Chapter 25
Standing on the edge of an airship, Holly looked down upon the smoking building. Not much fire, plenty of smoke, and plenty of ponies inside, many of whom were probably passed out from smoke inhalation—not to mention getting closer to death with every second spent inside. The instructions were clear; go inside, find ponies, get them to safety. If fire was encountered, wait for a hose crew.
It all seemed simple enough, but Holly was wary. She treated each fire as if it might kill her, on Toot Toot’s advice. Toot Toot was getting up there in his years and this was his inspired pearl of wisdom on how to stay alive in this career.
“We’re ten feet above the building! Drop!” a pegasus shouted.
Grinning inside of her mask, Holly bounded over the rail and then dropped to the roof. The smoke was already rising up all around her, it rose from the roof vents, black, sooty, and smelly. Above her, pegasi fluttered down, and then much to Holly’s relief, Knock Knock was beside her.
Not needing to be directed, Holly went right for the door that allowed rooftop access. It wasn’t locked, it opened right away, but upon opening, a river of black, sooty smoke came pouring out, making it almost impossible to see as it rose up into the sky with the rest of the smoke. Holly stared down into the abyssal darkness of the staircase. It was hot, she could feel the heat even through her protective gear.
Where there was smoke and heat, there was usually fire.
She began sweating almost right away as she led the way down, her heavy hooves thumping on the metal stairs. The sound of her own respirator was almost deafening in her own ears as she breathed in and out, managing her breathing so she didn’t breathe too much. A firefighter’s ability to last on long jobs was only as good as their air supply.
At the top floor, many of the pegasi behind her spread out to search the floor, but Holly kept going, following the plan. She was going down into the black heart, the place where it was suspected to be the worst. The building was a twenty story walk up with no elevators, and the worst of the smoke came from floor fifteen and above, with the absolute worst coming from floor fifteen or sixteen.
The stairs, full of smoke, were like descending into Tartarus. After a few floors, it became almost impossible to see, and Holly was having to feel her way along, while Knock Knock shone a powerful spotlight from his horn (the tip of which poked through a special hole in his helmet) in an attempt to light up the floor numbers and doorways. It was claustrophobic, dark, and oh so very dangerous.
Down she went, going further into the impossible darkness, going into a place where most ponies would not willingly go. It was thrilling, exciting, and it was all Holly could do to control herself as her heart pounded within her barrel. The darkness was a living thing, a thing of horror, the stuff of nightmares made real.
After more stairs, Knock Knock shone his light upon the wall, hoping to see. Even with the powerful light spell, it was almost impossible to make out anything through the smoke. Squinting through her mask, Holly could just make out the number ‘15’ etched into what appeared to be a white plastic sign.
Standing at the door, Holly felt three pokes of Knock Knock’s hoof against her side. She braced herself, reminded herself that she was brave, and pushed the door open so that she, Knock Knock, Toot Toot, and others could go into the hallway.
They were greeted with an impenetrable wall of blackness that Knock Knock’s light spell could not shine through. Holly felt a sinking feeling in her heart; smoke like this was death. She wondered how many survivors they would find on this floor. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to rescue anypony if she couldn’t see anything.
Other ponies were carrying gear, and because each of them had to feel their way along as they looked for ponies… Holly wasn’t sure how anypony could be saved. Under her helmet, her ears perked. A burning building was a noisy, scary place. She could hear the creaking of wood, the screech of metal, there was a distant, worrisome crackle that sounded a lot like fire.
“I’ve seen this before,” Toot Toot shouted so others could hear him. “I’d bet my retirement that the fire is in the walls! This building is old, but it got a facelift! I don’t think they replaced the insulation in the walls! I bet the fire is burning and smouldering in the walls and in between the floors! This smoke is toxic! And I’d bet bits to donuts that it was started because of bad wiring!”
In the hallway, Holly could see nothing, nothing at all. It was impossible to see anything. The smoke was thicker than molasses. She dropped down to her belly and began to crawl along the floor, her oxygen tanks scraping along the cheap carpet. Down here, there were a few precious inches where the smoke wasn’t quite as thick, and it was possible to see a few feet ahead.
Holly crawled, with Knock Knock beside her and Toot Toot behind her. Other pegasi in their group spread out, all of them looking for doors. Time was working against them. As Holly crawled, she could not help but notice how warm the floor beneath her was, and it was growing hotter. She didn’t like this at all.
Holly found a door, knocked, and knew that she wasn’t going to get an answer. She rose, getting up on all fours, and tried the door. It did not open because it was locked. Scowling beneath her mask, Holly rose into a bipedal stance and she pulled out her halligan bar that was married to a fire axe secured against her side.
She gripped the bar in her fetlocks, balanced herself, and then drove the halligan bar into the space between the door and the doorframe. The door, while sturdy, wasn’t as solid as it could have been, and with the splintering of wood, Holly forced it open. Standing on one hind hoof, Holly kicked out with the other, and the weakened door was ripped from its hinges by the force of Holly’s kick.
Sliding the halligan bar back into place, Holly dropped down on all fours and entered the apartment. It was filled with the horrible, impossible to see through black smoke. She dropped down to the floor and began to crawl around, hoping to find survivors. There was a short hallway that opened into what Holly knew to be a kitchen—she could feel the cabinet doors as she felt her way along and her hoof clanged against the metal stove.
Feeling her way along, Holly found a doorway. She thumped on the door, it felt hollow and cheap, and when she did, she heard a muffled cry. Standing up, she opened the door and found herself in a smoke filled bathroom. In the tub, there was a group of ponies all huddled together. They had the shower on and were trying to stay as low as possible.
These were smarter than average ponies, or so Holly felt. Somepony was a clever pony getting into the shower. Holly felt Knock Knock push up beside her as he came into the bathroom and shone his light. In the tub, there were two foals, two adults, and one elderly looking stallion. Holly recoiled—it looked as though all of them had been crying blood. Bloody tears stained their cheeks, blood dribbled from their noses, and all of them had blood flecked lips. Holly remembered Toot Toot’s words about the insulation and shuddered.
“We need to get them out,” Knock Knock said in a loud, clear voice that was only somewhat muffled inside of his respirator. “Toot, Holly, we need to get them to a window. We’ll have them airlifted by pegasi. I’ll go find a window and shoot a flare out.”
Knock Knock departed, pushing his way back out, his heavy canvas protective wear rubbing up against Holly’s and making the odd sound of coarse fabric scraping against itself.
Holly stood by the tub, feeling worried and concerned. She looked at the family, who were looking back at her as the smoke swirled around the bathroom, eddying from the falling water in the shower. A family of earth ponies.
“It’s gonna be okay!” Holly shouted. “Today is your lucky day… Holly Homewrecker is here to save you!” As she spoke, Holly’s ears perked at the faint, muffled sound of shattering glass.
The elderly stallion lifted his head and gave Holly a weary, pleading stare that she could hardly see in the smoke. “Foals first,” he croaked to Holly. “Please, save them.” The old earth pony began coughing.
As he coughed, Holly could see red droplets hitting the clear visor of her facemask. Her worry grew, like a fire getting a breath of much needed air. “Okay, listen up, ‘cause it’s gonna get scary. I’m gonna carry you on my back to the window, and then some very brave pegasi are going to carry you to safety, so I need all of you to be brave. As an earth pony, I understand what it is like not to have your hoofsies on the ground, mmmkay?”
Neither of the foals responded, but lay there, limp, the water from the shower soaking them. Holly could feel a growing tightness in her chest, a heightened sense of worry. The smoke and fumes were killing them… slowly and no doubt, painfully.
She watched as Toot lifted up one foal and she felt it placed upon her back. It lay there, limp, unmoving, and Holly became terrified that it was already too late. She fought back her rising panic, fear, and the growing feeling of hopelessness. The other foal was placed upon her back and she backed out of the bathroom, dropped as low as she could without crawling on her belly, and followed the wind now blowing through the apartment. She found Knock Knock standing next to the window, and she could see the piercing daylight streaming in, punching its way through the thick smoke.
Making her way to the window, she saw that the glass had been knocked out, and no dangerous pieces had been left behind. There was a clean exit. Knock Knock lifted both foals at once in his telekinesis and then levitated them out the window, to the waiting embrace of pegasi, who strapped them into safety harnesses, moving with swift, well practiced ease. Holly did not watch them depart, she was already on her way back to the bathroom to get more ponies.
Once back in the bathroom, Toot Toot loaded up the young stallion, the mare, and the old stallion all upon her back. She held their weight easily, not having any trouble at all, and she hoofed it out of the bathroom, through the kitchen, and into the living room where there was an open, waiting window that had helpful, life saving pegasi hovering outside.
Knowing that these ponies were rescued, Holly’s spirits were lifted—she would need them for the work that still needed to be done. There were still more ponies to rescue and Holly hoped that she would get to them in time.
“That went by the book,” Knock Knock said as he sat down upon the floor of the firehouse, glad to rest his weary, aching hindquarters. “We even managed to pull out most of them alive.”
“Remains to be seen if they’ll stay that way,” Toot Toot muttered. The sooty pegasus let out a sigh and then collapsed onto the floor. He rubbed his cheek against the cool, wooden floor and snorted a few times to clear his nostrils.
“They were bloody.” Holly dropped her helmet on the floor and it clattered upon the wood. “It was horrible in there. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“Keep working with us and you’ll see it often. The old insulation was cellulose based and treated with chemicals. It’ll burn, if you give it enough air, but mostly it just smoulders and smokes while releasing terrible chemical fumes. It’s illegal and buildings were supposed to be cleared of the stuff about twenty years ago, but most landlords still haven’t gotten around to getting rid of it.” Knock Knock shook his head. “Gusty, your wings were exposed to that stuff. Go and shower before your feathers dissolve.”
“Ugh, too tired to shower.” Toot Toot rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. “I’m getting too old for this job, I swear. I think come spring, I’ll retire.”
“You’ve been saying that you are going to retire in the spring for the past ten years, you hose drinker.” Knock Knock reached out and gave Toot Toot a gentle kick to get him moving.
“This year, I mean it.”
“You meant it last year, too.” Knock Knock looked at Holly. “Go and hit the shower, Homewrecker, unless you want to be bald all over. Try to keep the water out of your eyes when you rinse out your mane, it’ll sting plenty if you aren’t careful.”
Holly’s eyes narrowed and she gave Knock Knock a teasing smile. “You know, it would be a particularly romantic gesture on your part if you carried poor Toots to the shower and gave him a good hosing off.”
Mustache quivering, Knock Knock considered Holly’s words. After a moment, he smiled and replied, “You know, I think he’s getting too old for that.”
“I’m never too old for that!” Toot Toot huffed as he rolled over onto his stomach. With a great deal of effort, he stood up on wobbling knees. “That’s probably why I feel old… I haven’t had my hose unrolled for a while.”
Holly bellowed with laughter as she walked away, leaving her gear in a pile, knowing that it would get picked up. She strode away, sweating, stinking, and aching for a shower. She felt itchy all over and was in a hurry to get whatever was all over her skin off of her.
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Everytime there is a new chapter I read it, and then I can't wait until the next one. I really like almost all of your stories. Almost, because there are some I haven't read yet
Another home wrecked, another family saved, another double entendre bantered. A good day.
"FLANKCHECK!" *smack*
Ive wondered when this would be updated n.n i love this story. lol and hitting on the help huh? Naughty naughty!
OOOOOOOH! ALFREDO AND HOLLY ARE GONNA BE SO CUTE TOGETHER!
I appreciate how that title is pretty alliterative. At least all the large words are. Nice alternate title. I applaud the person who came up with it. Which is you, presumably, but if for some reason it wasn't then I applaud that person instead.
Kudos that person-who-is-probably-you.
Holly's faceing (is that the verb form of face? Is that correct? Screw it. The words do what I tell them to) is getting pretty serious here. And that's awesome.
Heeheeeheee, ooooohoho man, I love it! So frigging much!
Hehehe, nice job Kud!
Hmm I cant help but wonder why there is no magic on the visors of the masks... something like the magic of the masks of the Rat Catchers...
It seems a bit strange that the Rat Catchers Guild can equip everyone of its members with a magical scan to detect the rats to be killed and the firefighter do not have any to see the living pony stuck in the fires...
8119894
The M.P.D also has a low budget and doesn't have all the equipment they could want or need. And im not sure when they other story was made but I assume its further along in the timeline and the magic might not have even existed until that point, or used in such a way yet.