//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: M.F.D. // by kudzuhaiku //------------------------------// “We’ll have to work on getting you suited up,” Knock Knock said, his mustache hiding his smile. “How does it feel? It should be kinda loose so you have room to move.” Nodding, Holly felt her helmet slide around a little, and bang against the top edge of her respirator mask. The heavy fabric of the suit was balanced well, so nothing felt too heavy in any particular spot. The tanks hanging down from her barrel and her belly didn’t get in the way of her legs if she stood or walked with a wide stance, which she usually did anyway. Holly had big thighs in the back and they sometimes rubbed together, gualding her skin and rubbing away her pelt. A fireproof metal box hung over Holly’s backside, a first aid kit with a few basic supplies, the most important items being several large applicators of emergency burn ointment. “Can you move on two legs?” Toot Toot asked. Wiggling, Holly shuffled her weight around, trying to get a feel for the suit. The tanks were heavy. The suit was heavy. Pushing away from the ground with her front legs, Holly rose up, wobbled around, almost fell over, widened out her hind legs, braced herself, and then found her balance. She stood there for a few minutes, allowing her body to find its own equilibrium. Forcing it to adapt wouldn’t help, all that could be done was be patient and allow her muscles to find their own way. Closing her eyes, Holly thought about how she relied upon muscle memory. Behind the respirator, Holly’s eyes opened. Reaching around, she slid the Halligan bar away from its married axe, slipping it free from the loops on her sides. The front legs of her suit had grippy material around the fetlocks, and her grip on the bar was better than ever. She hefted it for balance, and then held it in a two fetlocked grip. She leaned forward, and then began to run on two legs, lumbering forward with the Halligan bar raised high. -WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!- Holly crossed the room with frightening alacrity, her hind hooves stomping upon the cement floor. The tanks on her belly caused a bit of a wobble in her two legged walk. She raised the Halligan bar even higher as she approached the six by six wooden beam wrapped in rope that was used as a training post, the purpose was to hit it as hard as one could so the body could adjust to high impacts and dealing with things like doors, support columns, or any other obstacles that might present themselves. -WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!-WHUMP!- Even though her bulk might suggest otherwise, Holly was more than capable of skating on her hind legs, she was a creature of surprising agility. On many an occasion, she had used her front skates to juice some poor heel and give them a good working over. Roaring, Holly swung the Halligan bar into the training pillar, throwing all of her body into it. There was a thunderous crack and the pillar snapped. Through the rope, splintered wood poked out and became visible. Holly stood beside it, her barrel heaving, the Halligan bar still held in her fetlocks. The only thing still holding the broken post together was the rope wrapped around it. “I think I just pissed myself,” Toot Toot admitted in a low, frightened voice. “Earth ponies.” Knock Knock reached up and smoothed out his mustache. “You know, I have a nagging suspicion that Holly could handle a hose all by herself if she had to.” He looked over at Toot Toot. “Whaddaya think, ya old hose handler?” “It takes four or six stout pegasi to handle a mid-pressure hose,” Toot Toot replied, responding with what his brain knew and understood. “That’s a three inch hose with nine hundred to a thousand gallons per minute.” Knock Knock’s mustache quivered as he did the mental calculations. “Yeah, that’s the long and the short of it, boss. Nopony holds one of those up by themselves… but no, I ain’t betting on if Holly can do it. I’m not in the mood to lose another wager,” Toot Toot said as he watched Holly dancing around the room in her bunker suit. He felt panic when he saw Holly lumbering in his direction. Sliding the Halligan bar into its loops as she lept forwards, Holly then snatched up Toot Toot and then began to twirl around with him as his wings flapped and he tried to get free. She stomped around on her hind legs with effortless ease now. “Eh, will ya look at that, Toots is dancin’ with the new broad,” a pegasus remarked as he walked past the door. “He looks scared.” Glowering, Toot Toot did not reply. He said nothing, but allowed himself to be whirled around, held in Holly’s forelegs like an oversized foal. With a cry, the mare tossed him upwards towards the ceiling, and waited to catch him. Toot Toot did not come down, however, he hovered overhead, his wings flapping. “Nice launch,” he said with a nervous grin. “It’s noon. We’d best let Holly out of the suicide suit and let her go home. We have stuff to do. It’s another quiet day—” “Knock Knock, you dumb bastard, you never say that! Now you’ve jinxed us!” Toot Toot stared down at his companion, his eyes narrowed and angry. “You never say that!” “Yeah, well, maybe I want some excitement to happen,” Knock Knock said with a derisive snort to punctuate his words. “You got to dance with a nice lookin’ mare, and so far, all I’ve done to today is talk about how you like to get other stallions to help you handle your hose.” Behind her respirator mask, Holly began to giggle. “You’re a bastard.” Toot Toot shook his head. “Really, Knocker, you are a bastard.” “While you two talk about your hoses, I’m going to slip out of this suit if I can,” Holly said. She waved her right front hoof and then began to titter as she walked away, still walking on two legs. “Get a load of this broad, she’s hardly here for a few days and already, she’s busting our chops… she’s one of us, she is.” Toot Toot gave Holly a fond smile as he hovered in place. “Eh, get out of that suit and go take a shower, ya mug!” When Holly pushed open her front door, her first thought was that she had entered the wrong house. She stood there, mouth open, wide eyed, taking it all in. The floors gleamed and looked brand new. The dull grey wood was now vivid cherry wood with a bright finish. The walls were much the same. The wallpaper, once faded, now looked like it had just been hung. The gas lamps were all spotless, perfect, the antique brass gleamed with an almost mirror finish. The furniture even looked new. The couch and the matching chair appeared to be immaculate. The purple paisley print was now vibrant, almost glowing with vibrant purpleosity. “Madam! Forgive me, I had not expected you home until much later,” Alfredo Noodle said as he came halfway down the stairs. “Forgive you for what?” Holly asked. She looked up at Alfredo and saw that the fastidious unicorn was covered in cobwebs and dust. “Madam, I am atrocious in appearance and offensive to the eye.” Alfredo’s ears drooped in an apologetic manner. “Oh, this is awkward.” “This place looks amazing… how did you do this?” Holly asked. “Magic, madam, magic. I am, if I may boast, skilled in domestic magic,” Alfredo replied. “Well, it’s okay if you are a bit cobwebby. I probably stink like hot sweaty plot crack. Been a long morning.” Holly watched as Alfredo’s haughty eyebrow elevated upwards and she was forced to swallow her own laughter. “Would mademoiselle like to have her bath drawn?” Alfredo asked, his face a stony, stoic mask without expression, minus the elevated eyebrow. “You speakin’ Fancy at me, Alfredo?” Holly, unable to help herself, smiled as she watched Alfredo squirm. “Madam was complaining about—” Alfredo shuddered and then composed himself. “Madam was worried about the sanctity of her always beautiful feminine places. I desired to place emphasis upon madam’s beauty with a carefully chosen title.” The stuffy unicorn cleared his throat. “Madam, if I may, beautiful mares do not… perspire. After physical exertion, beautiful mares, such as you, yourself, glow.” “Yeah, well, my glow was dripping down the back of my legs as I walked,” Holly replied. She watched as Alfredo’s eyes squeezed shut and the muscles in the stallion’s jaw clenched. “Madam, I shall draw a bath for you right away, madam. And while you soak in the tub, I shall prepare for you a delicious repast.” “What’s a repast?” Holly asked. She blinked in confusion. Standing on the stairs, Alfredo slumped, looking defeated. “I shall prepare for you a scrumptious meal. Would madam like more grilled cheese sandwiches, or shall I prepare something else?” “Grilled cheese sounds good, but if you wish to surprise me, that works too.” Holly realised she had left out an important detail. “Just… fix a lot of food. I’m hungry. Been glowing all morning while I wrecked stuff.” She watched as Alfredo turned around and disappeared up the stairs. “You really fluster poor Mister Noodle,” Pretty Posey said as she popped out of the kitchen. “He’s kinda stuck up and proper and I mean that in a good way.” The pegasus looked up the stairs and then back at Holly. “He’s not a schmuck. He knows how to make a mare feel comfortable working around him, if you know what I mean. He’s real professional and he’s never, ever, not even once tried to proposition me or the others. He’s always made us feel special and valuable.” “He strikes me as a good sort,” Holly said to Pretty Posey. “Oh, he’s the best sort. He’d be a good catch for a mare… but I think he’s gay. He’s too prim and proper. I’ve tried to drop hints that it would be okay to flirt with me, and he’s never once took the chance. He’s either gay or just really, really stuffy.” The pegasus let out a disappointed sniff. She then mounted the stairs and went up, leaving Holly alone in the front room. Alfredo had done something to the bathwater again. It tingled on the skin as Holly eased herself in. As she lowered her hind half into the water, she could feel the steaming hot water soaking into hot, sweaty, unmentionable places. Holly whimpered, froze half in and half out of the water, and then bit down on her lip. It stung. Letting out more little whimpers, she eased herself down into the tub for a soak. Hot water worked its way into her wiggly bits, her jiggly bits, and her slappy-flappy bits. She let out little grunts and cries as more of her delicate anatomy was submerged in the medicinal water. “Aaaaaaaaaaaah, that feels nice,” Holly gasped as she sat down in the tub. She leaned back, the hot water travelling up her spine, until she was supine in the tub, her head resting upon the back edge. She turned her head towards the wall, and then in the other direction, trying to stretch her neck. As she lay there, her head turned, she saw a glass of wine sitting on the wooden table that sat beside the tub, the table where bottles of soap and bath oils were kept. It hadn’t been there when Holly had came into the bathroom. She glanced at the door, which was still shut. Had Alfredo teleported a glass of wine into the bathroom? She supposed it was possible. Unicorns could do that kind of stuff. She turned her head up towards the ceiling, sighed, closed her eyes, and settled in for a soak, thankful for Alfredo’s attentiveness.