The Incredible Flutterhulk

by FanofAwesomeness

Powerplay

Fluttershy sat calmly in the chair as she waited for her colleague to get home. He would probably be a while, but she never could tell what was going on with him. That and she wanted to make sure he didn't just flip out when he saw her sitting there. From what she had heard, the accident had broken his back and paralyzed his back legs, so seeing her like a ghost from his past probably wouldn't end well.

Hopefully, it would end better than last time.

But right now, all she could do was wait and try to stay as calm as possible.

*******************************

"Name," the doctor pony said to the zebra sitting across from him.

"Brown Sky," the zebra replied.

"You are aware of the procedure?"

Sky nodded quickly.

"Is your next-of-kin current?"

"Don't have one," he replied.

The doctor nodded his understanding before closing up the file he had been writing in. "Did he tell you exactly what you were getting into?"

"I was told what it would do," Sky responded. "I don't really care what else there is."

"This procedure isn't exactly painless," the doctor said. "It'll take three injections, and those will hurt. A lot."

"The less I know about it, the better I'll do during it," Sky said before the doctor could say anything else. "Let's just get this over with."

The doctor nodded before General Thunderbolt walked into the room with a vial of something held in tongs in his mouth. He walked over to a machine and put the vial in, waiting for it to secure before letting go and walking over to look at Sky. "I'll see you when it's done," he said before walking out of the room.

Sky laid down on the table he was sitting on and felt the straps secure around his hooves before being flipped over. Not long after that, he felt a needle slide into his back and something hot being pushed into his body. He took deep breaths, but it didn't seem so bad. At least that's what he thought until a needle pressed into his spine and went into the bone. Blinding pain flashed through his body and his vision went white before that same hot sensation was flowing through his bones.

One more injection, he thought nervously. Then you can handle that mission. Just one more- Pain coursed through him, cutting off his thoughts. The last thing he knew was that pain before he fell out of consciousness.

*******************************

"What are you doing in my house?!" asked the grey scientist. "How did you even get here?!"

"Please calm down," Fluttershy said.

"How can I calm down when you, of all ponies, just broke into my house?!"

Fluttershy winced a little at that. It was a bit of a touchy subject when you had been the one to paralyze him, even if you weren't exactly yourself at the moment. He had a good point, too. Breaking in probably wasn't the best of ideas, but it was the only one she could think of that didn't get her sent directly to jail.

"Please, Hoofton, just listen to me for a moment," she said, trying to reign in control of the situation.

He sighed, shaking his head. "You have five minutes, and unless you convince me otherwise, I'm calling the cops when that time's up."

Fluttershy nodded. "I need your help to fix what happened to me."

He laughed. "And why would I do that, even if I knew how?"

"Because if you don't, there's somepony else who will take it and use it to kill."

He moved a little closer, the wheelchair keeping his hind legs up squeaking slightly.

"Thunderbolt is after it," she continued. "He wants the thing inside me to be able to make an army of them. If that happens, what would stop him from taking over Equestria? What would stand in his way of conquering anyplace else?"

"How do you know he doesn't just want to contain you?"

"Tranquilizers," she replied. "If he wanted to keep me from hurting ponies, he wouldn't be using them. He'd have killed me a long time ago if that was all he wanted."

Hoofton hummed for a moment. "What you're asking me to do is treason against one of the most influential ponies in our country."

"I'm sorry," she said, glancing at a clock. "I didn't know where else to go."

He sighed. "I can't do much," he started. "But I can give you the research with all of my notes. It's not much, but it's a lot better than nothing."

"Thank you," Fluttershy started before he raised a hoof to cut her off.

"I can also give you a name," he said, taking out a piece of paper and beginning to write on it. "This pony might be able to do something to help. He's not that big a fan of the way things are going right now, so cooperation should be easy enough to get from him."

"Thank you so much," she said before turning toward the back door.

"One more thing," he said, catching her attention before she could leave. "A word of advice. Keep your head low. Thunderbolt will be looking for you, and if he's after that thing, you have to make sure he doesn't get it. I know you've been hiding for a long time now, but when ponies think they're close to the end, they get sloppy. So watch your back."

She looked at him for a second, nodding in understanding. He was telling her what he was going to do once she left. He was obligated to do so because of his job, and she couldn't blame him for that. Besides, she knew how to hide. And she didn't have to keep hiding for long, anyways. Once it was gone, he could do whatever tests he wanted, but he was never going to get his hooves on that monster.

*******************************

"How're you feeling, soldier?" Thunderbolt asked.

"Like I could take on an army," Sky replied. "I assume you're not just here to check in, though. Got a mission for me?"

"Looks like it," Thunderbolt said. "I was just contacted by one of my researchers at our facility. She's here, in Equestria. And we might just have a lead on where she'll be."

"Just point me in the right direction and say the word," the zebra said. "I'm itching for a little payback."

"You make sure you stay under control out there," Thunderbolt warned. "First sign of side effects, and I'm pulling you until everything gets sorted out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Sky said. "Couldn't be more clear."

Author's Note:

Thanks again to Jarkes for editing and helping me a little with the names. I'm not sure where this story would be without your help.