Awesome As I Wanna Be

Chapter 14: Burning Desire, Soaked Reality

Run, breathe, run, breathe. Left, right, left, right. The pattern continued for Rainbow for what seemed like hours; the telltale smoke and darkening sky seemingly getting further and further away. 'You don't know, it may just be nearby. A coincidence with that text. They're fine, they are fine.' Rainbow tried to confirm herself by thinking positively but there was little room for hope. If her hunch was correct then any preconceived ideas of who Madam Gradient was went out the window. If she was wrong, joyous days and she'd avoided a very awkward talk with all of her best friends.

Turning the corner though, Rainbow saw that the former was correct. The fire engines lined the street in a blockade while they battled the flames. The roaring flames that were streaming out of her house. Where her parents were. The heat of the inferno could reach her from all the way at the end of the road and only climbed to nearly unbearable as she got closer and closer to the burning wreckage of her home. "MUM!!! DAD!!!" Rainbow shouted as loud as she could above the sirens, hoses and blaze, trying to locate the two most important people in her life.

Panic and fear began to choke her as her lungs also filled with the toxic smoke around her. Her parents had to be out of there, they were okay. Probably sobbing and shaking just in front of the firefighters and all of their equipment, but they were okay. They had to be. The emergency  services were getting their work cut out for them with Rainbow on the loose. First a burning barn, then a call for an arrest all before this house begins to burn. Large, dark, heavy clouds started to fill the sky as tears flowed freely from her cheeks and Rainbow screamed for her parents again. A firefighter who had retreated to retrieve another hose spotted the broken teenager nearby and went to help her. "Miss, I am sorry, but it is not safe for anyone here. We're doing our best to get the fire under control. Please, go back to your home." They gently smiled at her and pushed her along but Rainbow fought back.

"You don't understand! THIS IS MY HOME! WHERE ARE MY PARENTS? ARE THEY STILL IN THERE?!" Her voice reached fever pitch as she roughly shoved the firefighter away and ran straight for the burning building. "MUM!! DAD!!" Her voice rang out across the area as she got closer to her former home. The sky cracked as the clouds poured open and large raindrops started to fall. Firefighters closer to the home were throwing large piles of sand onto the blaze and trying to stop it growing. Tears continued to fall from Rainbow's face as her hair began to glow a very bright blue; bluer than the sky or her skin.

As she approached the wreckage, people tried to hold her back but a strong gust over took them and shoved them to the side, out of harm's way. The heat and flames licked at her skin, teasing and taunting her with whatever they may hold. Without hesitation, Rainbow opened her palms and softly muttered under her breath. "Rainbow, Rainbow, glimmer and shine. Listen to me, for I command what's mine. Burn, copy glow and heal. Dampen, storm and steal." Blue light shot out from her open hands, covering the surrounding areas in a thick layer of water.

Gushing, pounding, roaring, the never-ending torrent of waves crashed down onto the flames and made them devoid of any and every oxygen supply. Blue light continued to flow from her hair to her hands as Rainbow was successful in getting to the very edge of the inferno. The once bright and cheery sigh that identified the abode, was now charred to a crisp beneath her feet. Gone, reduced to ashes that crunched under Rainbow's feet. Water dampened the ground and flooded the remaining infrastructure. If there was any fire still ablaze, it wouldn't be for long.

With the fire out, people began to make sense of what had just happened. That this girl in front of them, emotional and lost, had spouted water from her fingers like it was nothing and controlled the flames. Keeping their distance from her, the firefighters made their way inside to check. Once the magic had stopped flowing, Rainbow sunk to her knees. Looking around, it occured to her that her parents hadn't tried to stop her immense wave of liquid. That meant they weren't here.

The shock racked her body as the world blurred and oxygen stopped getting to her lungs. 'Either they are inside, or somewhere else. They're smart, they'll be okay. You can heal them.' These thoughts helped to soothe her as Rainbow waited for them to return from their search. Unfortunately, this allowed another thought to enter her brain, one from when she was waiting to know if Pinkie was well after her fall. 'You don't have the power to being back the dead.' A hacking fit engulfed her as poor Rainbow threw up whatever toxins had gotten into her body and her body began to rapidly and uncontrollably shake.

"Rainbow!" The relieved and overjoyed yet deeply concerned shout of her mother caused her to snap her head up and look at the approaching figures of her parents. They were alive.

Sobbing, Rainbow pushed herself to her weakened feet and practically dragged herself to them in an emotional heap. Tears ran down all of their faces as the trio embraced in front of the destroyed wreckage of their former house. Suddenly, Rainbow realised that they weren't all here. "Tank! Where's Tank?" She found herself becoming upset again but her dad just patted her on the back.

Retrieving something from his jacket, Bow held out the green, shaken but alive, shell and body of Tank the Tortoise. "Don't worry, when we discovered the fire, we made it a priority to get him to safety along with ourselves." He held him out to Rainbow who lovingly and gratefully cuddled him.

Looking up at her parents through a tear-stained face, Rainbow sighed. "I'm so, so glad you're all okay. I'm sorry, if I'd known, I could have gotten here sooner or-" Windy held up her have and looked sternly into her daughter's eyes.

"Now you listen to me, this is not your fault. Any of it. And we will get through this, together. Like we always have." She pulled her husband, daughter and pet all in for another loving cuddle. Stroking Rainbow's powerful hair, a thought occured to Windy. "Rainbow, how often do you use your Iridescent powers nowadays?" She pulled away from the hug and looked up at her. Rainbow was about to form an answer when her body went into shutdown mode and the world went very dark.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope Rainbow's parents will be okay. I wonder what she will do now. I'll update again tomorrow most likely. Although for now, adiós.