, by taking out a strong opponent. Who could fit this role better than the best monster hunter?" - he said, and stroked her hair.

Both her cape and her hat were gone. The bastards were not stupid - they disarmed her before chaining.

"You want to kill me, only to show off before your mom?" - Fluttershy said, and he smiled.

"My mother is the queen, so yes. It is worth it. Besides, your little friend would be of use for me after" - he said, smiling.

"You bastard... WHERE IS SHE?!" - Fluttershy growled and tried to reach his face, but the chains didn't allow her to move closer. The pain pierced her limbs as she tried to get out.

"She is safe... for now" - he replied.

"How... how the...." - Fluttershy started to talk, but he interrupted her.

"My dear, the matter of finding you was the least of my worries. Let me tell you a secret - your arrival in this shithole was staged. Every fight you fought was set up.... Except the werewolves. They were never part of our plan"

This explains a lot, like why the hydra was poisonous. Looks like this bastard really wanted her dead, and raised or found a hydra, then transported her here.

"I promised a lot of gold to Mayor Mare if she played her part in this facade. However, the plan.... failed, and she will not get a penny. After you killed the hydra, I knew our feral brethren couldn't take you down, so I send my servants. However, when they captured you, they foolishly revealed a secret. Now, this whole town will be destroyed to keep this secret" - he said.

Fluttershy was not stupid, she figured out what kind of secret they were guarding - the fact of their existence. They could transform into anypony, impersonate any major figure in this country. They are ready to do anything to keep themselves a secret - even destroy Ponyville.

"Since they brought you here alive, you and me are going to have a little fun. You see, over my long life, I developed an addiction. A very... heh.. messy addiction" - he said, and came closer to Fluttershy, looking her right in the eyes. "I love when mares scream. It fills me with ecstasy, excitement. I will kill you, I promise, but first....." - he leaned to her ear and started whispering. "... I'm going to make you scream"

"Oh..... a rich spoiled prince, with a thing for screaming girls...... what gives" - she said mockingly. "You may be of another race, but I met ponies like you.... You may boast to me..... but I've heard this before... the last royal blooded moron who tried to rape me... ended up with a shortened..... horn"

"Ha-ha. Very brave of you, Fluttershy, the monster hunter. But rape is below me. Only weak fools lower themselves to that. I was going to make you scream..... literally" - he said, as he grabbed a short blade with his magic from the stool, standing just near the cross. There were many instruments of torture there, like pair of tongs, a metal hook with the rusty tip, many kinds of blades, curved and straight. Not far stood a press for skull, a very nasty thing - as the pressure slowly increases, your eyes pop out, your brains start to flow out through your nose and your skull cracks. There was a metal cup, filled with some kind of liquid. From the color, smell and the general look, Fluttershy figured out the ingredients for this vile mix- liquid metal, plus some poisonous herbs that lose their poison but maintain their horrendous effects during preparations - if you drink even a bit of it, you're guaranteed to feel sick till the end of the second week. Then, there was a seer's helmet - it would be a common helmet, if not for the metal hooks that are attached to your eyelids and keep them open as long as needed.

The prince made a small cut on Fluttershy's neck, avoiding causing fatal damage - he wanted to toy with her, make her suffer, make her beg for death. The blood ran down her chest, as he made more cuts on her belly, carefully avoiding organs. As the metal cut her flesh, the scream started crawling up her throat, but Fluttershy shut her mouth, clenched her teeth tight and kept quiet. Several minutes later, prince was cutting her face, making small cuts on the cheeks. Then, he put away the bloodied knife and took the tongs. Then, he mercilessly inserted them into one of the wounds on her side and started move the tongs apart, widening the wound. Slowly her flesh started to succumb and tear increasing the blood loss. The pain was enormous, and when the prince started to widen the third wound, Fluttershy allowed herself the honor of moaning quietly. Prince looked at her with anger and suddenly tore the tongs out of the wound quickly. The blood splashed out of the torn cut, covering his face in the red liquid. Fluttershy only clenched her teeth even tighter.

Prince frowned, put the tongs away and put a metallic gauntlet on his hoof. This gauntlet looked like the one a royal guard would use, but its edges were sharpened and strengthened.

He swung his armored hoof and hit Fluttershy right in the belly. The impact was strong, and the pain pierced her organs. Unable to control her own stomach, Fluttershy spew out a flow of blood, right on the floor. She coughed, trying to gather up her strength, as the blood was dripping from her mouth.

"Well, that went good. Come on, princess, cry!" - the prince said, smiling.

Fluttershy raised her head and looked at him with her tired, muddy eyes.

"Fuck you..... Fuck you..... FUCK YOU!" - she screamed, but another portion of her blood flew out of her mouth, interrupting her insults. The bastard laughed heartily. He took off the gauntlet, and took the seer's helmet. He carefully put it on Fluttershy's head, and used his magic to hook up Fluttershy's eyelids. The hooks were not sharp, they couldn't damage the flesh, but the pain still persisted. Unable to blink, Fluttershy's eyes quickly started to turn red and sour. The inflammation slowly became more painful, as the steel was chafing the white of her eyes. The helmet didn't allow Fluttershy to look anywhere but straight forward. The prince took another lantern, and ordered one of his minions to light it. This thing was burning much more brighter than the one under the ceiling. The prince moved the lantern right in front of her face. The blinding light was hurting Fluttershy's eyes even stronger, and she couldn't prevent it. This irritating and horrible pain reached the outer parts of her brain, as she tried to blink against her will. The hooks were preventing that, causing even more pain.

After two minutes of this light torture, prince put away the lantern and took of the helmet. Fluttershy finally blinked, but it dealt even more pain to her poor eyes.

"Come on, dear, scream. It's all I want from you" - the prince said suavely. Fluttershy breathed heavily, as blood was still dripping from her mouth.

"You won't break me......" - she said quietly, and prince looked at her surprised.

"You won't break me.... no matter how hard you try..... I will never back down" - she said quietly.

The prince didn't reply, he just chose another tool of torture - the liquid. He took a siphon, and used his magic to open Fluttershy's mouth and put the siphon in. Then, he took the cup with this liquid and started to pour it into her mouth. Fluttershy couldn't stop it, as she let the liquid pour in.

Prince took out the siphon, awaiting the moment when Fluttershy will start to puke her insides out, but, to his surprise, she raised her head and spit the liquid right into his face.

"Fucking moron.... You should put the siphon down the throat...." - she said, and forced a smile on her tormented face.

The prince was boiling with anger, as he looked at her with hatred in his eyes. He took an iron hook and pierced one of the crippled wings that was sticking out. Fluttershy opened her eyes wide, as this pain was stronger than anything she felt before. She allowed herself to let out a moan, which infuriated the prince, as he took another hook and pierced the other remain of the wing. Then, he took a two metallic cubes and hanged them on the hooks as weights. The half-healed muscles in her wings were tensioned, as they started to slowly rip, causing horrible pain and suffering. A single tear flowed across Fluttershy's cheek, and quickly joined the rill of blood, streaming down her face.

After about ten minutes of enduring the weight, prince tore the hooks out, causing pain, but at the same time, relieving Fluttershy's wings from the weight.

"You're starting to bore me, bitch. What time is it?" - he asked one of his servants.

"Thirty minutes has passed, my liege" - he replied.

"Well, I've still got some time" - he said, smiling and looking at the tools of torture. He picked a collar, which had sharp spikes on the inside. Blood quickly flowed from under the metallic collar, as the spikes pierced her flesh. He attached a chain to it, and started pulling it, causing the collar to turn and cut Fluttershy's neck with its spikes. He took it off and admired his job as several gaping torn holes were 'decorating' Fluttershy's neck.

He looked at the other tools he had, and decided to go with a simple curved knife, tongs, and an iron gauntlet he used earlier.

She didn't know how long it lasted. His scheme was simple - make a cut, widen it, when hit her in the stomach, forcing her to spew blood. Fluttershy lost count to how many times he cut her. Her tortured eyes started to give away, as her vision darkened a bit. The majority of her body was covered in cuts that were violently widened. The puddle of blood under her was enormous, and it was still increasing. But, at the same time, the more prince tortured her, the less pain she was starting to feel. Maybe she was dying, maybe she just got used to it, who knows.

"What... time is it?" - the prince said, breathing heavily.

"It has been.... two hours, sir" - his servant replied.

"All right... this would be enough for her" - he said, as other minion passed him a towel, and he cleaned his face from the blood, sweat and that vile potion.

"You two, stay here and watch her till she bleeds out. The rest, meet the rest of your comrades and prepare to kill everypony in this town" - he said, and started to walk away from Fluttershy. "I want to witness this myself, and.... have a bit of fun with the small one"

Fluttershy raised her head and looked towards him, and prince could not have missed that.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't kill her. Simply 'play' a bit. Then I'll take her with me, to serve as my personal maiden" - he said, and smiled viciously.

"You......You....."- Fluttershy started to talk, but he and several other changelings left before she could finish. Only those two remained.

Fluttershy's mind started to fill with horrid pictures of her little friend being tortured and raped by this vile monster. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She failed... failed to protect.. failed at her last chance to raise a life, not take it. Now, she will bleed in this basement, die alone, and the girl she swore to protect will become a slave..... This... this was more painful than any torture.

The blood loss was taking its toll on her, as the world started to turn bleak and dark. The sounds started to merge into one loud ringing. The pain was slowly subsiding, going away. Even her crippled back didn't hurt as much anymore.

The blood was dripping from her wounds, slowly covering her body in the crimson color. The floor under her was filled with her blood - the pieces of trash were like little islands in the red ocean.

During times when the death is at the doorstep and is already freezing your face with its cold breath, you start to wonder - did I live a good life? Did I do anything valuable or worthy of note? Will anypony remember me when I pass away? Fluttershy couldn't find an answer. She never thought about this - and the only time she did, it's too late, she is bleeding out, chained to a cross in-a-soon-to-be-destroyed town. A grim end to a grim life.

Fluttershy looked at the chains, binding her. There was rust in some places, and they looked like they were pretty old. However, they held her good, and in her condition, she could barely move, let alone trying to get out.

Everything she once held as her shield, what she built up as a pillar to hold her, was destroyed. Her coldness and professionalism didn't prevent this situation from happening. The girl she started to hold dear to her heart will soon become a slave to the twisted mind of a changeling prince, showcasing himself as a real royalty in the court. She probably wasn't the first, and not the last. Where can Fluttershy look for strength now? When all hope is gone, all you can do is weep and cry...
***

As the blood loss and the tortures got to her mind, she started to lose sight. The world darkened around her, and she started to fall. Fall in some abyss, endless pit. Was this the end?

Suddenly, she started to see pictures... disturbing pictures. They were pictures of her life, the bright flashes of pain and suffering. She remembered her earliest childhood....

Fights.... insults..... beatings. That was all she could remember. She was very shy, very scared of life - every shadow seemed like a monster, like a demon to her. She was weak.

This lasted long, until she met Rainbow Dash. That part seemed like a bright flash in this darkness, a ray of light, piercing the shroud of darkness. The light disappeared just as fast as it came into her life, leaving her defenseless.

She remembered the one who saved her from darkness. Dragged her out of the way. Those were one of the best years in her life. Training, travelling.... She felt good, she loved her Master, and Master loved her in return - as a father, mentor. This bright flash ended with the fall, with the cliff and more pain.

Suddenly, all these pictures started flying away, somewhere into the nothingness. After there was nothing but darkness, she felt a presence near her. This warming, good and kind presence, that helped her to sleep peacefully, have colorful dreams and fight back nightmares.

She saw the final picture, the picture of bitterness and acceptance. The picture, that marked the end of her childhood.
***

Fluttershy was lying in her bed, breathing heavily. The anesthesia was slowly going away, and she felt better now. However, the silence and the white of the hospital room were dull and boring. She felt lonely again, like back there, in her room.

Suddenly, somepony took her hoof and held it dearly. Fluttershy slowly turned her head, and saw Master Amos, holding her hoof near his heart. He was looking at her, right in the eyes, and was smiling.

"Mas...ter...." - she mumbled slowly. She tried to move her body, and felt only sharp pain. Fluttershy understood that her back was badly hurt. Maybe.... she won't be able to walk again.

"Master.... I'm.... sorry. I failed you...." - she started to speak. "I failed you.... and because I failed.... I became weak again.... worthless trash.... Are you going to leave me?"

"Never say that again, child. I will never leave you. Never" - he said bluntly.

"I am weak.... why do you need me anymore?...." - she said, and the tears filled her eyes, but she refused to cry.

"Because you are strong, Fluttershy. Don't think you can fool me - your eyes are full with tears, your soul is filled with grief, but you refuse to cry. You refuse to break" - he said, and stroked her head. "When I made you my apprentice, I nothing. I cared for no pony, loved no pony, everything was useless to me. To be fair, I viewed you as just another hunter, who would be nothing to me. I thought you were weak, I wanted to make you strong. But I saw, that you were strong all along - you endured, you continued to fight. You never wanted to look weak - and that changed me. I realized that I care for you, I realized that I had somepony to protect... and that made me stronger. Stronger than I ever was. You are everything to me, Fluttershy. You are my little child, my daughter. I will never abandon you"

Fluttershy looked at him, and smiled. He smiled in return. She started to slowly fall asleep.

"Fluttershy... when you think there is no hope, when you think your life is over.... draw power from your memories. Remember every injustice done to you - and, when all hope is lost, let the memories guide you. Remember everything bad that happened to you - every little detail, and let the anger fill your heart. Remember the good things - and let this light guide you. Your hatred will make your strong as granite, care and hope will guide you. Fight, Fluttershy. I believe in you"
***

The memories disappeared, and Fluttershy woke up from this dream. She felt something surging in her heart, as she raised her head and looked. She remembered everything. She remembered every suffering, every torment she had to go through. She remembered the beatings, she remembered the insults, she remembered the fall, she remembered the pain. Her life was nothing but pain and misery, suffering and torment. The bright flashes were sweet, but the darkness clouded them and hid them away. Pain and sorrow consumed her soul, but.... she saw Scootaloo. This small child, so tiny and weak, surrounded by evil. This evil wants to hurt her, drag her down and make her life a miserable hell. Turn her into a slave on the mercy of some bastard. Fluttershy saw the point now - she must protect her. At all costs. Scootaloo is to her what Fluttershy was to Amos - the point to live, the pillar of hope, the reason to exist.

They want to take her away, they want to hurt her. They can't. Fluttershy suffered her whole life, and now, this hatred is taking over. This hatred she built up for eternity, this hatred she carried with herself through all her life. This hatred is her greatest weapon - and now, it's unleashed.

"You will never hurt her..... never..." - she said, and started moving. One of the changelings went towards her.

"You will never hurt her..... you will never hurt her... never..... never.... never.... NEVER!" - she screamed as hatred filled her, giving her strength. She pulled her hooves as hard as she could, and the chains brutally cut into her flesh. She didn't care. She continued to pull, harder and stronger. The changelings approached her, grabbed a knife with his magic and wanted to finish her off, but she finally broke the chains. It flew away with a steam of her blood. The changeling backed away, as Fluttershy freed the rest of her limbs, tearing the chains, disregarding her own flesh. She fell down on the floor, into the pool of her own blood.

The changeling ran towards her, aiming to cut her neck, but Fluttershy was quicker - she dashed towards him and hit him right in the belly. He dropped the knife, and Fluttershy brutally rammed her hoof into his eye, squishing it. The other changelings was scared - she could see it in his green eyes. He turned around and tried to run, but Fluttershy quickly caught him and snapped his neck without much difficulty.

They were both dead. Now, Fluttershy had to find a weapon - she was out for some time, and the town was probably swarming with changelings now. They were probably armies of them now. It didn't faze Fluttershy one bit - everything that stands between Scootaloo and her will die.

She looked at the stool with the torture devices - and noticed that one of the blades was hers. The Tongue of Moon - the bastard probably wanted to keep such a rare blade. She grabbed the blade with her mouth and went outside.

She didn't meet any resistance in this building, but when she got to the window, she saw the horror - the town was in flames, the fire was lighting the night, the cries for help could be heard, but they were quickly silenced. There was a lot of changelings, and they were destroying the town. Fluttershy quickly exited the abandoned building, and set her way to the town hall - it was the best vantage point in the town, prince would probably be observing the slaughter from there. Scootaloo will be with him there too.

Fluttershy walked into the town and reached some street, when a whole squad of changelings stumbled upon her. There were at least thirty of them and they all were bloodied - each of them must have killed at least five ponies already. They turned their green eyes to her, as she slowly walked towards them, and the blade was sparkling with the moonlight. They growled viciously and this whole wave of teeth, chitin and hatred was going right towards her. Fluttershy switched to gallop, as she hit right in the center of this wave. She started to cut left and right, dodging every attack they tried - bites, hits, everything. Her blade was whistling as it cut through their chitin armor like knife through butter. They were going all at once, and Fluttershy danced around, jumped from one to another, cutting them in pieces. Parts of their bodies were flying away quickly, and their numbers were decreasing every second. Soon, only one managed to escape, and Fluttershy continued, stepping over bodies of these vermin.

She felt no pain. The wounds she gained from the torture didn't bother her anymore. There was only one goal she had to accomplish.

"You will never hurt her...." - she whispered, and kept repeating that, again and again, as she continued her way deeper into the town.

Several minutes and a dozen of slain changelings later, she reached the Guard post. It was barricaded, and seemed to be quite full - the guards organized defense and gathered up a lot of civilians. However, a giant sward of changelings was approaching this haven. The guards who were standing in the yard, fighting off the attackers, quickly ran to the doors, begging to let them in. It seems the fight has been going on for some time, as there were bodies of both guards and changelings here. They must have hoped that this post will be a good stronghold against changelings - but there were too much of them. The barricades will not last against such a horde.

Fluttershy looked at the approaching horde, held the blade tighter in her teeth and ran right at it. She couldn't count all the changelings, but there were at least forty, and more were coming. The faces started to stick out of the windows of the post, to see that's happening.

Fluttershy delved right into this horde, cutting left and right. They surrounded her, attacked in groups, but Fluttershy was fast and efficient - she cut with no mercy, leaving them limbless or headless.

She was covered in her own blood and changelings' lymph. Her gorgeous hair was dripping wet with blood, and lymph was dripping from her blade and herself. However, she still maintained that beauty she always had. As more and more changelings fell, more and more came to join the fight, and fell, struck by her blade.

One of the changelings was standing away from the fight, and saw Fluttershy jump up in the air, as the moonlight shun though her mane and showed her figure in all its glory. He was terrified - she was an angel. A fallen angel, an angel of death. Her beauty was stained by blood and lymph, and her crippled wings shown her fall from grace - she had no remorse, no regret, no mercy.

Soon, all changelings backed away, and ran. Ran as fast as they could - they were afraid now. They saw dozens of their comrades being sliced in minutes, and they were now afraid of her. Only a handful of them survived, and they were flying away fast.

Fluttershy continued onward, pushing away bodies, going straight for the town hall, and her only goal.

"You will never hurt her.... you will never hurt her....... you will never hurt her....."
***

"Lieutenant, report, now!" - Rainbow Dash shouted to one of her subordinates, who was watching over the street.

"Commander... they are retreating" - he replied in a shocked voice. Rainbow Dash was staggered.

"Did... did we scare them off?" - she asked.

"No... they are running away from..." - he looked through the binoculars. "They are running from Fluttershy! Holy shit, she's all covered in wounds.... damn"

"Fluttershy?... And I thought she had escaped.... Thank the sun. Lieutenant, make sure the civilians don't leave the building. I'm going out there" - she said, and lieutenant hailed her. She went through the filled corridors of the building, avoiding crying and moaning ponies. She noticed Pinkie Pie trying to calm the kids down in one of the rooms. What a brave pony - the rescue squad found her barricaded in the assembly hall, with children. She was shocked, but held herself together very well, and managed to control the children too. She must have seen so many violence - not all children made it out alive, and many nurses and doctors were slaughtered.

Dash was worried about Applejack, but she knew that stubborn pony won't give up without a fight. She already sent a squad to help her protect the Acre, as Dash knew Applejack will never leave her property and her family behind.

She hurried outside, to check out what the hell happened. This world has just started to go nuts, but she was sure - what she was going to see, would be more fucked up than anything.
***

Fluttershy bashed the door open. The reception was trashed beyond belief - the documents were lying all over the place, the walls were covered in blood, the furniture was gathered in piles. The half-eaten corpse of the secretary was lying not far from her post. Her insides were lying right before her - it seems some changeling hasn't finished his lunch. Fluttershy went upstairs, and found an even bigger mess - there were corpses everywhere, the pictures that used to hang here in the corridor were torn and scratched, or covered in blood. Fluttershy made her way into the Mayor's office, and opened the door. The office was completely destroyed, and Mayor Mare was lying in her chair, dead. Her mouth was open, and these were golden patches of reflected light coming out. Prince has poured melted gold into her mouth, it seems. She did get the gold, after all.

There was only one place, where prince could be now - the third floor, which was the private quarters of Mayor Mare. It had a nice balcony, from where the whole street could be observed.

Fluttershy was sure, that he saw what he did to his servants. She filled the whole street with their corpses, slowly making her way from the post to the town hall. She lost the sense of direction in that fight, and just walked where the there were more enemies - that, surprisingly, led her to her destination. She didn't know how many she killed by now, and she didn't care - she wanted to get to the third floor as fast as possible.

On her way, she met several changelings. They looked different - more bulky and bigger than their brethren. They seemed to be prince's personal bodyguards. There were three of them, and it took Fluttershy forty seconds to cut them into pieces. Their insides were splattered all over the nearby wall, as she jumped at them with the fury of a thousand dragons.

After dealing with the bodyguards, Fluttershy went up and finally reached the third floor. There was only one door - door to the private quarters of the mayor. Her enemy is probably waiting inside. He doesn't have to wait anymore - she is here.
***

Prince cleaned his throat before drinking another cup of water - what he just saw really caught him off guard. His servants were doing fine, but then Fluttershy, who was supposed to be dead, showed up and killed the majority of them. Those, who survived, ran into the woods. This was getting out of control! How could she still fight after all he has done to her? How did she even walk after that?! For the first time in his long life, as changelings can live for hundreds of years, he saw something like this. This was different, new... and terrifying. To think some pony would be able to cut a hundred of changelings into ribbons was baffling. He felt the creeps coming all over his body - he was a bit scared.

He looked at the pony whelp, lying on the big bed. Ever since the start of the attack, he forced her to watch the slaughter, but when Fluttershy appeared, prince was stunned and she managed to back away. Could it be that the monster hunter is after the child? Well, anyway, she couldn't bring herself to slice through a kid - so the girl will do nicely as plan B. He came closer to her.

"Come here, you little bitch!" - he shouted and grabbed her, putting her in front of him.

The door was bashed open, and the terrifying angel of death appeared in the entry. Prince quickly used magic to grab a paperknife and put it to the child's throat.

"Don't move, or she dies" - he threatened, and smiled viciously. The monster that just moments ago was cutting down his soldiers like weed, stood in her tracks. It's working! She doesn't want to hurt this child. Prince started to back away.

Fluttershy looked like a thing out of nightmare - her body was covered in wounds, her pink mane was almost crimson from her own blood, and the lymph was dripping from the blade she carried in her mouth.

She came a bit closer, looking at him. She seemed so... calm! Her face was completely emotionless.

"Well, look at you, all cool and powerful. But the thing is - you can't do shit to me, because of the child" - Fluttershy twitched her ear, and prince smiled. He knew he pressed the right button.

"Yes... you have something to this child... yes... That's your weak spot, hunter" - he mocked her, and made a little cut on Scootaloo's cheek.

Fluttershy stood still, and the blade fell down on the floor. Prince smiled, and made a mistake of looking her right in the eyes.

Oh, by sun, her eyes. Her face was emotionless, and she didn't say a word, but you could see in her eyes what was truly going on. In those eyes, he saw the endless abyss. He saw the dark endless pit of torment and pain, where monsters lived and craved for blood. In those eyes, he saw dreams of violence and bloodlust, mountains of bodies and rivers of blood.

There was nothing in those eyes, but pure, endless, burning, horrifying hatred, desire to kill, craving for vengeance and blood.

He was staggered. How is it possible? How is it possible for this one pony to house that much hatred inside her? His soul was filled to the brim with fear, as he lost control of himself and dropped the knife, as his limbs started to shake.

Split second. That was all Fluttershy's needed.

She rushed at him with a speed of a hurricane and knocked him down. Terrified, he tried to fight back, but Fluttershy delivered a flurry of punches into his face. Then, she allowed him to stand up, only to hit him in the belly, making him spew out his previous breakfast. The magic, maintaining his disguise started to fall, and he turned to his normal form - his wings were quite pointy and sharp, and his head had small growths, forming a crown. It wasn't big, but it was noticeable.

He coughed, spitting out what was stuck in his mouth, but Fluttershy hit him again, pushing him towards the cupboard. He rammed right into it and the thing fell on him, dropping cups and dishes on him. After he climbed from under it, he was covered in cuts and bruises. He looked pathetic - his face was all beat up, the lymph mixed with gastric juice was dripping from his mouth.

"Please.... have mercy... please..." - he begged, and crawled away, as angel of death came closer to him.

"You will never hurt her......" - she said, as she knocked him down, got on top of him and started delivering punches to his face, one after another.

"You will never hurt her......never.... never..... never..... never...... never....." - she said, as she took out all her hatred on him. She started hitting faster and harder, and soon, his bones started to give away. Fluttershy continued to punch again and again, without stopping, continuing to say only one phrase.

"You will never hurt her..... you will never hurt her..... you will never hurt her".

"Fluttershy, please... stop!" - she heard a compassionate voice. Scootaloo approached her from behind and touched her shoulder.

The red mist started to go away from her eyes, as the hatred was slowly going away. Fluttershy shook her head, and saw what she did - prince's head was nothing but jelly, brains mixed with lymph and bones.

"Scootaloo..... I... are you all right?" - she said, turning to her.

"I am.... Fluttershy, you're hurt! You need to see a doctor now!" - Scootaloo said loudly.

"I am okay... child...." - Fluttershy said, smiled and tried to walk, but fell, as the strength was leaving her body. Scootaloo caught her.

"I will get you to doctor! I promise!" - she said, as she tried to drag Fluttershy.
***

"Oh my....." - Rainbow Dash said, with her mouth wide open. The plaza was littered with corpses of changelings. This massacre was just brutal.

Dash walked through, tripping on bodies and guts. This was disgusting.

Suddenly, she saw something coming out of the town hall. She hurried up to see what or who it was.

Scootaloo, the small girl that she is, was dragging Fluttershy with her, trying to keep her lifted from the ground. Her eyes were filled with tears as she screamed and shouted: "Please.... stay alive... PLEASE!"

"Scootaloo!" - Rainbow Dash shouted and approached her. She, with the help of Scootaloo, put Fluttershy on her back, and they headed to the Guard post.

"Please, hurry up, she is dying!" - Scootaloo shouted, and Rainbow Dash tried to walk faster, but Fluttershy wasn't that light after all. Dash felt as her blood was pouring on her, and she felt her breath getting slower and slower.

Amazing. This pony has just slaughtered a whole army of changelings, alone and mortally wounded. What was driving her, what gave her the strength? However, it didn't matter right now. Fluttershy was bleeding out very fast, and Dash hurried up even more.

They had a long history. They both hurt each other a lot, the scars that will never heal. Fluttershy forgave Dash for what she did, and now, it was time to prove that her decision was right.

They ran inside the building and made their to Dash's office - there were no other rooms they could place her in. Dash ran inside and carefully placed Fluttershy right on her desk, swiping all the papers from it beforehand.

In just several minutes, the desk was covered in blood.

"Scootaloo, downstairs and find a surgeon. Hurry, now!" - Dash shouted, and Scootaloo quickly ran away.

"Oh, by all that is holy" - Rainbow Dash said, looking at Fluttershy's wounds. This is the by far the most gruesome sight she has ever saw. Her body, her face - all was covered in cuts, most of them seemed viciously widened, as instead of a clear cut, the flesh was torn. Dash felt sick, examining her. Fluttershy didn't react to anything - she didn't open her eyes, she didn't react to touches. She was still breathing, thankfully, and Rainbow Dash managed to listen to her heartbeat - but it was slowing down with each passing second.

"Fluttershy, if you can hear me, hold on! There are doctors here, they will help you, I promise with my life" - Dash said, as her voice started to tremble and shake. "Please, hold on"

Dash felt herself like an idiot. She really expected Fluttershy to reply. Really expected her to say something witty and funny, or simply tell Dash to go fuck herself. But there was none of that, and grim silence was the answer, interrupted only by her occasional breathing.

Finally, several doctors burst into the room. They were followed by Royal Guards, carrying the stretcher.

"Here she is. Please, step away from the patient" - the doctor said, hiding fear in his voice, but his face gave it away, as he was pale as chalk. The guards put Fluttershy on the stretcher and carried her away quickly, heading to one of the rooms that was used as an operating room.
***

"Ms. Dash... will she be all right?" - Scootaloo asked in a worried voice. Dash sighed and just covered her with her wing.

"I don't know. This is something that's outside our power. All we can do is wait and hope for the best" - she replied.

"But I want to be there. I have to be there, with her. She risked her life to save me!" - Scootaloo said, when she tried to go to the operating room, but Dash stopped her.

"Kid, I want to help her just as much as you do. But we can't help her now, only the doctors can. Now please, relax and sit down" - Dash said, and Scootaloo sat down on the nearby bench.

Rainbow Dash sighed with relief and sat down near her.

"You know, we used to be friends, me and her. Very close friends" - Rainbow Dash started talking, after about a minute of awkward silence.

"Really?" - Scootaloo asked and Dash nod. Then, she started telling her the story. She hid several details, knowing that she should rather hear them from Fluttershy's lips, not hers. However, she still spent a whole hour telling her.

"Now, child, I have some very important business to do. Let me take you to Pinkie, she should take good care of you" - Rainbow Dash said, and Scootaloo, after several moments of hesitation, she followed her.

Pinkie was quite excited to see a new kid join her group. Everypony quickly jumped at Scootaloo with questions, but Dash told them to lay off - she needs some rest. Pinkie made a very serious face and told her, that no worry shall fall upon Scootaloo as long as she's on duty. Rainbow Dash was relieved, and went to her soldiers - there was a lot of work to do. She had to check on Applejack, look through the town, put out fires and figure out where these changelings came from.
***

Pain... pain in the left wing, just in the middle of the bone. Fluttershy felt that pain, and tried to open her eyes. The light blinded her for a second, as her eyes started to adapt. When she got used to the light, she was able to take the look at the room she was in. It looked like an office - but without desks and cupboards. Instead, there were several beds put next to each other. They all were empty, and Fluttershy was all alone in this room. The sun was shining through the curtained window - pretty unusual for this time of year. Fluttershy tried to move, but it was very hard for her to do so - she felt weak and powerless. She raised her head, trying to look at the door - it was closed. She took another good look around, and, having made sure there were nopony around, tried to get up. However, she couldn't even lift the blanket she was under.

Finally, the door opened, and an unicorn, wearing the medical dressing gown, came in. She was reading some kind of report, as she entered and closed the door behind her, without even raising her head. She approached Fluttershy and finally had the idea to lower the piece of paper and take a look at her.

"Ow, you're awake" - she said, looking as Fluttershy flabbily turned her head to her. "So, how do you feel?"

"Where...am I?" - Fluttershy said in a weak voice. "Is... is Scootaloo all right?"

"I'll take that as yes. Well, don't worry, I'll inform your friends that you're awake and they'll visit you as soon as they can" - she said quickly and left.

Fluttershy put her head on the pillow. The pain indicated that she was still alive, so this isn't some kind of near death hallucination. The doctor said that she'll call her friends - that means Scootaloo made it out, after Fluttershy lost conscience. Finally, things actually started to brighten up.

After several minutes the door opened again. Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie came inside, Applejack was carrying a bucket full of apples.

"Nevermind, I think I did die. So, masked demons, what will you torture me with?" - Fluttershy said sarcastically, which made everypony smile.

"That seems like you, Fluttershy" - Rainbow Dash said, smiling.

Scootaloo quickly approached Fluttershy and hugged her. She didn't say even say a word. Fluttershy smiled, and cuddled her in return.

"Yeah, I'm glad to see you too, kiddo" - she said, closing her eyes, embracing this moment as one of the rarest a pony can get in this damned world. The rest stood there, allowing these two to plant this moment in their memory as deep as they can, so deep that no amount of evil can tear it away from you.

Applejack put the bucket with apples on the small cupboard near Fluttershy's bed.

"That's for you, hun" - she said, smiling.

"What for?" - Fluttershy replied.

"You saved our buckin' croup, darlin'. As Dash said, if it wasn't for you, we would all be dead for now" - she said, and Dash nod.

"Yes. You managed to fight back their horde all by yourself. Some of my guards could witness the beginning of the battle - they say you were like under a spell. You didn't react to anything, you just went on and slaughtered changelings. You also kept saying 'You will never hurt her' over and over" - Rainbow Dash explained.

"Okay.... but how did I get here?" - Fluttershy asked.

"When you killed that weird prince guy, you fell over unconscious. I tried to drag you to doctor, and Rainbow Dash helped me" - Scootaloo said quickly.

"Well... I guess I owe you two. Thank you" - Fluttershy said, quietly. Scootaloo and Dash smiled.

"Little Scootaloo told me that you became good friends. And I became friends with Scootaloo, so does that make us friends?" - Pinkie said, smiling and jumping in place.

"You made it too, huh? Was that crossbow of any use?" - Fluttershy said, remembering the weapon she gave Pinkie.

"Yes, actually. If it wasn't for that thingie, I wouldn't be here. I just moved my wrist and.. TWACK.... the arrow flew out right into the monster face. Then, Royal Guards found me and children" - she said.

"Girls, I need to talk with Fluttershy in private. Ok?" - Rainbow Dash said, and Applejack and Pinkie left the room. Scootaloo stayed, as Fluttershy refused to let her go.

"Listen, Fluttershy, it's about that prince you killed. We managed to examine his corpse, or, what was left of it, and, judging by his marks of honor, he was of royal blood" - Rainbow Dash said, sounding serious. "I managed to find out who it was - Grand Lord Blueblood"

"So?" - Fluttershy said, holding Scootaloo near herself.

"His mother, the Second Councilor of Equestrian Circle, Benignus" - Rainbow Dash said, and there was no point in going on anymore.

Equestrian Circle was created after the end of War of the Clans many years ago. Consisting of four elected politicians, they were the closest thing to a ruler in Equestria. They gathered in Canterlot to discuss governmental questions and come up with solutions. All of them were highly respected and feared, as they possessed great power and wealth.

This didn't mean anything good, Fluttershy could understand that quite clearly. The changelings have made their way to the very top, and now they will recognize her as a threat. She will be hunted. They will hunt her, and they will never rest, until she draws her last breath.

"Hmph... what about you?" - Fluttershy asked.

"I don't know... It seems that it will be a suicide to report about this to Canterlot, but I'm still going to. I'll try to take the blame all on myself, if needed, so the folks here don't have to suffer"- Dash said

"How very noble of you.... I don't think they will hurt you - they will much rather try to buy you, so you would keep quiet" - Fluttershy smirked. "Listen, Dash. You should keep quiet about this, and, if needed, accept the bribe. The bitch will be after me, that's for sure. You're at least have a reputation at Royal Guard - and I am just a monster hunter, a brigand"

"Fluttershy, you don't have to...."

"No, Dash. If that bitch will strive for my blood, let her. I'm not that easy to catch" - she said, smiling, then took a long look at Scootaloo.

"Darling.... I hope you understand how the situation just got worse. If you don't want to go with me anymore, I'll understand" - she said to the kid.

"No! I will go with you, to the bitter end, Fluttershy" - Scootaloo said firmly. "It doesn't matter if this will be dangerous - you're my family now, and I will take care of you!"

Fluttershy giggled a bit. This seemed so strange - she now has a family. She never imagined that happening. But it happened.

"Good. We'll be together, then" - Fluttershy said, and hugged Scootaloo. "We'll be leaving soon. Dash, did you find any of my things, by any chance?"

"Yes, actually, we did. We'll give it back to you, when you will be ready to leave" - Rainbow Dash said.

Fluttershy finally let Scootaloo go, and she ran away to gather necessary things for the travel.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were left alone in the room now. They smiled to each other, as Rainbow Dash came closer to her and extended her hoof. Fighting weakness, Fluttershy bumped hooves with her.

So many years, they both suffered, because of each other's mistakes, foolishness, stubbornness. But now, it was all over. The bond that tied them together in their childhood was renewed and born anew.
***

Epilogue

Fluttershy adjusted her wide-brimmed hat, and looked towards the horizon. The cold wind was blowing through her pink mane, refreshing her from the time she spent in the hot room, while she was recovering. All her things were gathered - all her tools and weaponry were in her cape, ready for travels, and even an apple from Applejack. She insisted that Fluttershy would take it.

Little Scootaloo was beside her, with a little bag on her bag, with her personal things. Fluttershy allowed her to take something, but only the most precious things, as they will be moving a lot.

The dull pain in her body still persisted, as the operation to save her was long and difficult. Surgeons had to sew many wounds and use a lot of medicine on her. The scars will stay on her body forever, as painful reminders. Also, she will suffer some aches in the near future, but otherwise, this was the best outcome that could have happened. She was close to death, still.

However, deep inside herself, Fluttershy felt something changing. She felt that the torture hasn't affected only body. But still, she hoped that whatever was coming their way, she and Scootaloo would be able to fight through it.

Rainbow Dash stood near them, encouraging Scootaloo, telling her that she will definitely see the world now. Scootaloo was taking everything pretty well and happily.

Dash and Fluttershy exchanged looks. It was a bit sad, to go apart again, when their friendship has just begun anew, but this was the necessary sacrifice. Maybe the fate will be merciful to them, and their paths will cross again.

"So, are you ready?" - Fluttershy said, and Scootaloo nod happily. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy bumped their hooves for the last time.

Rainbow Dash thought of all soon to come problems - she will have to write a report on this situation, deal with Benignus. Many ponies died in this attack, and needed a proper burial. The town is in ruins, Mayor Mare is dead - this will be a hard winter for sure. Brutal, vicious, but Rainbow knew they will endure it. She will make sure of that.

Fluttershy and Scootaloo finally took their leave. Scootaloo was excited, and scared at the same time - a new life awaits her, life of adventures, danger and travels. So many thoughts were tearing her mind apart right now, so many possibilities. But one thing she knew for sure - Fluttershy was there for her, and they were always ready to protect each other.

Fluttershy looked somewhere far, immersed in her own thoughts, but they were much more practical. Where will they go, where will they stay, what will they eat? The changelings could be around every corner, hiding and waiting for a chance to avenge their dead prince, and this worried Fluttershy, awakening the feeling of paranoia. However, she knew that, no matter what, she will never let anypony or anything hurt Scootaloo. Ever.

She looked back for a second and decided for herself - it was a good thing that she came to this town. It helped her realize, it put her right before her past. She thought of Master Amos, and how he stayed with her, near her bed, from day to night. She thanked him once more in her mind. He may rest in peace now - Fluttershy has grown, became a true adult.

Together, Fluttershy and Scootaloo left Ponyville behind, as they slowly disappeared in the darkness of the wood. Together, they will look for a place in this cruel world.

Here, ends the tale of a monster hunter. A long, bloody, gruesome tale, that has carved itself into the ground with crimson letters. However, when every tale ends, it gives birth to something bigger. From the dark and gritty remains of the tale, that can be missed by a non-careful rise, something greater will rise, and many will notice it. Many will notice, and perish, many will notice, and rejoice in its coming.

The tale ends here, and here, it gives birth to a legend.

Author's Note

Warning - this chapter contains LARGE amounts of gore. Viewer's discretion advised.

Prologue - The hunter (Edited)

The sky was covered in grey clouds and raindrops started to fall, slowly forming puddles on already messy ground. The cold bitter breath of the north was blowing. The winter was nigh.

The road under your hooves was gritty, dirty, and the trees around you looked like something out of a scary children fairytale. Fluttershy grinned. The first thing she would add to the paycheck was a good bath for her hooves.

The raindrops were falling right on her wide brimmed hat, breaking apart in thousands of little droplets. The hat was well made and didn't let the liquid through. But the rain escalated and Fluttershy decided to find a sufficient shelter before the water gets through her cape and ruins the equipment.

Several minutes of running under trees, she finally reached an old rundown inn. The walls outside were almost black from age and the roof was covered in moss. But through the windows, Fluttershy saw the light – that means; somepony actually lives in this piece of rot.

She approached the front doors and heard loud laughter and piano music from inside. Looks like some kind of a drunk party was going inside. Maybe the local sheriff decided to celebrate his anniversary, or some highway ponies are drinking away the stolen money. Or maybe just some moronic students who were wasting their rich parents' money on booze and cheap whores. Fluttershy sighed and entered this foul den.

It was much worse than she thought. The inn was filled with Royal Guards, the worst kind of them – ex-criminals. Since the level of poverty boomed, the woods and streets of big cities were filled with thieves and racketeers. There were so many of them, the Royal Guard started enlisting those willing to 'repent', a.k.a get drunk and laid free of charge.

The inn itself was quite suitable for these kinds of ponies – the old wallpapers were yellow from the smoke and in some corners you could see very dark stains – probably from those who drank too much and were not able to hold it in their stomachs. The smell of sweat and alcoholic fumes was so strong that Fluttershy felt nauseous, but she quickly defeated this horrible feeling. The drunken Royal Guards, who were just roaring and burping peacefully, turned their attention to her. One of them, the youngest one, rose up from his seat

"Whoa ... hey, guys, look ... we've got a new girl to play with!" he said, reeling. "Can't see if she's pretty though, under that hat, heh..."

Fluttershy didn't reply, she just continued her way to the bar. When she was passing beside this crowd, one of them jumped right in her way. He spread his wings, covering all the ways around him.

"Hey, where do you think you're going? ... There is a price to pay for the passage ... A night with each of us, heh," the guard said in a very drunk voice, barely standing. Fluttershy wanted to find a way around him, but another guard, a unicorn, came up from behind.

"Hey, miss, you've got some ... benefits,“ he said, staring right at her flanks. "Mind if I examine them closely?" He then proceeded to grab her tail.

"Hmm, pink. I like this color, my favorite," he said, examining her tail. "And what's your favorite color, honey?"

"Crimson red,“ Fluttershy replied as she kicked him right in the jaw. The unicorn flew back and fell down on the floor, spitting blood from all the broken teeth. Fluttershy then bit one of the wings of the guard right in front of her, and hit it with her hoof right where it was connecting to his body, breaking it. The poor Pegasus fell down screaming. Fluttershy turned to the rest of this drunken bunch and grinned evilly.

"You boys want some fun? Come on then, I like it rough!" she said, as the leather wristband on her right hoof released a little blade. This wristband was one of the most precious things in her collection and made in a very interesting fashion. It allowed her to manipulate the blade inside, sheathing and releasing it with quick movements of the wrist. Quick, efficient, and deadly.

The guards backed away, scared. One of them, the most drunken, rushed forward, planning to ram her down. Fluttershy dashed to the right side, and, just as this poor idiot was running past her, cut one of his legs. The guard unleashed a chilling scream and landed right on one of the tables, knocking it down.

"Not bad, for a roadside slut," a big earth pony said as he walked out of the crowd. He was the leader, with special marks of honor on his chest. He was the biggest of them all and, surely, just stole them from less strong guards.

"Can't say the same. I expected much more from you, boys," Fluttershy said mockingly.

The big guard growled and grabbed a big knife from the table with his mouth. Then he started slowly approaching Fluttershy as his friends surrounded them, cutting off any means for retreat.

She just smiled heartily as this big mass of muscles armed with a knife was coming closer and closer. She raised her blade and pointed it right at him. The deafening sound of exploding powder echoed through the little inn and the room was filled with smoke. The blade flew out of the wristband and hit the big knife, knocking it right out of the big guy's mouth. He looked at the knife, then at her, then at the knife again. After that he proceeded to run away, his friends quickly following him. Seconds after, the inn was clear of the guards.

"Oh, stallions these days. Can't satisfy a girl at all," she said, picking up her blade and putting it back into the wristband. Then, she slowly approached the bar, where the innkeeper was standing with his mouth open wide.

"Whiskey," Fluttershy said coldly, took a little bag of gold from under her cape and threw it on the bar. The innkeeper finally closed his mouth and put a bottle of some fancy whiskey in front of her.

"Here you go; No charge for you," he said, giving back the gold.

"Thanks," she replied and opened the bottle and drank some.

“Ah, some good whiskey right there, unusual for such a rundown den,” she thought

"Sorry, of course, but, may I know your name? Just asking," the innkeeper said, while cleaning the bar. She sneered.

"The name's Fluttershy," she said. "Van Fluttershy, if you want to be fancy."

"Oh, a monster hunter. What brought you here, and where are you heading?"

"Job. Heading to Ponyville," Fluttershy replied and drank a little bit more.

"Ponyville, eh? Then be wary, those idiots are stationed in Ponyville," the innkeeper warned her.

"Don't worry. I can handle myself just fine," she said, taking the bottle, closing it, and put it in the special place under her cape. Then she proceeded to the exit.

"Also, hire some guards. You don't want to rely on roaming strangers when it comes to dealing with Royal Guards," she said before shutting the door behind her.

The rain was over, but now the road was even more messy that before. She swore to herself that, when she arrived in Ponyville, the first thing she would do is find a pond wash off this dirt. With those thoughts, she continued onward.