MLPU: The Incredible Flutterage

Chapters

More Than a Flesh Wound
General Hurricane
Freedom
The Monster
Old Friends
Trust
Lost and Found
No Escape
Fit of Rage
So Close
Numbing the Pain
Smash!
Letting It Out
Prologue
The Next Step
Pushing Forward

More Than a Flesh Wound

Fluttershy shot up in bed, eyes wide and a cold sweat drenching her coat and clothes, a tank top and pajama shorts. This had been a regular occurrence ever since her mistake eleven years ago. The nightmares got worse every time she lost control, more faces added to her restless dreams. She hated thinking about it, but it was impossible to forget.

Knowing she wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon, Fluttershy got out of bed and walked to the sink in the bathroom. She lived in a small apartment, the bathroom being the only other room. A television sat in one corner across from the bed, a worn out chair in front of it. On the far side of the room from where she was stood a sturdy table and a chalk board covered in complex equations. The table was strewn with research papers, books Fluttershy had collected to help in her research and a picture of a stallion. The last noticeable feature was a small closet in the corner of the room.

Fluttershy washed the sweat from her face and plodded sullenly back into the main room. Might as well get ready for the day, she thought to herself, approaching the closet. There wasn't much inside. The only clothing Fluttershy owned was an orange jump suit that she used for work, a pair of stretchy pants and a few stretchy tank tops.

She was employed at a plant that bottled household cleaning supplies. She was able to use her job there to get her hands on several chemicals she needed for her experiments. She felt bad stealing from the Diamond Dogs she worked for. They had been kinder to her than most ponies had been back in Equestria. Unfortunately she needed a cure for the monster inside herself. Not that there had been any success.

Fluttershy pulled the uniform off of the hangar and started putting it on. It was an awkward fit because it was made for a Diamond Dog. Her employers had never expected to have a pony working for them.

Fluttershy zipped up the front of the uniform, fitting her wings through the slits she'd cut in the back and walked to the door. Before she left she turned to look at the picture on her desk. So many mistakes, she thought as she left the room.

////////////////////////

"So... umm... Mr. Strap, how can I help you?" Fluttershy asked hesitantly, keeping her eyes on the file to avoid staring at the stallion sitting across her desk. The two had met in Fluttershy's office in the labs she'd been working in the last several months. Fluttershy was intimidated by the stallion who seemed to have an almost militaristic build that was mostly hidden by the boring gray suit he wore.

The stallion smiled warmly as his eyes glance around the room at the posters on the walls. "I've been keeping an eye on your research and I really believe in your cause," he began, earning Fluttershy's interest. "I've had several ideas that could help out," Boot Strap explained, reaching into the bag under his chair and retrieving a thick manila folder..

"Oh... umm.. like what?" Fluttershy asked, barely above a whisper, curious as to what the stallion had to offer her research.

Boot smirked. "What do you know about Gamma Radiation doctor?" he asked, earning a quizzical look from the yellow pegasus as he set the folder on her desk and opened it to the first page.

////////////////////////

"Fluttershy! Fluttershy!" a voice barked at Fluttershy from the catwalks above her conveyor belt. She had been watching the chemicals mix, making sure each bottle got the correct amount of what it needed.

Fluttershy looked up to see her boss, Mr. Hunter beckoning with a paw for him to join her. As she left her station another Diamond Dog quickly filled her seat.

"What's wrong?" Fluttershy asked, speaking louder than usual to be heard over the heavy machinery.

Mr. Hunter started walking towards the other end of the factory. "One of the chemical spouts stopped working. We can't figure out how to fix it," he explained showing Fluttershy to another conveyor belt. A large vat of chemicals hung over it, ready to squirt a cleaning agent into the bottles on the belt. A group of workers had gathered around the dysfunctional apparatus, their productivity halted.

Fluttershy inspected the machine, looking up the spout to check for a clog. She had become very handy with machines, having made and remade several pieces if her own equipment in her time avoiding the General.

"I think the valve is stuck," she informed her boss. "Does anyone have a wrench?" she asked out loud. One of the dog's nearby held up the required tool and joined her at the front of the group. "Okay, loosen the bolt holding the valve in," she instructed, pointing to the correct bolt.

The dog nodded, climbing onto the conveyor belt and placing the wrench on the bolt, tugging as hard as he could to turn it only for the stubborn bolt to resist his efforts. "Let me help," Fluttershy offered, joining the dog and pushing the wrench with her hands. After a few seconds of struggling the bolt popped loose, spinning with the wrench attached. The tool slammed into Fluttershy's nose, knocking her off of the conveyor belt and onto the floor with a hollow thud.

Mr. Hunter was holding her up, Fluttershy's head swimming as the shouting around was distorted by the blow to the head. As she regained her senses she felt a tissue being pressed against her nose. She looked up into the eyes of the dog who helped her fix the machine.

"You okay?" he asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Fluttershy replied taking hold of the tissue. "Does the spout work?" she asked.

Mr. Hunter nodded to one of the other workers who activated the machine again. Chemicals began pouring out in intervals, filling the bottles as they passed below. The gathered crowd cheered at the accomplishment, Mr. Hunter smiling at Fluttershy.

"You should clock out and get that bump looked at. I don't want you getting hurt anymore today," he told the mare, helping her up off of the floor.

"Oh no, I couldn't. It's not fair to anyone who has to stay," she argued.

"I'm not asking. Go get yourself checked out. Come back tomorrow if you're up to it," the dog ordered leading her to the door.

Fluttershy relented, tossing the bloody tissue in a garbage bin as they went.

/////////////////////

The factories janitor looked at the mess he had to clean. "Don't those dogs know how to clean up after themselves," he muttered, angrily as he started collecting the trash from the bins. He tossed the bags into a cart and then wheeled them out to the dumpster outside. After opening the lid of the dumpster he began tossing the bags in, unaware of the blood stained tissue smooshed against the side of one bag.

/////////////////////

Early the next morning, the trash truck arrived at the factory. It backed up and picked up the dumpster with the large steel claws in the back dumping the contents into the compactor.

Once it was finished, the full truck returned to the local dump and unloaded its contents into a field of filth.

///////////////////////

A raven flew over the landfill it typically acquired its food from and began searching for a proper meal. It had scoured a good portion of the dump before it picked up a familiar scent. The raven smelled blood.

The carrion bird began searching out the scent, finding only a blood stained tissue. It pecked at the tissue, trying to find a carcass beneath only to be dissapointed. The raven flew to another area in search of its meal.

Several other birds stumbled across the bloody tissue as well, each one searching for a decaying meal that wasn't there, each one leaving only for another bird to be fooled by the same bloody tissue.

Not one of them aware they had ingested fatal amounts of gamma poisoning.

Author's Note

And back again. Forgot to get you guys a Christmas gift sooooooo... I won't. Not worth the money. Haha.

crickets chirp.

One day I'm gonna get a laugh from someone here. Moving on. I started playing the My little Pony Collectors Card Game (mlpccg for short) and its pretty fun I recommend it. Thus game also introduced a few characters I plan to use in my stories. One example being Solar Wind, who will be Star Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy crossover further down the line.

As always Stay Tuned.

General Hurricane

General Hurricane held a phone to his ear, rubbing his forehead with a hoof as the mare on the other end spoke.

"I know the armor must have looked great on T.V. General, but trust me. Maintenance is a bitch. Really I'm doing you a favor keeping it to myself," Rainbow said, almost mockingly.

"Ms. Dash, I'm not asking for it. I am demanding you relinquish the Iron Mare armor to the Equestrian military immediately," Hurricane told her sternly.

"What was that? Some things wrong with the signal here," Rainbow informed.

"Everything sounds fine to me," the General said scathingly.

"Right, tell ya what. I gotta go, but I'll be sure to send a shipment of our new non-lethal pacification systems. Even give ya a discount. Bye now," the infuriating mare said.

"No, Ms. Da-" Hurricane was cut off by an audible click as the line went dead. "Insufferable brat," he seethed as he slammed the phone back on the receiver. He'd been trying to get Rainbow Dash to hand over her armor ever since her public announcement, but she kept giving him the run around whenever he called. He'd thought about marching a battalion up to her front door and taking the suits by force, but his superiors would fire him for attacking their best weapons contractor. It didn't help that his credibility had been destroyed over the years.

The General glanced across his office at a picture hanging near the center of a spider web of yarn, connecting various other pictures, news clippings and documents. The picture that had caught the General's attention was of Boot Strap, a soldier that used to work directly for Hurricane.

Damn good soldier. Where did things go wrong for you? Hurricane asked himself.

////////////////////////////////

General Hurricane sat at his desk smiling as he looked over a report. A knock at the door stole his attention from the document.

"Enter," he said as his eyes wandered back to the file. A second later a brown earth pony stallion opened the door and stepped into the room, wearing a standard army camo uniform.

"Private first class Strap reporting sir!" the stallion said standing at attention, a stoic look on his face.

The General smiled at the show of discipline. "At ease soldier. Shut the door and have a seat," he instructed, setting the report aside. Boot Strap did as he was told. The General looked into the soldiers eyes as he sat in the chair across the desk. "Tell me son, how invested are you in keeping this country safe?" Hurricane asked after a moment.

"I'd die in the defense of my home sir," Boot answered dutifully.

Hurricane smirked. "Good to hear," he replied sliding the file over to the soldier. Boot picked it up and started flipping through the papers, a confused look on his face as he stared at a photo of a yellow Pegasus mare. "Back in the Minotaur war, Equestria developed a Super Soldier Program as I'm sure you know," he began, gaining the soldiers attention. "The scientist who developed the formula that we were using died shortly after creating Captain Equestria. We've been pouring our resources into recreating the experiment, but we've been unsuccessful thus far," Hurricane continued, taking the photo from Boot. "This mare is working on a hormone based performance enhancer that we think is promising," he informed, giving the soldier a moment to process this information.

"Why are you telling me this sir?" Boot asked, more confused than he was a moment ago.

"Because that filly has done everything she can to keep her research from the military. She doesn't trust us. We need you to get close to her," he said pulling out another, much thicker document. "Learn what you can. Help her if she needs it," he explained handing the file to Boot. "That is everything you'd need to know to be at least passable as a radiation specialist. You'll have four months to study before its time to put you in place," Hurricane finished. "Do you accept your mission?"

Boot Strap stood up. "Sir yes sir!" he shouted. However there was still a confused look in his eyes. "Permission to speak freely sir?" he asked. Hurricane nodded solemnly. "Why me?" Boot asked, unsure of himself.

Hurricane smiled. "Because I've only known you for a few minutes," he began as he stood up,"and I already like you. You're a likeable stallion. I'm sure Fluttershy will agree," the General finished holding out a hand. Boot smiled as he shook the General's hand. "Dismissed," Hurricane said, earning a salute from the young soldier, who left seconds later.

/////////////////////////////////

Hurricane was roused from his thoughts by a loud knocking on his office door. "Come in," he said, somewhat distracted.

A mare entered with a file in her hoof. Corporal Winchester, and Hurricane's second in command. "Sir, you need to see this," she said as she strode across the room and set the file in front of him.

The General flipped the manila folder open and observed a newspaper clipping from the Daily Bugle. 'Bird Population Devastated In Small Canistan Village' it read. "What is this?" he asked, not caring in the least for animal plights.

"Read the article," Winchester pressed a confident smirk on her face. The General had seen that smile many times when a new lead had been found on Fluttershy.

Hurricane turned back to the article and read aloud. "A large number of Ravens were found dead near a dump in a small village in the Diamond Dog country. Basset Town, the village in question, is baffled by this unexpected event. Expert biologists have been working around the clock to find the answer to this mystery and most believe the cause to be lethal amounts of Gamma Radiation," Hurricane read trailing off at the mention of those familiar words. Found you, he thought to himself.

Hurricane turned to the Corporal. "Get a team of our best men prepped and ready. I want eyes on that village. Any operatives in Canistan need to get there now. If they see Fluttershy they are not to engage, go," he ordered, blood beginning to rush through his veins as he got more and more excited. He had never had much luck containing Fluttershy up to this point, but this felt different. "Things are gonna change this time," he told himself as he collected several files on his target and exited his office.

Author's Note

okay i know the chapters here have been way on the short side, but in my other stories the characters generally stay in a few locations. Fluttershy will be moving around quite a lot and the story and other characters will follow her. so i personally dont see the point in going into minute detail of an environment that will be used once and serve no other purpose to the story. I will include details that are important and tell you something about a character.

other than that, casting for some of my post Harmonies stories is going well and I have a oneshot story planned. Anyone remember that date Caramel asked Rainbow Dash on?

Stay Tuned.

Freedom

Fluttershy wiped sweat from her brow as she kept an eye on the chemicals as they mixed together. Her job had never been strenuous, but Canistan had always been much hotter than the moderate climate of Equestria. Any other pony would have had a difficult time adjusting, but Fluttershy had been moving from country to country for several years now, and had been forced to endure new climates and change her wardrobe as well, depending on the weather. Canistan was typically very hot, so Fluttershy usually wore light clothing.

She had tried to stay in the country of her birth at first, but General Hurricane efforts to find her had made that impossible. Wanted Posters hung in every police precinct, courthouse and bounty office. Even some foreign governments were on her scent now, but only the General pursued her past one mission.

Fluttershy had been curious about Hurricane's relentless search at first, but that hadn't lasted long. Now she simply feared him, almost as much as her monster, but for a different reason. The monster could be contained so long as Fluttershy stayed calm, but whenever General Hurricane found her, she panicked. Hurricane had met the monster more times than he had actually met Fluttershy. That's what scared Fluttershy the most.

Hurricane had been a highly respected military official before he'd sent Boot Strap to spy on her. After the first year of chasing her though, he had quickly lost that favor. Always came after her like he had nothing to lose. He'd already lost the respect of his colleagues and, because the lab in which the monster had been born was destroyed, Fluttershy's capture was the only way to get it back. He chased her like he had nothing to lose because all he had to lose was Fluttershy, or more importantly the potential weapon she housed.

Fluttershy felt a paw tap on her shoulder. She looked up to see her replacement standing behind her.

"I'll take it from here. Have a good day," he said as Fluttershy got up from her chair.

"Thank you very much," she replied as she removed the protective goggles from her face. The dog simply waved in response as Fluttershy left.

//////////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy arrived home and was excited to see a small package on her doorstep. Almost a week ago she had heard of a new form of Radiation Treatment that involved several herbs from all around the globe. The treatment she'd been the most interested in involved a flower called Royal Bell. Royal Bell was a flower that mostly grew on the border lands between Griffinhiem and Minotine. It had taken several weeks worth of wages to have a small amount shipped to her home, but every bit had been worth it.

Fluttershy picked up the package as she entered her home and set it on her worktable. She then removed her work suit and hung it back in the closet before returning to the box that just may hold the solution to her problem. She quickly ripped the top open and removed the padding inside, revealing a dried flower with faded purple petals extending almost three inches from the stem.

"So beautiful," Fluttershy said, sadly, knowing she would have to cut the petals up in order for this to work. It was the only way to properly utilize the unique qualities of the plant. Royal Bell petals had the ability to absorb greater amounts of the sun's rays and at the same time store that energy for later use. The reason behind this was theorized to have something to do with the frequent storms in it's natural environment that could blot out the sun for weeks. Botanists that studied the flowers quickly learned that many victims of the radiation from the atomic bombs used in the Minotaur War had simply laid in a field of Royal Bells several times a day for months and had seemingly been cured. The locals who lived near the fields believed them to be enchanted by ancient sorcerers, but a scientist had been able to figure out the true cause. The flowers were able to thrive off of various forms of radiation. It wasn't clear how much radiation they could absorb before it became too much, but Fluttershy hoped it could handle the amount lying dormant with in her.

Fluttershy picked up a pair of scissors and held them over a few of the flowers petals. "I hope this works," she told herself, worry gripping her heart at the thought of another failure. "I need this to work," she said as she snipped off several petals and got to work.

////////////////////////////////////////////

General Hurricane flipped through several documents on the soldiers that had been assigned to the current mission as he rode in the back of an SUV on its way to the bases airfield. Colonel Winchester sat next to him eyeing the files over his shoulder, giving looks of approval to some of the more impressive candidates.

On any other mission Hurricane would have been impressed as well, but knew better. He'd brought some of the best soldiers with him every time he went after Fluttershy and not all of them had been from Equestria. It always ended the same though. Most died and those that didn't either went insane or were far too injured to continue a military career.

General Hurricane jumped from the jeep as it arrived on the runway. Several more vehicles followed each one dropping off two or three soldiers that had proven themselves in the field of combat. The entire group stood in line behind a jumbo jet with the ramp down so the vehicles could be loaded into the back.

Hurricane gave each of them a once over before approaching the pegasus stallion at the head of the group.

"Is this the best we can do?" he asked, seeming unimpressed with the soldiers.

The pegasus, Major Drill, smiled at his friends lack of confidence. "I thought you might want a soldier with that little something extra," he replied. "There's one more. Sergeant Heavyweight. Pegasus. Trained by ex-Griffin stealth flyers and Minotaur combat forces during that joint exercise we did with them several years ago to keep things peaceful," the Major explained as a helicopter rose over the horizon and quickly approached. "The best part however is his success record!" Drill continued, shouting over the sound of the chopper. "He's never failed an objective. He's like you. Does what's necessary," Drill finished, stepping back as the helicopter landed.

Seconds later the doors slid open and a brown pegasus stallion hopped out in full tactical gear. "Sergeant Heavyweight, reporting for duty!" he shouted, stopping and saluting to Hurricane.

Hurricane smiled as he observed the soldier. "At ease soldier," he replied as he turned back to the rest of the group. "Alright soldiers, on the plane. You'll be debriefed enroute. We don't have time to waste!" he shouted, getting immediate satisfaction as every soldier, Heavyweight included grabbed their bags and marched up the ramp, followed by the General and Winchester.

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy winced as she stuck a needle in her foreleg, drawing a small amount of blood for her experiment. After removing the needle from herself, she started mixing the bits of the flower with a few other chemicals known for suppressing radiation. Once, she was satisfied with the mixture she set it aside and grabbed the needle with her blood and a slide for a microscope. She pushed a drop of blood from the needle onto the slide. Fluttershy then opened one of the drawers in the desk and grabbed a small wooden stick which she stuck into her potential remedy, being sure to get the stick soaked in the solution.

Fluttershy held the stick over the blood sample and watched as a few drops dripped in. With that done she placed a second slide over the first, spreading the blood across the small piece of glass and placed it under the lens of the microscope. The normally red blood cells floated around, but the radiation had given a great number of them a sickly green color and almost twice the size of the others. Not enough to visibly change the color of her blood except under a microscope.

Fluttershy observed the blood for several moments, almost giving up hope that anything would happen. Just as she was about to look away she noticed several of the green cells had begun to shrink and lose the color that signified the radiation's presence.

Fluttershy slowly backed away from the desk as a smile crept over her face. "I did it," she told herself. "This nightmare is finally over," she said as she leaped from her seat and laughed.

Once she'd had a chance to calm down she checked the blood sample again just to be sure and noted that it hadn't changed. She grabbed another needle from her drawer and stuck it into the antidote. Once she felt she had enough she found a vein in her forearm and inserted the needle, pushing on the plunger and watching as the liquid drained into her body.

Fluttershy sat still for a moment and kept herself calm, not wanting to cause any adverse side effects by getting excited and accidentally inducing an episode.

After a few moments when nothing happened, Fluttershy opened another drawer on her desk and pulled out a pulse monitor. She placed it around her wrist and took a deep breath. Once she found herself calm enough, she raised her other hand and struck herself across the face. She could hear the monitor begin to beep as her pulse quickened and the adrenaline from the pain began to kick in. She waited a moment before repeating the process. She kept this up until she saw the monitor and noticed she was right around the beats per minute required to unleash the monster.

Fluttershy rubbed her stinging cheek and almost cried in joy. She could feel all the stress from her years of torment beginning to ebb away as she got up and walked to her bed, collapsing in a tired heap. Seven years she'd been stuck in a never ending nightmare, chased to the ends of the planet by a pony hellbent on making her a weapon of mass destruction. And now it was over. She was finally free. She would never have to worry about hurting anyone or causing millions of bits in property damage.

I'm finally free, she thought as she drifted into the most peaceful sleep she'd had in years.

//////////////////////////////////////////

"Alright listen up soldiers!" General Hurricane called out, gaining the attention of his men. They were enroute to an airfield near Basset Town at the moment. The plane they rode in bumped and shook as it flew through the sky. The passengers were bathed in a red light so they could see the packets they were being handed.

"Your target has been spotted in Basset Town by our ground agents. Her home address is listed in your packets," he told them as the soldiers flipped through the pages. "Your objective is to take the target in her home. You will be using tranq rounds only. Taking her alive is an absolute must," he finished, eyeing everyone. "Any questions?"

"What makes her so important?" Heavyweight asked from the General's left, looking up from his packet.

Hurricane glared at Heavyweight. "She is in possession of highly classified government secrets. Why soldier? How important does she need to be to be of concern to you?" Hurricane asked, keeping the anger out of his voice.

Heavyweight glanced back at his packet. "This intel says she's been implicated in the deaths of several soldiers involved in other missions where she escaped capture. No specialized combat training is mentioned though. I guess I'd like to know how she's killed trained soldiers with nothing but a Phd under her belt?" Heavyweight asked, returning the General's glare.

Hurricane smiled menacingly. "If everything goes as planned, you won't have to find out," he said as he leaned down to speak in Heavyweight's ear. "Pray that everything goes according to plan," the General said, straightening up and taking a seat further up the plane towards the cockpit. "E.T.A. thirty minutes. Everypony get ready," he called out as he buckled up.

Author's Note

Kay so I kinda made up that ahole Royal Bell thing. I know it was sooooo believable. JK. anyways, I'm trying to keep things steady before and not just dive into the big issues like I did with Iron Mare, what with Dash getting captured in the first real chapter. That didn't work as well as I wanted it to, so I'm trying to a bit slower.

Also this chapter was almost terrible. It was saved by the briliant input of Spideremblembrony. Round of appluase for my esteemed cowriter. Thank you sir.

And thanks to all 20 or so readers for sticking with the story.

Stay Tuned.

The Monster

General Hurricane kept his eyes on the window of the armored vehicle, watching the buildings of the small town pass by as the sun fell below the horizon. He quickly checked Fluttershy's current address compared to the area they were in.

"Stop here," he ordered the driver. "Alright, listen up soldiers," he said turning to the armed stallions sitting in the back of the troop transporter. "We are three blocks from the target. Any closer and we risk being spotted by it. You're on foot from here on. Maintain radio contact at all times," the general informed as his soldiers conducted one final check of their equipment.

The general watched as Heavyweight slid a magazine into his rifle, making sure it was locked and loaded. "Sergeant Heavyweight," Hurricane called catching the soldiers attention. "I want you to take point," Hurricane told him.

Heavyweight gave the general a salute. "Yes sir," he replied as he moved to the back of the transport. "Everypony ready up!" he called out as he opened the door in the back of the vehicle. "Let's move out," the Sergeant said leaping from the vehicle, the other soldiers following close behind.

Hurricane closed the door after the last soldier left. He then turned towards the several consoles on the left side of the vehicle towards the front. Each screen displayed a live feed from cameras on the soldiers helmets. It was too early in the morning to expect much activity, but Hurricane did notice a white unicorn mare walking down one street in a black raincoat. She didn't seem to notice the soldiers, but the general thought she was worth remembering. She can wait though, Hurricane thought.

"Here we go," the general told himself as Fluttershy's front door appeared on every screen.

/////////////////////////////

The sound of footsteps close by awoke Fluttershy from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up in her bed. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light in the corner of her home the bed was in. Fluttershy looked to the source of the light and was surprised to see a unicorn mare with a purple mane standing over her work desk with a flashlight.

"Who are you?" Fluttershy asked, catching the unicorn off guard. The startled pony whipped around surprised only to smile calmly when she saw Fluttershy.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the unicorn told her in a soothing tone. Fluttershy couldn't help but relax, realizing the mare could have done anything she wanted while Fluttsershy had been asleep. "But there are others on their way and they aren't so kind. You may remember General Hurricane," the intruder informed as she grabbed Fluttershy's research notes off of the desk and put them in a bag. Fluttershy darted to the window and looked down at the street. "They'll be coming through the front door. I'd suggest going out the window," the unicorn told her, holding out the bag for Fluttershy.

Fluttershy eyed the bag anxiously. "It doesn't matter though. I cured myself," she told the stranger. Fluttershy could only assume how much the mare knew, but if she knew Fluttershy was running from Hurricane she probably knew why.

The white mare looked surprised. "Unexpected, but no matter. You still hold the knowledge to recreate the circumstances that created Flutterrage," she argued as she started pushing Fluttershy towards the window, pushing the bag into her hands.

"Flutterrage?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Apologies. Its a codename. For what you were before," the mare clarified. "It doesn't matter though. We both need to make ourselves scarce. Now go," the unicorn pressed more urgently.

Fluttershy didn't like that this mare had named the monster. It set off several alarms that reminded her of Hurricane, but the mare was warning her. Fluttershy looked from the mare to the window, unsure if the intruder was trustworthy. It didn't take long to decide though. The threat of General Hurricane was too much. She had to run.

Fluttershy ran to the window and pushed it open, the sound of her front door creaking open startling her. Fluttershy looked to the door to see her mystery guest leaving through it. "You aren't coming with me?" she asked, hesitant to leave this mare alone to face Hurricane.

"No. I'm sorry, but I need to try to keep my organization's involvement off the record," the mare said as she opened the front door. "Until next we meet," she finished with a wave as she left.

"Umm... bye," Fluttershy said quietly as she flew out if the window and glided to the ground below, being careful not to damage the contents of her bag. She knew she couldn't escape by flight. She'd tried before, but Hurricane always made sure he brought plenty if Pegasi and they always outmatched her in the air. Instead Fluttershy started running down the street, trying to use the cover of darkness to remain hidden.

/////////////////////////

By the time Heavyweight and his team had reached Fluttershy's front door, the sun had finished setting, leaving them in darkness.

"We're in position sir," Heavyweight told the general over his radio.

"Breach and tag her," came the simple command from Hurricane.

Heavyweight signalled for the soldier behind him, a black earth pony, to kick the door in. The earth pony got in position, ready to kick the door down while the others stacked up on either side of the door. Heavyweight gave the earth pony a nod and watched as the stallion's foot ripped the door off of it's hinges. Heavyweight and the rest of the team poured into the room firing their weapons at the empty bed they had expected to be occupied by their target.

"Shit! She's not here!". Heavyweight cursed as he looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place and Heavyweight was starting to lose his calm.

"Stay on target soldier. Find Fluttershy," Hurricane's voice told him.

Heavyweight shook his head to clear it and noticed the open window. He rushed to it and smiled when he saw a yellow mare running around a corner several houses away.

"We got her she's moving along the street!" the Pegasus shouted as he leaped from the window, the rest if his team following after him. They reached the corner Fluttershy had disappeared at and saw their target again. Heavyweight opened fire just as she rounded another corner and cursed. "Let's move!" he shouted, charging forward, his team close behind.

////////////////////////

Fluttershy started to panic when she heard the soldiers shooting at her.

I need to find some place to hide. Somewhere isolated, she thought, fear driving her to follow her instincts. She'd gotten into the habit of getting away from populated areas whenever Hurricane found her, in case the monster came out. Fluttershy started on the path she usually took to work, knowing the factory would have closed for the night a few hours ago.

The scared pegasus dodged through alley ways and side streets, trying to throw off the pursuers. She could hear them catching up, their boots pounding against the pavement and the occasional gunshot warned her she needed to pick up the pace.

Finally, after several minutes, the plant came into view. Fluttershy wasted no time flying over the fence to get away from the soldiers as they appeared from the buildings not far behind her.

"There she is!" one of the soldiers shouted seconds before a dozen tranq darts were shot at Fluttershy. The few that made it through the fence, hit the ground just a few feet from Fluttershy. Her panic renewed, the mare ran to the nearest entrance to the factory and entered, seeking out someplace to hide.

The darkness inside the building was almost overbearing. It might be difficult to be found in here, but with no lights she wouldn't be able to see the soldiers when they came looking for her. Eventually she found a broom closet that had plenty of space to hide behind the shelves of supplies. Fluttershy hid herself as best she could and prayed she could find a way to slip past the soldiers.

The sound of a door getting kicked in near where she had entered alerted her to the soldiers entering.

"Spread out! Search everywhere!" the stallion in charge shouted as they entered

////////////////////////

General Hurricane stepped into Fluttershy's home along with Winchester. "See if she left behind anything we can use," he ordered. The one room apartment was mostly empty. Hurricane guessed Fluttershy hadn't tried to personalize her home. Guess she's getting used to being chased out if these dumps, Hurricane thought.

The general was about to give up when he heard the faint sound of glass breaking. He turned to the table and walked over to it, noticing a microscope with a slide on it. The slide was cracked in half and was leaking a green ooze. Hurricane knew it was the blood of his enemy.

"What were you up to?" he asked himself.

///////////////////////////

Fluttershy kept her eyes on the door to the supply closet, the sound of boots stamping around on the factory floor keeping her vigilant. Occasionally she would see a light pass under the crack at the bottom of the door, but after almost twenty minutes of searching they had yet to open her door.

Just as she was starting to get hopeful that she may not even be found the door opened and a black earth pony walked in and spotted her peeking at the door. Fluttershy backed herself against the wall behind as the stallion came around the shelves and pointed his gun at her.

"Come quietly and I won't shoot you," he demanded, surprising Fluttershy.

Hurricane must not have told them what I was, she thought as she showed the soldier her handss so he wouldn't think she was armed. She planned to let him lead her out of the closet before trying to escape again.

"Get up, move," he demanded, grabbing her roughly and pushing her out of the closet. Fluttershy's heart beat quickened at the rough treatment and she started getting a familiar feeling in her gut. "I've got the target. She's cooperating," the stallion said into his radio.

"Tranq her!" another soldier shouted, distracting the earth pony.

Fluttershy started moving away from the stallion quietly, but bumped into a cart of cleaning supplies she hadn't seen in the darkness.

"Hey, stop!" the soldier shouted as he pulled Fluttershy by her mane and threw her to the ground. "Stay put!" the stallion shouted as he tried to hold Fluttershy down only for the mare to struggle against him.

Fluttershy recognized the feeling she had gotten moments ago. She felt a burst if adrenaline shoot through her veins, making her hands shake. She fell to the ground in pain as her coat changed from yellow to green. Then an emotion welled up inside her as the world began to fade away. Anger. Her cure hadn't worked.

/////////////////////

Heavyweight cursed as he listened to the struggle over his radio. "Would you just shoot her!" he shouted, livid with rage for the idiot who'd found their target.

"I've got this just... what the bu-" the soldier started, only to be cut off by static, telling Heavyweight, his radio was broken.

"Dammit. Somepony get me eyes on that idiot!" Heavyweight shouted as he started moving towards the part of the factory, he'd told that soldier to search.

Heavyweight rounded the next corner and stopped as an object came hurtling at him from the darkness.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the black earth pony screamed as he sailed over Heavyweight's head.

Heavyweight shook his head as he readied himself for a fight. "All units, regroup on me! We have contact with a hostile! Regroup!" he shouted into his radio as he started moving in the direction he'd seen the soldier fly from.

/////////////////////

Hurricane had just returned to the troop transport vehicle after searching Fluttershy's house. "Report," he ordered the stallion sitting in front of the computer screens.

The stallion gave the general a fearful look. "The team has made contact with an unknown hostile sir," he stated, seemingly confused.

Hurricane's eyes widened as he turned to the screens. One was paused on a still frame of a over sized green fist. "Dammit!" he cursed as he grabbed a headset and put it on. "Sargent Heavyweight, do you copy?" he asked, urgently.

"I read you sir," the pegasus replied calmly. Hurricane watched the sergeant's screen as the soldier walked through the factory Fluttershy had worked at.

"New orders Sargent. Switch to live fire and retreat," Hurricane ordered.

"We can still catch the target sir," Heavyweight argued.

"Sargent, things didn't go according to plan. Get your soldiers together and get the hell out of there!" Hurricane yelled.

There was a pause for a moment. "Understood," Heavyweight replied.

//////////////////////////

Heavyweight waited for his team to join him before moving for the exit. "New orders. Switch to live fire and retreat," he told them as he switched out the clip in his gun.

"We're giving up?" one soldier asked.

Heavyweight gave him a stern look. "I just watched that idiot who found the target get tossed across the factory. So yes, we're leaving," he answered, the rest of the soldiers quickly switching to live round magazines at the news. "Form up, let's go. And stay quiet," Heavyweight ordered as the group began moving towards the door they'd kicked in before, flashlights lighting the way.

They'd barely gone ten feet before heavy footsteps could be heard not far away. The group stopped and scanned the area with their flashlights.

Heavyweight was starting to get nervous. "Let's move," he ordered, keeping his voice down.

The group started moving again with one soldier keeping an eye on the rear. He kept sweeping the factory behind them with his light. As he moved the light over a row of conveyor belts he noticed what looked like a green column. "What the hell?" he whispered as he brought his light to the top of the object. The soldiers eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed, catching the groups attention.

Standing just twenty feet away from them was a ten foot tall, green behemoth. It was breathing heavily and looked as angry as a minotaur, it's face contorted in rage. Heavyweight's team all looked on in shock as the monster looked at them like it didn't know what to make of them, which only seemed to agitate it more.

Heavyweight grabbed a grenade from his belt and pulled the pin, tossing the explosive at the monster. "Run!" he shouted as the grenade exploded at the beast's feet.

"GRAAAHHHHHH!" it roared as the soldiers bolted for the exit. The beast thundered after them, it's feet cracking the ground as it ran. One soldier started firing blindly behind himself as he ran, hitting his target mostly by luck. The others followed his lead out of fear. The monster stopped and grabbed a vat of chemicals almost as big as itself and hurled it at the group.

Heavyweight turned almost too late, tackling the soldier to his left out of the way as the vat hit the ground crushing two more soldiers. The pegasus did a quick headcount, and cursed as he noticed they were down to five including himself. The other three soldiers were running through the cover of the chemical vats, firing at the monster as it tore through the steel containers like they were paper.

"Get up!" He shouted, pulling the stallion to his feet. "Help me distract it!" the sergeant yelled as he opened fire on the green beast, the soldier next to him following suit. Heavyweight pulled the pin on a stun grenade as the monster held up a hand to shield its face from the gunfire. Heavyweight lobbed the grenade at it. Just as the green giant turned to him the grenade went off at its feet. It recoiled as the bright explosion disoriented it.

"Move!" Heavyweight shouted to the others as the monster lashed out at the containers around it, roaring in discomfort. The other three soldiers started running again, a greater urgency in their steps.

Heavyweight started following them, but the sound of gunfire drew his attention. He looked back to see the soldier he'd saved before walking backwards slowly and firing at the monster. Before he could do anything the monster bucked another vat at the soldier. He dived away just barely missing getting crushed. The vat flew over Heavyweight's head and he watched in horror as it landed on the other three soldiers.

Heavyweight ran to his remaining comrades side, tossing another stun grenade to distract the monster. As soon as the creature was blinded, the sergeant grabbed the soldier and hauled him to his feet. "Let's go!" he yelled as the pair started running. They could hear the thundering of the monster's massive feet as it chased them.

The pair rounded another corner and found the door they'd entered from. They're muscles were burning, but they pushed forward. They were just a few feet from the door when the beast crashed through the factory machinery behind them and Heavyweight's companion started shooting again.

"GRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" the monster roared as it picked up a piece of a conveyor belt and hurled it at them. Heavyweight tried to jump over the debris, but tripped on a steel cable. The machinery knocked his legs out from under him in mid jump and he felt a pain lance through his head as his world became black.

/////////////////////////

"GRAAAAHHHHHH!" the monster roared as it surveyed the destruction around it. None of the ponies that had attacked it were moving anymore. The beast grunted in satisfaction as it unfolded it's wings and with a powerful thrust took off, smashing through the roof as it went.

Author's Note

And now we get Flutters moving towards the end goal, as well as everpony else.

Not really a lot to say on this one. Hmm... gonna need to work on that.

Well, don't forget to read my either stories...

And Stay Tuned.

Old Friends

Stern Study watched the news, horrified at the announcement of his involvement with the military. Stern was so far in shock at seeing the news report his mind felt like it had stopped. He was sitting in the living room of his modest apartment in Manehattan, slowly recovering from his shock. Once he started forming coherent thoughts again, he reached for the phone he kept on the end table and selected a number that was saved on it.

What is that maniac thinking? He'll ruin me! the doctor thought nervously as he put the phone to his ear.

After several rings Stern was greeted with a voice. "Dr. Study, I was expecting your call. I assume you've been watching the news," General Hurricane said.

"Yes I saw it. Mind telling me why the hell you outed me to the rest of the scientific community?" Stern asked angrily.

"I'm sorry I didn't warn you. The fact of the matter is it was necessary in order to get you the last component for the project," the General replied calmly, trying to appease Stern.

Stern looked shocked. "You needed to expose me to get a sample from your previous experiment? The supposedly successful one?" he asked, not believing Hurricane.

"The sample is in the hands of a fugitive we've been trying to track down. Our plan is to use you as bait to lure her out," Hurricane informed, catching Stern off guard.

"What does this fugitive want with me?" Stern asked, nervous about being used as bait.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that she is going to come to you. When she does, we'll finally be able to move forward," Hurricane told Stern, hanging up once he was finished.

Stern set the phone back on the table. He breathed heavily as he looked back to the news, playing a piece about more speculation on the alleged terrorist attack on Appleloosa.

"Looks like the world is coming undone," Stern told himself.

///////////////////////////////

General Hurricane stepped out of a humvee just outside of a hangar bay on the Apple army base. The earth pony officer he'd left in charge of the project inside stood at attention outside the main doors.

"At ease, Corporal. What's the status on the weapons Dash shipped to us?" Hurricane asked, deciding to get straight to the point of his visit.

The officer opened the doors and lead Hurricane inside. "The vehicles were all equipped with non-lethal weapons, but it hasn't been difficult to switch them out with the weapons systems from our Bluecorp shipment," the Corporal stated, as he lead the General onto a catwalk overlooking the main floor.

The building's main floor was a few hundred feet below ground and was currently full of mechanics scurrying about as the made the adjustments to several large tank like vehicles. On the far side if the dimly lit room, a lift could be seen leading to the bay doors.

"How much longer is this going to take?" Hurricane asked, coming off as impatient.

The Corporal gave his boss an odd look, not used to seeing him impatient. "All that's left to do is install the rest of the weapons systems. We should be done with the next few days," he assured.

General Hurricane observed the workers below for a moment, distracted when the phone in his pocket began ringing. "Keep up the good work," he told the corporal as he started walking back towards the front door as he answered the call. "What is it, Winchester?" he asked.

"Sir, Heavyweight has arrived at your office. He said he wants to discuss the next mission," Winchester informed.

"Tell him I'm on my way," Hurricane ordered as he exited the building.

///////////////////////////////

Heavyweight sat outside Hurricane's office, seated across from Winchester's desk. The mare had attempted to make small talk with him several minutes ago, but Heavyweight was uninterested. All his focus was on catching Fluttershy. He had no time for idle chit chat, at least not until he corrected the wrong that mare had done to him.

Hurricane arrived after fifteen minutes and Heavyweight and Winchester stood and saluted him. "At ease," he told them. "We'll talk in my office," Hurricane told Heavyweight as they entered the room.

"Have we made any progress on Fluttershy, sir?" Heavyweight asked as he sat in the seat across from Hurricane.

"Not yet, but when we find her, you'll be notified by me personally," Hurricane assured him.

Heavyweight smiled mockingly at the General. "No disrespect, sir, but I've been fed that line before. How can I trust your word over the others?" he asked, leaning back in his seat.

Hurricane glared at his soldier. "I have been chasing this mare for over seven years now. Do you know how many of my men have survived meeting the monster?" Hurricane asked.

Heavyweight gave him a thoughtful look, but shook his head. "No, sir," he replied.

"Two," Hurricane replied, shocking Heavyweight. "That's including you. The other soldier left the armed forces not long after his encounter. You are the first soldier to ask to be put on a second mission," Hurricane said, earning a proud smirk from Heavyweight. "So, can you trust me?"

"Yes, sir," Heavyweight replied. "When we do find her though, we'll need more than one squad," he pointed out.

"We're working on it. New armored vehicles. A combination of Dash Industries advanced computer systems and Bluecorp weapons systems," Hurricane told him.

Heavyweight looked unimpressed. "To be honest sir, I was thinking something more like better soldiers than equipment," Heavyweight suggested.

Hurricane looked at Heavyweight for a moment, regarding him. "We've been working with Bluecorp on a performance enhancing drug," Hurricane said, catching Heavyweight's attention. "It's nothing like the serum used on Captain Equestria, but it could cause significant increases in strength and endurance," Hurricane finished.

"Sounds like that's what we need. How come we aren't already using it?" Heavyweight asked.

"They need volunteers for testing," Hurricane explained.

Heavyweight smiled. "Tell 'em they've got one," he replied.

///////////////////////////////

Fluttershy stepped off of a bus after nearly a full day's ride. As soon as she had seen the news at the diner, she'd hopped on the nearest bus to Dodger City. She had to hitchhike to the bus station and she'd also swiped a change of clothes. She felt bad stealing, but her previous outfit had been a size too small and drew too much attention to her. She had caught several stallion's leering at her at the store she'd gotten the clothes from.

She was now walking through the streets of her former home in stretchy grey sweat pants, black sneakers and a black hoodie over an over sized sweater. Fluttershy kept her head down as she walked. It had been a long time since she had been spotted in Equestria, but she didn't want to risk being recognized.

Fluttershy periodically checked the street signs, making sure she didn't get lost on her way to the labs she used to work at. She'd used all the money she'd managed to scrounge up on the bus fare, so she couldn't take a cab.

Fluttershy began to smile as the tall apartment buildings finally gave way to the city park. A playground sat in the middle of an open field, ringed by a paved path for joggers. The labs were on the far end of the park, closest to the Everfree Forest. Fluttershy started walking faster the closer she got to the labs, only to stop and stare in shock when she reached the thin line of trees that marked the edge of the park.

A tall chain link fence Fluttershy didn't remember had been erected around the labs and guards patrolled the perimeter in pairs, wearing army camp uniforms and carrying assault rifles.

Fluttershy stared for several minutes, before she came to her senses. "What do I do now?" she asked herself quietly, leaning against a tree and breathing deeply to calm down. Her mind began to reel with thoughts of the future. All the damage she would cause as time went on.

Fluttershy looked at the sky as tears began to fall from her eyes. She hadn't even noticed a jogger approach her.

"Ma'am, are alright?" a vaguely familiar voice asked.

Fluttershy looked back at the ground to hide her face and wiped the tears away. "I'm fine. I just need to be alone," she told him, hoping he hadn't recognized her from an old newspaper. She flinched when the stallion stepped closer.

"Fluttershy?" the stallion said, surprising the crying mare.

Fluttershy looked up into the equally surprised face of her old research partner, Bootstrap.

Author's Note

And we're back... again... with another short chapter... that's been done for a few days now... that I was too busy to post...

Don't look at me like that. I'm a busy person. Got a lot going on. Work, moving, card games, video games, job hunting, vacation planning, D&D character building, saving the planet from cosmic threats, rebuilding my damn tower... again.

Yeah lots going on.

Anyways, the Fayed return of Boot Strap. There it is. Not sure if that was expected.

Also moving forward on abomination adding in some high tech vehicle things. It's looking good.

Stay Tuned.

Trust

Fluttershy and Boot Strap stared at each other in shock for several minutes before Fluttershy's brain started working again. The yellow mare jumped off of the ground and started walking away as fast as she could. As much as she wanted to get away, she still didn't want to attract too much attention.

Boot shook off his surprise and chased after Fluttershy. "No, wait!" he called after her. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry!" he shouted. Fluttershy stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her former friend.

She wore a look of hurt that pierced Boot, making him feel guiltier than he ever had before. "You used me," she stated.

Boot Strap's gaze fell. "I know," he admitted. "I was a soldier then. Orders were all that mattered to me," he told her. "I didn't know what kind of stallion Hurricane was until it was too late," he told her, anger briefly flashing across his face. Boot strap quickly glanced around the park. "It's not safe for you to be here," he told her as he took a step closer.

"I know," Fluttershy replied. "I was just leaving," she said turning away from the stallion.

"Where are you gonna go?" Boot asked, concern in his tone.

Fluttershy stopped. "I don't know. Anywhere he won't find me," she answered, turning back to Boot.

"He's found you every time. He's going to keep finding you until he has what he wants," Boot told her. "You need to get it out of you," he finished.

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head. "I've been trying. I've tried everything and nothing worked," she said, defeated. "Unless I can get the data from the accident, it's hopeless," she said, looking up to see Boot smiling.

"I have your data," he said, taking another step towards Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked at him confused.

"How did you get it?" she asked suspiciously. She still wasn't sure she could trust him.

"I deleted all of the digital copies except one. Hurricane still had me around then. I kept telling him he should leave you alone though and he gave me an honorable discharge from the army," he told her. "It's at my apartment now. Why don't we go there and plan our next move?" Boot suggested.

Fluttershy looked at him confused. "Our next move?" she asked.

Boot looked away from her. "Everything that's happened to you is at least partly my fault. I owe you this and more," he said with resolve, turning his gaze back to Fluttershy. "Please let me help you," he pleaded.

Fluttershy thought about her options for a moment. "I'll look at the data. Then we can go from there," she agreed, earning a smile from the stallion.

/////////////////////////

Fluttershy had been surprised when she saw how small Boot's apartment was. It looked barely small enough for just him and Fluttershy could tell by the decoration, or lack there of, that very few mares had been here and none for very long. The living room and kitchen were part of the same room, making the apartment seem smaller. Two doors were fixed into the back wall, one leading to the only bedroom and the other to the bathroom.

Boot had left her in the main living area while he fetched his laptop. "Got it," Boot said as he entered from the bedroom. "Got buried under clothes," he mumbled, embarrassed. Boot set the laptop up on the coffee table in front of Fluttershy and opened it. It only took a minute to boot it up and soon Fluttershy was scrolling through all the data she had thought was beyond her reach just an hour ago.

A small smile started to spread across Fluttershy's lips as she was given new hope. "This is everything," she commented quietly. "Not just the data from my experiment, but all the information we compiled from day one," she said, noticing color coded notes she didn't recognize. Most of them involved recent discoveries in radiology.

"Have you been looking for a cure?" she asked looking to Boot curiously.

Boot scratched the back of his head in uncertainty. "I really didn't know what I was looking for. I told you I felt guilty. This," he gestured at the notes," helped me... deal with it," he said after a short pause.

Fluttershy looked back to the data impressed with Boot's progress. She'd already been through all the methods his notes suggested, but it was the thought that counted.

"So," Boot spoke up, interrupting Fluttershy's thoughts. "What are we gonna do now?" he asked, looking to Fluttershy to make the plan.

Fluttershy looked up as she answered. "Well, there's a gamma specialist in Manehattan. He's been working on curing high levels of radiation from the bombs in the Minotaur War," Fluttershy explained.

Boot looked confused for a second. "Wait, do you mean Dr. Study?" he asked, earning a meek nod from Fluttershy. "Fluttershy, he's working with Hurricane," Boot pointed out. "Whatever he's doing, he's not making any miracle cures."

"That's the point," Fluttershy said quietly, unsure if the next part would seem crazy or not. Boot gave her a confused look. "They're trying to recreate our experiment. I can't let that happen," Fluttershy said. "I promised myself years ago, I wouldn't let this monster fall into the wrong hands," she finished looking at the floor.

Boot nodded in agreement. "You're right," he agreed. "But Hurricane is gonna have Dr. Study under tight surveillance. How are we even gonna get close enough to make a difference?" he asked, hoping there was more to the plan.

Fluttershy shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted.

//////////////////////

Heavyweight sat on a bench outside of a lab in Bluecorp tower, sighing in agitation as he checked his watch for the third time. "Come on, we could've started by now," he complained, rubbing his forehead tiredly. The flight to Manehattan had been long, the cab ride to Bluecorp had been long and just when Heavyweight was sick of waiting, he was told to wait here almost half an hour ago.

Heavyweight was thinking about breaking the door door down when it opened and an older grey stallion in a white lab coat stepped out. "Sgt. Heavyweight?" he asked, earning a nod from the Sargent. "Right this way please," the stallion told him, leading the way back into the lab.

"Bout damn time," Heavyweight said, clearly annoyed.

The stallion ignored Heavyweight as they entered a room with a large glass chamber inside, several other scientists scurrying about the room to make sure everything was ready to go. "Now, Sargent, the procedure we're about to perform has not yet been tested on an intelligent being. You'll be the first," the stallion informed. "We'll need your informed consent before we proceed," he continued handing a pen and a document to Heavyweight to be signed.

Heavyweight scribbled his signature on the paper without a second thought and handed it back to the scientist. "How long is this going to take?" he asked, praying it would be a short procedure.

"No more than an hour or so. Once you're in the chamber, we'll start pumping the serum inside in a gaseous state. Just remember to breath deeply," the scientist informed him.

Heavyweight froze. "An hour?! I've been waiting most of the day to get this done. Isn't there a faster way?" he asked, hoping he could catch a break.

The scientist seemed troubled for a moment. "We could try the injection, but that involves several highly concentrated doses injected straight into the muscle tissue," he explained. "It would be extremely painful."

Heavyweight smirked. "Pain is just weakness leaving the body," he replied as he stepped closer to the older stallion. "Now, let's get started," he said as the older stallion sighed and gestured for his assistants to get the shots ready.

///////////////////////

"We appreciate your assistance, as always, Mr. Blood. I just hope the performance enhancer gives my soldier the boost we need," General Hurricane told Blueblood, founder and CEO of Bluecorp. The two had met in Blueblood's office near the top of his tower. It was mostly barren save for the desk and the computer on it. There were chairs on either side of the desk, but Hurricane preferred standing.

Blueblood gave the General an annoyed look. "Yes well, it would have made things go much more smoothly with the board if you'd have told us more about this operation of yours," Blueblood replied, hoping to get something out of the General.

Hurricane turned to the much younger stallion. "There are exactly three individuals who know what this is for. All are military employees. I apologize if I'm putting you in a tight spot, but anything that gives us an edge is appreciated," Hurricane responded, not sounding grateful at all.

"I don't suppose those weapon systems you ordered have anything to do with this?" Blueblood asked, taking a seat at his desk.

Hurricane glared at Blueblood. "The only reason I chose your company as the military's primary weapons contractor after Dash Industries cancelled our contract is because I was told you were efficient and discreet. I could easily turn somewhere else if that's no longer the case," Hurricane threatened, earning a glare from Blueblood. "I hear Hammer is still willing to help."

"I don't intend to leak your secrets General, but if my weapons are seen in the hands of your men on an operation the public sees as unsavory, it makes me look bad. I need to know I won't have to deal with your fallout should you fail," Blueblood clarified.

Hurricane smiled at the stallion. "Trust me Mr. Blood. The people will look at you like a hero when I'm done," Hurricane said as his phone rang. He checked the message he'd gotten and smiled. "Looks like they're done downstairs. Thank you for your time," Hurricane said as he turned to leave.

/////////////////////////

Boot paced back and forth across his living room. The sun had long since set and he had insisted Fluttershy take his bed for the night. They hadn't come any closer to figuring out how to speak with Stern Study and it was only a matter of time before Fluttershy was discovered. Boot looked at the phone on the table next to his couch.

"Think about this. You make that call she'll never trust you again," Boot told himself quietly as he picked up the phone. "But, Dear Celestia, seeing her again... it's not difficult to see the toll this has had on her. She's at the end of her rope," he continued, keeping his voice down so he didn't wake his guest.

"This is for her," he said, letting out a heavy sigh as he dialed a familiar number.

When he finally got an answer he spoke. "This is Boot Strap. I was told to contact you if she ever came back," he said, hoping Fluttershy would understand.

Author's Note

I'm back! Bout time right?
...
...
... There's that beautiful silence.

Anyway, kinda given up worrying about my word count at this point. Figure I'll just include the details I feel are worth mentioning and see where that goes.

Also reason for my absence was I have benn tired as all hell no idea why, but my brain has not been letting me get my eight hours. Stupid brain. If I didn't need it for writing I'd throw it in a ditch somewhere.

Now for trivia cause that's still a thing. Much like Fluttershy has Boot Strap, Bruce Banner had a young helper. Who was it?

That's all for now and stay tuned.

Lost and Found

Fluttershy woke up, blinking sleep from her eyes as she yawned and stretched. She looked at the messy, unfamiliar room for a moment as she recalled whose bed she was in. She turned to the clock with bleary, tired eyes, surprised that it was nearly noon. I haven't slept that long in years, Fluttershy thought, feeling well rested for the first time since her accident.

"If we don't move soon, Hurricane will find her." Fluttershy heard a familiar voice from the living room, although she couldn't recall where she'd heard it.

"Well, moving her is just as risky. Where do we even go?" she heard Boot say as she got out of bed and walked to the door.

"We have-" the unknown speaker started as Fluttershy opened the door. Fluttershy was surprised when she locked eyes with the mare that had warned her of Hurricane in Bassett Town. "Oh. Good afternoon, Fluttershy," the mare greeted.

Boot looked guiltily at Fluttershy. "I can explain. She's not here to take you in," he told her, holding up his hands as if to calm Fluttershy.

Fluttershy stared at the mare. "I know," she said, taking Boot by surprise. "She warned me in Bassett Town... that Hurricane was coming," Fluttershy told him, still feeling reluctant to trust the stranger. Boot nodded his head in understanding, while Fluttershy stood in the bedroom door.

After a few moments of silence the mare stood up. "I'm sorry if this seems forward, Fluttershy, but I think it would be best if we got you out of Dodger City. We think General Hurricane might still be keeping an eye on Boot Strap," she explained giving Fluttershy an apologetic look.

"Who thinks that?" Fluttershy asked quietly.

"Sorry?" the mare asked confused.

Fluttershy took a deep breath before she spoke. "I want to know who you are and who you represent," she said gulping. "Please," she added meekly.

The mare's eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I am Agent Rarity Belle of S.H.I.E.L.D.," she explained. "We've been keeping an eye on you for awhile now and we've done our best to help keep you hidden. The indecent in Basset Town was caused by an information leak that has been dealt with," Rarity continued as she sat back down on the couch and grabbed a bag off of the floor. "Now as I said before, it's best if we leave. The sooner the better," she started.

"I need to go to Manehattan," Fluttershy said, stopping Rarity before she could continue. Rarity gave her a confused look and opened her mouth to argue. "There's a scientist there that I think is trying to recreate my experiment and he needs to be warned," Fluttershy explained, again, cutting Rarity off.

Rarity's increasingly critical look drying up the meeker mare's confidence."I don't advise this," Rarity said. "We know what they're up to, but-"

"No, you don't know!" Fluttershy snapped, tears forming in her eyes. "You don't know what it's like. I do. You can't just drop out of the sky and start telling me what to do. For all I know you just want the monster too," Fluttershy said, her breathing becoming more irregular. Rarity's hand was in her purse, probably on a gun.

Fluttershy took a calming breath before she continued. "I can talk to Stern and convince him he can't trust Hurricane," she said. "He's on the verge of making an enormous mistake. If he does, Hurricane wins," she finished.

Rarity looked into Fluttershy's eyes as if she were trying to read her. "We aren't asking Agent Belle," Boot said, moving to stand beside Fluttershy. "We're going."

Rarity looked troubled at the show of defiance. "I know you only mean to help, but you are putting yourself at risk. The closer you get to Stern, the closer Hurricane gets to you," Rarity argued, her voice losing it's calm.

"At least then I know what to expect," Fluttershy replied. Rarity gave her a surprised look. "After all the time I spent running from organization's like yours, I can't just believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't want the monster in me," Fluttershy continued.

Rarity took a calming breath. "If this is your plan, then my involvement will have to be from a distance. I can't afford to alert Hurricane that I've helped you," she told them. Fluttershy looked relieved. "I will be able to ensure you make it to Manehattan however," Rarity offered, hoping they would reconsider.

Boot looked at Fluttershy who nodded at him. "Sounds good to us," he replied.

Rarity stood up and held out a hand to Fluttershy. "Until next time then," she said as Fluttershy eyed her hand before shaking it. "We will be watching," she told them as she walked to the door and left.

//////////////////////////

Fluttershy looked at the crowd from beneath her hood, hoping her face was sufficiently hidden as she and Boot walked into a First Equestrian Bank, leaving behind the bustling streets. "W-why did I have t-to come?" she asked her companion, fearing she might be recognized.

Boot walked through the wide open lobby of the building like he always made withdraws accompanied by a fugitive. "I know it's risky, but it would have been riskier to leave you by yourself," he told her. "For all we know Hurricane could be on his way here. We need to be ready to run if he shows up," Boot explained as they approached the first open teller.

"Hi, how can I help you?" the mare behind the glass asked cheerily.

"I'm just here to make a withdraw," Boot replied. The mare slipped a withdrawal form through an opening in the bottom of the window.

As Boot filled out the form, Fluttershy started absentmindedly looking around the mostly empty bank. She could see the crowds of ponies walking by through the glass doors on the other side of the bank and couldn't help but wish there was another way back to Boot's apartment.

As her eyes drifted around the room, Fluttershy noticed an older security guard turn his head as he came into her view. Fluttershy stared at him for a moment before turning back to Boot who was finishing filling out the form. Fluttershy glanced sideways back at the guard and saw him looking at her and talking quietly into the radio on his shoulder.

He recognized me! Fluttershy started to panic. She stepped closer to Boot, who was waiting for his money. "W-we need to g-go," she told him, stuttering in fear.

Boot looked at her, worried and Fluttershy tilted her head towards the guard. Boot glanced at him. "Crap. Yeah, he's paying a little too much attention, but he's not making a move. I'll have the money we need in a second," Boot told Fluttershy as the teller started counting money out of a register below the desk.

"Alright. That's three hundred dollars cash. Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?" the teller asked sweetly.

"No, thanks. We've gotta run," Boot said as he grabbed the money and started power walking towards the door with Fluttershy close behind, keeping her head down.

"Ma'am, I need to speak with you!" the security guard shouted when they'd gotten halfway to the door.

"Go," Boot said as the pair broke out into a run, shoving the front doors open and pushing through the crowd outside. Once outside, they turned left and started dashing away from the bank. Fluttershy glanced backwards and saw the guard standing outside the bank searching the crowd.

"I can't stay in town any longer," she told Boot.

"Yeah, Hurricane will be here soon. We need to leave now. We'll swing back by my place and grab your data and then we're gone," he said as they walked. Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

//////////////////////

General Hurricane stood in a workout room, observing Heavyweight as he lifted a barbell with over one thousand pounds in weights on it. "You're not even sweating yet, are you?" he asked smiling as Heavyweight lowered the weights onto the floor.

"Not for lack of trying," Heavyweight quipped. "That performance enhancer works, sir. Any chance we can get Blueblood to start mass producing it?" he asked as he flexed his fingers like he was ready for a fight.

Hurricane shook his head. "He said he needs to know how you handle yourself in action first," the general replied.

Heavyweight smiled. "Fine. Sooner we find Fluttershy the better," he said. "I'm ready to end her," Heavyweight explained as he started adding more weight to what he'd been lifting.

Hurricane frowned at his soldier's wording. "I want her alive," Hurricane said leaving no room for argument.

"Does it really matter though?" Heavyweight asked as he started lifting what looked like two thousand pounds with little effort. "Once we show Blueblood how well his serum works, we won't even need Fluttershy's monster," he continued, starting to sweat under the strain of lifting so much weight.

Hurricane stepped up to Heavyweight. "I've seen that monster rip through tank armor like it was paper," he started, watching Heavyweight's arms start to shake. "I've watched it hurl cars through concrete walls," Hurricane continued, watching as Heavyweight's arms slowly started to lower the weight. "Blueblood's serum, doesn't even compare," Hurricane said as he stepped back and watched his soldier drop the weights with a metallic thud as they hit the floor.

Heavyweight glared at the weights like they'd just insulted his mother. "Your strength is limited. That monster though, has no limits," Hurricane stated, remembering every battle he'd seen it in.

Before Heavyweight could respond the door on the far end of the room opened and Winchester stepped in. "Sir, she's been sighted in Dodger City," she informed him.

Hurricane's head snapped up. "What's she doing there?" Heavyweight asked, wiping sweat off of his forehead.

"Getting help," Hurricane growled. "Get your gear, we're leaving immediately," he said as he walked to the door and left with Winchester close behind.

Heavyweight stayed where he was for a moment, thinking over what Hurricane had said before Winchester had walked in. His anger quickly boiled into a rage as he kicked at the barbell, surprising himself when the metal pole snapped in half.

"I'm stronger than he thinks," Heavyweight told himself.

Author's Note

And there goes another chapter, posted from my awesome new laptop.

Alright so where should I start now. Well obviously next chapter is going to have a little action in it. Or a lot we'll see. Lot's of Flutterage smash though that's for sure.

If you're paying attention you'll also notice Heavyweight starting to lose himself to the power he thinks he controls.

Rarity makes a return and will have another few scenes before the story is done. I'll leave you to guess if she gains Fluttershy's trust in this story or if she still has to work for it later in The Harmonies.

Now for last chapters Trivia question. And the Answer is......

RICK JONES! Hulk and Banner's young helper, founder of the Teen Brigade and an honorary Avenger. Rick Jones was first saved by Bruce Banner from the Gamma Blast that created the Hulk and stuck be the green giant for many years. The two formed a close bond over the years they spent together and Rick eventually founded the Teen Brigade. The original intent of the group being to call other heroes for help whenever the Hulk got out of control. This actually helped in the forming of the Avengers. But that's a story for another time.

Next question. Who was The Hulk's first Super Villian?

until next time

Stay Tuned.

No Escape

Hurricane and Heavyweight sat amongst a group of soldiers on a dark plane headed for Dodger City. They had left minutes after they had heard the news of Fluttershy getting spotted and expected to land within the hour.

Hurricane had been watching Heavyweight as they traveled, observing him flex his fingers and looked at the other soldiers with a disapproving glare. “Something wrong, Sargent?” Hurricane asked, knowing what Heavyweight was going through.

Hurricane had suffered more defeats to Fluttershy’s monster than anyone, and he had thirsted for revenge for a few years. He, eventually, got over it though and continued his hunt for the good of his country.

Heavyweight glanced up at his commanding officer. “I’m fine,” he replied in a frustrated tone. “But the rest of these guys are gonna piss their pants if things don’t go as planned,” he continued, knowing not to mention the monster directly. Hurricane prefered keeping information on a need to know basis.

“I expect them to,” Hurricane said, glancing at the soldiers to make sure none of them were paying attention. “But let’s try to take Fluttershy without a fight. The body count would be far too high if she lost control in the city,” he informed. Heavyweight rolled his eyes.

“And what if she loses control? Fluttershy has a pretty good winning streak. If she loses control, we may have to just end it,” Heavyweight argued, a small smile forming on his face at the thought.

Hurricane glared at Heavyweight. “If she loses control, then we lure her to an unpopulated area,” Hurricane said calmly.

Heavyweight’s jaw clenched as he glared at Hurricane. “Fine. What about the help you said she was getting?” he asked, barely keeping the anger out of his voice.

“Boot Strap. Former soldier. He was my eyes on the inside of the experiment Fluttershy was conducting. I wanted to see if it had any weapons application,” Hurricane explained.

Heavyweight raised an eyebrow and started to calm down. “What happened? If he’s your guy, why is he helping her?” he asked.

Hurricane glared at the ground as he remembered. “After the accident, he started feeling guilty and it was affecting his work. The first time we caught Fluttershy, he helped her escape,” Hurricane said bitterly.

Heavyweight’s eyes widened in surprise. “Shouldn’t he be locked up for aiding a fugitive?” he asked, louder than intended and attracting looks from the other soldiers.

Hurricane continued looking at the ground. “We had no proof, but it had to be him. He was the only one working for me that had personal interaction with Fluttershy. I placed my trust in him and he betrayed me. I haven’t trusted anypony like that since,” Hurricane explained. “Remember that. Because if I see you acting even a little strangely, I’m pulling you off of my team until you straighten out,” Hurricane threatened as he looked Heavyweight in the eye.

Heavyweight glared at the General. “Yes sir,” he replied, gritting his teeth.

//////////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy and Boot Strap ran into Boot’s apartment in a rush. They knew it was only a matter of time until General Hurricane showed up and they didn’t intend to be here when he did. “Grab the data,” Boot said as he threw some clothes in a bag.

Fluttershy nodded and ran to the back room where she had been keeping the USB that contained what she needed. Fluttershy looked at the small device and took a deep breath. It’ll be over soon, she told herself, trying her best to keep calm. Fluttershy stood up and walked back to the living room as Boot Strap finished packing another bag. Just as they were getting ready to go they heard a knock at the door.

Both ponies froze at the noise, expecting the worst. They feared they were too late and Hurricane was literally on their doorstep.

“Open up,” a familiar female voice said as the pony outside knocked again. Fluttershy and Boot relaxed as Rarity called out to them. “I know your inside, we’re still keeping an eye on you,” the agent said as Boot stepped over to the door and opened it. “You two are impossible,” Rarity said as she stepped inside, wearing a light jacket. Boot opened his mouth to argue, but Rarity interrupted. “I leave you to yourselves for less than a day and you’ve already been spotted,” she complained.

“Umm… actually we were-,” Fluttershy began, the tension in the room starting to ruin her calm state.

Boot glared at the agent as he found his voice. “Well, what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping us covered?” he asked accusingly, not liking the way Rarity was acting at the moment. Fluttershy held a hand to her head as she felt her other half starting to break free.

“We really should-,” Fluttershy tried to interject, her voice becoming more shake as the other two continued arguing.

Rarity remained calm as she stared down Boot, unaware of Fluttershy’s mental state. “We do the best we can, but it’s a little difficult to lend you help when we have less than a day to be ready. We had an extraction ready and waiting to take Fluttershy someplace safe, but you insisted on going to Manehattan,” Rarity argued.

Boot was getting ready to retaliate when Fluttershy shouted,” Enough!” Boot and Rarity stepped back and Rarity put her hand in her jacket. Fluttershy took a deep breathand closed her eyes, making sure she had control before speaking. “Hurricane is on his way and we don’t have time to argue. We need to go,” she said calmly. Rarity and Boot shared a look before nodding in agreement.

“Fine, but I’d like to accompany you,” Rarity said as she pulled her hand out of her jacket and relaxed.

Boot narrowed his eyes at her. “Why?” he asked suspiciously.

Rarity held his gaze. “Because I have experience staying out of sight when I need to and it seems like you two need help with that,” she replied coolly. Boot looked like he wanted to argue, but didn’t seem to have a reply. “Do you mind having me along?” Rarity asked looking to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy considered her answer. She knew she didn’t trust Rarity, but at the same time, they didn’t have a lot of time to get to Dr. Study and they’d need all the help they could get if they wanted to evade Hurricane within Equestrian borders.

“I don’t mind,” Fluttershy replied, earning a smile from Rarity.

“Alright then,” Boot said as he grabbed his bags. “We’d better get going.”

///////////////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy stuck close to Boot as they moved through a crowded train station with Rarity. They had decided it would be the best way to get to Manehattan, due to the more relaxed security and it would be faster than walking.

The group stopped at a ticket booth and Rarity stepped forward to pay for the tickets. Boot glanced around while Fluttershy kept her head down and hood up so she wouldn’t get spotted again. “We’re almost out of here,” Boot told her, calming her a bit. “Do you really think we can trust her?” he asked, looking at Rarity.

Fluttershy still wasn’t sure about the agent, but she’d been nothing but helpful. “She hasn’t given us a reason not to yet,” Fluttershy replied, speaking quietly. Boot nodded in agreement as Rarity approached them with the tickets.

“We’re ready to go. Our train will be leaving in about fifteen minutes, so let’s hurry,” Rarity told them as she continued walking towards the platforms.

“Good. I can’t wait to be out of Hurricane’s warpath,” Boot said as he put a hand on Fluttershy’s back, guiding her through the crowd.

Fluttershy watched the shoes in front of her to avoid running into anyone. She still bumped into a few passersby, but as far as she knew, no one was paying any attention to them. Everything will be fine, She told herself. Nopony can even see my face. They won’t know it’s me.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

General Hurricane stepped into Boot Strap’s apartment with Winchester and Heavyweight close behind and shook his head in disappointment. “Jeez, what a dump,” Heavyweight commented, scanning the small home and grimacing at the mess of dishes that had been left out.

“Looks like they’ve already left,” Winchester said as she started looking through what little storage space there was. The closet only had a few jackets and a vacuum that had more dust on it than the floor.

“As expected,” Hurricane replied. “Search it. Take anything worth taking and then start checking in with the other units,” Hurricane ordered.

Heavyweight rolled his eyes at the order. “Yeah that’s not gonna take long at all,” he said as he scanned the apartment, already sure that they wouldn’t find anything of value here. “So why am I here and not out there helping the others look for Fluttershy?” he asked, earning the General’s attention.

“Because those were my orders,” Hurricane answered. “They could be anywhere in the city right now. I want you close enough to me, so that as soon as we get eyes on her, you know where to go,” the General explained.

Heavyweight smiled at the answer. “Sounds good to me.”

Just as they were returning to their search, the radio on Winchester’s belt crackled to life. “This is Unit one. We have eyes on secondary target. Over,” a soldier said over the radio. Heavyweight looked at the mare’s radio with interest, the search halted.

Winchester grabbed her radio and replied,” Is he with Fluttershy, over?” she asked hurriedly.

There was a brief silence before the soldier answered. “We have no visual, but he’s with two mares. One white, purple mane and the other is wearing a hood. Can’t see a face. Over,” the soldier responded.

“That’s them,” Hurricane said, absolutely sure he was correct. “Find out where they are and tell them to stall. They are not to engage unless necessary,” he ordered.

Winchester nodded as she spoke into her radio. “Understood. What is your position, over?” Winchester asked.

“Train station. Targets are boarding the train to Manehattan. Over,” the soldier replied.

“Keep the train in the station. Do not engage the target. Back up is on the way,” Winchester replied.

Heavyweight smiled as he turned to Hurricane. Hurricane looked at the larger stallion and nodded. “Go get her.” Heavyweight wasted no time. He leaped through the window behind the couch and landed on a fire escape in an alley, broken glass showering the concrete below. He quickly jumped over the railing and landed on the ground three stories below, hitting the ground rolling. Heavyweight jumped back to his feet and started running through the streets as the sun set below the horizon.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

Rarity glanced at her watch apprehensively, tapping her foot on the floor of the train compartment she was sharing with Boot and Fluttershy. “Why haven’t we left yet?” she asked nervously, hoping they hadn’t been spotted.

Boot gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean?” he asked, growing concerned himself and piquing Fluttershy’s interest.

Rarity showed the pair her watch. “The train should have left nearly fifteen minutes ago. I think we’re being stalled,” she explained, glancing out of the window and scanning the crowd. After only a few seconds she spotted a stallion sitting on a bench with a newspaper and wearing sunglasses. “How cliche,” she muttered as she stood up.

“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, remaining calm as she looked out of the window as well, trying to see what Rarity had.

“We’ve been spotted,” Rarity confirmed. “We need to leave now.”

Boot looked out of the window and cursed. “Okay what’s the plan then?” he asked looking to Rarity.

Rarity gave him an incredulous look. “I have no idea. My plan involved a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It was your plan to go to Manehattan,” she accused opening the door of the compartment and glancing down the train car.

Boot glared at the agent. “Well, our plan didn’t involve you,” he countered as he and Fluttershy stood up and grabbed their bags.

Rarity scoffed as she stepped out of the compartment, Fluttershy and Boot close behind. “Your plan is what got us caught in the first place. From now on I lead,” she told her companions. Fluttershy seemed hesitant as Rarity took charge, but followed anyway.

“Okay fine. So what do we do?” Boot asked, holding back a growl, angered by Rarity simply bringing the conversation full circle.

Rarity took a moment to consider their options before replying. “Well, we aren’t leaving by train and we can be sure the General will be sending reinforcements,” she said, more to herself than her companions. “I’m going to distract our tail. Move for the exit as soon as he isn’t watching,” she said as they arrived at an exit. Rarity calmly walked off of the train in the direction she had seen the stallion and pulled out her phone, pretending to be distracted by the glowing screen.

As she neared the stallion she quickly dipped her hand in a passing mare’s purse and retrieved the stranger’s wallet. The stallion averted his gaze as Rarity approached.

“Hey! Somepony stole my wallet!” As soon as Rarity heard the shout she walked by the stallion and threw the wallet at him.

The stallion snatching the wallet out of the air on reflex. “It’s him!” Rarity shouted. “He’s the thief!” The stallion looked bewildered as a police mare approached with her hand on her hip. Rarity looked back at the stallion and winked as he held his hands over his head. Satisfied Rarity walked away and saw Fluttershy and Boot headed for the exit.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

“Almost there,” Boot said as he and Fluttershy pushed through the crowd toward the exit. Fluttershy was fighting herself internally to maintain control and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out. She needed to find someplace quiet to take a break.

Just as the pair reached the entrance, Fluttershy watched a large stallion breakthrough the crowd and slam into Boot, knocking the smaller stallion to the floor. The soldier stood nearly twice as tall as Fluttershy and glared at her. He smiled as their eyes met. “Ready for another go?” he asked as Fluttershy stood in front of him shocked and frightened.

Author's Note

and we're BACK!!!! No action yet as promised, saving the big fight for next chapter, hopefully we can make it happen in a more open area and save the city destroying thing for later.

Okay now the answer to last chapters question is...

THE RING MASTER AND HIS CIRCUS OF CRIME!!! I had to do some double checking to be sure, but Ring master and his crew popped up in Hulk comics before any other villain did and no I don't count General Ross as a Super villain, at least not that early on. Not much to talk about for this question so on to the next.

Who is the Hulk's Opposite number? I'll give you a hint it isn't any of the other Hulk's.

until next time...

Stay Tuned!

Fit of Rage

Fluttershy stared at the soldier as the stallion took a step towards her. Her eyes quickly shot to Boot Strap on the ground, struggling to get up, probably disoriented by Heavyweight’s attack.

He’s only after me, Fluttershy told herself, recognizing the wrathful gaze of the soldier before her. She had seen the same look on General Hurricane’s face several times. After a few tense moments Fluttershy took a step back and Heavyweight copied her. Why isn’t he attacking? she wondered. As Fluttershy thought about what she should do she finally started to notice the large group of people looking at her and the soldier. Fluttershy took a deep breath as she came to a decision.

Fluttershy turned around and ran into the crowd as fast as she could. The stomping of heavy boots told her Heavyweight was close behind. Fluttershy knew she had to find a way to lose him, but she had no idea how.

///////////////////////////////////

Rarity watched from a distance as Fluttershy was chased through a parting crowd by Heavyweight. “So much for an easy escape,” Rarity told herself as she scanned her surrounding area. She quickly spotted a small red box on a wall a few feet away from her and walked by it pulling the lever as she went. The fire alarm sounded and the crowd around Rarity started moving towards the exits in a steady flow of bodies

“That’ll give us some breathing room, but now I need to take care of you,” Rarity said her eyes following the soldier pursuing Fluttershy.

////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy rushed through the crowd as the other ponies fled in the other direction. She took a quick look behind her and saw the soldier quickly catching up to her in the dying crowd. Fluttershy knew she couldn’t lose him now that she was out in the open.

“No where to run now!” her pursuer shouted as he closed the distance between them. He got within a few meters of her when Fluttershy heard a loud crack and the soldier shouted in pain and stopped by a pillar.

Fluttershy looked to her left and saw Rarity jumping over benches and abandoned luggage as she made her way across the train platform. “I’ll hold him off. Run,” Rarity said as she rounded the corner and fired three shots at the soldier who had moved around the pillar just in time.

Fluttershy nodded and started sprinting further down the platform. Not seeing any other avenue of escape she made her way to the train that had been abandoned when the fir alarm was triggered. Once on board Fluttershy found a compartment that was full of luggage and sat behind the suitcases. No longer being in immediate danger Fluttershy could feel her heart beating rapidly and she started taking long slow breaths to calm herself down.

////////////////////////////////

Heavyweight peeked around the corner of the pillar just in time to see Fluttershy jump onto the train and ducked back behind cover as the white mare shot at him. “That mare you’re protecting is a fugitive from the Equestrian Military!” he shouted, hoping the mare would simply back off and make his day easier.

“I’m well aware of who she is and why you want her,” the mare replied. Heavyweight smiled as he realized he’d have to fight. Not that he was complaining. He wasn’t in the best mood and had the urge to hit something.

Heavyweight scanned the area around him. He spotted a cart with luggage on it and tried to remember where he had seen the mare standing before. He then quickly dove out of cover, the mare firing a few shots behind him as he grabbed a suitcase and threw it at her.

The white mare ducked under the suitcase as Heavyweight threw another a little lower while moving closer. The mare jumped over the second projectile just as Heavyweight got close and threw a punch at her stomach. The mare gasped and flew backwards and through a window on the side of the train.

“Thought she’d have been tougher than that,” Heavyweight told himself as he entered the train and looked down the car he was in to see the mare lying in a heap on the broken door to the compartment she had been thrown into. Smiling at his handiwork, Heavyweight started making his way through the train to the car he had seen Fluttershy jump in.

/////////////////////////////////////

Hurricane and Winchester arrived at the train station in an SUV just as the last of it’s occupants had left the front entrance. “Set up a perimeter and get snipers on every entrance. I don’t want anypony leaving that building without me hearing about,” he ordered. Winchester nodded and started issuing orders into her radio.

The General looked at the entrance to the train station with a stern glare. “We’ll be ending this soon,” he told himself.

“Sir,” Winchester said approaching her boss. “Everypony is in place and Heavyweight is inside, Fluttershy’s accomplices were getting in his way, but the team that was here says he took care of them,” she reported.

Hurricane gave the building one last look before he turned and started back towards their vehicle. “Get me on the radio with the back-up team. I want them ready to roll in if things go badly,” he ordered.

/////////////////////////

Fluttershy stepped out of the luggage compartment she had been hiding in and checked the train car she was in before making her way to the front of the train. Just as she was about to open the door to the next car she heard the door at the other end of the train open.

“There ya are,” the soldier said as Fluttershy turned around in fright. The stallion started walking towards her slowly and Fluttershy ran through the open door behind her. She didn’t bother going into the next car and simply jumped off the train on the side away from the platform. She landed in the gravel next to the train as the soldier jumped through a window in the train and landed just a few feet from Fluttershy.

Before Fluttershy had the chance to react the soldier lunged at her and grabbed her by the neck. Fluttershy could feel her heart rate increasing and fought as hard as she could to stay calm. As much as she wanted to get away, she couldn’t risk the destruction she’d leave in her wake.

The soldier started to squeeze her throat and Fluttershy, surprised that his attack had even gone this far, noticed the soldier was smiling. “Come on, let it out,” the soldier muttered. “Nopony’s watching. It’s just me and you. Time to find out who the better pony is,” he said, tightening his grip.

Fluttershy knew she couldn’t hold out much longer. “Let her go!” a stallion’s voice shouted. The soldier looked over his shoulder just in time to dodge Boot Strap charging at him and retaliating by punching the smaller stallion in the back of the head. Boot crumpled to the ground in a heap. Fluttershy watched as the only pony to show her any real kindness in years lay unmoving on the ground. A familiar rage welled up inside her and her vision started to fade out.

//////////////////////////////////////

Heavyweight watched the stallion on the ground for a moment just to make sure he wouldn’t move. “Maybe next time you’ll pick the right side,” he sneered, rearing back his foot to kick the downed stallion. Heavyweight froze as he felt his fingers losing grip on his prisoner. His head shot up in time to see Fluttershy growing in size at an exponential rate, her increasing muscle mass growing too thick for Heavyweight to continue holding on.

Heavyweight smiled as he stepped away from his target. “Finally. Ready for round two ugly?” he asked as the enormous mare seemed to stop growing.

Flutterage stood up, towering over Heavyweight, it’s clothing stretched beyond repair and it’s shoes gone. The monster looked down at Heavyweight for only a moment.

“Raaaahhhh!” It cried as it lunged at Heavyweight. The soldier jumped out of the way just in time and circled around his opponent, jabbing at her sides as he went. Flutterage growled at him unfazed by his attacks. Heavyweight jumped back as the green behemoth lunged at him, swinging it’s fists wildly. The soldier leaped on top of the train behind only for his opponent to body slam the car he was on, tipping it over and sending him tumbling back onto the platform.

”Heavyweight, report,” the General’s voice said in Heavyweight’s ear. “What’s going on in there?”

“Things didn’t go as planned sir,” Heavyweight replied as Flutterage tore her way through the train car.. “The beast is out, What’s our play?” the soldier asked, keeping a safe distance between himself and the monster.

”Keep her busy. I’m calling in an airstrike. Be ready to get clear,” the General replied, sounding disappointed.

“Roger that,” Heavyweight replied as he grabbed his sidearm from its holster and started shooting at Flutterage.

The beast growled as she charged Heavyweight who leaped out of the way as she passed and pulled the pin on a grenade before tossing it after the rage monster. Heavyweight ducked behind a pillar as the grenade exploded. and peeked out of his cover to see Flutterage chucking a luggage cart at him. Heavyweight ducked back behind the pillar as the cart shattered against it. The soldier felt the ground shake and leaped away from the pillar just as Flutterage plowed through it.

“How do you stop this bitch?” Heavyweight asked himself as he got back to his feet, feeling helpless against such a powerful enemy.

///////////////////////////////////////////

Rarity was woken by the sound of her phone ringing in her pocket. She rubbed her aching head as she picked herself up off the broken glass in the train car. She took a moment to clear her head before fishing her phone out of her pocket and answering. “Hello?” she answered groggily, her ears picking up on the battle outside.

”It’s Fleur. What’s happening? We couldn’t get you on the phone,” the senior agent inquired as Rarity looked out of the train car and saw Heavyweight evading Flutterage.

“Flutterage is loose. We need to extract her while we have her in sight,” Rarity stated, keeping an eye on the fight.

”That’s a negative Agent Belle. Hurricane has heavy ordinance inbound and I doubt he’d recognize us as allies,” Fleur informed Rarity.

“Then what do you expect me to do?” Rarity asked, trying to keep her tone level, knowing it wouldn’t help to make her annoyance known.

”Try assisting Flutterage. Fluttershy might be more trusting of S.H.I.E.L.D. if we help her,” Fleur pointed out. ”Help her escape.”

Before Rarity could argue the call cut off. “How am I even meant to do that?” she asked herself as she looked back out at the fight on the platform.

///////////////////////////////////////

Heavyweight dove out of the way as Flutterage charged him for the umpteenth time. The monster had kept him on his toes, not leaving an opening for a counter attack, not that Heavyweight would know how to hurt his opponent if he got an opening. Bullets, explosives and his fists only seemed to make Flutterage angrier, which seemed to make her even more powerful.

Heavyweight stood up straight as he prepared for another charge when he heard it. The dull chopping of propellers signifying the arrival of Hurricane’s back up. Flutterage looked up in agitation seeming to seek out

”Pull back Seargent. We’re dropping the big guns in now, Hurricane told Heavyweight through the soldier’s earpiece.

Heavyweight ran for the entrance, the sound of thick cables releasing cargo sounding above him. He turned around in time to see the first tank fall through the ceiling of the platform. Flutterage turned to and roared at the vehicle as it turned it’s main gun, a sonic cannon, on her. Before Flutterage could react a second tank landed behind her, quickly joined by a third and fourth on her sides. Flutterage seemed agitated at being surrounded and took a step towards a tank only for all four to activate their sonic cannons at an extremely high frequency. Flutterage shouted in rage as she fell to the ground paralyzed by the noise. Heavyweight smirked as he spoke into his radio.

“Looks like the jobs done sir,” he said.

”Good. Let’s get it in a cage,” Hurricane replied as Heavyweight noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He spotted the white mare from before climbing on top of the tank nearest the train.

“Oh no you don’t,” Heavyweight hissed as he sprinted to the tank.

///////////////////////////////////

Rarity reached into her pocket as she climbed on top of the tank, using special earplugs to protect herself from the concussive cannons and pulled out a small E.M.P device. Just as she was about to stick it to the tank she felt a hand grab her leg and yank her off the tank causing her to drop the device. Rarity bounced on the ground and looked up as she tried to locate her gadget. She saw Heavyweight standing between her and the tank.

“Oh dear,” she said as she spotted the E.M.P. on the ground just behind the tank. Rarity stood up slowly as she came up with a plan.

“You just don’t learn do you?” Heavyweight asked as he charged at the mare and swung his fist at her.

“On the contrary,” Rarity began as she leaped on top of the soldiers arm and used it as a springboard to vault over him, landing next to her E.M.P, surprising her opponent. “I’m a very fast learner,” she said as she grabbed the gadget and jumped back up on the tank. Heavyweight quickly got over his shock and ran back to the deck just as Rarity stuck the device to the back of the cannon and activated it, shutting the machine down in an instant. Heavyweight grabbed Rarity again and aimed to smash her face with his fist when a chunk of debri collided with his head, disorienting him.

As Heavyweight recovered Rarity saw Boot Strap standing ready with another chunk of rock. Heavyweight turned to the stallion as Rarity punched him in the head. “Take out another tank!” Rarity shouted as she tossed a second E.M.P. to Boot Strap. “They only work within a few feet, so you’ll have to be right on top of it,” she told him as Heavyweight finished recovering and started towards Boot Strap, who was sprinting for the tank on Flutterage’s right. Rarity pulled out her gun and shot Heavyweight in the foot, tripping the stallion. Rarity kept her gun on the soldier as Boot reached the next tank and put the device on the back of the cannon, that shorting out soon after. Heavyweight stood up again and started towards Rarity, stopping when a familiar rage filled roar filled their ears.

///////////////////////////////

Flutterage felt her senses return to her as the second tank was shut down. She looked up at the tank in front of her and moved her right hand. She dug her fingers into the ground, the effort she had to put into it making her angrier and speeding up the process. It didn’t take long for her to pull up a large enough section of the floor before hurling it at the tank in front of her, disabling its main cannon and ending her suppression.

Flutterage leaped out of the blast range of the final tank and landed on top of it, destroying the gun and slightly caving in the top of it. Flutterage smiled to herself as she felt something impact her back. She turned in time to see her attacker from before approaching her with a gun in it’s hand. Flutterage roared at the small pony as she charged him. The soldier waited until the last minute to jump over her and Flutterage felt him land on her back. She thrashed around as she tried to dislodge her passenger, who kept shooting her in the back of the head, annoying her to no end.

Just as Flutterage turned away from the wrecked tanks she heard three more shots fired and the weight of the soldier fell off of her. Flutterage turned to see a white mare pointing a gun at the soldier, who had started to stand up. The small mare fired two more shots into the stallion’s chest and he slumped over. Flutterage watched the mare for a moment, unsure if this pony was going to attack her as well.

“She’s a friend,” a familiar voice told Flutterage. The green giant turned to see a stallion she recognized. He had helped her escape from Hurricane several years ago. Flutterage looked back at the mare and simply snorted in response. Just as things were starting to calm down. Flutterage heard several footsteps running into the ruined train platform. She turned to see soldiers pouring in through the entrance and spotted the general himself glaring at her from the front line of soldiers.

“We need to leave,” the little mare told Flutterage. Flutterage pretended she didn’t hear the mare as she returned the general’s glare. “You might be bulletproof, but we aren’t,” the mare reasoned. Flutterage growled as she quickly grabbed her companions and stopped on the ground shaking the train station and knocking Hurricane and his soldiers over before leaping through one of the holes in the ceiling. They landed several hundred yards from the train station, near the tracks headed towards Manehattan before Flutterage leaped again, ignoring the little mare’s protests.

///////////////////////////////////////////

Hurricane was one of the first to recover from the artificial tremor, but by the time he was on his feet his quarry was gone. He didn’t even know what direction she’d gone in. He scanned the battlefield, spotting the now useless tanks. He then saw Heavyweight lying on the ground motionless and approached him.

“Is he alive sir?” Hurricane heard Winchester ask from behind him.

Hurricane watched his soldier for a moment, quickly spotting the rise and fall of the stallion’s chest. “For now, but he won’t last long without medical attention,” he stated looking at the many bullet holes in the soldier. “Get a med team in here now,” he ordered as he stood up and walked back out, feeling the sting of another defeat.

Author's Note

Okay before everyone gets all confused, no this wasn't all part of a grand plan. I had really turned away from these stories. However, a few recent conversations with a friend and some other ideas I had getting put on hold kinda put me in the mood to write at least this part of it and maybe, MAYBE, finish the first phase of what I was going to do.

This chapter was the result of random inspiration. Is it good? I like it. Is it my best work? Probably not, but again, random thing happened. Will I give up on this story again at some point? I have no idea.

So, until further notice, Stay Tuned.

Oh and if anyone who was helping with these stories wants back in, send me a message. We'll need to discuss things.

So Close

Fluttershy sat silently in the back of the rusty, old pickup Rarity had stolen the day before. She watched the passing trees along the side of the freeway as they made their way north towards Manehattan. Rarity and Boot were in the front seat, Rarity driving and Boot looking at a map to make sure they were headed the right way.

“I do know my way to Manehattan,” Rarity remarked, glancing sideways at Boot.

Boot kept his eyes on the map. “I’m sure you do, but I don’t and I wanna make sure you don’t take us on any unplanned detours,” he replied, looking up at a passing sign to make sure they were in fact on the right road.

Rarity huffed at Boot’s mistrust, but didn’t bother trying to reason with the stallion. “Everything alright back there Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, catching Fluttershy’s attention. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Fluttershy smiled at Rarity’s apparent concern. “I’m okay. Just thinking of what I can say to Dr. Study,” she replied. Fluttershy had grown more comfortable around her companions and, although she still spoke softly, she spoke with more confidence.

Boot looked up from the map. “Speaking of plans, probably gonna hit a roadblock outside of Manehattan. Hurricane tends to cover all his bases pretty well,” he pointed out.

Rarity smirked. “If we need a backup plan there’s a safehouse on the waterfront near the city. We can use the boat there to get in if we need to,” she informed them.

Boot and Fluttershy looked at eachother, confused. “I thought you said we weren’t getting any help from S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Boot said. Fluttershy looked at the mare, as curious as Boot was about the usefulness of the safehouse.

Rarity laughed. “This isn’t a S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse. It belongs to a friend of mine and I’m sure she won’t mind me borrowing a few of her things. It is for a good cause after all,” Rarity explained, only making her companions more confused.

“Fine, so long as we aren’t turning to some criminal for help,” he submitted, turning back to his map. “But if I smell a trap, we’re backing out,” he threatened.

“Oh don’t worry. S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t risk getting on Fluttershy’s bad side,” Rarity told them in an obvious attempt to appease them.

Fluttershy turned back towards the window, not wanting the other two to see how much Rarity’s words bothered her. Fluttershy knew she was dangerous, but every reminder of that felt like a knife in her heart.

“Are you alright Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. Fluttershy looked up in surprise, finding Rarity watching her in the rearview mirror.

“I’m just ready for a change,” Fluttershy replied.

////////////////////

General Hurricane sat in his office going over dossiers for potential recruits to bring to Manehattan when he heard a knock on his office door. “Enter,” he called out.

Winchester opened the door, looking cheerier than expected. “Sir there’s been a development in Heavyweight’s condition,” she told him.

Hurricane cocked an eyebrow, “What kind of development?” he asked, hoping he was going to hear good news.

“Could just ask me yourself,” Heavyweight said as he pushed his way into the room, already wearing his uniform again and smirking like the devil.

Hurricane gave the sergeant a once over, amazed that the stallion was already back on his feet. Standing up, Hurricane asked,” How are you feeling?”

“Ready for another go at the monster,” he stated with confidence. “Whenever we’re ready to move on her.”

Hurricane smiled, having been more than ready to hear some good news. “Good to hear soldier. We haven’t been able to track her down just yet, but we have people watching Stern in Manehattan. If that’s where she and her friends are headed they should be showing up soon,” he informed leaning against his desk, unable to fully process Heavyweight’s miraculous recovery.

Heavyweight seemed please with the news. “Than I say we get ahead of her,” he suggested, earning a curious look from Hurricane. “Get ourselves set up around Stern’s office and be ready to move in as soon as she shows up.”

Hurricane considered his options for a moment. “Unfortunately our movements are more restricted than before,” he said, earning a frown from Heavyweight. “The Commander has ordered that I inform him of any future operations involving Fluttershy before we make a move and only if he gives the go ahead,” Hurricane explained, observing the less than pleased look his soldier was giving him.

After a moment of silence Heavyweight spoke up. “Fluttershy isn’t there yet though,” he pointed out.

“What’s your point?” Hurricane asked seeing the same confused look on Winchester’s face that he was sure he had as well.

“If she isn’t there yet, it’s less an operation involving her and more us protecting an asset,” Heavyweight pointed out. “We can’t just leave Stern out to dry when big green comes knocking can we?” he asked, once more wearing a smirk.

Hurricane thought about Heavyweight’s plan for only a moment. “We might be able to get away with that, but then what happens when Fluttershy does change. With her allies, she’s proving to be more than we can handle,”Hurricane reminded the soldier.

Heavyweight glared at Hurricane, but didn’t seem to have an answer.

“I may have a suggestion sir,” Winchester said, earning a hopeful look from Heavyweight and a curious one from. “After we had Fluttershy’s belongings from Bassett Town processed, our lab techs reported that she had made a formula that could suppress a radiation flare,” she explained, seeming to get more nervous when she realized Heavyweight was glaring at her..

“How exactly does that help?” Heavyweight asked, gritting his teeth.

Winchester looked at Hurricane, who nodded for her to continue. “If they’re right it’s a temporary cure. We can give the data to Stern and he can give her a dose. That way when we move in and Fluttershy panics she won’t change,” Winchester finished.

Heavyweight chuckled. “There. She shows up and we take her without a fight,” Heavyweight said, crossing his arms and smirking at the General.

Hurricane took a moment to consider everything he’d been told. “Get Fluttershy’s equipment and any notes she had and gather them up. Then get two units posted outside Stern’s office. I want to be ready and waiting for Fluttershy in the next two hours,” Hurricane commanded, earning a salute from Winchester and a smug grin from Heavyweight.

Hurricane turned to the Sergeant as Winchester exited the office. “Get ready son. We may need you to handle that white mare,” Hurricane said, earning a lazy salute from Heavyweight.

“Yes sir,” Heavyweight replied as he left as well, shutting the door behind him.

Hurricane stood in his office and sighed. “Please let this work,” he said to himself.

////////////////////

“Well at least we were prepared for this,” Rarity said, gesturing at the roadblock, just barely visible through the gridlocked traffic in front of them.

“Can we back out of here?” Boot asked.

“I don’t think so,” Fluttershy told them as she looked out of the back of the truck. As Rarity and Boot turned to look, several more cars pulled up, blocking them from escaping with the pickup.

“We’ll have to ditch the car here and make our way to the boathouse on foot,” Rarity told them, already opening her door and stepping out.

Boot looked unsure and glanced at Fluttershy. Fluttershy shrugged as she exited the vehicle as well, joined soon after by Boot.

“We aren’t too far. Follow me,” Rarity instructed, almost having to shout over the angry drivers honking at them for leaving their car in the middle of the road.

“So are we going to get to meet this friend of yours?” Boot asked. He and Fluttershy had been curious who Rarity would trust outside of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Rarity was reluctant to share any details.

“Of course not. She isn’t actually going to be there, she just owns the building,” Rarity told them with a smile as they walked between the cars and off the side of the road in the direction of the nearby waterfront.

////////////////////

Boot and Fluttershy followed Rarity until they came to the coast and stopped as soon as they saw the building. “Your friend owns this building?” Boot asked.

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy whispered, becoming more hesitant to enter the building.

“Is there a problem?” Rarity asked. “You can tell S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t own it,” she pointed out, gesturing at the side of the building where the logo for Dash Industries was painted in large letters.

“I can’t actually tell if this is worse or not,” Boot replied with a flat tone.

Fluttershy stare at the logo hesitantly for a moment before making a decision. “We don’t have much choice,” she said, catching Boot’s attention. “This is our best chance to get into the city,” she said, mustering all her confidence. Fluttershy turned to Rarity and nodded.

Rarity returned the nod and led Boot and Fluttershy inside, after kicking the door open. “You don’t have a key?” Boot asked, smiling at the improvised entrance.

“Not as such,” Rarity replied. “You’re going to have to give me moment. I need to hot wire the boat,” Rarity said as Fluttershy and Boot entered behind her and saw what Rarity called a boat.

“That thing is huge!” Boot shouted. “You expect us to sneak into the city in this thing?” he asked incredulously.

“It does seem a little big for what we need,” Fluttershy pointed out.

Rarity rolled her eyes at the pair as she hopped onto the boat from the walkway next to it. “Well we are unfortunately out of options. The road is a no go and we don’t have a way to fly in,” Rarity argued as she gestured at the boat. “This is all we’ve got.”

Fluttershy eyed the boat for a moment. “Okay. You’re right,” she conceded. “Will it take long to get it started? Not to be pushy,” Fluttershy asked.

“Maybe an hour or two,” Rarity said from the wheelhouse of the boat, as she pulled a panel off of the front of the console, exposing the wires inside. “Maybe less.”

////////////////////

Stern Study sat in his office with General Hurricane, going over Fluttershy’s notes on her failed cure. “Well I can see a few reasons why the cure didn’t work,” he said as he put the notes back on his desk.

“Can it do what we need it to?” Hurricane asked, keeping his tone even.

“Oh absolutely. My only concern is the people you intend to have me in the same room with. When I signed that contract it didn’t include me putting myself at risk for your interests. What’s to stop me just turning Fluttershy away as soon as she gets here?” Study asked.

Hurricane could tell when he’d arrived that Study wouldn’t want anything to do with Fluttershy or her friends. “If you help us now, I can guarantee you’ll have everything you need for your research for the next decade,” Hurricane promised.

Stern was silent for a moment. “This is insane, but that is a difficult offer to pass up,” he commented, nodding his head. “Okay, I’ll do it,” he agreed, smiling at the General and holding his hand out to shake.

“Good,” Hurricane said shaking hands with the scientist.

////////////////////

After just two hours fiddling with the wires in the boat, Rarity had it up and running and she, Fluttershy and Boot were half way from the coast to the docks that ringed Manehattan. Fluttershy could already see the skyline of the city, the towers near the center marking the financial district and the smaller buildings where the general public of the city usually lived.

“Have you ever been here before?” Rarity asked, glancing at Fluttershy from the wheelhouse.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No. I was invited to a convention years ago, after I wrote my thesis on bioengineering, but I didn’t go,” Fluttershy explained, earning a curious glance from the unicorn. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of strangers,” Fluttershy said, barely above a whisper.

Boot Strap looked at Fluttershy, sympathy filling his eyes. “Maybe you can make the next one after you get cured,” he suggested, bringing a smile to Fluttershy’s face.

“If I get cured,” Fluttershy corrected, unable to keep the doubts out of her mind. She knew there was chance Stern Study wouldn’t be able to help her, but just the thought of being able to live a normal life seemed worth any risk.

“Well, we’ll know soon enough,” Rarity said, bringing their attention back to the front of the boat and the rapidly approaching docks. “Things should be fairly easy from this point on,” she said as she slowed their pace, stopping next to a pier they could disembark from.

“So close,” Fluttershy whispered to herself as she followed Rarity and Boot off of the boat.

Author's Note

Yeah this chapter kinda blows, but to be honest this isn't my favorite today, only because of how completely unoriginal the plot is.

Not super proud of it, but this story is almost done and then I can move on to other things. Maybe a GOTG story. Kinda wanted to do one before I got around to the Harmonies.

Anyways I'll be ending this story soon...

Stay Tuned.

Numbing the Pain

Fluttershy stood in a an alley across the street from Stern Studies office. She stared longingly at the three story brick building, knowing she had never been closer to freedom in nearly a decade. Fluttershy had started thinking about what she would do after she was cured. I could look into becoming a vet, she thought, liking the idea of getting back to helping animals. Even now, after all she’d been through, helping wildlife was still a subject that helped her keep calm.

Before her thoughts could wander any further she spotted Boot Strap making his way across the street towards her. “Doesn’t look like there’s any military activity in the area,” he said as he neared Fluttershy.

Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow. “How strange,” she whispered. She’d almost expected to have to sneak through a blockade to get in.

A loud clanging noise alerted the pair to Rarity’s return. They turned around to find the unicorn climbing down a fire escape further down the alley. “There’s no sign of any snipers on the roofs. How does it look from the ground?” she asked joining Fluttershy and Boot.

“Nothing,” Boot informed, bemused. Rarity looked concerned as she looked across the street at the building Stern was supposed to be in.

“Either Hurricane is much better at hiding his men than before or they aren’t nearby. I’m not sure which would be more concerning,” Rarity deduced, eyeing the building across the street, eyes narrowed.

Fluttershy considered their options for a moment before making a decision. She took a deep breath and strode out of the alleyway, surprising both of her companions. “Wait, don’t-” Boot started as Fluttershy stopped at the edge of the sidewalk and looked up and down the street, making no effort to hide her face.

Several pedestrians walked by Fluttershy, too busy to bother taking a close look at her. After several minutes Fluttershy took another breath and turned to Rarity and Boot. “I, umm… think it’s safe,” she told them quietly.

Rarity stared at Fluttershy with an open mouth as she stepped out to join her on the sidewalk. “Yes I… suppose it seems that way,” she agreed, quickly followed by Boot. “Although perhaps a little warning next time,” Rarity suggested, recovering from her shock.

Fluttershy gave the agent a sheepish smile as they crossed the street and approached the front door of Stern Study’s building. Fluttershy took a deep breath before lightly knocking on the door. It wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps approached the door, Stern Study’s face appearing briefly in the window to the right.

The door finally opened and Stern stood in the doorway, sweating and looking about apprehensively. “How may I help you?” he asked in a strained, but polite tone. Fluttershy was about to answer when Rarity pushed past the stallion and into the building. “Excuse me, you can’t just barge in like that!” the stallion shouted as Rarity started checking the rooms of the lower level.

“All clear,” she stated, ignoring the angry stallion. “Do you know who she is?” Rarity asked, Stern, gesturing to Fluttershy.

Stern glanced back at Fluttershy for a moment, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he answered. “I… yes I do,” he admitted, stepping away from the door and motioning for Boot and Fluttershy to enter. “Hurricane said you might come to me,” he continued, closing the door after the pair and leading the group to the living room. “I suppose we have much to discuss.”

////////////////////

Hurricane watched the monitor in front of him, smiling as Fluttershy and Boot finally entered the building. He, Winchester and two other ponies were sitting in an armored vehicle a few blocks from Stern’s office. The video feed was from an operative that had been ordered to do nothing but observe the building from a distance.

“All troops are ready to move at your command sir,” Winchester stated as Hurricane grabbed the mic for the radio.

“All units be advised, the target is in position. Be ready to move on my mark,” he ordered, receiving confirmations from the squad leaders, but noticing Heavyweight hadn’t responded. “Sergeant Heavyweight do you copy?” he asked calling the soldier out directly.

////////////////////

Heavyweight watched Fluttershy and her companions talking with Stern in the stallion’s livingroom through the scope of a sniper rifle he’d been given for the job. “Come on, it’s obviously a trap. You gotta know it’s a trap. Bring out the monster,” he pleaded as he watched the mare explain something to Stern.

“Sergeant Heavyweight report in!” Hurricane’s voice shouted over the radio. Heavyweight had been watching Fluttershy so intently he hadn’t heard his radio.

“All good here sir. I have clear shot on all targets. Just waiting for Stern’s signal,” Heavyweight replied, struggling to keep the growl out of his voice.

“Good. Keep me informed. If any of them tries to leave, tranq them,” Hurricane ordered.

Heavyweight rolled his eyes as the general reminded him of his job. “I copy, sir,” he replied, keeping his tone level.

Heavyweight returned his attention to the ponies visible in his scope. “Come on now, give me a fight,” he whispered, centering his crosshairs on the back of Fluttershy’s head.

////////////////////

Rarity stared out of the window facing the street in Stern’s living room leaning against. Fluttershy and Stern had spent most of the time discussing the specifics concerning her condition; radiation levels, the mixture for the formula she’d taken, the nature of Fluttershy’s research and, inevitably, Flutterage.

Stern sat across in a chair across from the couch that Fluttershy and Boot were seated on. “I’m starting to understand why you don’t trust Hurricane,” Stern commented after hearing Fluttershy out. “He isn’t the easiest to deal with and if half of what you’ve told me is true, we need to keep your monster away from him,” he said nodding.

Fluttershy smiled at Stern. “So you’ll help us,” she asked, more enthused than she had been in years.

“I’ll do what I can,” Stern replied. “I’m not sure exactly where to start, but Hurricane did give me the equipment and notes you left behind in Bassett Town. Perhaps we can make use of them,” he suggested.

Fluttershy shook her head. “None of those notes will help. The only experiment that got close was the Royal Bell and all that did was suppress one episode,” Fluttershy explained, hoping Stern may know a better way.

Stern’s face scrunched up in concentration for a moment. “Perhaps we need more than just the Royal Bell then,” he suggested, earning a puzzled look from Fluttershy. “Plant based treatments were among the first forms of treatment I studied when I first signed on with Hurricane. I still have several plants that may be able to add to the effects of Royal Bell,” Stern explained.

Rarity turned away from the window. “What sort of plants?” she asked, jumping into the conversation before Fluttershy could agree with Stern.

Stern seemed taken aback for a moment. “Uh… I have a few frost flowers. They’re nectar is commonly used to cleanse the body of impurities. Maybe if we use it i the mixture it can eliminate the radiation that the Royal Bell suppresses,” Stern rattled off, gulping as everyone in the room stared at him. Fluttershy seemed to be in thought, but Rarity kept her eyes on Stern.

“Would that work?” Boot asked looking at Fluttershy, a hopeful look in his eye.

“It might,” Fluttershy replied. “I never thought of using multiple plants in one formula. So long as we have the right mixture of both, it should work,” Fluttershy reasoned, looking to her companions for any input.

“How long will it take to figure out the right mix?” Rarity asked, her eyes still locked on Stern. “Hurricane undoubtedly already knows we’re here and will likely be here soon. How quickly can you get the mix right?” she repeated, an edge in her voice.

Stern gulped as he met Rarity’s eyes. “Maybe an hour or two. It shouldn’t take long,” Stern replied, his voice shaking.

“Then we should get started,” Boot commented. “Where are we working?” he asked.

“In my lab upstairs,” Stern answered standing up and leading the way.

Rarity gave the window one last suspicious glance before following the others.

////////////////////

Heavyweight watched as the four ponies left the living room. “The target is moving to the lab,” he said into his radio, watching the small group until the left his line of sight.

“Copy Sergeant. All units move into position and wait for further orders,” Winchester said over the radio, the squad leaders confirming the order.

Heavyweight slung his rifle over his shoulder and left the room he’d been staying in. A few minutes later he was stepping out of the hotel’s back entrance and into the alley way at the same time as one of Hurricane’s teams arrived.

“Let’s be ready to move when the order is given and not a moment before,” Heavyweight told the team as one of them handed him a lightweight machine gun. He lead the team to the end of the alley, giving them a clear view to Stern’s front door further down the street. How much longer? Heavyweight asked himself, growing more frustrated the longer he had to wait for Fluttershy to transform.

////////////////////

Fluttershy and Stern moved through the stallion’s lab, cutting up the required plants and measuring a few other medicines with them. “That should about do it,” Stern said as he held up the mixture in a glass beaker. “I’ll put this in the mixer for a minute and then we should be ready. Do you mind getting a syringe from the cabinet?” he asked Fluttershy, pointing at a cabinet on the other side of the room.

“Of course,” Fluttershy replied with a smile as she left Stern to mixing the prospective remedy.

“Is it ready yet?” Rarity asked, still staring out of the windows, watching the streets that were now lit by the street lights along the road.

“Almost. Dr. Study just needs to mix it and we’ll be ready,” Fluttershy said as she retrieved a syringe and checked the packaging to make sure it was the right size.

“Good. About time you had a win,” Boot said, smiling as Stern returned from the other end of the lab.

“Are we ready?” he asked, taking the syringe from Fluttershy and setting a small bottle of the mixture on the table. Fluttershy nodded and sat in a chair next to the workstation she’d been using and held out her arm for Stern. Stern wiped off her forearm with an antiseptic wipe and then grabbed the syringe and the mixture. Dr. Study filled the syringe with a pale yellow liquid and held Fluttershy’s arm steady, locating a vein and inserting the needle.

Fluttershy winced as Stern pushed the plunger and emptied the syringe. “Alright. All done then,” Stern said as he stood up. “Now you might feel a little tired, but don’t worry that’s normal,” he said as he walked over to a desk near a window and clicked the lamp on. “I have a bandage here somewhere for you,” he said opening a drawer and finding a box of band aids.

Fluttershy tried to stand up and almost collapsed, Boot catching her before she hit the ground. “Is this normal?” Boot asked, wondering what was happening. Fluttershy could feel herself fading out.

“Drugged,” she mumbled just loud enough to be heard as she slipped into unconsciousness.

////////////////////

Heavyweight tensed as he saw the light in Stern’s lab come on. “Stern is giving the signal,” he said into his radio, informing Hurricane they were ready to move.

“All units move in,” Hurricane ordered.

“Move in. Keep it tight,” Heavyweight ordered his team as he led the way to Stern’s front door.

////////////////////

Rarity grabbed Stern by the front of his shirt. “What did you give her?” she hissed, ready to throw the stallion across the room.

“Just a general anesthetic,” Stern said, cowering at the furious mare. “She’ll be out for at least an hour,” he informed.

Rarity growled as she shoved the scientist aside. “Boot, pick her up. We need to move now,” Rarity ordered Boot, who only nodded.

“How are we getting out of this?” Boot asked, picking Fluttershy up bridal style. “They probably have us surrounded.

“I don’t doubt that. We’ll just need to be quick,” Rarity said as she and Boot made their way down the stairs. They were about half way down when the front door was kicked in and Heavyweight and his team entered. Before either Rarity or Boot could move the soldiers opened fire, Tagging the pair with tranq darts. Boot slumped to the stairs, barely managing to keep his grip on Fluttershy and Rarity wasn’t awake much longer.

Author's Note

Okay, so honestly I had intended this to be the Climactic chapter, but this felt like a good stopping point for now.

The final battle will be taking place next chapter. Ya know feels like I have less to say the longer this story goes on.

So...

Stay Tuned.

Smash!

Heavyweight stood outside of Stern’s home, watching in disappointment as Fluttershy and her friends were loaded into the back of an armed transport vehicle. It had only been a few minutes ago they had stormed Stern’s front door and tagged the white mare and Boot Strap, which had been a disappointingly short fight. “What a waste,” he told himself as he turned towards one of the troop transports and bumped into Stern. “Watch it,” Heavyweight growled, startling the smaller stallion.

“Apologies. Just need to get a blood sample before you ship that mare off to wherever you’re going to keep her,” Stern said as he picked his way through the crowd towards the truck Fluttershy had just been wheeled into on a gurney. Heavyweight watched from a distance as the scientist drew blood from Fluttershy, a new plan forming in his mind.

“Sergeant,” Hurricane called from nearby, startling Heavyweight. “We’re ready to move Fluttershy. I want you in the same transport as her,” Hurricane ordered.

Heavyweight racked his brain for an excuse. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea sir,” he started, stalling for more time. Hurricane narrowed his eyes at Heavyweight, but remained silent. “I’ve… been feeling strange around her sir,” Heavyweight said, not really lying. “The more I’m around her the more frustrated I get,” Heavyweight admitted. “I was wondering if I could stay with Stern’s protective detail for the night. Get myself sorted.”

Hurricane gave the stallion in front of him a once over. “That’s fine soldier. However I think you might be overdue for a psyche eval, when you get back to base. For now, I agree. You need to get some distance between you and Fluttershy,” Hurricane said, turning towards the vehicles preparing to leave. “I expect you back in the morning soldier.”

“Yes sir,” Heavyweight replied, not even bothering to salute the retreating general. Heavyweight walked back in the house as the last soldier exited and made his way upstairs to the lab. “Let’s see what you’ve got for me doc,” he said as he started rummaging through Stern’s files.

////////////////////

“Get them in a truck. We’re moving in five,” Rarity heard a voice say as she came to. Whatever they had hit her with wasn’t as strong as the anesthetic Stern had given Fluttershy, not that it mattered. Rarity felt a pair of cuffs on her wrists and a weight on her horn that she guessed was a magic suppressor. She blinked her eyes a few times, letting them adjust to the light. She found herself in the back of a military vehicle between a pair of soldiers, her wrists cuffed behind her back and her feet cuffed to a bar on the bottom of the seat, and quickly spotted Boot on the other side of the vehicle with another pair of soldiers and in similar restraints. There was a three foot gap between the benches they sat on and not much else.

“I don’t suppose one of you boys has a key for me,” Rarity asked sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at the soldiers. The stallions glanced at each other as the door opened again.

“Get her in here,” Hurricane said as Fluttershy was brought in on a gurney, still unconscious from being drugged. Hurricane looked at Rarity and smiled. “Good you’re awake. I have a few questions for you before we arrive back at base,” Hurricane told her as Boot began to stir on the other side of the vehicle.

“If it’s about your uniforms, I’d be more than happy to help you design something more flattering than those old rags,” Rarity quipped, indicating the uniform Hurricane wore, earning a less than pleased look from the general.

“What happened?” Boot asked groggily as he started looking around the room. He struggled briefly when he realized where he was, but the soldiers on either side of him held him until he calmed down.

“No use struggling son. The fights over,” Hurricane stated, turning back to Rarity while Boot glared at Hurricane’s back. “Now, as I was saying, I have a few questions and let’s be clear,” he said, leaning in close to Rarity. “I’m not in the mood for cute answers,” he growled.

Rarity shared a worried glance with Boot, hoping an escape route would make itself available.

////////////////////

Heavyweight stared blankly at a set of notes he’d found in Stern’s lab. None of it made any sense to him of course. It may as well have been written in some alien language. Heavyweight heard the door of the lab open and turned to see Stern returning with a small cooler. Stern looked shocked to see Heavyweight in his lab.

“I’m sorry, is there something I can help you with?” Stern asked, quirking an eyebrow at Heavyweight.

Heavyweight set the notes on the desk he found them and eyed the cooler Stern was holding. “That the blood sample?” he asked, feeling drawn to the contents of the case.

Stern glanced at the cooler, before returning his gaze to Heavyweight. “It is and I really need to get started studying it, so if you’ll excuse me,” Stern said, setting the cooler on a table near the door and leaving it to prepare some of his lab equipment for a few tests.

Heavyweight watched the doctor work for a moment before making his way to the cooler. “So what exactly are you going to do with her blood?” he asked, keeping an eye on the distracted doctor.

“I need to find out what it is in her blood that allows her to regulate the radiation poisoning,” Stern replied, flipping a switch on a machine, turning on several lights as the machine emitted a low humming noise.

Heavyweight flipped open the lid of the cooler and saw three glass phials of Fluttershy’s blood. “This all you got?” Heavyweight asked, wondering if it would be enough.

“What?” Stern asked turning to the stallion. “Leave those alone!” Stern shouted dashing across the lab. “If one of those breaks-” he started only to be interrupted by Heavyweight shoving a pistol in his face.

“Listen doc, I don’t much care for your experiments. All I want is to show that mare who the strongest is,” Heavyweight explained. “Now I need your help. I don’t really understand any of the science to this, but you’re going to inject that blood into me,” he finished, staring calmly at Stern.

Stern stared at Heavyweight in shocked silence. “You can’t be serious,” Stern replied, only to have Heavyweight press the gun to his forehead. “Okay, you are,” Stern said, trying to placate the soldier. “Look, I’m not sure how you think this works, but injecting her blood into you could go badly for you in a thousand different ways. There is no reason to think that this will make you stronger,” Stern explained.

Heavyweight glared at Stern. “And?” he asked, earning a blank look from Stern. “I don’t care about the risks!” Heavyweight shouted, startling the scientist. “You are going to get a syringe and put her blood in me in the next thirty seconds or I am going to blow your head off,” Heavyweight said, making himself as clear as possible.

Stern nodded in agreement, sweating bullets as the deranged stallion gave him one of the phials. Stern retrieved a syringe from a cabinet and stuck the point into the phial, filling the syringe halfway.

“All of it,” Heavyweight stated, still pointing the gun at Stern.

Stern emptied the phial and approached Heavyweight. “It would be best to inject it into your right arm,” he said, his voice shaking as he indicated the arm that had the gun.

Heavyweight returned the gun to Stern’s forehead. “Is this a good angle for you?” he asked without a hint of emotion.

Stern gulped, but nodded and raised the syringe to the blood vessel just below the stallion’s elbow. Stern steadied his shaking hand and carefully slid the needle into Heavyweight’s arm and pushed down on the plunger, emptying the contents into the stallion. Stern then removed the syringe and stepped back, still fearful Heavyweight might shoot him.

Heavyweight took a deep breath, wondering how much stronger he’d be with both Fluttershy’s blood and the Bluecorp serum. “This really doesn’t feel very different,” he commented after a moment of nothing happening. Heavyweight turned to Stern to ask a question, but fell to the ground when a searing pain shot up his spine, wiping all thought from his mind. The sound of the door slamming open telling him someone else had arrived to see what he had become.

////////////////////

Hurricane stood in front of the white mare, agitated that she was being so uncooperative even now that there wasn’t anything for her to fight for. They’d been on the road for about five minutes and the mare hadn’t even spoken a word since the engine started. That was all the time Hurricane needed to know he wasn’t going to get anything out of her without torturing her.

“Fine, you don’t wanna talk. How about we ask Boot what he knows?” Hurricane suggested, staring into the white mare’s defiant eyes.

“I’m not telling you anything,” Boot said, earning Hurricane’s attention.

“Well that’s fine, but consider this,” Hurricane started, stepping over to Fluttershy on the gurney. “The more you tell me about her, the more pleasant Fluttershy’s life is going to be in captivity,” Hurricane told them. Boot looked at Fluttershy for a moment and Hurricane knew he’d pressed just the right button.

“He’s lying,” Rarity said, catching Boot’s attention. “They will do anything to figure out how to make her a weapon, regardless of what you tell them now,” she said, her eyes staring straight Boot. Boot looked back at her for only a second before his gaze drifted back to Fluttershy.

Boot started to open his mouth to reply. “Sir, Winchester is on the radio,” the driver interrupted. Hurricane rolled his eyes as he left his captives to address whatever problem had come up.

“We’ll continue in a moment,” Hurricane told Boot as he put on a pair of headphones connected to the radio. “This is Hurricane. Go,” he ordered, hoping to take care of this issue quickly.

“Something came out of Stern’s lab and it’s headed your way! Something big!”

Winchester shouted over the radio.

Hurricane tried to process what he was being told. “Slow down. What came out of the lab?” He asked, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong in the short time since they had left the lab.

“I can’t be sure sir, but… I think it was Heavyweight. He’s the only here unaccounted for and we found Stern unconscious in his lab. One of the samples he took from Fluttershy was missing as well,” Winchester informed.

Hurricane was shocked to say the least. “Keep looking for Heavyweight and gather any information on the enemy that you can,” Hurricane ordered.

“Yes sir,” Winchester responded as Hurricane removed the headset.

“Get on the radio with the closest military base. I want a gunship enroute now,” he told the soldier sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle, turning to the driver next. “Forget speed limits son. Step on it.”

“General may I inquire as to what’s happening?” The white mare in the back of the vehicle asked, her eyes following the General’s movements.

“It’s none of your concern,” Hurricane told the mare.

Boot looked at Hurricane, eyes narrowed. “What did you do now?” he asked through clenched teeth.

Hurricane ignored his captives. There wasn’t any reason he had to explain anything to them.

////////////////////

Rarity looked from Hurricane to Boot. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” she asked, figuring Boot knew Hurricane well enough to tell when the General was hiding something.

Boot tore his eyes from the General’s back. “The last time I saw him this agitated, Fluttershy had escaped one his most heavily guarded prisons,” he explained.

“How did she manage to that?” Rarity asked, hoping their captors were distracted by the conversation enough not to watch her hands. Rarity wrapped her right hand around the left, clenching her teeth for the next step.

“She may have had some help,” Boot answered sheepishly. “I’d been around the facility enough to know how to get her out,” he admitted.

“Is that a confession,” Hurricane asked, still looking out of the back of the vehicle.

Boot glared at Hurricane. “Doesn’t really matter. You’ve got enough on me just from the last few days to put me away for life,” Boot pointed out

“Don’t fret over it darling,” Rarity said as she squeezed down on her left thumb, quickly dislocating it, the pain shooting up her arm, but she’d done this enough times to mostly ignore it. “We’ll be out by the end of the night,” she assured him as she removed her left hand from her restraints and hit the guard to her left in the throat, headbutting the one on her right. The guards next to Boot and Hurricane reached for their weapons. Rarity grabbed the gasping soldier to her left and used him as cover from Hurricane and the soldier on Boot’s right. The guard on Boot’s left raised his side arm only for Rarity to grab the barrel and yank it down as the guard shot, the bullet snapping the chain that held Rarity’s feet in place.

Now fully free Rarity launched herself at the two remaining guards shoving the gasping soldier at Hurricane and body slamming one of Boot’s guards into the vehicle’s wall and kicking the other in the shin. The soldier Rarity headbutted started to recover, just in time for Rarity to grab the guard she’d kicked by his collar and throw him at the recovering soldier, slamming their heads together and knocking them out.

Hurricane and the other two soldiers started to recover as the vehicle began to slow. Rarity guessed the driver was concerned about the fight. “Do not stop!” Hurricane shouted, drawing his own side arm. Rarity leaped to the side as Hurricane shot and sprung forward, elbowing the guard next to Boot as she went and rolling into the feet of the last soldier as she landed. Hurricane brought the gun back around, but Rarity was close enough to grab his wrist and twist the gun from his grip. Rarity kneed the disarmed general in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and bringing him to his knees.

“Now I hope we can have a more civil discussion General,” Rarity said as she took the keys from one of the unconscious guards and tossed them to Boot. “See to Fluttershy. I’ll get Hurricane to talk,” Rarity said, earning a nod from Boot as he unshackled himself.

Before either had taken a step the sounds of car horns and a distant thumping noise alerted them something was happening on the road behind them. “Too late to be talking,” Hurricane wheezed, glaring at Rarity.

Rarity gulped as she looked out the back of the vehicle, shocked to see an enormous figure several blocks behind them, lifting a car above it’s head. “Wake her now!” Rarity said urgently as she stepped past Boot and approached the driver and the fearful stallion on the radio. “I believe your General told you to floor it earlier,” she said, placing a hand on the soldier’s shoulder. “Unless you’d like to die at the hands of the monster coming after us, I suggest you take that in the most literal sense you can,” she said, her tone growing serious.

The stallion gulped and nodded, slamming the gas pedal and causing the vehicle to lurch forward as the driver started dodging through traffic.

////////////////////

Fluttershy heard muffled voices, her eyes opening to a bright and blurry room. “Fluttershy, wake up,” a familiar voice said, her senses starting to clear up. She felt the bed she was on lurch to the side, almost sending her to the floor, only to be caught by a pair of hands. She looked up to see Boot standing by her side.

“Where am I?” Fluttershy muttered, bringing a hand to her head, trying to remember what had happened.

“Hurricane caught us. We’re in one of his transports,” Boot explained.

Fluttershy sat bolt upright, her eyes darting about the back of the transport, finding General Hurricane and four soldiers cuffed in the back near the door. “What happened?” Fluttershy asked, looking at Hurricane.

“Rarity happened. She put her super spy training to good use,” Boot said, pointing to the front end of the transport, where Rarity was going through the equipment on board.

“As I’ve been doing the last few days,” Rarity replied as she finished with another storage container before joining them. “Now, we need to prepare,” Rarity stated looking Fluttershy in the eye.

“Prepare for what?” Fluttershy asked.

“Something attacked the soldiers Hurricane left with Stern. Now it’s coming for us and it’s gaining quickly,” Rarity explained looking at the back window.

Fluttershy followed her gaze and was shocked to see an almost amphibious looking creature, standing several feet tall, charging through the streets of Manehattan only a few car lengths behind them.

“What do we do?” Fluttershy asked, taking a deep breath to keep herself calm, still looking out of the window.

Rarity sighed. “We have plenty of weapons here and Hurricane called in air support that should be arriving any moment now,” she said, lacking her usual confidence. “Our plan for now is to stay ahead of it until help arrives and then make our escape.”

Fluttershy heard Hurricane laugh and turned her gaze to him. “Does he know what it is?” she asked, keeping her eyes on the General.

“He knows something he isn’t telling us,” Boot replied glaring at Hurricane.

Fluttershy stood up, steadying herself as she approached Hurricane. “What is it?” she asked, her angry tone surprising Boot and Rarity.

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” Hurricane replied.

Fluttershy looked the General in the eyes. “Ponies may die if you don’t tell us what that is,” Fluttershy said through gritted teeth. Hurricane ignored her. “If you don’t start talking, I’ll get angry,” Fluttershy said, catching Hurricane’s attention. “You don’t like it when I’m angry.”

Boot and Rarity watched the exchange with bated breath. Fluttershy was not happy and wasn’t trying to hide it. She and Hurricane stared at eachother for a moment.

“I believe he’s one of my men,” Hurricane said. “He was given an experimental serum made by Bluecorp and from what Winchester told me, he may have added your blood to the mix,” Hurricane admitted, looking away from Fluttershy.

Fluttershy fought to keep her rising temper in check. “You’ll never learn will you?” she asked. “You’re going to keep making the same mistake over and over and somepony else is going to pay for it every time,” she told him. Hurricane didn’t reply, likely too ashamed to argue. Fluttershy turned back to her companions. “Whatever weapons we have or are on the way won’t be enough,” she told them.

Rarity stared at her for a moment. “That may be but we don’t have any other options,” she said, meeting Fluttershy’s determined gaze.

“I can stop him,” Fluttershy said, looking Rarity in the eye.

“No,” Boot said, trying to end the discussion. “That is not a plan. That could just make things worse,” he told them.

“Nothing else will be enough,” Fluttershy said, now staring at Rarity to avoid looking at Boot. She needed to stay adamant. “We need Flutterage,” she told them.

“Well, you have the most experience with this. How do we bring her out?” Rarity asked.

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “I need to be stressed. I need an adrenaline rush or something,” Fluttershy said, looking around the transport. “Do we have any medkits?”

“Behind the driver,” Rarity said, pointing to a white box bolted to the wall behind the driver.

“This is insane,” Boot said as Fluttershy grabbed the box and opened it.

“I know it is,” Fluttershy said staring at the space the syringes full of adrenaline sat in. “But every time Hurricane finds me I have to run. I leave all my work, all my research behind and start from scratch. Nothing is getting better for me and I’m tired of running,” Fluttershy explained, gripping the needle in it’s plastic packaging. “Can you get in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D.?” she asked Rarity.

Rarity nodded. “Once you’re done, I’ll arrange for you to be taken somewhere safe,” Rarity assured Fluttershy.

Fluttershy gave her a nod of thanks as she took a deep breath and walked to the back end of the transport. It was a short distance, but it felt like miles to Fluttershy. She ripped open the packaging to the syringe and held the needle in her hand.

Boot stood behind her. “Are you sure about this? A lot of people are going to see this. You won’t be able to hide anymore,” he pointed out.

Fluttershy hadn’t thought about that. “I’m sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will have someplace out of the way in mind for me,” she replied as she lifted her sleeve and readied the needle. “Can you open the door for me when I start to change?” she asked, earning a nod from Boot as he stood by the door, hand on the door handle.

Fluttershy took one last breath before shoving the needle into her arm and pushing the plunger. It didn’t take long for her to feel the effects. Fluttershy’s vision turned green and her muscles screamed in pain. She dropped to the floor as Boot opened the door. Fluttershy felt her consciousness slipping as Flutterage took over. Using the last of her willpower she threw herself from the back of the vehicle.

////////////////////

Flutterage hit the asphalt of the street hard, cracking the ground with the force. She quickly picked herself up, agitated to find herself in the middle of a busy street. She heard passersby screaming in fear and thought they were going to attack her. Most of them seemed to be running from something further down the street.

Flutterage found the true source of the civilians fear charging at her from almost a block away. Flutterage roared at the larger figure, offended something would have the gall to be bigger than her. She ran forward crushing cars beneath her feet as the distance closed between her and her enemy.

They both collided, creating a small shockwave of air that shattered windows on the nearby buildings. Flutterage recovered from the blow first and grabbed her enemy by the head, slamming him into the street repeatedly. When he stopped moving Fluttershy roared at her victim, aiming a kick at him, only for her foot to be caught.

The abomination at her feet looked up at her and smiled as it squeezed her leg. “I hope that’s not your best. I was looking forward to a good fight,” he said as he jumped up, still holding Flutterage’s leg, and slammed her into the side of a building. Flutterage wound up in the living room of an apartment several floors above the ground. Before she could recover the abomination was climbing through the hole he’d used her to make, a big grin on his face.

“I don’t know how you can stand being cooped up in that smaller body all the time. This is so much more exhilarating. So much power and all in my hands, whenever I need it,” he said grabbing Flutterage by the neck. Flutterage tried to fight back, throwing punches at her enemy with no effect. The lack of air wasn’t really bothering her yet, but she’d need to get free eventually.

The sound of propellers hit their ears and both turned to the hole in the wall as a helicopter loaded with missiles and guns came into view. Before either could react bullets started spraying from the gatling guns on the helicopter, annoying both combatants.

“Stay out of this!” the abomination yelled as he dropped Flutterage and ran at the helicopter.

Save them! A voice shouted in Flutterage’s head. Flutterage charged forward, tackling her opponent just as he jumped from the building. His hands missed grabbing the helicopter by a few inches and then they were both plummeting back to the street below.

They landed on a car parked on the side of the street and picked themselves up at the same time. The helicopter turned towards them and fired several missiles, all of them exploding around the abomination, destroying a few vehicles and creating craters in the road. Flutterage roared her disapproval at the helicopter for interrupting her fight.

A deep and cruel laugh came from the wreckage in the street as the abomination picked himself up. He seemed unharmed by the barrage of missiles. Flutterage was annoyed that her opponent seemed to be as resilient as her. Only she should be that strong.

Flutterage charged forward as the helicopter switched back to the gatling guns. The abomination ignored the bullets and grabbed what was left of a car, swinging it into Flutterage as she neared. The impact knocked Flutterage off her feet, further annoying her.

With Flutterage on the ground the abomination turned back to the helicopter, picking up and throwing another car, hoping to be done with it.

Stop the car, the voice called to Flutterage. Flutterage jumped and spread her wings, flying over her opponent, but a hand grabbed her leg and pulled her down as the car tore through the helicopter’s propellers, causing it to spin out. Flutterage growled in anger at the voice that kept telling her what to do and at the abomination that kept attacking her. With all the strength she had, Flutterage whipped around and punched the abomination square in the jaw, sending him flying backwards and through the front of a store. With him out of the way she flew up and caught the helicopter just before it flew into the side of an apartment building.

Flutterage landed back on the street, dropping the downed helicopter and watching as the pilots pulled themselves from the wreck and run away. Flutterage turned back around as the abomination stood up. “What’s the point in saving them? They’d kill you if they ever got the chance,” he asked.

Flutterage didn’t know why she kept trying to protect the pilots. That voice kept shouting at her. The voice of her other half. She hated that voice. Flutterage ignored her enemies question and charged at her opponent, tackling him all the way through to the ally in the back. She raised her fist to hit him again, but he kicked her in the stomach, sending Flutterage back through the building and into the kitchen of a restaurant on the other side of the street. Before she could recover the abomination was on top of her punching her in the face over and over.

Flutterage could barely make out the sound of a low hissing noise. You hit the gas line. Light a fire, Fluttershy’s voice said, angering Flutterage. She didn’t need to be told what to do. Flutterage caught the abomination’s next punch and headbutted him into the ceiling, rolling out from under him before he came back down. Flutterage saw the downed chopper outside, several missiles still attached to it. She ran out to it as the abomination recovered and ripped a missile from its launcher, throwing the projectile like a football. It hit the abomination in the chest and detonated, igniting the gas in the kitchen and sending the entire building up in flames.

Flutterage roared in victory as the abomination crawled out of the fire. She stepped up to him and grabbed him by the neck, attempting to choke the life out of him. Stop! He’s beaten, The voice shouted. Flutterage looked into the eyes of her enemy, slowly loosening her grip.

“Fluttershy!” a voice shouted from down the street. Flutterage looked up as the stallion from the train station came into view. He spotted her and the abomination she was standing over. He seemed hesitant to approach. “We need to leave. The military is coming in force,” he told her. “If we stay much longer- Look out!” he shouted pointing at the abomination.

Flutterage felt her feet leave the ground as her enemy swept her legs out from under her, his other foot connecting with her head seconds after and sending her soaring over Boot’s head.

The abomination grabbed Boot before he could move out of the way and held him. “Maybe I can’t beat you, but I can take something away from you,” the abomination said, smiling. “Any last words before I crush his bones?” he asked.

Flutterage glared at the Abomination, her hatred growing with each second. Flutterage caught movement out of the corner of her eye and spotted the agent mare sneaking up behind the Abomination, a grenade in hand. The mare pulled the pin and threw the grenade behind the Abomination, the sound catching his attention and the following blast holding enough force to make him drop Boot.

Flutterage charged forward as Abomination turned to grab Boot again, putting all her strength into one hit. “Flutterage Smash!” she shouted as her fist connected with the Abomination, driving him several feet into the ground and knocking him out.

Flutterage roared at her fallen foe as the agent mare approached her. “The military should be able to handle his containment until we can have him moved to a more secure location,” the mare said. “So now would be the best time for us to make our escape,” she finished.

Go north, Fluttershy told her. Flutterage didn’t know who to trust, but settled for both. She grabbed the agent and Boot and opened her wings, taking off before they could argue. The sounds of sirens fading behind them.

Author's Note

And there's the climax. Feel like it could have been better, but to be honest this is starting to relieve some of the stress I've been feeling over this stupid story.

Kay now to get the wrap up written and maybe a little stinger scene.

Stay Tuned

Letting It Out

Boot looked at the amber liquid in front of him as though it held all the answers and he didn’t know what to ask. After a few minutes he picked up the glass and downed the drink. “Barkeep,” he called, showing the bartender his empty glass.

“I think you’ve had enough,” a voice said behind him.

Boot whipped around to find Rarity. The white mare leaned against the counter of the bar and gave Boot a once over. “Didn’t think this was your kinda bar,” Boot said as he turned back to the bar, staring longingly at the bottles sitting on the shelves behind it, mostly ignoring the rest of the patrons occupying the dusty old bar.

“I do prefer my wines, but I’m here on business,” Rarity said, catching Boot’s curiosity.

“Oh and what world ending threat brings you to my neck of the woods?” he asked.

Rarity smiled. “It’s nothing that bad. We have an asset that needs a security detail and I’m aware of your current lack of employment,” Rarity explained.

Boot looked at her, confused and annoyed. “Gonna ignore the employment part. Why are you coming to me for security? I thought you’re people had enough of all that,” Boot wondered, knowing there had to be more to it than just needing security.

“There have been a few incidents recently. The director feels it would be best to bring in a few trusted individuals from outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Rarity explained.

Boot thought over his options. “Can’t promise I’ll be any good at the spy stuff, but I can watch your back,” he said, holding out a hand for Rarity.

Rarity smiled and shook his hand. “Wonderful. I’ll arrange transportation for you tomorrow,” she said as she stood up straight and started for the door.

“Hey, Rarity,” Boot called after her. Rarity stopped just a few feet from him. “Is she doing alright?” he asked, his voice betraying his fear.

Rarity smiled. “We have her somewhere remote and there haven’t been any mishaps thus far. I haven’t seen her personally, but she seems to be doing fine,” she said. “Now, I need to be going. Get a good night’s sleep,” she told him as she walked to the door and exited the bar.

Boot smiled, his mind at ease, knowing Fluttershy was doing okay. Boot paid for his drinks as he stood up, thinking he should have asked Rarity for more details on what his job would be.

////////////////////

Fluttershy took a deep breath as she sat cross legged on the floor of the cabin she’d been staying in for the last few weeks. It was a cozy little home deep in the White Tail woods. It was stocked mostly with essentials, but she was brought the day’s newspaper every morning, courtesy of her S.H.I.E.L.D. handler.

After several minutes of sitting and breathing Fluttershy stood up and grabbed a tape recorder off of the desk she’d been using to record the data from her most recent experiments. “Test number four-three-one was mostly unsuccessful. I don’t think Flutterage is happy that she hasn’t been able to come out since Manehattan. I’ll have to discuss it with Agent Quill, but I’d like to see if she’s more open after being given some time to explore the forest. For now, my attempts to talk to Flutterage remain unanswered,” Fluttershy finished her recording.

Author's Note

So this might be disappointingly short, but to be honest I'm just very done with this story. Think I'm even gonna just skip the little stinger chapter. I just don't feel like doing it.

Well that's another story done.

Stay Tuned for the next.

Prologue

"Oh thank you so much Dr. Splice," Fluttershy said into the phone. The yellow pegasus had spent the last half hour speaking with another geneticist about a solution to the declining rabbit population around Dodger City. The rabbits seemed to be in the wake of a yet unknown disease. While investigations have gone into the matter, hardly any pony was worried about the loss of a few rabbits. But Fluttershy, she was an animal lover. She always had been, even as a small filly.

That is why she went into genetics. She wanted to improve the lives of animals. Little by little she did her part, teaming up with other scientists to make the world better for ponies and animals. She had helped endangered species all around the world and now she was going to help those poor rabbits.

"It's not a problem Dr. Fluttershy. Be sure to keep me posted on how the experiment goes," Dr. Splice replied happily. The stallion was a pioneer in genetics. He had been Fluttershy's first choice for help and he'd been very cooperative. The only reason Fluttershy had been on the phone for so long was because she had spent the first twenty minutes of the conversation trying to work up the nerve to ask her colleague for access to his research. She had spent an hour before the call simply wandering around her office, trying to glean some courage from the multitude of animal posters plastered all over the walls.

However, what little confidence she had built up was worth it. Sitting on her desk was a piece of paper that she had written the formula Gene Splice had created. It wasn't complete though. That was where Fluttershy and the other researchers at the Dodger City Genetics lab came in. For all her genius, Fluttershy knew that she couldn’t do it alone and Dr. Splice was every bit the pony she had heard about.

"I'll be sure to call once the results are in," Fluttershy said, barely above a whisper.

Gene chuckled. "Alright. Talk to you later," he replied.

"Bye," Fluttershy answered hanging up the phone.

She then picked up the piece of paper and made her way out if her office. The hallway beyond her door was made of plain white walls and had a very sterile smell. Fluttershy moved through the halls, headed for the research wing on the other side of the building.

As she trotted, she couldn’t help but smile. All her hard work was going to pay off. Research would soon bring the rabbit population back to normal. All that was needed was a little more time. And Dr. Gene Splice had given her just that.

She eventually entered the office with the name Boot Straps on it.

"Boot, I got Dr. Splice's equation," she announced.

The surprised earth pony stallion smiled at the news. "That's wonderful news," he congratulated. He picked himself off the chair and shook her hand excitedly. Boot Straps had come to Fluttershy early on in her studies of the rabbits in the area. Fluttershy had been hesitant to accept his help at first.

With a name like his and his muscular build, Boot Straps looked like he was in the military. Fluttershy had a deep mistrust for the military, due to the rumors of a Super Soldier Serum in the later years of the Minotaur War. Experimentation on animals, subjecting them to untested serums and chemicals, all in the hopes of creating a ‘super soldier’. It caused Fluttershy’s heart to sink simply thinking about how those poor animals were treated. Not to mention all the weaponizing of projects. The Equestrian military was set on creating more powerful weapons than everyone else. Fluttershy, however, despised violence.

Boot Strap quickly proved himself trustworthy however. With a quick background check and several questions in genetics, Fluttershy brought him on board, and they had been working together for months since. He was smart, kind and had a good set of morals. He had discovered a possible solution through Gamma radiation. However there was no safe way to expose the rabbits to gamma rays in their natural form.

The answer to this problem came when they had heard news of Gene Splice's success in breeding super spiders. Normally the separate strains of arachnid DNA would reject each other, but Gene had created a formula that forced the separate strains to need each other. Fluttershy wanted to test if an altered version of the formula could be created that would protect the test subject from the harms of the radiation.

"How soon can we have the serum ready?" Boot asked eagerly.

Fluttershy smiled at the earth pony's enthusiasm. "We can have it ready by the end of the month," she answered.

////////////////////////////////

Weeks passed as Fluttershy and Boot kept their work going. Days would pass with little to nothing to show for it. But Fluttershy refused to give up. She wanted to find a cure for the rabbits. And nothing would stop her drive. Finally, Fluttershy looked at the small container, holding a green liquid, resting in the back of an injection needle. She and Boot had been working tirelessly to create this small amount of the formula. She sat alone in the viewing room. A window on the far side of the room looked into a white chamber containing a chair with a large mechanical arm hanging over it. This was the device that they had used to test gamma rays on organic tissues. The results had been rather poor to date. The cells simply couldn’t stand the new strands being injected and would act violently due to gamma exposure, generally causing a complete cellular collapse.

Boot had left, saying he needed to acquire the last thing they would need for the experiment. Fluttershy stayed in the room, her mind vexed with their dilemma. Test after test showed that the formula was not stable and that it could potentially be dangerous to a live subject. Thus far, they had only tested the serum on blood samples. Boot had talked about wanting to test it on a larger subject, to see if the added mass would change the outcome, but Fluttershy felt they weren’t ready. Not a moment later the stallion arrived, carrying a cage with a small white rabbit.

"What's that for?" Fluttershy asked her brow furrowing.

Boot looked at her unsure why she seemed angry. "We need a test subject," he said.

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "No. I would never test anything on an animal I wouldn't test on myself first," she replied.

Boot had seen her get like this before and knew arguing was pointless. There was to be no animal testing when Fluttershy was present. He had heard a story from one of his fellow researchers that when they tested an experiment on an animal and Fluttershy found out, she went berserk. They had never heard the pony, who is normally very quiet and reserved, speak so loudly and with so much anger. "Well what do we do then?" he asked setting the rabbit down on a counter.

Fluttershy thought for a moment. "I'll test it," she answered.

Boot's eyes shot open. "Are you out of your mind? This could kill you if we're wrong!" he shouted.

Fluttershy smiled. "Then it will be for a good cause. This was all started by me. I won't let any pony or animal stand in my place," she told him with more confidence then she'd ever had before.

Boot had argued fiercely against Fluttershy’s haste to experiment on herself. However, Fluttershy had told him that it was possible that the extra mass would allow the subject to survive the procedure, but that she wouldn’t condone the action of a defenseless rabbit to give its life for science. Boot didn’t agree with Fluttershy’s choice, but she would never change her mind. Fluttershy assured that the procedure would be safe, not that she could insure that. Boot knew it too. Boot considered this for several minutes before sighing. "Fine. But the second things go wrong, I'm pulling the plug," he told her.

The yellow pegasus smiled. "Thank you," she said, picking up the needle with the formula in it. She took a deep breath before piercing her skin and watched as the liquid drained into her body. She then removed the needle and tested her balance. Once she was sure she was fine she smiled at Boot again. "Okay, I'm ready," she said as she removed her lab coat, revealing the oversized sweater and sweatpants underneath. Fluttershy had never been comfortable showing off her figure.

Boot opened the door to the testing room and placed a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder as she began to enter. "Last chance to back out," he offered hopefully. Fluttershy shook her head and continued into the room. Fluttershy would have been lying if she said she wasn’t scared. In fact, she was quaking in fear. Every step she took, felt like it might be her last. She could almost feel death whispering in her ear, asking her for any last wishes. Fluttershy only wished for her death not to be in vain. That with her last breath, everypony’s lives would be bettered by her sacrifice.

Boot sighed in defeat and he made his way to the complex control panel in front of the window. He watched Fluttershy climb into the chair and rest her arms in the grooves on either side of her. Boot pressed a button and small metal loops trapped Fluttershy in place.

The loops were cold as they touched Fluttershy’s skin. The restraints were to keep the subject from hurting themselves. They never imagined it would be an issue since the figured the test subjects wouldn’t survive. And yet, here she was. Strapped to what might as well have been an electric chair. Fluttershy struggled for a moment, but the loops held her in place, just as they should. Fluttershy took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

Boot looked at Fluttershy again. The pegasus gave him a nod and he activated the gamma beam. The mechanical arm over the chair lit up and directed a green light at Fluttershy's head. The arm swiveled, coming to rest on her eyes. Almost as soon as it did Fluttershy began struggling to keep her eyes open. After a full minute she began to convulse and Boot switched the beam off.

"Keep going!" Fluttershy shouted. The sound of the usually timid pegasus shouting was shocking enough. Boot ignored her request and quickly entered the test room.

"Fluttershy, we need to get help," he told her as the loops released her arms. Before Boot could help her out of the chair he noticed her coat changing to a deep green and her mane crimson. "Fluttershy?" he called out as the Pegasus began to grow, muscles bulging from her body as her clothes started stretching and even tearing in some places to accommodate her new form. Boot watched frozen in fear as his research partner transformed into a monster. The chair bent under the beast's weight.

The green giant sat up from the chair and turned to Boot.

"F-Fluttershy?" he called again, more fearfully.

Then the giant lunged at Boot with a blood chilling yell. "RAHHHH!"

Author's Note

Alright and here's good old Fluttershy, introduced to my universe of heroes. I think this is the longest prologue I've done, partly because of the need for more set up and partly due to my good friend and co writer Spideremblembrony. Here's a few words from him.

Hey, guys Fireemblemspider here. Let you all know that I am happy to be working with TheInvincibleIronBrony on the Incredible Flutterage. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I enjoy working with him and seeing his writing improve. I invite you to check out his other works as well as my own. Thanks again for reading and have a pleasant day.

I personally encourage you to check out his stories. I'm reading all of them and he's a great writer. A true Master of the Descriptive Arts. My personal teacher in the field.

Thanks for reading and Stay tuned.

The Next Step

General Hurricane watched as the bodies of his soldiers were carried out of the destroyed factory on gurneys. He looked at them with disappointment. Something he'd gotten far too used to. He hardly even felt bad for them. He had a good feeling about this mission, until he had seen that green fist on the video feed. "More of the factory left than I thought there would be," he told himself as he surveyed the damage.

There was a sizable hole in one wall where the vat of chemicals was still leaking it's contents. The vat had been lifted using car jacks so that the bodies underneath could be retrieved. Only one conveyor belt inside was destroyed. Most of the damage had been done to the chemical containers. Other than that the only noticeable damage was the oversized footprints and the hole in the roof. Is it getting more focused? he asked himself

"Sir," Winchester called. Hurricane turned as the mare approached him. "We've got all of Fluttershy's belongings loaded and ready to go," she informed him.

Hurricane nodded. "Any word on Heavyweight?" he asked, hoping the mission hadn't cost them everything. Heavyweight was a good soldier. Hurricane hoped the Sergeant would want to be included in future missions.

"The medics say he'll be fine. There may be some head trauma, but nothing severe," Winchester replied. Hurricane let out a breath of relief. One survivor was a miracle when it came to Fluttershy. It didn’t happen often. Most soldiers involved in such an assignment didn’t come back and most that did went insane without even having seen the monster.

"Let's get moving then. There's nothing left here," Hurricane said as he walked back to the humvee he had taken to the factory.

////////////////////////////

When Fluttershy awoke, she jumped hitting her head on a rocky overhang. She rubbed her head and looked around, taking note of the cave around her. It was dark inside, but she could see sunlight just past the entrance several feet away. Fluttershy quickly ran to the opening and nearly had a heart attack.

She was in middle of a forest made mostly of tall oaks from what Fluttershy could see. What had shocked her was the destruction outside the cave. Trees had been uprooted and smaller plants lie crushed on the ground, barely discernible in the large footprints that dug deep into the soil.

Fluttershy turned away from the mess her other half had made and took a deep calming breath. "No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen anymore," she told herself, trying to figure out why the cure hadn't worked while suppressing a panic attack. In the end, she came to the only plausible explanation.

It couldn't suppress the radiation permanently. It only worked right after I injected myself, she thought as she sat down in the mouth of the cave. "I'm never going to be cured," she told herself as tears fell from her eyes, as a cool breeze blew into the cave causing Fluttershy to shiver.

Fluttershy hugged her body and rubbed her arms, trying to retain some warmth. She was surprised when she touched her bare shoulder and realized her clothes had been stretched out. Her tank top was hanging loosely from her shoulders, barely covering anything and her sweatpants had nearly fallen off. The garments seemed to have retained most of their elasticity, but they were now a size too big. The shoes and socks she had been wearing were gone completely. Her panic earlier had distracted her, but now that she was calmed down enough she had only one goal.

"I need new clothes again," she said, hanging her head in defeat, hugging her outfit closer.

///////////////////////

Heavyweight awoke with a start, his dreams plagued with memories of the monster that had slaughtered his team. His eyes quickly darted around the white washed walls of the hospital room he found himself in. Realizing he was no longer in danger, Heavyweight quickly calmed down.

Just a dream, he thought as images from the battle clashed through his mind. "Or a nightmare," he told himself as he stretched his arms. His body was sore, but he seemed fine otherwise. With that in mind Heavyweight sat himself on the edge of his bed.

The soldier shook his head, trying to clear his mind of his recent failure. I've never failed a mission before, he thought angrily, glaring at the wall in front of him, picturing that mare standing in front of him. This is all her fault. Fluttershy, he told himself, rage building in his mind the more he thought of her.

/////////////////////////////

General Hurricane strode through the halls of the hospital, Winchester following close behind. As soon as he heard Heavyweight had awoke, Hurricane had cleared his schedule for the day. His only concern was the Sergeant. Heavyweight would be the second soldier to survive meeting the monster and Hurricane hoped this one handled it better than the last one.

Once he had arrived at the right room, Hurricane opened the door. He quickly spotted Heavyweight on the floor doing wing ups. "You're supposed to be in bed, soldier. Healing," Hurricane said, startling Heavyweight.

Heavyweight stood up and looked at the General. "My body is fine. My pride is what got hurt," he told his superior, an edge to his voice.

"Something wrong soldier?" Hurricane asked, not liking Heavyweight's tone.

Heavyweight glared at the General. "Five stallions died trying to bring you that mare. All because you didn't tell us she had a friend," Heavyweight accused. "A very powerful friend," he continued with a note of jealousy.

Hurricane looked at the stallion stoically. "Fluttershy has no friends," he replied. Heavyweight opened his mouth to argue, but Hurricane cut him off. "That monster was Fluttershy," he finished.

Heavyweight looked bewildered. “Oh of course. Little mare like her just puts on two hundred pounds of muscle in less than ten minutes,” He replied sarcastically, not believing the General.

Hurricane looked at the soldier, unsurprised at his reaction. “You wanted to know how she killed trained military personnel with nothing but a P.H.D.,” the General pointed out, watching realization dawn in Heavyweight’s eyes.

"What happened to her?" the Sergeant asked, sitting on his bed as he tried to wrap his head around what he was told. Even the General hadn’t believed it the first time he was told, it wasn’t surprising someone else would question the story.

"She tested a serum on herself. The serum was supposed to create super soldiers, but the gamma radiation it was based off of is to unstable. We believe her episodes are triggered by adrenalin, but we've never been able to test that," the General explained.

If Heavyweight had been confused before, he was baffled now. "So what's our next move?" He asked, looking Hurricane in the eye.

"Our move?" Hurricane asked, returning the Sergeant's look.

Heavyweight smiled. "I've never failed to complete a mission sir. Fluttershy put a black mark on my record. I owe her for that. If you're taking another shot at her, I want in," Heavyweight answered, standing and throwing up a salute.

Hurricane smiled. "Very well. You'll be notified as soon as we spot her again," Hurricane stated as he turned to leave.

"Why wait?" Heavyweight asked, stopping the General in his tracks. Hurricane slowly turned and Heavyweight continued. "Animals are easier to catch if you can get them to come to you. You just need something they want," Heavyweight explained. "What does Fluttershy want more than anything?" he asked.

Hurricane smiled at the soldier. "I knew there was something about you I liked," he said as he thought for a moment. "And I have an idea," he finished, leaving Heavyweight in his room.

////////////////////////////

Fluttershy wandered into a roadside cafe a few hours after she'd woken up. After leaving the cave she had found an empty campsite and searched it for a change of clothes. Although she had found some, they seemed to belong to an earth pony or unicorn. Fluttershy's wings were pressed against her back uncomfortably by the pink blouse she'd taken and the jeans she now wore also seemed to be a size too small. She didn't even bother looking for shoes. The clothes had clearly been made for a pony, which told Fluttershy she was probably back in Equestria, hopefully not far from a border she could sneak across.

Fluttershy pulled at the clothes in discomfort as she took a seat in the corner of the diner, facing the television that hung off the wall over the counter as it played the days news. The diner was rather unimpressive. The fake leather on the seats was faded and cracked, stuffing squeezing through the openings. The tables seemed dusty at first look, but after a closer look one could tell that whatever was on the table hadn’t been cleaned off in a long time.

A pegasus waitress approached her with a menu. "What can I get for you?" the older mare asked in a bored tone.

"Just water, thank you," Fluttershy replied. She had no money and it had been absolutely necessary to steal the clothes she was wearing and she still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having stolen them.She had no intentions of stealing food.

The waitress shrugged in disinterest as she walked away. There weren't many other patron's in the diner and none of them seemed to notice her. Something that brought a small relief to Fluttershy.

"It's unclear what exactly provoked the attack on Fiscal Tower earlier this week, but Spider-Mare's recent exploit has many crying out in rage," the news anchor said as she looked into the camera. "Fiscal Year has not been available for questioning. We'll have more details as they arise," she finished.

Fluttershy turned towards the T.V. as the waitress returned and set a glass of water on the table. She had heard of Spider-Mare before, but the thought of a super powered vigilante still left her baffled. Fluttershy looked back to the television, wondering if the attack from last night had made the news.

The camera panned to the left, focusing on the stallion anchor. In other news, the Equestrian Military has employed Dr. Stern Study for an undisclosed project. Dr. Study is well known in the science community as a pioneer in radiation treatment. General Hurricane of the Equestrian Army has assured us that the project Dr. Study is working on is not a weapons project, but a search for the cure for radiation sickness caused by the nuclear attacks in the Minotaur War. Radiation has made some areas of Minotine uninhabitable. A wrong Dr. Studies hopes to right," the anchor informed.

Fluttershy stared at the T.V. in shock for a moment. Dozens of thoughts flying through her head. A cure for radiation? Fluttershy doubted that was what Hurricane wanted Stern for. He was trying to make more monsters like Flutterage. I can’t let them repeat my mistakes. If Stern succeeds, Hurricane will have an army of monsters and he won’t be able to keep it under control, She thought. On the other hand Dr. Study might be able to cure Fluttershy, if he was as good as the news made him out to be. I'll need more information though. I need my data, Fluttershy thought, getting nervous at the thought of returning home.

Author's Note

And we're back with the first story written originally in Anthro format. The main purpose of the chapter was to get the characters moving towards their inevitable end goals. Yeah it was kind of short, but that's how I roll: short and to the point.

Next chapter I will be introducing the serum that will turn Heavyweight into the Abomination and Fluttershy returning to Dodger City.

Thats all you get the though.

In other news the Prologue for Captain Equestria has been sent to Billy Mischief and will hopefully be up and readable soon.

Hopefully I'll have the last part of the Harmonies Plot Outline done soon and I can get it to the Cowriters to look at.

Stay Tuned.

Pushing Forward

Fluttershy slowly blinked the sleep from her eyes as she sat up in bed. She slowly became aware of her surroundings and was confused to find herself in a motel room. She could tell by the peeling wallpaper and the faded painting over the bed that it was a rather cheap motel as well. Fluttershy slowly stood up and looked around the room. Before she got far the bathroom door opened and Rarity stepped out looking frustrated.

“Why don’t they just call ahead and let the General know when we’ll be there,” Rarity muttered to herself in a mocking tone as she turned and noticed Fluttershy. “Oh, you’re up,” she said, surprised. “I honestly thought you were going to sleep the day away.”

Fluttershy and Rarity held an awkward silence for a moment before Fluttershy responded. “Did… Did I… hurt anypony?” she asked, just loud enough for Rarity to hear. The last thing Fluttershy remembered was that soldier holding her by the neck and hitting Boot. It didn’t take her long to figure out what had happened,

Rarity thought for a moment. “Well, truthfully, yes,” she said,” but you didn’t kill anypony,” Rarity added before Fluttershy could panic. Fluttershy still looked ashamed for hurting the soldiers in the tanks.

Fluttershy pushed her shame to the back of her mind. “Where’s Boot?” she asked hoping her friend hadn’t simply left.

“He’s making a supply run, if you can call it that on the budget we’re on,” Rarity answered, sounding displeased.

“Our Budget?” Fluttershy asked, more because she was curious how they were going to pay for anything. Fluttershy herself didn’t have any money she could get to and what she did have was in a bank in Canistan under a false name.

Rarity rubbed her temples to remain calm. “Well we can’t use credit cards or buy anything that requires identification, being on the run and what not,” Rarity replied, her frustrated tone from earlier returning. “Something we wouldn’t have to worry about if we’d have left before all this started,” she complained.

Fluttershy looked away in shame. “I’m sorry nothing went as planned,” she said softly. “But before I go anywhere I need to stop Stern from making the same mistake I did,” Fluttershy explained.

Rarity glanced at Fluttershy. “If that’s all there is to it, S.H.I.E.L.D. could have handled it,” she countered.

Fluttershy looked away. Rarity was right and Fluttershy contemplated telling her the other reason she wanted to meet Stern. “I… I think Dr. Study may be able…” Fluttershy trailed off nervously. Rarity stared at her with interest. Fluttershy took a deep breath before continuing. “I think he may be able to cure me,” she stated. Rarity gave Fluttershy a sympathetic look.

“I see,” Rarity said. “It’s as much about getting your life back as it is stopping a tragedy,” Rarity replied. The way Rarity worded it made Fluttershy feel selfish. “I understand,” Rarity told her. Fluttershy looked at the mare with surprise. “I’d give anything for a fresh start myself,” she said with a sad look in her eye. Fluttershy was curious what Rarity meant, but decided not to push the agent. “Well, you’ve convinced me. I’ll help you, but if this doesn’t work out you’re going to need a backup plan.”

Fluttershy thought for a moment. “You want me to go with S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Fluttershy said.

Rarity sighed. “I know you’re having a hard time trusting me and I can’t blame you, but to be honest if things in Manehattan don’t go your way, what’s next if you don’t accept my help. More running?” she asked.

Fluttershy knew she wouldn’t be able to stay sane much longer if she had to keep looking over her shoulder the rest of her life. “Okay,” she conceded, making Rarity perk up in surprise. “If my plan doesn’t work, I’ll go with you,” she promised, earning a nod and a smile from Rarity.

“I promise, we won’t, make you do anything you don’t want to,” Rarity said, holding a hand out to Fluttershy. Fluttershy shook the hand, knowing she, and the world, would be safer if she were able to keep herself in check.

/////////////////////////////////////////////

General Hurricane sat at his desk, somehow feeling worse than he ever had before after a loss to the monster. He could only guess that he felt so angry, because he had had so much faith in Heavyweight and now the Sergeant was barely clinging to life in a hospital bed on the base.

The door opened, distracting Hurricane from his thoughts as Winchester entered. “Sir, the Commander is ready to speak with you,” she said, unable to meet Hurricane’s eyes. Winchester had been apart of the hunt for Fluttershy, longer than anyone besides Hurricane. In that time Hurricane could tell she held him in high regard and hated to see him punished for doing what he believed in. “I’ll be outside sir,” she said quietly as she left the room.

Hurricane took a moment to compose himself before pressing a button on his desk. A screen slid out of the ceiling and turned on, the Commander of the Equestrian military being the only visible thing on screen.

“What happened General?” the Commander spoke calmly, his voice not giving away even the slightest trace of emotion.

Hurricane looked at the stallion on the screen, knowing the Commander was almost fifteen years younger than himself. Hurricane couldn’t stand this stallion reprimanding him. This stallion was a colt compared to him. “I attempted to capture a dangerous fugitive. She fought back,” Hurricane began.

“Yes I saw the footage all over the internet this morning,” the Commander interrupted. “No more secrets General. I want to know exactly what you’re doing. I’d also like to know what that… thing was,” the Commander ordered, sounding concerned when he mentioned Fluttershy’s monster.

Hurricane couldn’t help but notice the lack of anger the Commander showed. “That thing, was Fluttershy, a geneticist. Several years ago she had been working on a super soldier serum for us,” Hurricane explained, pausing as he decided how to explain the rest. The Commander waited for Hurricane to continue, surprising the General. “She hadn’t been told what she was working on, hell she thought she was saving rabbits. However, when it came to test the serum she tested it on herself. The monster you saw was the result of that test,” Hurricane explained.

The Commander looked bewildered. “Are you saying that thing was a pony?” he asked, a note of shock in his voice.

“Yes sir. I have spent the last several years trying capture her. I believe the power she holds could be an invaluable resource for our military,” Hurricane concluded, curious what the Commander would do with this information.

The Commander was silent for a moment. “If this Fluttershy were to be allowed to roam unchecked, what do you think would happen?” the Commander asked.

Hurricane quirked an eyebrow at the question. “Unchecked, she could destroy entire cities. However if we were to capture her, we could extract-” Hurricane started.

“Absolutely not General. If she’s as dangerous as you say, the threat needs to be neutralized as quickly as possible,” the Commander stated.

Hurricane’s eyes went wide. “Sir I’m not sure that’s the best idea,” he started. “I’ve seen what she can do with my own eyes. It would be a waste not to-”

“Enough General!” the Commander shouted. “What you’re talking about is a weapon of mass destruction and I assure you there are plenty in the world already. We don’t need more weapons. We need more security. We need citizens that feel safe in their homes,” the Commander said, earning a glare from Hurricane. “Now, I understand you know more about Fluttershy than anypony else, so I still want you at the front of this, but you don’t do anything without my say so, understood?” the Commander asked, not really leaving any room for argument.

Hurricane took a breath before he spoke, being sure he was calm. “Understood Commander. When we find her you’ll be the first to know,” Hurricane said earning a nod from his superior.

“Good. We’ll have a briefing at that time,” the Commander said, the screen going blank a moment later.

Hurricane sat in his chair for a moment. “Upstart bastard!” he shouted, knocking the lamp off of his desk.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Fluttershy was helping Rarity sort out what supplies they had when Boot Strap returned with a few bags of what looked like mostly canned food. “Is that all you got?” Rarity asked as she counted the ammunition she had left, 3 magazines and two more of her miniature EMPs.

“This was what was in our price range,” Boot replied. “I’m trying to make sure we still have enough money to pay cab and bus fares if we need to. Speaking of which, any chance we can catch a ride from your people?” he asked, not sounding hopeful.

Rarity shook her head. “By now we’re off the grid. S.H.I.E.L.D. will have stopped tracking us to prevent anymore information leaks. We’re on our own from here to Manehattan,” she said, sounding less than pleased with their predicament. “In any case we should get moving soon. I’m sure Hurricane is still keeping an ear to the ground and it seems there are still a few ponies in Equestria that remember your wanted posters,” Rarity told Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looked at the ground, wondering why Rarity and Boot were going through this much trouble for her. Boot seemed to think he owed her, but Rarity’s - or was it S.H.I.E.L.D.’s - exact motives were a mystery. Rarity had been nothing but helpful, however Fluttershy had a hard time believing any organization would help her without wanting something in return.

“Ummm… So what’s next then?” Fluttershy asked, her companions staring at her with raised eyebrows. “I… uh… How are going to get to Manehattan?” Fluttershy asked.

“We can’t just take a bus?” he asked, scratching his head,

Rarity seemed to catch on quicker. “We can’t risk Fluttershy being recognized again,” she said to Boot.

“Well… actually they may also be looking for the both you,” Fluttershy told them, expecting an adverse reaction to the news. Rarity looked deep in thought and Boot didn’t look happy, but they took the news well.

“I’ll have to steal a car,” Rarity concluded, earning blank stares from Boot and Fluttershy.

“And how does that keep us from being noticed?” Boot asked, his voice raising an octave. Fluttershy was a little shocked by Rarity’s solution as well, but remembered taking things that weren’t hers several times in the past. Fluttershy decided to trust Rarity.

“I think we should give her a chance,” Fluttershy said quickly before Rarity and Boot could start arguing. Fluttershy shrank a little as all eyes fell on her. “We… uh… We can’t use public transportation, so… umm… I think we should trust Rarity,” she finished. Rarity gave Boot a smug smile and Boot rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but nothing flashy,” Boot conceded.

Rarity chuckled as she walked to the door. “Darling I know what I’m doing. We’ll blend right in on the road,” she told them, opening the door and leaving.

////////////////////////////////////////////

Winchester found herself spacing out as she listened to the doctor explaining Heavyweights condition. “It’s honestly a wonder he’s even still got a pulse,” the surgeon finished, looking at a chart that explained what in Heavyweight was damaged, which was mostly the organs in his chest and his rib cage.

Winchester looked at the stallion lying in the bed, his torso covered in bandages to stop the bleeding from the array of bullet holes, the white mare had left him with. “Is there any chance he’ll be getting up soon.

The doctor seemed lost for words. “I don’t know. Normally I’d say he’s on his last rope, but every time it looks like he’s gonna slip away, he pulls himself out of it. All we can do at this point is stop him from bleeding anymore than he has,” the doctor explained.

Winchester sighed as she turned towards the door. “Just do what you can for him,” she told the doctor, taking one more glance at the bedridden soldier and wondering if his hands had been in fists the whole time.

Author's Note

Voila rejoice... whoever is still reading this. Been awahile since I been here, figured i'll just push forward. Like the chapter.

Not clever? meh I tried.

Anyways, thanks for reading and as always

Stay Tuned... and also Patient.