//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Best Laid Plans // Story: Into Oblivion // by ChaosZero460 //------------------------------// Ok, in hindsight this was a terrible idea. I'm not exactly sure what I was thinking, might not have been thinking at all. Oh well. What's done is done, can't change it now. Last I heard, they were still picking up pieces of him. Some old lady found a spleen in her flower bed. Like I said, terrible idea. Not that that's anything new. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ The three ponies make their way down the cobblestone street, the city just starting to stir. The fuchsia bubble of energy continued to surround Canterlot, so there wasn't much in the way of a breeze. It was late in the morning, the guards were just starting to make their patrols. They had gotten a few second glances but hadn't been stopped or questioned yet, if that happened they would likely have no choice but run or fight. Their description had already been circulated by the radio broadcasts, and there was a train car's-worth of ponies that could identify them as Guild members. They pass a group of the armored unicorns and pegasi, Onyx holds his breath as he attempts to appear as casual and non-threatening as possible but quickly realizes that he was just standing out more than usual. He might as well have been screaming "I AM DOING NOTHING SUSPICIOUS AND AM MOST DECIDEDLY NOT A CYBORG MONSTER PAY ME NO MIND". The guards notice him, but quickly lose interest. He lets out a ragged sigh as they turn a corner and leave their sight. He refocuses on the purpose of their journey through the streets swarming with the Royal Guard. "So, this... friend of yours. You think he can help?" "Oh yeah, Twitch and I go way back" Bruiser replies confidently. "Worked together for a few years, he's a good guy. Just a little... well..." Angel Fire raises a brow. She was in the same violet dress as yesterday, Onyx rather liked the way she looked in it. "He's just what?" The blue stallion looks down at the ground, searching for words. "Well, he was working a job out in Trottingham and got some high voltage wires crossed and... look, 150,000 volts is enough to mess anypony up." _________________________________________________________________________________________________ They come to a nondescript house on the lower end of the city. "This is the place" Bruiser comments with a knock on the door. "Now whatever you do, don't stare or mention the tic. He's a little... unstable." Neither liked the sound of that. The door swings open, a light gray pegasus answers the door. He had a stick of dynamite for a cutie mark, the fuse very close to completing it's burn. "Well I'll be tarred and feathered! What the hell are you doing here?" "Hey man, it's been awhile ain't it?" Bruiser says cheerfully. "Yeah it has. Why don't you come in? Your friends too!" Well Onyx didn't see what the fuss about was, he seemed reasonably sane. He and Angel Fire shared a couch, Bruiser took the chair to their left. It was a modest home, nothing special. A painting of a sunset hung on the wall over the fireplace. By all accounts, it was a normal house of a normal pony. "Here we are, fresh lemonade!" the pegasus chimed, carrying a tray with a pitcher of the drink. He takes a seat in a well-worn recliner and sips his glass. "Gotta say, quite the surprise seeing you show up. Haven't heard from you in a long time. Not since the-NO SHUTUP I'M TALKING!" he yells off to the side with a crazed look in his eyes, twitching as he does so. The two ponies on the couch jump at the outburst. Bruiser doesn't seem surprised, or even startled. "I hate to come out of the blue like this, but we need your help with something." Twitch stops... er, twitching, and turns to him, perfectly normal. "Oh? What can I do for you?" Onyx leans forward on the couch and clears his throat. "Well uh, we need Fetlock Dam to spring a leak. I understand you used to work demolition?" "Pfft, demolition. I didn't blow up buildings, I made art. Glorious, beautiful art... Seeing the flames bloom and arise, like a day lily in the morning sun, feeling the shockwave rattle your colon as the meticulously planned and crafted structures return to their base form of worthless debris and rubble, similar to the fate that will await us all in the end." Alright, that was... slightly unsettling. "We just need a small hole in the face of the dam, can you handle that?" the cobalt stallion asks. "Small hole? Small hole? I COULD BLOW THE MOON IN HALF IF YOU WANT ME TO! BWAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" he erupts, eye twitching violently. ".....right. We uh, just need a small leak" Angel comments. "Just enough to flood main street." Twitch snaps back to normal. "Oh. Yeah that shouldn't be a problem. Gotta ask though, it's a bit of an odd request. Why do you want to flood Fetlock?" "It's complicated. It's for a good reason, trust me" Bruiser says. "EXPLOSIONS ARE ALWAYS GOOD REASONS!!!" he screams, convulsing in the chair. He stops, like somepony had flipped the crazy switch. "If you say it's important, then I'm in." Bruiser claps his hooves together. "Glad to hear it. We can-" "THE FLAME'S HUNGER SHALL BE SATED WITH THE BLOOD OF INDUSTRY" "A small crack in the dam. Small" Onyx reiterates. If Blackout didn't blow up the town, this clown might. He silently makes a note that he desperately needs to stop associating with the violently insane. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ They watch as Twitch packs his suitcase full of dynamite. Dynamite he just happened to have lying around the house. Onyx was sure his neighbors would have been thrilled about that. He wraps them in parchment and seals them in scroll canisters. He had enough explosives to blow the dam completely apart, they all were quietly concerned that he would go overboard and submerge the village. The suitcase now packed to the gills with dynamite, he forcibly slams it closed. The lid bounces right back up, the pony jumps on the lid. He violently pounds it closed, the three ponies flinch with each strike of the suitcase. He beats the suitcase shut, an unstable look on his face as he relentlessly drives hoof after hoof into the luggage. Luggage that was packed with high explosives. It finally latches closed. He returns to a normal, calm demeanor as he picks it up and starts down the hallway. "Careful, one wrong move and we all go up like a fireworks show." They step outside with the deadly payload. "Remember, we need this done quickly and quietly" Bruiser says. "Quickly and quietly are what I-NO! NO! DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" They stare in silence as he twitches one final time before returning to a more stable mindset. "I'll take the airship to Manehatten, bail out over Fetlock. Should be there by sundown" he says. "Security shouldn't be a problem, they're so busy watching what's coming into Canterlot they don't really care what's leaving." The blue pony gives a nod. "Sounds good. Thanks again Twitch." "Hey, anything for an old friend. I'll let you know when- THE TEAPOT SHALL WHISTLE THE SIREN SONG OF KIDNEY STONES" And with that, he takes to the air. "...you sure this is the best idea?" Angel says skeptically. "Not at all. But it's the best we can do at the moment" Bruiser replies. "THE SUNSHINE SMELLS DELICIOUS!!!" the pegasus shouts high above them, cackling maniacally. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ They sit at a corner bistro, watching as the zeppelin departs from the docks and pulls away from the cliff face. All of their hopes lied with a dynamite-packing psycho. It was far from ideal. Angel sips her coffee. "I'm just curious. Let's say on the off chance this plan works, then what?" Onyx finished his apple pastry... thing. He didn't have any idea what it was called, but it was delicious. "Uh... tell you the truth, haven't really thought about it. I've just been focusing on the present." "You need to decide what path you're going to go down Onyx. You defy a direct order from Blackout, he'll come after you. The whole Guild will be after you" she says. "Yeah, I know..." "You're taking this one step at a time, but Blackout it always thinking three, four steps ahead! You can't just expect to-" "I know!" he yells, attracting a little too much attention from the rest of the ponies. "I...I know. But I'm not gonna kill innocent ponies, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let him do the same. I'm doing the best I can here, I'll probably end up dead as soon as this goes south. I've already accepted that much. But if I can just keep anypony else from dying, then... well, I'm okay with that then." BOOM! Panicked screams fill the air, their eyes dart to the airship. A massive fireball had burst fourth from it's interior, consuming it within seconds. The fabric of the balloon burns away, the unsupported gondola plummets through the clouds and disappears, leaving a trail of smoke and fire. A distant whump sounds out. They stare in silence. "...Huh" Bruiser finally breaks the silence. "What was that other plan of yours?" "You three!" a gruff voice shouts. They turn to see six unicorn guards standing there, golden armor gleaming in the sunlight refracted through the forcefield. "Hooves up! Now!" They exchange a quick glance. Onyx flips the table up and kicks it at them, the lead unicorn wraps it in magic and tosses it aside, revealing the ponies galloping away. "After them!" The trio race through the streets, ponies jumping out of the way. They hurdle stands and carts in their path, Bruiser kicks a wagon carrying lumber that spills out in the street. His hopes that it would slow their pursuers did not come to fruition, as instead, they wrap the beams in a magical aura and fling them at the fleeing ponies. "Gah! I frickin' hate magic!" he shouts as a beam of wood flies past like a rocket. Another zeros in on him, he drives a powerful kick into it, reducing it to a shower of splinters. "We gotta lose these guys!" They gallop down the cobblestone road as fast as they can, beams of raw magic impacting the ground around them. The blasts shatter the rocks lining the ground, sending grenade-like shrapnel airborne. Onyx feels several small shards cut into his side. He considered turning to fight, but a body count would only worsen their situation. Better to be suspects than murderers. They duck down an alleyway, the blasts continue pelt the walls and ground. One explodes perilously close to Bruiser, practically right under him. Onyx removes his eyepatch and fires a blast into a fire escape overhead, it falls to the ground in a loud clatter. That might buy them a few seconds if anything. They hear the metal crunch and squeak behind them, not bothering to turn around. The alley dumps them out onto another street, where another four guards are waiting. One of them flings a vegetable cart at the trio. In a flash of steel, Angel Fire's bladed wing slices through her dress and cleaves the wooden structure in half. "They're Iron Guild! Take 'em out!" They're surrounded on every side by the unicorns, a glow burning on all their horns. Onyx fires a blast straight down at the ground, a massive cloud of dust is kicked up. The guard cough as the cloud washes over them, it fades revealing the ponies are gone. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ "They couldn't have gone far, find them!" They hear at least a dozen guards stomp past outside. They huddle down inside the closed bakery, hiding behind the counter. "This is bad. Gotta be at least 30 of em out there" Bruiser whispers. "I don't know if we can fight off that many." "The second we kill one of them this gets ten times more ugly" Onyx quietly replies. Angel looks out at the unicorns swarming outside. "Well we can't stay here much longer, we've only got a few minutes before they search the building." Onyx looks around the bakery, perhaps there was something inside they could use. Four large stainless steel ovens were built into the wall, on the counter tops sat bags of flour, sugar and other ingredients. A half empty jar of sprinkles had been knocked over and spilled. A large mixer sat dormant in the corner, covered in a thin layer of flour. "Well if we need to bake an apology cake, we should be covered" he mumbles to himself. He opens up the cabinet, the hinges squeaking as the wood door swings open. Inside he finds bleach, degreaser, and various other cleaning chemicals. Better, but still relatively useless. "Hey, check this out" Bruiser announces, holding up a small device with a gas canister attached to the bottom. "It's a tiny little flamethrower!" he giggles with child-like glee and wonderment, waving around the small blue flame. "It's a flambe torch" Angel corrects. "Whatever, I found six other butane cartridges with it. Think you can do something with that?" "Oh yes" Onyx says with a grin, pulling out a tube of quick-drying caulk. He opens up the oven and holds up his metal hoof. Angel said there were screwdrivers, knives and stuff in there, he'd never tried it out though. Onyx focuses, a small needle protrudes from the end. He jams it into the top of the cartridge, the gas hisses out like a cobra. He quickly tosses all seven of them in, and throws in a punctured can of industrial-grade degreaser for the hell of it. He seals the door with the caulking and turns the broiler on high. "We uh, should probably clear outta here. Quickly." They scamper out the back door of the bakery and into the alleyway. Three guards pass on the street, they duck back inside just long enough to remain unseen. Angel peers out onto the street, she nods to the others and they gallop down the cobblestones before they're seen. The three ponies take cover behind a few barrels as two more guards turn the corner, heading their way. "Oh for the love of Celestia, there is no way our luck's that bad" Bruiser whispers with a groan. BOOM! The bakery's windows blow out in a cloud of glass shrapnel, fire bathing the interior. All the guards within earshot, being most of Canterlot as that was rather loud, run towards the source of the blast and conversely, away from the fleeing ponies. They take the opportunity to clear the lower end of town. _________________________________________________________________________________________________ "That was way too close. Let's never do that again" Bruiser pants. Onyx leans up next to a light pole, chest heaving. He mumbles a response, nopony can make out what he said. "Well that's Plan A down the drain" Angel says solemnly, looking out at the city. Posh and high-class ponies milled about, tending to their own business. "You never did say what your Plan B was." The black cyborg unicorn takes note of a flyer applied on a building a short distance away. "No, I didn't" he says, walking over to it. The others follow, waiting for him to continue. He rips the paper from the wall, it showed the new purple alicorn surrounded by Celestia and Luna. SUMMER SOLSTICE GALA WITH PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE TONIGHT AT 11 IN THE CASTLE GARDENS formal attire only Onyx looks down at the flyer and sighs. "I need a tux."