Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Chapter 38

Infection

“It's time to face your real fears Scootaloo!”

~O~Firestorm~O~

I was dragged through a steel corridor by the chains these Ponies had bound me up with. My left foreleg was too badly injured to support my weight, and I had a high fever that made it impossible for me to walk along, even if I had wanted to. My only saving grace was that, even without my Pipbuck, my armor had applied some first aid to my injuries. Without that, I might have bled out before they even got me here. They had no idea how to take my armor off, and their Spark grenades had done nothing to it's Spell-Matrix but shut it down for a second or two. This was, most likely, the only reason they even bothered to use chains on me.

        “You got any idea what this one's supposed to have done?” the mare, that had the chain that was fastened to my neck hooked to her armor asked her companion. My eye was shut, so I didn't see the stallions answer but I assumed that he was shaking his head due to what the mare said next.

        “I mean... Sure, I know that the council ordered her arrest and all... but why? They usually don't meddle with the surface, unless there's a real threat. This mare doesn't really look like she'd be a threat to anypony, so why treat her like this?” she added.

        “If I still had my wings and could move, you might change your mind.” I thought as the mares companion sighed heavily.

        “Look Pumpkin... I don't care what she has done or why chancellor Gear Turn wanted us to lock her up instead of just throwing her off a cloud. All I know is, that there will be hell to pay if we don't follow our orders. Besides, remember what we heard from Rainstorm? This mare and her accomplices are dangerous.” he finally said, making it quite obvious that the subject was closed.

Rainstorm? A memory came into my mind. A memory of a Pegasus mare that I had forced out of the sky, after destroying her armors power-supply. So she had made it back after all. As much as I had resented her for what she had said back then, I was glad that my actions hadn't resulted in her execution. All I had wanted, was to talk some sense into her, and for her to carry back a message to the Enclave. It would have weighed heavily on me if she had been killed for that...

A few minutes of silence later, I heard a door open. We had apparently reached our destination. My cell. My armor was out of medical supplies, and I wasn't sure if I would live much longer without them. At that moment, I really wished they had just knocked me off a cloud. I had been hurt in combat before, but this was something else. I had lost my wings. I would never fly again...

        “Hey watch it!” the stallion dragging me exclaimed as the chains around my legs gave a sudden jerk.

        “What?” the mare asked, obviously surprised.

        “You almost unhooked the chains by bumping into me with your fat plot.”

An argument broke out, where the mare was telling her companion off for calling her fat, and assuring him that she did not bump into him. They were still arguing when they had fastened my chains to a hook in the wall and left the cell.

        “Get a room...” I chuckled under my breath as the door closed behind the pair. For the first time since I had been chained up, I cracked my eye open. The room was only dimly lit, but my armors helmet lamp quickly remedied that. It was a standard three to three solitary confinement cell. No windows. No ceiling lighting and no crack under the door. There wasn't even a bed or a toilet.

Just as I wanted to close my eye again to try and get some more rest, I heard a click on the right side of my armor. My head snapped around, making me dizzy. Had I not already been on the ground, I would have fallen over right then and there.

But even through the tears that were forming in my eye, I saw that the little hatch on my armor that held the medical supplies had been opened. Small tubes appeared out of nowhere, connecting themselves to my medical stash. I watched in awe as several liquids flowed through the tubes and, a moment later, my armor informed me that my stash was full once more.

        “Who... Who's there?” I croaked. My throat was raw, due to the fact that these Ponies hadn't given me anything to eat or drink since they had captured me. My helmet lamp illuminated the far wall, as a Zebra stallion shimmered into view by removing the hood of his stealth cloak.

The only reason I knew he was a Zebra was that he didn't wear his helmet. I knew this buck! He looked much older than how I remembered him, but it was definitely...

        “Arake?”

        “Indeed. It's a pleasure to meet you again Major, even though the circumstances of our meeting are less than perfect. Try to rest a little, while I keep a watch. All your questions can be answered later.” he said. He even sounded like a grandfather, rather than the energetic young Zebra buck I had come to know. Whom... I had gone out with for a while...

        “But...”

        “Look... You want me to knock you out, or will you be a good little filly for once and do as I say?” Arake mused, shimmering out of existence again as my armor began to inject me with healing potions, Fixer, Buck and a generous amount of Med-X. It made me sleepy, and I knew that he was right. I needed to rest. I needed to gather all of my strength for an escape attempt. I wouldn't be able to pull that off if I was unable to stand on my own after all...

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I awoke to the sensation of water flowing down my throat. Swallowing, I opened my eye and saw a bottle of purified water floating in front of me. After I had downed all of it, I retracted my helmet with a mental command and looked for Arake. I knew that he was still here. I was not disappointed, since he appeared almost directly in front of me.

        “Are you feeling any better, Storm? You've been out for quite a while and I was seriously starting to worry about you.” He said softly, as he plugged his own Pipbuck into my armor and checked my medical readouts. It was... an intrusion of my privacy, but there wasn't much I could do about it. Not to mention that I really did feel a whole lot better. But how long had I been out? If my stiff muscles were any indication, I had slept for at least a day. I voiced the question.

        “Three days. You've been out of it for three days straight. Didn't wake up even once. But... you talked a whole lot. Who is... Fluffy Cloud if you don't mind me asking?” Arake said quietly as he sat down next to the door.

My body stiffened up at the mentioning of that name... I had dreamed about her but... Oh Goddesses, how much I really didn't want to talk about this. But then again... he had saved my hide by giving me those medical supplies, and there wasn't much else to do here. I decided to tell him the tale of my late sister, and how I had received my Cutiemark...

~O~217 years ago~O~

I trotted into the living room of our house in Pega-Ville, plopping down onto the comfy cloud sofa. My wings hurt. My hooves itched and I had a definite headache coming my way. All I wanted after a long day of training with the local weather patrol, was sleep for a month. Alas, it was not to be. My mother was out, and my father and brother were in Canterlot so Cutter could take the entrance exam at Princess Celestias school for gifted Unicorns. That only left me and...

A little white filly jumped onto my chest, just as I had rolled over onto my back. Her long gray mane was hanging in her face, and her little wings were buzzing like that of an insect. There was no denying it though. My little sister was the cutest thing in the world.

        “Welcome home Dark Night!” she squealed, hugging my neck so tightly that I thought she wanted to choke me for a moment. “What's for dinner?”

I smiled as I returned her embrace for a moment, before extracting myself from her. Fluffy Cloud was always so energetic, that it could get a little overwhelming. Not to mention that she was almost ten years younger than me, and had gotten her Cutiemark already. I on the other hoof, was still a blank flank at thirteen years of age...

        “I don't know yet. Maybe I'll just heat something up, or order something. I don't feel like cooking right now.” I said, as she settled herself onto my stomach. As expected, my sister pouted at that.

        “Awww... But I don't want something delivered. I want Oatcakes.”

        “Fluffy... I'm really tired right now. Tomorrow's my day off. I can make Oatcakes then.” I replied with a groan. As much as I loved the little ball of energy, she could be a little annoying at times.

She didn't take that well. Fluffly Could did, however, also know that pouting, crying or even shouting was ineffective against me, so she resorted to the only other thing she knew would annoy me. Her hooves began twirling around like mad, and two small clouds appeared in front of her. Sticking her tongue out at me, she pushed both of them directly into my face.

This was another thing I couldn't do to safe my life. Even after training with the weather team for half a year, I still couldn't form clouds with my inherent Pegasus magic. There was no doubt that I had some though, since I could walk on clouds and fly, but my parents started to worry nonetheless.

As the two fluffy clouds dispersed against my face, my sister was already buzzing around the room on her tiny wings. My wings might have hurt, but I wasn't going to take this lying down. Not to mention that I couldn't help but smile at her antics. There was a definite twinge of annoyance in my stomach, but I was more amused than angry.

I jumped up, spread my wings and started after the little filly, growling in mock anger. The sheer shock in her eyes as I swooped past her was priceless. She immediately changed her course, flying up the stairs. For a moment I made a big show of looking for her, before looking up and spotting her at the top of the stairs.

I had to hoof it to her. Even though her wings were much smaller than mine, she was quite fast. I learned that the hard way as she evaded my reaching forelegs and I crashed, head first, into the wall. It was a good thing that the whole building was made out of clouds, or I would have seriously hurt myself. As it was however, I simply struggled for a moment to pull my head back into the house. Our next door neighbor was looking at me through her bedroom window with a shocked expression on her face.

        “I've got everything under control!” I called out to her, just before my efforts were finally rewarded as I tumbled back into the hallway. Fluffy Cloud was sitting on top of a nearby wardrobe, snickering as I hit a small table and the vase atop of it fell right through the floor.

        “Shit... Mom's gonna kill me for that...” I muttered, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof.

I looked up at my little sister again, before flexing my wings and taking off at top speeds. As much as I enjoyed playing catch with her, this had gone on long enough. I had to end this, and fast. But... how could I do that without hurting her? She was fast, and had become quite good at dodging me over the last few months. Somehow, I had to prevent her from moving, even if it was just for a moment so I could catch her.

        “You know... for a weather Pegasus, you're quite slow.” she teased, shaking her plot into my direction so I got a good look at her lightning Cutiemark. That was it. I knew I had problems with weather magic, but there still were a few tricks I could use. One of them didn't even need any weather control. All it needed, was a whole lot of speed. It would, however, also make a real mess of the place... Oh well... I was already in deep trouble for that vase anyway...

I began to fly in tight circles, increasing my speed as I went. My plan was to create enough wind so Fluffy Cloud had to hang on to something to not be blown away, or run into one of the rooms on this floor. All of them were dead ends, and I would be able to corner her. Oh how I would tickle her when I got my hooves on the little troublemaker.

Suddenly, I felt hot. The air that was rushing around me was growing hotter and hotter, and as I passed my sister once more, I saw the terror in her bright blue eyes. She was crying. Then, I looked down. The small tornado that I had created had transformed into something entirely different. I was flying in the middle of a firestorm, and the heat of it increased with each round I flew.

Shocked, I stopped in my tracks and was immediately flung into the wardrobe Fluffy Cloud had sat on only moment before. I could feel blood flow down my face as I watched the fiery tornado I had created creep towards my sister. A moment later, I couldn't see her anymore. All I could hear, was her scream as the flames engulfed her.

I struggled to get to my hooves, but the cloud made floor was beginning to evaporate because of the heat. My wings beat rapidly, and I dove back into the firestorm. By coat burned, and my mane was singed away by the time I came out on the other side. Still, there was no sign of Fluffy Cloud. I was starting to panic. How the heck could I stop this inferno? Where was my sister? What would my parents say when they came home and found the house in ruins?

I dove into the bathroom, wrenched the shower from its holder, turned the water on, and pointed the stream of water at the inferno. By now a lot of the furniture that belonged to my father had caught fire, and the little water from the shower was not enough to put it all out. In fact, it simply evaporated as soon as it came into contact with the fiery tornado.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

In the end, it were several weather Pegasi that extinguished the fire, by creating storm clouds over the ruins of our house. I was unable to put the fire out, and the clouds that formed our home had evaporated completely. Fluffly Cloud was found in the cellar, having fallen through the evaporating floors, but not before she had been badly burned.

It was hard for me to look at her. There was nothing left of her white coat or gray mane. The flesh on her body was blackened, but she was still alive as the paramedics carried her out on a stretcher. I flew over, tears streaming down my face. I wanted to hug her and tell her that I was sorry, but I was too afraid to do so. I didn't want to cause her any more pain than I already had.

To my utter surprise, she did not shrink away from me as she saw me. Her one good eye looked at my flank and she smiled, before going still forever. I froze. This time, I didn't care. The paramedics tried to pry me off of her, but they had no luck. I was hugging her close, tears streaming from my eyes, as I felt her burnt flesh crumble under my hooves.

        “I'm sorry! Please! Wake up! I'll make you your Oatcakes! Just... please wake up!” I cried, while the paramedics gave up their efforts to pry me off of her, and just looked at me with sympathy.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When somepony finally had the good sense of injecting me with a dose of tranquilizers, the hurt slowly went away. I felt numb as I looked down on myself. One of the paramedics was patching me up, since I hadn't gotten out of the inferno unscathed either. Then, my eyes fell on my Cutiemark. A blazing tornado, just like the one that had consumed my sister. I decided, then and there, to change my name from Dark Night to Firestorm. It was to serve as a constant reminder that I was a failure...