//------------------------------// // General Hurricane // Story: MLPU: The Incredible Flutterage // by TheInvincibleIronBrony //------------------------------// 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.