• Published 30th Sep 2016
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The Quickverse Chronicles - Quick Fix



Everypony has several stories to tell, of their own and with the wider world. These are just some of them.

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Lost in the Flames (Rainbow Dash)

May 22nd, Year 4 under the Four Princesses


It was a picturesque spring afternoon in the northern grasslands of Equestria, filled with the kind of serene silence that could make just about anypony feel peaceful upon encountering it. On the ground, ponies from the towns and villages in the area were out and about enjoying the sunshine without a care in the world. In the sky though, the few pegasi that were around were keeping to a low altitude, as if they could sense something coming from higher up. Those instincts were right as a group of six shot through the area at full speed just below the cloud line. Anypony who could keep them in sight long enough would be able to see that they were all wearing blue flight suits, as clear an indicator as any that the Wonderbolts were out and on duty.


The group were flying a tight formation, set in two rows of a leader and two wingponies, flying fast and tight like a pair of arrowheads. The front three were all kitted up in the standard Wonderbolt gear, blue flight suits and goggles with yellow chest, stomach and hoof markings finished off with the winged lightning bolt emblem on the flank. The three at the rear were similarly outfitted, though their markings were coloured white, the indicator that the pegasi wearing them were part of the squadron's reserve units. As they kept flying, the leader of the front group broke off from her position and moved backward and upward, holding a place above the squadron where she could address the other five all at once.


"Sorry for the mid-air briefing but we got an emergency scramble order." She called to them, having to shout slightly to be heard over the beat of her gold yellow wings. Though none of the others so much as twitched, Spitfire knew she had their full attention and continued. "About twenty minutes ago a major fire broke out in a skyscraper in Whinnyapolis, it was too high up for emergency crews to contain and is now a serious danger to the city space. Due to Cloudsdale's proximity, we were called in."


"With all due respect, Captain," The stallion on the right edge of the reserve formation replied. "If it's so serious, why did you deploy reserve units?"


"Because, Air Razer, there's no substitute for real experience!" Spitfire shouted, dropping into place next to the lime green stallion and staring him down until even his grey mane looked cowed into submission, though he just nodded and looked forward again.


"Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am."


The group became silent again as Spitfire moved back to her spot above the formation, each of them mentally taking stock of the situation waiting for them. Whinnyapolis was predominantly an earth pony city, it made all too much sense that any emergency response would struggle to reach a skyscraper incident quickly and why they had needed to call in pegasi for help. The mare flying on the left of the reserves, light blue-purple coated with a mint mane and tail looked over at the other two before pushing her wings a little harder to keep up. Spitfire glanced down at her and shook her head slightly.


"Don't worry yourself too much. You're not going too deep into the danger zone and there'll be no going overboard on the heroics from anypony."


"Yes Ma'am!" The five fliers called in unison as Spitfire dropped back into the lead spot. By now, they were approaching the outskirts of Whinnyapolis, smoke from their destination clearly visible near the heart of the city.


"As I said though, this is the real deal and lives may well be riding on us, keep your mind on your duty, stick with your wing lead and we'll all get through this fine. I don't want any of you getting hurt after all. Now to your wings! Air Razer, you'll be with me covering the ground evacuation. Soarin, you and Flitter work on containing the fires as best you can. Misty Fly, you and Rainbow Dash will assist rescue efforts on site."


"Got it!" The reserve leader saluted as she flew, easily identified as Rainbow Dash thanks to the six tone rainbow mane. Though she maintained a professional look on the outside, inside she was practically bubbling over with anticipation at the chance to get back into the thick of things. Rainbow knew better than to let it get in the way of her duty though, keeping things from getting worse was far more important than showing her skills off.


"Alright everypony, into your wings and break!" Spitfire called as they approached the city center, waiting for Air Razer to move up next to her before banking and dropping toward the streets. Flitter pushed herself forward to Soarin's side as the two of them streaked straight for the smoke plume, the tension she was radiating thick enough to cut with a feather. Rainbow shook any distractions from her mind and moved into wingpony position next to her pale yellow lead, holding until Misty Fly motioned for them to swoop into action.


The two of them rounded another building and got their first look at the situation. It was a standard looking skyscraper, about thirty floors tall with reflective glass covering each window. Even from here though, they could see the lick of flames erupting from two floors about two thirds of the way up, billowing thick smoke that Soarin and Flitter were already fighting to dispel. Misty motioned to head for an opening on their approach but to stay cautious. Rainbow nodded and slightly increased the gap between them in case of sudden debris, this side may have looked in one piece but there was no telling just how much damage had been done elsewhere.


They reached an opened room high window on the twenty second floor and landing inside, the heat washing over them hard enough to make Misty stagger slightly. As she regained her composure and looked round it was clear they had landed in a makeshift treatment zone, judging by the half dozen ponies with varying levels of injuries being tended by an earth pony so covered in first responder gear that it was impossible to see any other identifying features. On noticing the two Wonderbolts they stood up and rushed over.


"Oh thank Luna, Wonderbolts!" They exclaimed, the voice indicating it was a mare under a lot of stress. "We've got everypony we could find here safely but they need airlifting out soon. I couldn't tell you how bad things are elsewhere but the stairs are all damaged...Dammit, we weren't ready for something like this!"


"Slow down kid, just breathe." Rainbow Dash put a hoof on the rescue worker's shoulder and waited with her while Misty Fly checked over the injured. "Now, how many ponies are up here?"


"J-just eight, six who were working here and two emergency units."


"Okay, is everypony safe to move?"


"Yes. Yes they're okay."


"Good, let's get the civilians out of here." Misty Fly commented as she lifted one of the more badly injured onto her back and flew back out the window. Rainbow followed her lead, picking up another and making sure they were holding onto her tight before leaping out the window and gliding for the ground. Her hoof wrapped round the pony for extra security, her eyes scanning for the optimal landing spot. An emergency response outpost had been set up in a park three blocks away and Misty had already touched down there to pass over her precious cargo to the staff. Rainbow touched down just as her lead was taking off again, helping the pony back into her hooves and over to a waiting medic before taking off at full speed.


Her mind was on autopilot for the next few minutes, heading back up into the heat to fetch another pony out, then another. As she took off again to fetch the last ponies waiting for them, Rainbow took a moment to glance round at the situation. The streets around them had been cleared completely by now, Spitfire and Air Razer must have gone to assist Soarin and Flitter with the fire. The situation at the skyscraper itself didn't look any worse, yet it didn't look better either. She wiped some sweat from her brow and pushed her wings harder, a nagging sense that she was against the clock now. As she landed inside again, she was greeted by the sight of the rescue worker and Misty Fly dragging a unicorn clad in responder gear into what was left of the safe zone.


"Plasma Flow tried to check the fire suppression system for this floor, but she'd been dealing with too much smoke as it is!" The worker shouted, sounding on the verge of tears by now. "Get her out, please!"


"On it. Rainbow Dash, try and calm her down until I get back. If she panicked on our backs..." Misty called as she carried the unicorn back outside, knowing her teammate understood the unspoken part. The worker turned and looked at Rainbow slowly, moving her misted goggles up to show a pair of blue eyes, very scared but with a small glint behind them.


"R-Rainbow Dash...Really? THE Rainbow Dash?"


"That's right kid. I'm gonna be right here until Misty gets you out. Come on, you wanna tell me your name too?"


"Oh err...Water Flare." It was only a little thing, but the mare did sound a little calmer now.


"Neat. I'm guessing you're new to this job?"


"Y-yeah, two months ago I thought it was great. Just turned seventeen and already saving lives, then this happened...How'd you know?"


"Everypony struggles the first time things get serious. You got thrown in the deep end for this one kid, the fact you're still on the scene and kept everything together for us shows you're doing really well though."


"Oh...Thanks." Water Flare nodded slightly as Misty Fly returned, sounding a little reassured as she braced herself to be carried out. Rainbow looked back into the building and sighed slightly.


"Misty, permission to sweep the floor before pulling out?"


"...Granted, somepony on the ground mentioned a fire suppression box on this floor so see if you can get the system working if possible. Work fast and get out faster though."


"Will do!" Rainbow turned and ran deeper into the building, knowing that flying would leave her more exposed to the smoke. It looked like it had been some kind of office before today, though a lot of it was burning or burnt out. Her eyes went everywhere, keeping an eye out for anything that stood out in the wreckage and flames. She was the only pony left in the area as she checked a storage room and found the fire suppression controls.


Pushing it open, she pushed her goggles out of the way to see better and winced as the heat assaulted her eyes. After a few moments to check how the control box worked, Rainbow flicked several switches to the active position and waited. Nothing happened for several seconds, at which point she frowned and smacked the side of the box, blinking in surprise as a light on the box lit up and sprinklers built into the roof activated. She fitted her goggles back into place and made to exit, though she had barely left the room before a weakened section of the ceiling collapsed nearby, forcing her to recoil and shield her face from the dust and debris.


A coughing sound came from the fresh rubble, prompting Rainbow to move forward and blow the dust away with a wing. From the looks of it, a pegasus had been caught up in things on the floor above and missed by Water Flare and Plasma Flow's rescue efforts. Her light turquoise coat was covered in dust to the point her cutie mark of a white lightning bolt with three stars was barely visible, her striped amber and gold mane was a slightly singed mess and her wings looked bent out of shape. Even in this state, Rainbow Dash recognised her instantly.


"Lightning Dust?"


"Wh-" Lighting tried to reply before breaking down coughing again. Rainbow checked her over before realising her back legs were pinned down and possibly broken by a slab of concrete and rebar. Rainbow quickly started to try and lift it off, only for a hoof to swipe at her.


"What are you...?"


"I can, handle this," Lightning gasped, her voice sounding rough from smoke inhalation. Her hooves went to the slab and pushed at it, grunting as she tried in vain to free herself. Rainbow shook her head and kept going regardless, she wasn't going to let their past at the academy, as well as the fact that Lightning Dust had been a total sociopath, keep her from her duty now.


"Listen, if you want to tell them you saved yourself, that's fine. But you need to be able to tell them in the first place."


"Shut up...Rainbow Dash." Lightning Dust growled, clearly more willing to let the past dictate her actions, her orange eyes betraying a sense of fury that her former rival had come so far.


"Lightning, let's make one thing clear. What happened, happened," Rainbow gritted her teeth and managed to lift the slab up enough for Lightning to crawl free. The exertion left her slightly light-headed from the smoke as she adjusted her goggles slightly. "We kind of have more important things to focus on right now, like saving your flank."


Lightning said nothing as she got clear, wheezing slightly from the effort. It was clear that neither of them were going to last much longer in here. Without hesitation, Rainbow scooped her up and took off quickly, wings working overtime as she darted back to the opening. She cleared the window fast enough to crack the ones surrounding with the shockwave and rushed for the outpost, keeping Lightning held close without pressing on her wings or legs. Her back legs kicked out just before touchdown, taking the landing shock without it affecting her passenger. She stopped quickly and let Lightning adjust too, holding her wings out to keep her steady until a pair of medics reached them with a stretcher.


"...Thanks." Lightning Dust said through gritted teeth as she was carefully lifted onto the stretcher, wincing as she was carted off to be treated. It wasn't clear if she had been gritting due to reluctance or pain but Rainbow Dash was willing to take it.


"You're welcome." Rainbow replied before looking round to get her bearings on the current situation. More pegasus and unicorn services had arrived during her rescue and had taken over the brunt of the efforts. The other five Wonderbolts had landed nearby, each of them looking a little singed or blackened by smoke. Rainbow finally took a moment to check herself over, seeing her flight suit was also marked in several places along with a few tears down the front legs and completely soaked from the fire suppression.


Flitter looked like she'd had it even rougher than Rainbow had, her legs and lower body were covered in ashes and she was staring intently at the floor, Soarin doing his best to snap her out of it. Misty Fly was reporting in to Spitfire and Air Razer was getting a much needed drink. Rainbow was glad that they seemed to be taking a breather, her wings needed a break after high speed flight in such confined quarters. She flexed them slightly and trotted up next to Misty, saluting Spitfire quickly.


"Glad you made it Rainbow," Spitfire said, sounding surprisingly cheery. "Misty told me what you were doing and I see it paid off. We've been moved to standby for now while the fireponies do their job. Everypony fall in!"


Rainbow and Misty promptly snapped to attention in front of the captain. Soarin had managed to get Flitter back to her senses in time for the two of them to take their places, the mare having just enough composure to stand with the others. Spitfire waited until Razer had joined them before removing her goggles and looking over the rest of the wing with a small smile on her face.


"Well, I don't say this often, but I'm impressed with all of you. Air Razer, you kept a calm head in a tense situation and kept pace with me when you needed to. Soarin, you've still got it. Misty Fly, I know heat isn't your thing but you rose to the occasion and got everypony out of there. Flitter...you did good but, we'll talk about it in private," Flitter sighed and looked down at those words. Spitfire watched as Soarin put a hoof on Flitter's shoulder to comfort her but didn't comment. "Rainbow Dash, you're just full of surprises aren't you?"


"Ma'am?" Rainbow asked cautiously, waiting as Spitfire grinned even more.


"That's right, because I think the fire crews have you to thank for getting that floor under control. Plus you found and rescued a pony everypony else had overlooked. You're really earning your Wonderbolt wings today...Alright, everypony take a breather and standby."


"Yes Ma'am!" The five said in unison. Rainbow finally began to relax and looked back toward the skyscraper, watching the on-going efforts. By now the fires were, while not yet under control, far less serious than they had been when they arrived. She'd done everything right and more today, it never stopped feeling good though. On top of everything else though, Spitfire had hinted at something bigger. Evaluation for the squadron was only a week away and it was no secret that Fire Streak had been considering retirement. Though she didn't want to get ahead of herself, it seemed like she may have just sealed the deal on finally being promoted to a full time Wonderbolt.

Author's Note:

Random trivia of the day: I wrote this chapter at a point where it was normally taking four days on average to get a draft together. This was all done up in 24 hours. Motivation is a scary mistress. :rainbowderp: