Hunters

He changed. This small phrase haunted Fluttershy for the remainder of the day. It wasn’t the fact that they would be alone on a mission or even that fact that Flash had changed. It was the person he had changed into.

She remembered who Flash Sentry was when she first met him. A kind hearted person who was willing to help anyone regardless of if he knew them. Someone who wasn’t afraid to cry or feel compassion for others. Someone who was happy.

Anytime she saw him now, whether it be alone or with someone else, he would always wear that same scowl. A look of pure bitterness and anger. She found it baffling how this was the same person who panicked over a bird falling out of it’s nest.

How could someone so kind become so angry? A foolish question. She knew how. Furiously shaking her head Fluttershy tried desperately to rid herself of that horrid day. She still couldn’t shake this feeling of dread. She was unsure if she could take one of his outburst. And with his current persona, she’d doubt he’d care if he upset or even scared her.

Fluttershy hated this. Thinking so negatively of a friend was the last thing she wanted. Sadly she needed to be realistic. As Flash was presently these were all things to expect. As much as she hated to think this there was no point in trying to deny it. Flash scared her.

Flash walked a good distance behind Fluttershy. His hands shoved in his pockets and eyes looking down. The entire trip to this place had been one of the most awkward in his life. Neither he nor Shy said a word during the train ride. Not that he blamed her.

The two haven’t had any form on interaction with each other in almost five years. The ride did give him time to contemplate things. How did they grew so distant? If their friendship could be saved. And if it should be?

A part of him thought it would be best if they didn’t reconnect. What if this wasn’t the same Fluttershy from his youth? What if she had change for the worst? What if she didn’t?

The last thought in particular scared him. Though, another far more terrifying thought lingered in the back of his mind. What if she was afraid of him?

“ Um. What are we looking for?” he asked in the lowest tone he could muster.

The sudden sound of Flash’s voice caused Fluttershy to jump slightly. She had to fight the urge to grab her chest in panic.

“A-a bugbear cub,” she replied in a whisper.

“I see. How much farther?”

“Uh. Another three miles or so. I-I think.”

“How do you know that?” Flash asked. He had a good idea but he asked more for the sake of keeping the conversation going than anything.

“You can see the tracks he made on the brush and trees. Bugbear cubs play a lot. So they leave their marks all over the forests,” Fluttershy explained.

“So we follow the wave of destruction and we’ll find the bugbear?”

“Yes.”

“Good. We should be able to cover three miles in no time.”

The two continued their trek through the woods in relative quiet.  The only sounds which could be heard were those of the dwellers of the forest. The silence made Flash far too jittery. Had this been Rainbow, Soarin, or even Twilight, they would have found something to discuss.   But what could he talk to Fluttershy about? He barely knew anything about her now.

He groaned in annoyance. Anything’s better than nothing.

“So,” he began. “How have you been?”

Shy was taken aback by his sudden question. She didn’t consider the possibility of him trying to talk with her. It would be rude not to reply.

“Um. Fine.”

“That’s nice.”

Flash breathed a sigh of relief. Headway. It may not have been much, but he’d gladly take it.

He needed to keep their talk going. What should he ask about next?  Her home life? How she met Applejack? Did she have a boyfriend?

He struck that last one from his mind almost immediately. Fluttershy never seemed like the type who was interested in having a boyfriend. At least, that’s what he remembered. It’s likely that could have changed. It also seemed a bit too personal to ask that.

Maybe she had read some interesting book in the past few days? Even if he wasn’t an avid reader he could try to feign intrigue.

“Read anything good lately?”

“Not really.”

“Seen any movies?”

“No.”

“Do any missions?”

“Applejack and I had a guard mission a few days ago. “

“How was that?”

“It was okay.”

Flash groaned. This was going nowhere fast. Did Shy do anything that wasn’t related to animals?

He found himself quickly becoming irritated. It was like she wasn’t even trying to add to the conversation!

Shy examined Flash. The anger on his face was clear as day and with good reason. She hadn’t intended to give him such short answers, but she didn’t really know how to lengthen her responses.

“Maybe I should have just got myself expelled,” Flash muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy squeaked hanging her head low.

The duo continued deeper into the forest. Hours seems to pass by at a snail’s pace. Flash looked up to find the sun’s light slowly disappearing over the horizon.

“We should stop for the night,” Flash said. “It’d be too dangerous to travel at night.”

Fluttershy nodded taking a seat on a nearby log. Flash sat opposite of her finding a rock to rest upon.

The two sat in total quietness, both lost in their own musings. After what felt like hours Flash final spoke up.

“We should start a fire,” Flash stood up. He walked over to a random tree. He searched around it and found a few pieces of wood on the ground near it. He grabbed a handful. Then made his way back to Fluttershy.

He carelessly threw the pieces of wood on top of one another. He gave Fluttershy a stern look. It was a message that her responsibility was to watch the fire. She nodded.

Flash searched around their minimalistic campsite. He found two sharp rocks. He took the said rocks back to the camp.

He sat near the mound of wood. He grabbed the two rocks and began scrapping the little one against the larger one. A few minutes of effort he managed to produce a spark that launched from the stones and landed on the wood.

At first the flame was nothing more than that produced by a match. Flash flapped his arms at the fire. When that proved fruitless he bended and blew on the fire. This empowered the flame more than tripling its size.

Returning to his original spot the two sat in silence once more. Picking up a spare pieces of wood Flash casually poked at the dancing flames.

Flash and Fluttershy were drawn to this new acquaintance of theirs. Perhaps they could start a conversation with the fire. Tell it about times long since passed.

Back when they weren’t Hunters. Back when times were simpler. Back when they were friends.

~~~

The sound of laughter echoed throughout the forest. Flash ran passed the huge trees trying to find one of his friends.

“It’s not fair. I’m half fiend.I can hear a lot more stuff than them. So why can’t I find anyone?” Flash whined.

He came across a group of three trees. They stood proud and tall. Flash figured they looked like they reached high into the sky.

He recalled a story of such a thing leading to a giant’s home in the sky. He considered climbing the trees to find out. He decided against it because he knew his mother would have a heart attack.

As he moved forward he tripped over something. He grabbed his leg as he winced in pain. His eyes grew a bit wet as he choked back the pain.

When his eyes adjusted he realized he had fallen over a stump. Unlike the trees it remained firmly planted in the earth.

It was near the tall trees. Had it once been like them? Were those trees its friends? He felt like he could sympathize with it.

As much as he loved his friends he wasn’t like them. He was half fiend after all. Could he end up like the stump and lose all his friends?

Before he could continue this train of thought he heard a small gasp. Following the source of the gasp, he spotted one of his friends; Fluttershy.

“Ha!” Flash grinned as he made his way to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy hadn’t noticed Flash yet. She appeared to be lost in her own world. It wasn’t until she heard the giggling shouts of her friend did Shy snap back to reality.

“Found you!”

“Flash? Wait!”

He paid no heed to his friend protest as he got closer. Stifling a grin he dove at his friend.

Unfortunately as he dove he stopped one inch short of within reach of his friend’s body. He groaned. He wondered why he cared. Freeze tag was a dumb game anyway.

He felt his friend grab his arms. She helped him up. He looked in confusion at her. If he had dove at her before she would have ran screaming.

She pointed at a tree. His eyes followed her finger to find a bird’s nest. On the edge of it was a tiny baby bird.

Flash’s eye grew three sizes. It was going to fall! Thinking quickly he tore himself from Shy’s grip and positioned under the nest.  The bird fell squawking and flapping frantically. Its tiny, featherless wings worked desperately to fly. Flash felt his breath go short. Tears formed in the corners on his eyes. His eyes blinked trying to clear the tears from them. The blinking didn’t help at all.

With his hands cupped the bird roughly fell into them. Flash smiled brightly. He caught it! It was okay! Wasn't it?

Looking down he found the tiny creature was not moving. Its chirping ceased. Its eyes closed.

Flash’s arms began to tremble. The tears flowed unabated. He moaned sorrowfully.

Then he felt a small tapping on his shoulder. He turned around to see Fluttershy’s kind eyes. She held out her hands. Flash passed the deceased bird to her.

Fluttershy moved the bird up to her mouth. She gave the top of its head a small kiss. That kiss seemed to pass on some of its warmth to the bird. The bird now shook as if it had awakened from wa bad dream.

Flash was left stunned. He had never known Fluttershy could bring a bird back to life just by kissing it.

“It...it wasn’t dead?” Flash chocked out, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“No. It might have just gotten hurt when you caught it.”

“I’m-I’m sorry, Shy.” Flash sniffled. “I shoulda listened to you.”

“It’s okay. The bird is okay now.”

Flash nodded. Although the bird was mostly unharmed, it was still a few feet away from it’s home.

“I feel bad.” Flash said, lowering his head.

“Why?”

“The birdie. It can’t get back home.”

“Oh.”

The pair stared at the little chick as it was chirping and hopping around in Shy’s hands. Flash looked up at the nest. From the bird’s view it seemed as far as the bird was from being a lion. To Flash it was a simple jump or two away.

“I’m gonna put the birdie back.”

Shy shook her head rapidly.  “No! You can’t! It’s still a baby. It’ll be too much for it.”

“I’ll climb slowly.”

“But-” Shy had no chance to further vent her concern as Flash took the bird placing it within his shirt’s pocket.

“I promise I’ll be careful.”  Fluttershy still had doubts about this, but the look of pure confidence and reassurance Flash gave her was overwhelming.

“Okay. Please be careful.” Flash nodded turning to the large tree before them. Slowly he scaled the side of the tree.

Flash grumbled softly. This was going to take forever. He wished he could scamper up the tree at his regular speed. But he had promised to take his time. He could see the nest. It was fairly close. Only a few inches away.

Slowly he reached out to the nest. He delicately dropped the little bird into its home. The bird adjusted itself before closing its eyes. Flash sighed in relief.

As Flash begin to climb back to the ground a loud squawk caught his attention. Flying at him from his left was a large and angry looking hawk.

The furious flyer pecked at the blue haired half fiend. It had thought he was trying to harm its hatchling.

“H-hey! Stop! I was only trying-” the hawk paid no mind to his words as it continued its attack.

Desperately Flash tried swatting the predator bird away. This only resulted in the bird moving away temporarily. Only to move back in for more clawing of his body.

Flash became painfully aware of one of the now numerous injuries over his body. His hands were bleeding. The pain was so intense he wanted no more than to view his hands to inspect the damage.

The next thing the hawk attacked was his ears. The world around him grew eerily quiet. Then he felt it spinning around. In a daze he let go of the tree.

As he fell he looked over to see Fluttershy was in tears screaming something. He turned back to find the hawk was now cuddling its baby. Flash grinned at the sight.

“FLASH!”

~~~

“Flash!” Fluttershy shook her temporary partner awake.

“What? What is it?” Flash asked, still groggy from his sleep.

“The bugbear cub is right there,” Fluttershy said pointing to the cub. It was a few feet away from their camp.

Flash hastily picked himself up. Their target was so close. Stuff like that normally never happened.

Cracking his knuckles Flash readied himself to jump. He’d try to grab the bugbear in a single motion.

The cub looked distracted. Using its confusion Flash dived and caught the cub in his arms.

It struggled futilely trying to escape his grasp. He smiled. It was really cute.

Fluttershy came up behind him. She tapped him on his shoulder.

“Yeah Fluttershy?”

“We should go.”

“Look how cute this feller is.”

“He is Flash but we really have to go.”

“I thought you liked animals.”

“That’s not really the issue Flash.”

“Then what is?”

Fluttershy pointed behind Flash. Flash slowly turned around to find the parents of the cub were standing behind him.

“Bugbear parents never leave their children for long. Typically they’re just a few feet away.”

“That’s why we should’ve left?”

“Yes.”

“Tein!”  Quickly lifting Shy onto his shoulder, Flash jetted away from the raging parents. He knew this was too good to be true. Nothing’s ever this easy.

Two beastly howls from behind motivated him to move faster. Though how much faster he could go against two flying creatures he was unsure of. Taking in the additional weight of both Fluttershy and the cub Flash seriously doubted his chances of escaping the enraged parents.

The only other option was to fight. Something that he knew Fluttershy would object to. Even if she didn’t that would require he’d drop the cub. It was too big for him to fight effectively while carrying it. And then he’d have to fight three bugbears. One bugbear could take on three C ranked Hunters. It was suicide to fight them.

“Any ideas?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Well you’re the animal expert. And I kinda just made those bugbears angry. I think I can’t trust myself when it comes to dealing with them. That leaves you.”

Fluttershy was blown away by his statement.  “You’re trusting me?”

“Yeah!”

Fluttershy felt the heat rise to her checks. For the first time in years they were on the same page.

“What do we do?”

“First we have to hide somewhere.”

“I already got that. But where?”

“A tree.”

“Good first start,” Flash commented sarcastically. “Hang on tight!”  Momentarily increasing his speed Flash leaped to the nearest tree. Fluttershy screamed as they left the ground for the safety of the tree.

“Okay. What next?” Flash asked.

“Take off your shirt.”

“What?”

“You’ll need to rub the cub on it.”

“And how is that gonna work?”

“You’ll be leaving the baby’s scent on it. The parents are tracking us by its scent.”

“So basically if I rub him on my shirt the parents will think there are two of him.”

“Her.”

“Her?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. Hold her then,” Flash said handing the cub over to Fluttershy.

He proceeded to take off his shirt. Fluttershy blushed deeply and looked away.

Flash rolled his eyes. Fluttershy hadn’t known Flash had a tendency to wear one shirt over another. He did it for extra protection.

With his shirt he reached out and reached for the cub. As he did he heard the parents growling as they searched for their cub. He had bought little less than two minutes.

He grabbed the cub in his shirt and rubbed against it. He scrubbed it until the stench of the shirt matched the cub’s.

Flash gave the cub back to Fluttershy. He balled his shirt. Then pulled his arm as far as he could and then launched the shirt soaring through the air. He couldn’t see where it landed. Which was very good.

He saw the larger of the parents follow after the shirt. With that he grabbed Fluttershy and the cub and jumped down.

“Eep!”

Flash looked to find Fluttershy still had her eyes closed. “You can open them now Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes seeing Flash with his second shirt. “Oh! Um, I didn’t-”

“It’s fine. Let’s just make tracks.”

Right after he said that his nose caught the scent of a bugbear. He turned around to find one of the parents chose to stay. So it was back to running for the young Hunters.

“What about this one?”

Fluttershy pondered that for a moment. “We should try and find some honey.”

“Honey?”

“It is a bear.”

It was Flash’s turn to blush now. It was such an obvious answer.

“Afterward we need to find a lake or a good source of water.”

Flash smirked. Both were easy for him to locate. Taking a deep inhale his nose twitched as it sniffed out the desired location and item.

The second Bugbear had covered the distances between itself and the Hunters. Using its wings it had managed to fly up to the pair. Its jaw snapped at the pair.

Flash growled.  He lifted Fluttershy and tossed her to the branch of a neighboring tree. When he was sure she was okay he threw the cub to Fluttershy.

“Flash!”

“Go Fluttershy! I’ll try and hold him back. You go get that honey.

“Where is it?!”

“It's a few trees up. You can’t miss it!”

“Okay!”  Fluttershy began to run from tree to tree. “Please be careful.”

The larger bugbear began flying after her. Only to be stop by a tackling Flash. The force of the charge brought both of them to the ground.

“Stay away from her!”  Flash yelled. The Bugbear bellowed in response.

“Yeah. Growl and snarl to you too!”  Taking flight once more the bugbear charged the young hunter. Its sting front and center.

Flash reached for his spear only to pause. He wanted to stall the beast. With a sigh he balled his hands into fists. The beast thrusted its stinger at him.  Flash quickly parried it with his left hand.

The beast thrust again with Flash dodging the blow entirely.

The bugbear swung one of its mighty claws at Flash. This time the half fiend blocked the attack.

The stinger swiped at his chest and left a long wound on the young Hunter. He gritted his teeth stifling the pain. He placed his hands inspecting the level of bleeding.

Come on Shy! I’d rather not be cut open like a pig!

Slowly the bugbear pushed itself forward. And its stinger launched right for his chest. Right where his heart was located. Instinctively Flash’s hands grabbed the stinger on its sides.

Roaring and moving forward the bugbear could smell its victory. Flash could feel his grip on the stinger begin to slip. His bloody hands were a liability.

How long before they’d fail? He did not know. All he knew was he didn’t have long.

~~~~

Fluttershy hopped from tree to tree. Her thoughts were divided. Half of her was focused on grabbing the honey. The other half was concerned for Flash’s safety. She was unsure if she had made the right decision to listen to him. Deep down she knew he could hold it off for some time, but it did little to sway her fear.

No. She needed to believe in him. The same way he trusted her. It was her turn to return that trust. Looking ahead her face lit up. A bee hive! Yes! And it was only a few meters away. She needed to grab it quickly.

The bugbear cub moaned a little. She knew it must be sad. But this was for her own good.

Stopping on a branch near the beehive she placed the cub on it. She gave it a small pat on its head.

“I’ll be right back.” She gave a small smile as she left it.  Jumping to the final branch she approached the hive careful not to disturb its denizens.

She pucked the hive from it’s resting place. However it seemed that small movement was enough to garner the attention of the bees.

The tiny insects exited their home. They were clearly irritated. If she was not careful she could be stung by a hundred bees.

Fluttershy placed her hand on her head. Her head glowed as she translated her feelings into thoughts for the bees.

In response several bees had one word to say. Revenge. And like that several bees stung Fluttershy.

Seeing her only plan foiled worried Fluttershy. What could she do now? What would her best friend Rainbow Dash do? She surmised the answer was surprisingly simple. Rainbow Dash would dash.

Fluttershy took off running back where she came. The sound of the angry insects were not far behind.

As she ran with the hive over her shoulder she felt a familiar weight return. She turned to find the cub was now sucking on the top of the hive.

She sighed. She hoped Flash could help her solve the mess she got herself in.

~~~

A shriek echoed across the forest. Followed soon by the sound of wood breaking. Flash picked himself up from the pile of knocked down trees. Clutching his stomach he scowled furiously at the bugbear.

The beast didn’t seem to be losing any stamina from tossing him around. He however was fading fairly quickly. He could probably continue this exchange for another five minutes. Maybe six if he was lucky.

Flash’s nose then picked up an oddly sweet scent. And it was coming closer. That meant Fluttershy had to be near with some honey to distract the bugbear. It was fortunate.

That thought had given him the strength to dodge another strike from the bugbear’s stinger. And enough to once again grab onto the beast.

Flash’s adrenaline had faded and his grip on the beast became practically nonexistent He was unprepared when he was sent falling to the ground. He was even less prepared for the bugbear flying to hit him with its stinger.

Thinking quickly he moved his hands to the center of his chest letting them take the impact of the stinger. Stifling a yell he pushed back against the flying animal. Another push and the bugbear was unmoved. It gave the young Hunter a skeptical look. Flash’s strength had finally run out.

The Hunter started chuckling wildly. The bugbear joined in. Flash figured if he was going to die he’d do it with a smile on his face.

Lost within the sound of his own laughter and his impending death the half fiend failed to notice something soar through the air. This something landed right on top of the bugbear’s head.

The sweet scent returned en masse. It felt slightly overwhelming being so close to a strong scent. Flash would have gagged if he had the energy to do so.

Flash watched as the animal’s head came under assault by a swarm of angry bees. Flash figured they were the homeowners of the hive. Now with its vision gone and its body being attacked by the swarm the bugbear screeched in pain.

Despite having wings the bugbear opted to run away from the bees. Flash watched his previous insurmountable foe defeated by insects. He couldn’t help but be a little insulted.

 “Oh no!”  Fluttershy ran down towards her blue haired friend. “I didn’t mean for it to land of his head!”

Flash stared blankly at the shaking pink haired girl. A smile slowly sprawled to his lips followed by a small giggle. This giggle soon broken into a fully on laughing fit.

This sudden outburst confused Shy. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified by his laughing. Her confusion caused her to join in on the laughing.

“Um. Why are you laughing? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“Why are you?”  Flash managed to choke out in between laughs.

Fluttershy wondered that herself. She was terrified, guilt ridden, and nervous. Yet she still

laughed. Why?

She looked at Flash and she realized why. She didn’t see the new Flash anymore. She saw her friend from long ago. She had laughed because she was happy to be reunited.

Her eyes grew wet. Flash was laughing hysterically as Fluttershy gave him a tight hug. The wetness of the tears snapped Flash out of his fit.

“Uh. Fluttershy?” Flash said slowly.

She kept holding onto her friend. Flash appreciated the hug. He’d hug her back but his hands were a bloody mess.

“Fluttershy? Where is the cub?” Flash asked. It had just occurred to him he did not see the cub anywhere.

She was so happy to see her friend again. They were reunited and it felt so good.

“Fluttershy the cub is right there in the trees!” he yelled seeing their prey. He doubted ,even if his hands weren’t wounded, that he had the strength to push her away.

Fluttershy let go. Her gaze shifting to the lone cub. With great haste the two Hunters went to retrieve the young cub.

~~~

Fluttershy stood near the door of the school’s nurse’s office. Her hands clasped together. She couldn’t help but worry about the poor cub.

Flash was seated on the other side of the office. In order to recapture the cub he had decided to do something similar to the honey idea. He had covered himself in tree sap.

The plan has worked and the cub had come willingly. The sap also attracted many bugs that longed for its sweet taste. This meant he had one option. He had to get rid of the sap.

Luckily he found a small river to wash the sap away.  When he was finished with his bathing he moved to meet Fluttershy. As he exited the river he accidentally stepped on an asleep skunk who repaid his act by spraying him.

Fluttershy didn’t mean to hurt Flash’s feelings when she asked him to sit on the other side of the room. It's just he smelled really bad.

The door swung open. From it a pink haired woman emerged. Atop her head sat a small hat with a red plus sign in the middle of it. Flash recognized her as the school’s nurse, Redheart. She gently placed the cub down.

“It’s a good thing you got this little one here when you did.” Redheart spoke as she gave the cub a small pat.  “It doesn’t show any signs of the sickness.”

“So you were able to give it the vaccine?” Flash asked from across the room.

“Yes.”

“That’s a relief. I was so worried,” Fluttershy sighed.

“I got a question,” Flash said.

“Which is?” Nurse Redheart asked.

“Why don’t we try and bring in the parents? I mean what if they get it? Wouldn’t that leave this cute guy alone?”

“First off it’s a girl. Second even if you brought in the parents they’d be much more difficult. As bugbears grow up their aggression follows suit. I wouldn’t worry about them. Grown bugbears immune systems are more than enough to deal with the sickness.”

“Then why did we need to get the cub?”

“Because our headmistress wanted us to plan for the future. This sickness could have made bugbear cubs extinct and little by little the population would decline.”

“Why is she so concerned with bugbears?”

Fluttershy pointed at the cub. The cub’s furry face warmed Flash’s heart. He shrugged in defeat.

“So should we take the bugbear off your hands?”

“I’ll handle it. I am a nurse after all. I do all the grunt work in this school.”

“I thought that was the janitor’s job.”

“It is. And he is bad at it,” Redheart snarled.

Flash waited outside the room as Fluttershy took her time to leave. He had an important question to ask her. Inside Fluttershy gave the cub a goodbye. She gave its head a quick pat and kiss on his head. She then exited the room.

“I didn’t answer you before,” Flash said.

“Hmm?”

“When you ask why I laughed. I never gave you an answer. I laughed because, for the first time in eight years, I remembered what it felt like to hang around you.”

“And?”

“And that made me happy. Shy, I want you to understand something. Even if we don’t really hang out as much you are still my friend. I guess I kinda forgot that myself for a while. I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy gave him another hug. This one was not as tight or as long as the other. Partly because Fluttershy knew to make it quick. And partly because Flash still stunk like dirty laundry.

“Before you run off because I stink I gotta ask you something. I know you’re an expert on animals and all. What do you know about badgers?”