The Next Step
General Hurricane watched as the bodies of his soldiers were carried out of the destroyed factory on gurneys. He looked at them with disappointment. Something he'd gotten far too used to. He hardly even felt bad for them. He had a good feeling about this mission, until he had seen that green fist on the video feed. "More of the factory left than I thought there would be," he told himself as he surveyed the damage.
There was a sizable hole in one wall where the vat of chemicals was still leaking it's contents. The vat had been lifted using car jacks so that the bodies underneath could be retrieved. Only one conveyor belt inside was destroyed. Most of the damage had been done to the chemical containers. Other than that the only noticeable damage was the oversized footprints and the hole in the roof. Is it getting more focused? he asked himself
"Sir," Winchester called. Hurricane turned as the mare approached him. "We've got all of Fluttershy's belongings loaded and ready to go," she informed him.
Hurricane nodded. "Any word on Heavyweight?" he asked, hoping the mission hadn't cost them everything. Heavyweight was a good soldier. Hurricane hoped the Sergeant would want to be included in future missions.
"The medics say he'll be fine. There may be some head trauma, but nothing severe," Winchester replied. Hurricane let out a breath of relief. One survivor was a miracle when it came to Fluttershy. It didn’t happen often. Most soldiers involved in such an assignment didn’t come back and most that did went insane without even having seen the monster.
"Let's get moving then. There's nothing left here," Hurricane said as he walked back to the humvee he had taken to the factory.
////////////////////////////
When Fluttershy awoke, she jumped hitting her head on a rocky overhang. She rubbed her head and looked around, taking note of the cave around her. It was dark inside, but she could see sunlight just past the entrance several feet away. Fluttershy quickly ran to the opening and nearly had a heart attack.
She was in middle of a forest made mostly of tall oaks from what Fluttershy could see. What had shocked her was the destruction outside the cave. Trees had been uprooted and smaller plants lie crushed on the ground, barely discernible in the large footprints that dug deep into the soil.
Fluttershy turned away from the mess her other half had made and took a deep calming breath. "No, no, no. This wasn't supposed to happen anymore," she told herself, trying to figure out why the cure hadn't worked while suppressing a panic attack. In the end, she came to the only plausible explanation.
It couldn't suppress the radiation permanently. It only worked right after I injected myself, she thought as she sat down in the mouth of the cave. "I'm never going to be cured," she told herself as tears fell from her eyes, as a cool breeze blew into the cave causing Fluttershy to shiver.
Fluttershy hugged her body and rubbed her arms, trying to retain some warmth. She was surprised when she touched her bare shoulder and realized her clothes had been stretched out. Her tank top was hanging loosely from her shoulders, barely covering anything and her sweatpants had nearly fallen off. The garments seemed to have retained most of their elasticity, but they were now a size too big. The shoes and socks she had been wearing were gone completely. Her panic earlier had distracted her, but now that she was calmed down enough she had only one goal.
"I need new clothes again," she said, hanging her head in defeat, hugging her outfit closer.
///////////////////////
Heavyweight awoke with a start, his dreams plagued with memories of the monster that had slaughtered his team. His eyes quickly darted around the white washed walls of the hospital room he found himself in. Realizing he was no longer in danger, Heavyweight quickly calmed down.
Just a dream, he thought as images from the battle clashed through his mind. "Or a nightmare," he told himself as he stretched his arms. His body was sore, but he seemed fine otherwise. With that in mind Heavyweight sat himself on the edge of his bed.
The soldier shook his head, trying to clear his mind of his recent failure. I've never failed a mission before, he thought angrily, glaring at the wall in front of him, picturing that mare standing in front of him. This is all her fault. Fluttershy, he told himself, rage building in his mind the more he thought of her.
/////////////////////////////
General Hurricane strode through the halls of the hospital, Winchester following close behind. As soon as he heard Heavyweight had awoke, Hurricane had cleared his schedule for the day. His only concern was the Sergeant. Heavyweight would be the second soldier to survive meeting the monster and Hurricane hoped this one handled it better than the last one.
Once he had arrived at the right room, Hurricane opened the door. He quickly spotted Heavyweight on the floor doing wing ups. "You're supposed to be in bed, soldier. Healing," Hurricane said, startling Heavyweight.
Heavyweight stood up and looked at the General. "My body is fine. My pride is what got hurt," he told his superior, an edge to his voice.
"Something wrong soldier?" Hurricane asked, not liking Heavyweight's tone.
Heavyweight glared at the General. "Five stallions died trying to bring you that mare. All because you didn't tell us she had a friend," Heavyweight accused. "A very powerful friend," he continued with a note of jealousy.
Hurricane looked at the stallion stoically. "Fluttershy has no friends," he replied. Heavyweight opened his mouth to argue, but Hurricane cut him off. "That monster was Fluttershy," he finished.
Heavyweight looked bewildered. “Oh of course. Little mare like her just puts on two hundred pounds of muscle in less than ten minutes,” He replied sarcastically, not believing the General.
Hurricane looked at the soldier, unsurprised at his reaction. “You wanted to know how she killed trained military personnel with nothing but a P.H.D.,” the General pointed out, watching realization dawn in Heavyweight’s eyes.
"What happened to her?" the Sergeant asked, sitting on his bed as he tried to wrap his head around what he was told. Even the General hadn’t believed it the first time he was told, it wasn’t surprising someone else would question the story.
"She tested a serum on herself. The serum was supposed to create super soldiers, but the gamma radiation it was based off of is to unstable. We believe her episodes are triggered by adrenalin, but we've never been able to test that," the General explained.
If Heavyweight had been confused before, he was baffled now. "So what's our next move?" He asked, looking Hurricane in the eye.
"Our move?" Hurricane asked, returning the Sergeant's look.
Heavyweight smiled. "I've never failed to complete a mission sir. Fluttershy put a black mark on my record. I owe her for that. If you're taking another shot at her, I want in," Heavyweight answered, standing and throwing up a salute.
Hurricane smiled. "Very well. You'll be notified as soon as we spot her again," Hurricane stated as he turned to leave.
"Why wait?" Heavyweight asked, stopping the General in his tracks. Hurricane slowly turned and Heavyweight continued. "Animals are easier to catch if you can get them to come to you. You just need something they want," Heavyweight explained. "What does Fluttershy want more than anything?" he asked.
Hurricane smiled at the soldier. "I knew there was something about you I liked," he said as he thought for a moment. "And I have an idea," he finished, leaving Heavyweight in his room.
////////////////////////////
Fluttershy wandered into a roadside cafe a few hours after she'd woken up. After leaving the cave she had found an empty campsite and searched it for a change of clothes. Although she had found some, they seemed to belong to an earth pony or unicorn. Fluttershy's wings were pressed against her back uncomfortably by the pink blouse she'd taken and the jeans she now wore also seemed to be a size too small. She didn't even bother looking for shoes. The clothes had clearly been made for a pony, which told Fluttershy she was probably back in Equestria, hopefully not far from a border she could sneak across.
Fluttershy pulled at the clothes in discomfort as she took a seat in the corner of the diner, facing the television that hung off the wall over the counter as it played the days news. The diner was rather unimpressive. The fake leather on the seats was faded and cracked, stuffing squeezing through the openings. The tables seemed dusty at first look, but after a closer look one could tell that whatever was on the table hadn’t been cleaned off in a long time.
A pegasus waitress approached her with a menu. "What can I get for you?" the older mare asked in a bored tone.
"Just water, thank you," Fluttershy replied. She had no money and it had been absolutely necessary to steal the clothes she was wearing and she still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having stolen them.She had no intentions of stealing food.
The waitress shrugged in disinterest as she walked away. There weren't many other patron's in the diner and none of them seemed to notice her. Something that brought a small relief to Fluttershy.
"It's unclear what exactly provoked the attack on Fiscal Tower earlier this week, but Spider-Mare's recent exploit has many crying out in rage," the news anchor said as she looked into the camera. "Fiscal Year has not been available for questioning. We'll have more details as they arise," she finished.
Fluttershy turned towards the T.V. as the waitress returned and set a glass of water on the table. She had heard of Spider-Mare before, but the thought of a super powered vigilante still left her baffled. Fluttershy looked back to the television, wondering if the attack from last night had made the news.
The camera panned to the left, focusing on the stallion anchor. In other news, the Equestrian Military has employed Dr. Stern Study for an undisclosed project. Dr. Study is well known in the science community as a pioneer in radiation treatment. General Hurricane of the Equestrian Army has assured us that the project Dr. Study is working on is not a weapons project, but a search for the cure for radiation sickness caused by the nuclear attacks in the Minotaur War. Radiation has made some areas of Minotine uninhabitable. A wrong Dr. Studies hopes to right," the anchor informed.
Fluttershy stared at the T.V. in shock for a moment. Dozens of thoughts flying through her head. A cure for radiation? Fluttershy doubted that was what Hurricane wanted Stern for. He was trying to make more monsters like Flutterage. I can’t let them repeat my mistakes. If Stern succeeds, Hurricane will have an army of monsters and he won’t be able to keep it under control, She thought. On the other hand Dr. Study might be able to cure Fluttershy, if he was as good as the news made him out to be. I'll need more information though. I need my data, Fluttershy thought, getting nervous at the thought of returning home.
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Sweet job going through this chapter.
4515575 Thanks man. I'll admit this was the first chapter in thus story, I had full confidence in while writing.
Well then i seem to be caught up in your MLPU stories. for some reason i thought this one was finished. oh well, i shall be waiting
impatiently for you to finish the next chapter.4568757 Yes you've caught up to Mr, but the chase is still on. Next chapter should be up soon.....ish. and thanks for the fave.