Red Hawk

Things were certainly crazy the day prior, with the ponies seeing a Collector for the first time, and seeing Red Hawk fight the giant mechanical monstrosity, and then see Red Hawk regrow back his destroyed wings and arm, like it was no big deal.

After the whole event with the Collector was dealt with, the ponies practically dragged Red Hawk to the hospital, even after seeing his limbs grow back, the ponies wanted to make sure that Red was alright. Luckily, there was only some minor bruising, and some burn scaring to the top of Red Hawk’s head, but all of the young man’s wounds eventually fully healed, and for the doctor and nurse of hospital who witnessed all of this, were just baffled, and astonished at Red Hawks healing capabilities. Once Red Hawks medical examine was over with, the ponies wanted to know how Red Hawk was even able regrow his wings and arm, seeing as they were told that his powers were flight, fire, and bird talons. Red Hawk clarified his power set.

At the castle Red Hawk said that his power was classified as Phoenix, and aside from his bird like qualities, and ability to generate intense flames. Red Hawks true power is his healing ability. He’s not exactly sure how this ability of his works, but no matter what injury he sustains, Red Hawk’s body will restore itself to its natural state, even if his body were to be mangled up so badly, his power will regenerate and restore him back to normal. The ponies were amazed to hear about Red Hawks true power, especially little Scootaloo, in fact after seeing what Red Hawk is really capable of, her admiration for him reached a whole new level.

Sometime later Celestia and Luna were told everything that happened that day, as well as being shown the melted remains of the Collector, the princesses said they will keep an eye out for anymore breaches, and if they end up discovering any Collectors they will act with the utmost care. However Red Hawk advised the two alicorns to not engage with any Collectors that spring up.

~~~~~

For the time being though Red Hawk was at the Golden Oaks Library, reading some more books about pony biology. Mostly so he can figure out how to further help Scootaloo, because despite his help Scootaloo doesn’t seem to be getting better. She is able to hover and float for about a few minutes over the ground, before coming back down to the ground. he remembered Twilight saying that a pegasi’s ability to fly resolves around how much magic they have in their wings, regardless of age and the size of the pony or their wings. But the fact that Scootaloo is showing improvement is promising, but…seeing as ponies are magical creatures in nature, so Red Hawk thinks that the only way to fully help Scootaloo to fly is give her magic. but even that doesn’t seem soundproof.

“Looks like the idea of a magical transfusion is a bust.” Red Hawk mumbled to himself as he closes the book and places on the table in front of him. “Man. I want to help the filly, but I don’t think I can do much else for her.”

“You really seemed to be attached to Scootaloo?” Spike said as he swept around the room.

“She’s got a lot of spunk, and seeing her trying to fly with everything she’s got, it’s hard not to like a kid like her.” Red Hawk said as he leaned back in the couch.

“By the way how Scootaloo and her flying?” the little dragon asked.

“See’s defiantly improving, but I don’t think she’ll be able to do more than hover or float for a minute or two.” Red Hawk lamented. “I thought there might be away to transfer magic to her, so she has more magic to work with. But after reading this book, I don’t think that will happen.”

“Wait. I thought Scootaloo’s problem of not flying was because, well, she has small wings.” Red Hawk looked over to Spike with a bit of a blank expression. “What?”

“…I saw a stallion, as big as a cow, who has wings no bigger than Scootaloo’s…and yet he is able to fly around just fine.”

“Oh yeah, I remember seeing him around town.” Spike said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Red Hawk then got up from the couch, book in hand to return it to its proper place, before thanking Spike for letting him browse the library as he left. Taking flight Red Hawk made his way to Scootaloo’s house. As he soared through the air, Red Hawk tries to come up with anyway way to help Scootaloo how to fly on her own, but as he was flying Red Hawk saw the Carousal Boutique coming into view, that’s when the young mans thoughts went from Scootaloo to the clothes that Rarity said she would have made.

“I totally forgot that Rarity said she’d have my clothes ready soon.” Red Hawk said to himself as he altered his flight course. “With everything from meeting the princesses, and the whole Collector thing, I guess I forgot about my other new clothes she said she’d made.”

Landing in front of the boutique the winged Un-Natural then entered the shop, where the usual assortment of pony shaped mannequins all dawning various outfits. After giving the main floor a once over, Red Hawk made his way up the flight of stairs that lead to Rarity’s work room, and when he reached the top floor he could hear Rarity talking to someone. Approaching the door Red Hawk saw Rarity talking to Applejack and Twilight, but the trio quickly turned into a quartet as Rainbow Dash came crashing through the roof.

“Ohhhhhhh. That looked like it hurt.” Red Hawk said, getting the others attention.

“Red Hawk, this is splendid surprise.” Rarity said as Rainbow was being helped out of the pile of mannequins she pupped, and collapsed into. “What brings you here today?”

“I actually remembered that you had other clothes you made for me, that I forgot to come and pick up.” Red Hawk chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Oh my goodness your right!” Rarity said with a gasp. “If you’ll wait for just a moment I’ll—” Rarity stopped in mid-sentence as her face lit up with a spark of some kind, and by the big smile the mare now has, Red Hawk wasn’t quite sure if he thought it was a good one, or a bad one.

“I just came up with the most amazing idea! I will make new gala outfits for all of my friends, including you Red Hawk! Oh you’ll just look smashing in suit for the Grand Galloping Gala.” Rarity then started to go on about making new dresses for each of her friends, Red Hawk only looked confused.

“What’s this Grand Galloping Gala your talking about?”

“Oh that’s right, you weren’t here when we got our tickets.” Twilight said before going into explanation mode. “You see Red Hawk, every Fall princess Celestia throws a extravagant party up at the castle, and those of Canterlot and ponies invited by invitation are allowed into the party.”

“Well that’s going to be a problem then.” Red Hawk commented as he crossed his arms, his wings fluttering a bit.

“Why’s that?” Rarity asked.

“Cause he doesn’t have an ticket.” Applejack said, which caused the others to go ‘Oh right’. but that’s when Twilight appeared to have an idea.

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’m certain the princess would be willing to send you a ticket, and she might be excited to see how you enjoy one of her parties.” Twilight mused as she left the room. “I’ll send her a letter right away; I should be back within a few minutes.”

“Well I guess now your coming with us to the party.” Rainbow said as she shook off the last of the fabric off her body. “What kind of outfits do humans wear for parties?” the cyan mare asked, making Applejack and Rarity look at the human with curiosity, Rarity more so than the others.

“…well, it all depends on the party. Normal get together's people just wear, whatever they want. But if this Gala is what I think it is, a really high class party…” Red Hawk pondered as he scratched the side of his head. “A fancy suit, like a tux or something like that would be needed.” Rarity seemed to ponder on what Red Hawk just said.

a moment later and Rarity seemed to be struck by the idea bug, and began creating new outfits and Red Hawk and the other two decided to give the unicorn her space. But before Red Hawk left, he quickly asked for the other new clothes Rarity made, and while in the midst of her creative fever, Rarity deposited a small bag of new clothes comprised of a few shirts, boxers, socks, and jeans. When he got his clothes and leaving the boutique Red Hawk made his way to Scootaloo’s house, and began to look for a place to store his close, as the guest room of the house had no drawer. So the young man opted to just spread out his clothes on the large table in the corner of the room.

“Hey Red, where have you’ve been?” Scootaloo said as she entered the room, as Red Hawk finished spreading out his new clothes.

“Just went to Rarity’s to pick up the last bit of my new clothes.” Red Hawk replied. “Also, it seems I’ll be getting a new suit.”

“More clothes?” Scootaloo questioned as she stood on her back legs, to get a better look at the clothes on the table. “How come you need all of these clothes; doesn’t it get uncomfortable having to wear this stuff all the time?”

“Maybe if I was a pony, with a coat of fur. But for someone with no fur to keep warm, clothes help me with that. also, it’s mostly a human thing so I wouldn’t question it.”

Red Hawk said as unfurled one of his wings, and was about to examine for any feathers that needed to be preened, but before he could even began examine his wings, the pair heard a knock at the door downstairs. Heading towards the door, Scootaloo couldn’t stop wondering about why humans still wear clothes, when the pair reached the door and opened it Twilight was standing on the other side with a smile on her face.

“Good news Red Hawk, the princess sent you a ticket for the Grand Galloping Gala!” Twilight said excitably as she held up a ticket…actually, make that two golden tickets.

“Um. Twi, there are two tickets here.” Red Hawk said as he took the tickets in his hand.

“The second one is for any pony you want to take to the Gala as a plus one.” Twilight informed, before turning away. “I’ll see you back at Rarity’s when she’s ready to reveal our Gala outfits.” As Twilight trotted off, Red Hawk looked at the tickets, while a baffled Scootaloo looks up at him.

“Did Twilight say your going to the Gala!?” the filly said as she looked at the tickets.

“Yeah. That’s why Rarity is making me a suit for the Gala.”

Scootaloo pushed the matter of humans and their clothing habits aside, and began asking various questions, all of which Red Hawk was more than pleased to answer. But during the questioning, Red Hawk began to wonder what he should do with the second ticket, there isn’t any pony in town that Red Hawk is acquainted well enough to invite to such a party. Then an idea came to the young man.

“Hey Scootaloo.” The filly looked up to her guardian with a questioning look. “How would you like to be my plus one for the Gala?” the fillies eyes went wide when she heard the offer.

“Really!?” Red Hawk nodded, before a thought came to her. “But wouldn’t I need a dress for the Gala?”

“We could just ask Rarity when I go to get my suit from her.” Scootaloo seemed happy with that idea, and the pair decided to just spend some time together, as they wait for any word of Red Hawks suit being done.

~~~~~

Red Hawk and Scootaloo had spent the last two hours just talking with one another, mostly it was just Scootaloo asking various questions about his world. although from what Scootaloo has been told, and remembering what happened what happened with the Collector, Scootaloo felt sorry for how rough Red Hawk has had before coming to Equestria. During Red Hawk’s tale of helping another flying type Un-Natural, and preening his wings of any feathers that were either damaged, or just grown in the wrong place, Rarity eventually stopped by with an overly excitable look ready to unveil the outfits she made. After collecting the rest of their friends, the group made their way over to Rarity’s boutique.

“Hey Rarity, I have a question, actually, more like a request.” Red Hawk asked the mare, as he leaned down to talk to her.

“What kind of request?” Rarity asked as she looked up the human, their faces only a foot from each other, which caused the mare to blush slightly.

“I’ve decided to take Scootaloo as my plus one for the Gala, so I know it’s sudden but, do you think you could make something for Scootaloo?” Rarity seemed to light up at that idea.

“Of course! I’d be delighted to make something for her. but I will have to take her measurements.” Rarity remarked as she looked at the filly, who was enjoying being held in Red Hawk’s arms. “After I reveal my friends outfits to them, could I measure you dear?”

“Sure.” Scootaloo said as the group made it to the boutique.

Entering the building the group then made their way up to Rarity’s room/work shop, just before entering the room Rarity had everyone close their eyes, where she then guided the group inside. A moment later the group opened their eyes when Rarity told everyone to open them, and when Red Hawk and Scootaloo opened them they saw five pony mannequins stood, with a singular make-shift human stand in, all bared various outfits that really showed how talented Rarity’s skill was. Red Hawk approached the one that had his suit, and began examining it. The outfit looked like a high class suit, deep brown in coloration but with the sleeves being a burgundy color, and aside from the from the suit, there was even a nice little fedora of the same brown color with one of Red Hawks feathers in the band. While Red Hawk and Scootaloo were studying, and simply marveling at his outfit, he could hear Rarity explain how she came up with each outfit to suit the pony who it was made for.

“Well my dears, what do you think?” Rarity asked with boundless anticipation. Although, from the looks on her friends faces, seemed to make her smile waver slightly.

“They’re all so lovely Rarity!” Twilight said as she rushed over to her outfit, looking how the stars on the assorted blue dress sparkled slightly.

“This certainly is an upgrade from my usual duds.” Applejack said as she looked at her outfit.

Rarity was loving that all of her friends loving their outfits, Rainbow was the odd one out as hers didn’t look as ‘awesome’ as she initially thought. But in the end she eventually came around. After hearing how her friends loved their dresses, and seeing Pinkie and even Applejack trying their new outfits on, Rarity looked over to winged human, and was a little nervous to hear what Red Hawk had to say about the outfit.

“So Red…do you like the suit I made?” Rarity asked the human with a bit of a nervous tone, but the smile on the young mans face made her feel at ease.

“I love it!” Red Hawk said, which restored Rarity’s faltering smile. “Nice that you went with a dark brown color suit, instead of a traditional black tuxedo I thought you’d go with.”

“I did initially thought about going with a black tuxedo, but with your red wings, I thought it might make you appear, edgy.” Rarity then took the outfit of the make-shift human mannequin, before offering it to the young man. “Feel free to try it on, and see how it fits darling.”

Red Hawk then asked for the girls to exit the room, so he could get changed, which made the ponies confused as to why. But did as they were asked. For the next few minutes, the six mares, plus Scootaloo, stood outside of Rarity’s work room, wondering on how Red Hawk would look in the outfit that Rarity made.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

The mares heard Red Hawk call out to them, the ponies then re-entered into the room and looked over to where Red Hawk…but for some reason, his body was being encased by his large wings. Before any of the ponies could say anything, the wings slowly moved over to the side, revealing Red Hawk bit by bit, and when he was fully revealed the ponies jaws dropped. Red Hawk just stood there, framed by his wings. The suit fitted the young mans body really well, not to loose and not to tightly, and the dark brown color mixed well with Red Hawk’s lighter tan skin, but also meshed really well with the dark red coloring of Red Hawks wings.

“Well, how do I look?” Red Hawk said as he gestured to himself.

“…wow.” Was all Applejack could say as she starts circling around Red Hawk, looking him up and down, followed by the other ponies who started to examine the young man. “Gotta say sugarcube, you look good in that suit. I see why you’re people wear clothes.”

“Yeah Hawky, you look good.” Pinkie said as she patted the Un-Natural on the back.

“Thanks girls, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to pull this off.” Red Hawk said as he looked himself over.

“Nonsense darling!” Rarity outburst. “You pull this suit off marvelously, I’m just glad that I was able to create something that you like.”

After the group marveled at Red Hawk in his suit, the others decided to see how they fit and looked in their own dresses, and as they did so Rarity began taking measurements of Scootaloo, while coming up with dress designs for the filly. Red Hawk in the meanwhile looked himself over in the large mirror next to Rarity’s work desk, really seeing just how good he looks.

‘Well…I guess mom was right all those years ago, I really do take after dad when I dress up.’

~~Elsewhere~~

Somewhere deep within a forest, far off in the west that is rarely explored or ventured, something appeared in thin air…a crack in space. The crack began to slowly expand further and further, before the crack shattered like glass, the hard edges of the cracks being morphed and formed into a perfect half circle. From this hole in the air, its smooth rim colored black, blue and purple, four heavily armored Collectors stomped as they marched forth. Following behind the armored giants, a smaller figure in equally impressive armor emerged with a woman in a lab coat at his side. When the armored figures stepped ten feet away from the portal, the armored figure looked back to the woman, who only glared back as she keeps a hand on her hip.

“You know what your mission is, right.” the woman leered at the armored figure who nodded.

“Yes professor.” The man voice echoed from his helmet.

“We are to eliminate and—” the woman rushed forward with great speed, so much so the armored man thought she teleported, but his thoughts were stopped as a knife was pointed at his neck, while the woman's eyes held such blood lust that the man under the helmet looked like he was going to soil himself.

“You are to bring Red Hawk ALIVE! If you so much damage any part of him, you can be sure that your position on the Governments World Security Force won’t end with you being discharged…” the knife pressed deeper into the man’s neck, causing a little bit of blood to pool. “Understood?”

“Y-yes Professor Miranda, I…I u-understand.”

With that, the professor made her way back to the other side of the portal, and as it was closing the man took a step back when he saw the woman glare at him with a death gaze. When the portal closed, the man brought a hand to his neck, rubbing it before pulling his hand back and seeing the red smear on his palm.

“That woman is not normal…she’s certifiably crazy.” The armored man said before gripping his weapon and turning back to the four giants that were just standing around, before making his way over, and then pass the Collectors. The metallic giants then began lumbering after the man, their heavy foots stops causing soft thumps to echo through the forest, while the man made one last comment before walking in silence.

“The moment this is all over, I’m putting in a transfer request to a different base!”