Shadowrunner: Equestria

by law abiding pony

1: Awry

The subway car rattled shakily on its rails as it powered under Canterlot. The harsh fluorescent lights flickered occasionally, casting an eerie pallor over the car’s six occupants. The first was a bum that security never bothered to remove except for during a midnight sweep, the reek of old gin keeping the others disinterested in him. Two wore purposely ripped shirts to show off the coiled green snake tattooed on either the upper foreleg or on the neck. The fourth was a well-groomed stallion in business attire, who kept stealing hopelessly paranoid glances at the two gangers.

The last two sat on a bench at the far end of the car. The first was a butter yellow pegasus with a pink mane. She wore goggles that had a faint glow to them. The second was a hooded pony, most of whose body was hidden behind the seats in front of her. Only the end of a sky blue snout and a few strands of orange and yellow hair poked out. From the mare’s angle, it was clear to the gangers that she was watching them intently. That silent vigil was enough for the two gangers to leave as the train squealed to a stop.

With no one getting on the train, the stallion breathed a sigh of relief as the gangers left. He glanced at the mares, and his agitation bled away a little after realizing they were not watching him.

The blue mare drew her gaze to the companion sitting next to her. The pegasus had a stuffed saddlebag on the far side from her companion. Long pink locks cascaded over her butter yellow face. Her hair covered one eye. The faint blue light from the goggles betrayed the fact she was drifting through the matrix, and would be unresponsive to the outside world. Pulling a phone out of a pocket hidden underneath her body-covering robe, the blue mare had to text her companion.

<Angel, our stop is at the next station.> Even after all this time, it still pained Rainbow Dash that she couldn’t just use Fluttershy’s real name in public, but the risks were too great to do otherwise.

Sending no text in reply, the butter yellow pony opted to return to the physical world and lifted her goggles which went dark. “Thanks, Flash. I got a little carried away bidding for the new x-series helibot. Those little cuties are works of art.”

Rainbow grinned, revealing a single fang. It was only in private times like this that they could forget their lives and just be two childhood friends together. Fleeting memories of races, or just some time talking with Fluttershy brought a moment of peace to Rainbow. Once they stepped off that train, it was back into the cold world beyond. “I take it you weren’t able to dig up any more details on the job our fixer has for us.” It stung Rainbow that the first thing could think to ask was about the job.

Fluttershy shook her head. “Un uh. None of Glacier’s goons are talking, and I don’t want to risk trying to hack into his network. Not without a cyberdeck anyway.”

Rainbow Dash wrapped her friend in a loose hug. “Ah, don’t worry about it. That’s Diamond’s so-called ‘cup of tea’ anyway.”

The consolation brought a feeble smile to Fluttershy’s face. Movement from the saddlebag prompted Fluttershy into unclasping it with a feathered wing, and out popped a robotic rabbit the size of a medium dog. Its two long ears laid flat against its back while the camera irises focused on its master. It nuzzled Fluttershy’s neck, getting a bubbly titter out of the mare. “I haven’t forgotten, Carrots. I was on there just now looking for a new friend for you.”

Rainbow Dash watched the two in silence, and simply enjoyed the brief moment of innocence. Innocent so long as she ignored what Carrots and the helibot would be used for. For a moment, Rainbow Dash could see themselves back on the playground in grade school. She was showing off her speed while Fluttershy had birds, real flesh and blood birds, all settled around her or sitting on top of her. I don’t know how you stuck by me, Flutters. To leave that all behind.

The loud squeal of the subway braking brought both ponies back to the present. Rainbow made sure the hood of her robe was adequately covering her face and climbed off the seat. Fluttershy gently whispered to Carrots to get back into the bag, and then followed after her friend.

The subway station was as sparsely populated as the train had been. Loose bits of trash and dirt had collected all over the floors, but at least the lights were steady and adequate. There was a single unmanned kiosk that could accept bits from passengers, but the thing had been hacked months ago. Only half the money went to the company, while the other half went to the local mafia. That fact was also the reason Fluttershy didn’t try giving the two of them free tickets upon leaving the station.

The two ponies made it out into the familiar streets of Little Griffin Town situated at the very bottom of Canterhorn Mountain. It was early evening, and the sky was still orange from the setting sun. Street lights and neon billboards gave the place a moderately cheery welcome if one did not look too hard. But Rainbow Dash noticed all the nooks and crannies the lights didn’t reach. Most were empty at the moment, but there was always at least one or two mobsters or some junked out ganger looking to expand or defend their territory. Police were absent entirely.

Yet that did not stop civilians, law abiding or not, from walking the streets, few though they were. Not many people brought cars down this low, and those who did had mob protection. Glancing around, Rainbow caught sight of another pony in a similar robe to hers, although that stallion didn’t hide his horned head in the hood. Good, the more magi around here, the less attention I’ll get.

After making their way down past a few shops and cutting through an alleyway, Rainbow saw two gangers with crescent moon tattoos squatting in a mini-park between two city blocks. The filly-looking earth pony gave the two mares a dark grin and made as though to confront them, but the older ganger unicorn pulled her back. Rainbow Dash only continued to keep an eye on them until she saw the older ganger share some quiet yet terse words with his dismissive accomplice who started to argue. Heh, looks like the gangers are getting some actual brains in their operation. Either that or somepony else is their mark tonight. Might give the Glacier a heads up if only to keep those creeps from doing anything.

With the fixer’s place still a bit of a walk away, Rainbow used a foreleg to keep her hood in place while she gazed skyward. The brilliant lights of Upper Canterlot and Cloudsdale in the far distance soured any chance of seeing the stars in the coming hours. Yet the Mare in the Moon was as plain as ever. Rainbow Dash wished she could stop walking and simply bask in the moonlight when darkness fell. Were she not going on a job, she might have done just that.

Repressing a sigh before it could escape, Rainbow dropped her head back to be level with the street. Sitting at the end of the vacant street was Glacier’s place, a bar named Lost Unicorn. A single massive earth pony decked out in mana nullifying armor stood stoically at the large red double doors.

The bouncer acted as if he didn’t even realize the two Shadowrunners existed until Rainbow was about to push the doors open. “Boss’s waiting for you in his office.”

“Got it,” Rainbow deadpanned as she pushed the door open far enough for both her and Fluttershy to canter inside before it closed behind them.

The Lost Unicorn had well over two dozen patrons filling out the sizable establishment. The bar was at least welcoming in its décor. Yellow paper lanterns were tactfully placed here and there while the bar itself, along with the accompanying stools, were well maintained and clean. A unicorn mare with a charismatic smile was shaking a drink for an old greying griffin that looked like he hadn’t started drinking yet. A dragon’s skull, clearly no older than an adolescent, decorated the drink rack. Glacier claimed he bought the skull along with the bar. The dividing pillar and support struts separated the bar from a more traditional restaurant layout complete with booths and tables.

Fluttershy claimed she ate here once, but I still think this place is one health inspector away from being shut down.

“Flash!” the barmare called out while continuing her drink mixing. “It’s been ages. How have you been?!”

Glacier can wait a bit. Rainbow nudged Fluttershy before using a head jerk to direct her towards the bar. With a nod of agreement from the pegasus, Rainbow Dash jumped onto a stool with Fluttershy gingerly climbing on one next to it. A shirt-ripped drunken griffin next to them was already deep into his cups, and was leering at Rainbow Dash. “Heyya Lyra, you been keeping things together here?”

Lyra poured the griffin’s drink with a smile before turning fully to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Now that they were close enough, the two could see the sea green unicorn’s prosthetic forelegs. Unlike most, Lyra had opted to spend a small fortune to make them look more natural, complete with artificial fur that was warm to the touch. “Don’tcha know it. I don’t care what else boss has cooking up, he’d be broke without me.”

“Did you get that raise you wanted?” Fluttershy piped in as a glass of iced tea slid over to her, a slice of lemon perched on the rim of the glass. Licking her patched lips, Fluttershy eagerly drank the tea, and fished for some bits for both a tip and a second cup.

With an amber glow, the bits disappeared under the bar as soon as they hit the polished oak. “It took some doing, but I did,” Lyra declared proudly.

Rainbow Dash pulled out a few bits of her own and placed them heavily on the bar. “Good for you. Celestia knows you still probably don’t get paid enough.”

Rainbow missed Lyra’s reply when the television hanging on the far end of the bar suddenly got louder, and was playing the familiar jingle of the Crown News Network, signaling a breaking story. She glanced towards a minotaur at the bar who was holding the remote control.

With Lyra mixing Rainbow’s drink, and Fluttershy watching the news, Rainbow Dash huffed and let her attention get dragged into the propaganda box too. “This is Lemon Hearts, reporting to all you wondrous ponies out there.” The almost too perfectly beautiful mare said with a toothy smile. “Moments ago, Regent Sunset Shimmer made an announcement concerning the firefight that occurred at Canterlot Palace three weeks ago. Roll the clip, Lucky Day.”

The news anchor was replaced by an immaculately dressed and styled unicorn mare with a fiery red and orange mane. Unlike many of the upper crust of society, Sunset Shimmer’s body was toned and lean. It didn’t take a shadowrunner’s eye to know Sunset would be dangerous in a fight. The regent stood before a throng of reporters, and camera flashes clicked rapidly with almost every word.

“Dear citizens of Equestria,” Sunset began with a somber tone. “The crown has officially closed the investigation into the incident. We have determined that a pupil of the Princess, Twilight Sparkle, was caught red-hooved selling defense secrets to a minotaur special agent. The Empire still denies any involvement with any sale of secrets, but sources from the Royal Intelligence Service are taking the matter seriously.

“As for the suspects, they did not surrender quietly, requiring the Royal Guard to gun her down. The Princess wishes to share her reassurance that disloyalty, an antithesis to Harmony, will not be tolerated at any level of society. Even the very top.” Sunset was approached by a stallion in the black suit of an agent who whispered in her ear. She nodded and returned her attention to the crowd of reporters.

Rainbow Dash decided to tune out whatever else Sunset was going to say. The very idea that someone with everything handed to her, fame, prestige, more money than Rainbow could ever dream of, and what did the Princess receive in return? Betrayal. A slap to the face of the one pony outside of her friends that she truly respected. Rainbow’s blood boiled at the mention of Twilight’s name. Yet as with the last time she had heard the story reported on the news, she felt the hot steam leave her. For all I know, it was probably just some powerplay gone bad and Twilight got shafted. Rainbow folded her forelegs on the bar and rested her forehead on them. Fatigue weighed heavily upon her, pressing her into the seat. A nudge on her shoulder caused Rainbow to pivot her head to look at Fluttershy.

The pegasus had scooted close enough to whisper in Rainbow’s ear. “You should convince AJ to go into journalism.”

Laughter burned away some of the gloom, and got Rainbow to snicker so hard her lungs started to hurt. “Oh that’d be the day. Might actually start believing the media, provided they didn’t kick her to curb in the second she opened her mouth.”

Lyra’s return distracted the mares’ moment of merth. “Here you go ladies.” She deposited a pair of drinks. “Enjoy!” Lyra spotted a griffin that had been leering at Rainbow attempting to make a move to grope her, but a brief amber flash made his stool fall out from under him. Lyra faked genuine concern and rounded the bar to help him back up. “Oh, you poor soul, why don’t I help you rest a bit?”

Rainbow raised her cup in salute to Lyra when the barmare glanced at her. Double checking her hood, Rainbow got off her stool. “Come on, Angel, might as well see what’s going on.”

“O-oh okay.” Fluttershy downed the last of her tea in one go before chasing after her friend.

The two mares passed by the restaurant and made for the kitchen. The kitchen was arranged to allow a walkway from the door to the back office, preventing any workers or runners from inadvertently contaminating the cook space. Not that it did much good to Rainbow’s eyes. She could see the dirt on the floors and the grease on the counters. A rat dropping or two were nestled in the corners where the janitors were not motivated enough to bother going that extra mile to clean.

The back office door was open with a lithe zebra standing guard. The exotic equine wore a number of bone charms and woven talismans in her mane or around her neck. Unlike the bouncer, the zebra kept her eyes locked on Rainbow’s own, almost completely ignoring Fluttershy. It was a not a malicious glare, only one that warned against trying anything stupid.

The two passed into the office to find the familiar sight of Glacier slouching in his chair with papers covering his desk. His office was primarily lit by a single desk lamp, which barely illuminated the cabinets flanking him. A flat screen terminal was parked on the corner of his desk along with a small collection of security camera feeds hanging on the wall directly behind him. At the sound of their booted hooves clopping on his tile floor, Glacier pulled the lamp back towards himself so its harsh white glare didn’t settle on the two guest chairs. He looked up at the two mares with an oily grin. “Flash, Angel, do come in!”

Rainbow Dash plopped down on her hard wooden chair, a marked difference from the cushy one Glacier sat on. “You know he’s got a bad one for us if he’s already being nice,” she cracked at Fluttershy.

“Maybe I should have brought Mr. Boar instead then,” Fluttershy remarked in an effort to sound unconcerned.

Now that they could see him properly, Glacier was a brown furred and white feathered griffin who wore a cheap looking suit and striped tie. He looked clean enough, but like his establishment, he had scuff marks here and there that the cleaners could never get out. “Ladies, ladies, when have I ever set you up with a bad job, eh?”

“Give it time,” Rainbow countered with a smirk. “So let’s hear it.”

Glacier wagged a claw. “Uh uh uh, you know the rules, Flash, I need to see that pretty face of yours if you wish to do business. You simply must stop hiding it all the time.”

“You know why I keep myself covered,” Rainbow fumed heatedly.

“Maybe so, but I know what you are, and we’re all friends here, aren’t we?” he asked with his forelegs raised in a placating gesture.

With a huff, Rainbow Dash removed her hood to reveal her cat-like purplish eyes. Tufts of blue fur crowned her ears. As much as she hated giving Glacier a show, Rainbow Dash used the opportunity to take the robe off completely so she could stretch her leathery wings which were the same color as her fur. Having them cramped under clothing was not exactly pleasant. With the lightly enchanted cloak removed, her originally sky blue fur darkened a few tints while her prismatic hair did the same. Of it all, though, her cloud and lightning bolt cutie mark remained as bright as the day she got it. Fluttershy frowned out of friendly concern, but ultimately said nothing.

Glacier grinned widely and nodded his head. “Such exotic beauty, so much more real than those bat ponies, no? You could be on par with your Mother Moon if you ever decided to clean yourself up. Why you waste your life as a runner is beyond me.”

Rainbow Dash was giving her left wing a much needed stretch while sharing a glance with Fluttershy, who gave her a sad, wistful frown. “Yeah, well, it’s going to stay beyond you. Got it?”

Glacier merely shrugged in begrudging acceptance. “It’s not my business to pry into my runners’ lives; I only comment on what I see.” He cleared his throat. “At any rate, here’s the rest of the job details.” Glacier pulled a desk drawer open and passed out a pair of small data wafers. Both mares snatched them up. Rainbow slotted hers into her phone while Fluttershy did the same with her goggles and put them on, the lights coming to life.

The files contained an address, a limited floor plan, and various other details. Glacier went on to say, “A little bird told me that Jiggy Tea is holed up in that abandoned garage up on tier four.”

Fluttershy gasped at the name, holding a hoof over her mouth. “You mean the one who assassinated the Don’s brother?”

“The same,” Glacier confirmed with a nod. “The Don wants this guy’s head personally delivered to him on a platter.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up while still reading the details. “So what’s the pay?”

“Two thousand bits for both of you.”

Rainbow gave the most sarcastic laugh she could muster. “You must be out of your flippin’ gourd. A guy like that’s worth ten times that at the very least.”

Fluttershy gave a displeased frown and turned her nose up. “I can make four hundred in two hours in my garage without the risk of taking a bullet. That’s low balling it and you know it.”

Glacier’s grin faded into an unhappy scowl. “See, that’s the thing, the two grand would only be for the two of you, not your whole crew. The family’s got two other runners you’ll be joining.”

“That’s still not even close to ten times,” Fluttershy quipped.

“I don’t like working with runners outside of my crew,” Rainbow Dash fumed angrily. A flash of paranoia made her look up at the security feeds to see if Glacier had a goon squad on the way over to finally kill her. “It’s not my style.”

“Fine, twenty-six hundred for the both of you.” Glacier stated with a casual wave of a claw. “You should be grateful I even got this job for you. It may have been one of my informants who caught wind of Jiggy Tea’s location, but his hideout’s on another capo’s turf, and he found out about it too. I had to use every trick I had to get the Don to agree to let this be a joint venture rather than let one of Steel Feather’s soldiers do it alone.” Glacier leaned forward and stabbed a talon at Rainbow.

“This is your chance to show what you can do for the family. You pull this off, you can finally get the underbosses to throw you a job or two to prove yourself. Fame is the real pay I’m offering.”

Rainbow grumbled and started unconsciously licking a fang. “I don’t want to be a made mare, and I don’t only take jobs from the family. I’ve got plenty of other fixers who need me.”

“Any of them need you tonight?” Glacier asked with a raised eyebrow. When Rainbow remained silent, he smirked. “I thought so.”

“Um, if you don’t mind my asking,” Fluttershy interrupted. “But why are you being so generous in this? Even if we do the job perfectly, we’d get the credit, not you. What’s the real bounty you’ve been authorized to give? Fifty grand? A hundred?”

Glacier eyed the pink maned pegasus with a hard glare. “Do you want the job or not? You two are good, but hardly the best. I’m doing you a favor by giving you first dibs.”

Rainbow Dash grumbled and slouched, crossing her forelegs and huffing. “Cheap bastard… We’ll take the damned job.”

“Good.” Glacier leaned back in his chair. “You’ll find the other runners at this location.” He reached down and pulled out another pair of data chips. “They’ve already had time to complete the legwork. Plus a competent decker and a street samurai, so the two of you will be a nice fill-in.”

“Right,” Rainbow commented bitterly. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather do some of that myself.”

“The Don is an impatient tom,” Glacier warned carefully. “If he doesn’t get his trophy within the week, he’ll come down on all of us.”

Rainbow Dash jumped out of her chair and started putting her robe back on. Fluttershy got out of her chair too, and helped her friend by making sure the hood covered her face enough. “Yeah, yeah, the boss will get his head. You better have the money waiting for us when we get back.”

“When have I ever been late on payment?” Glacier inquired with a much friendlier tone. “You can dislike me all you want, but you can’t deny my money’s always good.”

“What little of it we get,” Fluttershy threw back as Rainbow led the way to the exit.

---

It was just after midnight when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy departed the taxi cab on the airship docks on the far side of Canterhorn Mountain. Rainbow Dash watched the streets for threats while Fluttershy slotted her bit-chip into a slot behind the driver’s seat. A green light winked on once the payment transferred. She and the driver shared a few words before the pegasus closed the door, allowing the taxi to depart.

The buildings around them had the dock works lining the edge of the city platform on one long curving road, while the support buildings, shops, and restaurants filled out the rest. At this hour, only the occasional guard post or security drones watched the streets, and even those were on the mob’s payroll. Unless either one of them were spotted trying to break into a warehouse, the two runner’s presence would never be reported to the police. The pair saw the alleyway that would be a straight shot to the post where the other runners were camped out in. Bribes or not, it paid to be cautious.

The late hour brought the pair a bit of privacy as they walked. At first, Rainbow was content to just be silent while occasionally looking up at the full moon. It happened enough for Fluttershy to place a wing on her friend. “Are you okay, Flash? Is Mother Moon being a bit too Peeping Tomish this time around?”

Despite herself and the job at hand, Rainbow Dash chuckled, relishing the lighthearted joke. “Nah, nothing like that. I just wish I could be moonbathing. Sucks the job had to happen tonight, but we need the bits.”

“Well, the files Glacier gave us said our temp partners are a minotaur and a unicorn. You could probably find a rooftop to camp out for a few hours while I hammer out the details with them. The stakeout’s been marked as a place where there are no cameras and the drones don’t patrol high enough to spot you.”

Fluttershy’s offer coincided with them arriving at the foot of the four-story building smack dab in the middle of the city block. If anyone was home, the heavily curtained or outright boarded up windows gave no indication. Rainbow’s eyes went straight to the rooftop and smiled. “You know what? I think I’ll take you up on your offer. The hidey hole is on the other side of the dockyard fence right? Tell the others I’m doing recon from there.”

With a smile, Fluttershy followed Rainbow Dash into the lobby. “Just be sure to keep your phone on, so I can warn you when the others leave and you can get covered up again.”

“Roger that.”

The pair made their way up the stairs with Fluttershy peeling off to join the other shadowrunners on the second floor, while Rainbow Dash made her way up to the roof access. It was unlocked from the interior at least, but she wasn’t bothered by being locked out since she could just lower the fire escape or glide down if the other runners weren’t around to see her.

The roof quickly gave her the impression that the building used to be an apartment complex due to the bare clothesline and the windblown pieces of household trash laying against the two walls. Dust was thankfully absent due in no small part to the wind caused by the daylight airship traffic. More importantly, the other buildings flanking the rooftop were taller, and had no windows, eliminating more chances of being seen. Perfect. Let’s hope Flutters can keep the two runners busy for an hour or so.

First heading towards the clotheslines that hung on the street side of the building, Rainbow Dash tightened the wire and clamped it in place. Once she was satisfied it could take the weight of her robe, she scanned her surroundings again to make sure the coast was clear. She then dug into her robe and felt around until her hoof found a crescent moon shaped talisman.

She pulled it out and held it up so it rested between her eyes and the Mare in the Moon. “Blessed Silver Mother, I ask for your protection this night of nights. May I walk through the valley of fire and death to come home safe tonight.”

Rainbow didn’t really expect anything in response, but it felt nice, right, to give respect. Her little prayer over, and replacing the talisman, Rainbow filled her left hoof with magic and signed a few complex patterns in the air before pressing the same hoof to the side of her hood. The artificial fabric glowed briefly before becoming a bland brown again.

Rainbow quickly took it off and draped it on the clothesline. The act pushed out a magic field to fill the rooftop, creating the illusion Rainbow was a normal pegasus, feathered wings and all. Alright, just remember, keep your hooves on the roof or the spell will pop like a bubble, Rainbow parroted the words from the unicorn that taught her.

To her eyes at least, Rainbow could see her true self, but more importantly, she could feel the moon bathe her in its light. Rainbow spread her leathery wings wide to soak up as much as she could. She looked up at the moon, eyes as wide as they could be. Her eyes glowed ethereal from blissful light of her mother. The moonlight felt comfortably warm to her, especially, on her stretched out wings. Had she been able to afford not working today, she’d take a long nap under the moon.

Yet as always, work dragged her away from such short lived pleasures. Her phone jingled to the sound of a little colt and filly giggling. Retrieving her phone, Rainbow saw that Fluttershy had forwarded tentative control of a patrol drone to her. A quick check revealed Fluttershy couldn’t alter its course or access the underslung rotary cannon. Despite that, Rainbow couldn’t help but smile as she settled onto the floor after sweeping the spot a bit with her tail. Never could deck your way into anything cool, but you try at least.

With the drone passing by the target building, Rainbow ordered the camera to sweep the area. She wasn’t expecting much. Glacier’s information said the place was earmarked for demolition and redevelopment. The mob said he had a lot of help escaping, so there should be a sizable crew in there. If they’re smart, there shouldn’t be any guards walking around, but these idiots were dumb enough to kill one of the Don’s family members, so who knows. If Tea was with the government, the whole family would have some serious vacancies opened up in higher management.

The camera feed highlighted a prone form on the ground, causing the drone to fully turn towards the facility. Rainbow zoomed in, and saw it was a corpse of a unicorn mare wearing little more than a shirt with the snake ganger tattoo visible on her neck. Thermal scans revealed the body was still warm, but the spreading pool of blood had cooled. “Damn. Not good!” The instant the words left her mouth, the drone’s backup code kicked in after recognizing a murder had taken place.

It broke the lockout the mob had put in place and radioed the police. All of which flashed through Rainbow’s phone.

Cursing under her breath, Rainbow cut off the camera feed and pulled up Fluttershy’s number, all the while trying to throw her robe back on. Rainbow didn’t wait for Fluttershy to speak when she saw the call connected. “Angel, get the team out of here! The patrol drones sounded the alarm after spotting a corpse on site.”

“Got it!” Rainbow finished donning her robe while hearing Fluttershy relay the abort call, only to hear the two other runners’ muffled refusal. She heard the wispy sound of magic claiming Fluttershy’s phone and then a thin soprano voice speak. “We’re not aborting this, Flash. Mr. Fel Graph was crystal clear: if we backed out we’d be blacklisted. We don’t have a choice.”

“We don’t know what we’d be walking into,” Rainbow countered harshly. “We go in there, we could either die from whoever went in first, or from a Lone Star team when they swarm the place.”

“Then run off with your tail between your legs; Atlas and I have gotten out of worse. You’re only here anyway because your stupid fixer wanted a piece of glory.”

Years in the business told Rainbow to just take the offer to run. Survival, first and foremost, was the number one rule of a runner. Yet before the words could leave her mouth, Rainbow pictured the day she was taken in by the underworld. A day she promised herself she’d never become like the scum she was surrounded by. “Damn it all. Fine, I’ve got your back, and tell Angel that too, but she doesn’t have to come with me.”

A note of surprise and respect colored the other mare’s voice. “Glad to hear it. We’ll rush the front gate, no sense in being quiet now.”

A few muffled words were shared between Fluttershy and the other runners. The clack of hoof on plastic heralded Fluttershy’s voice on the phone, but Rainbow was already gliding down to street level. “You know I wouldn’t abandon you, Flash, not after all we’ve done together.”

A wiry grin crossed Rainbow’s face. “I figured as much, but I had to give you the option.”

Rainbow came to a hard and fast landing, and rolled to soften the impact. As she was righting herself, the cracking sound of splintering wood came from above and to the right. She looked up to see a massive mechanical arm reach out from a window and tear the remains of a board off. When the arm withdrew, the massive form of a minotaur leapt out and crashed into the pavement heavily enough to leave a nice new pothole. The bipedal bull’s arms and legs were completely mechanical, and if Rainbow had to guess, his spine was heavily reinforced, but she couldn’t be sure thanks to the thick armored plates he wore.

The minotaur only took a moment to acknowledge Rainbow’s presence before turning his gaze back up to catch the unicorn who jumped after him. With practiced motion, instead of just catching her, the minotaur slowed her decent by swinging the mare down and up a little before releasing her to gently land on her hooves. Fluttershy was right behind them, gliding down as fast as she dared.

The sound of propellers in the air reminded Rainbow of the drone’s presence. Without missing a beat, she propped herself up on two legs and weaved a simple sign in the air, making her forelegs glow a menacing orange. As soon as the sign was complete, a fireball materialized on her left hoof and she flung it at the drone. The fireball struck one of the two propellers, burning it clean off. The drone crashed to the ground behind the security wall a moment later.

The unicorn mare first looked at where the drone had been before turning her gaze to Rainbow. “You must be Flash. I can’t remember the last time I saw an earth pony mage, you guys are as rare as thesterals.”

Rainbow forcefully kept her lips clamped together a she offered halting laughter. “Yeah, well, makes you unpredictable, right?”

“Name’s iByte, by the way. I think my job’s obvious enough,” she said while pointing at the cyberdeck on her back. It was a mostly black looking keyboard with the keys split into two halves on either side of the board. The keyboard was clearly designed for a minotaur’s hands originally, but the keys had been ripped out and a pair of cup-keys designed to interact with a hoof’s natural grip magic was put in their place. The center of the board had a small screen in it, while a large cable jack stuck out of the top.

“The walking muscle behind me is Atlas.” The minotaur gruffed at the address but remained quiet.

Rainbow gave him a curt nod. “Right. Hopefully, whoever went in first left Tea’s head intact.” She turned to Fluttershy. “Angel, you got recon?”

“Roger that.” Fluttershy popped her saddlebag open while Rainbow ran to her side. Knowing where to look, she pulled a black cord out of the bag. Fluttershy pulled her pink mane to the right side to reveal a metallic socket embedded in her neck close to the spine. Rainbow plugged the jack in and stepped back. Fluttershy stood motionless for a few moments before buzzing erupted from the bag. Seven robotic parasprites flew out of the saddlebag and sailed for the abandoned garage. Fluttershy came back to her senses and looked around at the crew. “Nopony’s hiding in the corners, so we should be clear to the building at least.”

“Then we should move before the Stars get here,” iByte commanded, with Atlas charging forward, letting the mares follow after him.

The garage’s bay doors were closed, but upon rounding the building, they found a side entrance that had the signs of a cutting torch burning the knob off. The runners flanked the door while a few parasprites flew inside. Fluttershy’s gaze went vacant as she focused on the multiple camera feeds. “It goes straight to the main garage. A few bodies and shell casings, but no threats. Thermal readings say this couldn’t have been more than five minutes ago. Whoever went in first must have been using knives or some other quiet weapons if we missed all the action.”

“The garage isn’t that big,” Atlas commented as he swept the large shipping containers around them for threats. “Did they leave out the back or something?”

“Lemme check,” Fluttershy all but whispered. A long moment passed before she gave a contemplative hum. “I… don’t think so. The exits on the far side are still locked from the inside. No sign of forced exit. Wait, I see a glowing rune. If nopony’s around, I’d say it’s a teleport rune.”

“Fifty bits says she’s right,” Rainbow offered as she slipped through the door, quickly followed by the others.
Rainbow ignored the two corpses, but was careful not to step in any of the blood. She followed the sound of the buzzing fliers to a rundown car that was on an elevated platform. Down in the working pit, the grating on one section had been pulled off with the intricate, still glowing, geometric rune.

Rainbow Dash jumped down first with the others standing above the pit. “Oh yeah, this is a teleport anchor alright.” This is the part I hate most. All I can tell is this is some quality work, and a general sense as to the other end’s direction, but even a dunce could tell that with his eyes closed. Yet as the team’s mage, she had to act the part. I’m pretty sure this glyph on the left is the trigger. Ugh! Why did I have to sleep through that class? She imagined a stern masculine voice reprimanding her. Stop focusing on your coltfriend, Rainbow, you need to know how to ID runes. It’s not like I’m here to teach you useless trivia, you sleep deprived layabout. Banishing the voice of her old instructor with a self-depreciating scowl, Rainbow refocused on the here and now. “I ahh… I can’t see how far away it goes, but it leads somewhere clockwise around the mountain, or it could be into the sublevel of the city platform.”

“I really don’t like this,” Fluttershy said shakily. She tried and failed to keep from quaking in her boots, drawing the attention of the others. “We’re dealing with somepony with some serious money if his hideout’s an underground basement. What if this is the only way in or out and we get trapped here by the Lone Stars?”

Atlas grunted in disapproval. “A coward like Jiggly Tea would never hide in a place with only one exit. This is just the only one we know about.” The distant wail of sirens reached their ears, alerting everyone to the windows. “And we’re running out of time. If you’re going to back out, do it now. Flash, open the portal for me. I’ll do this alone if I have to.”

“S-sure,” Rainbow replied, trying to keep her bravado intact. Concentrating magic into her left hoof, she planted it on the activation rune. Luckily for her, the creator was banking on obscurity for protection, rather than any active countermeasures. The rune sputtered and spat dense motes of magic into the air that wheeled around and clung to the section of concrete adjacent to the rune. The wall in front of Rainbow glowed a dull violet. A gateway large enough to accommodate a minotaur opened up. Atlas jumped down, bending the grating a bit under his weight, and marched through the portal without fear. iByte jumped down a moment after and gave Rainbow a neutral look before she too entered the portal.

Rainbow looked up at Fluttershy who was recalling all of her parasprites to fly back into her saddlebag. “You don’t have to come along. I’ll say you stayed behind to buy us time from the Lone Stars.”

Fluttershy tightly closed her eyes and imagined being back in her own garage; the familiar scents of the place she was in helped. It was safe, good work that more than brought enough bits in to live moderately comfortably, so long as she ignored who her clients were most of the time. Yet the growing noise of the sirens and the appearance of flashing lights made her decision for her. “If I was going to back out, I should have done it back at the stakeout place. Besides, Atlas could just smash the portal on the other side.”

Fluttershy dropped down tail first while holding onto the side of the pit since it was too narrow to glide. Rainbow helped her finish getting down. “Fair enough. Just hang back and let the rigs do the fighting for you, the rest of us can take it from here, alright?”

Fluttershy tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, trying to focus on getting home to her pets. “I – thanks, Flash.”
With a supportive nod, Rainbow gave the portal a bit more juice to keep it open before jumping through. Fluttershy could hear patrol craft circling the garage and jumped through a moment later.

Rainbow Dash landed on the end of a hallway that would have otherwise been a dead end. The place was dimly lit by red emergency lights. The walls looked like they belonged to a military installation, but rust and the smell of mildew dashed any worries that Rainbow had that the place had an active government presence.

Heavy hooffalls brought her attention to the end of the hallways where Atlas and iByte were already running deeper inside. “Why didn’t they smash the portal if they’re already leaving?” She barely registered Fluttershy bouncing through the portal when Rainbow spotted the claymore pressed against the portal glyph. Her fur stood on end, and her wings tried to escape the confines of her robe. Without ceremony she grabbed Fluttershy and yanked her along after the other runners.

Experience and her trust in her friend made Fluttershy go into a full sprint without needing an explanation. She got one anyway barely five seconds later when a loud bang resonated behind them and the telltale rumbling crack of loose mana filled her ears.

“Nothing for it now,” Rainbow Dash said more to herself than Fluttershy. “Let’s see this thing through.”

Fluttershy tried to steel her expression, but fear was still written all over her face. “I’ve got your back, Flash. Even if you have to pull me sometimes,” she added with some much needed levity.

Comments

[Dorath]

Huh ... so Rainbow, sorry, "Flash" is a thestral mage and Fluttershy (whoops, "Angel") is a mechanic who part-times as a drone rigger. Sunset is regent, even though Celestia is well enough to have a personal student (and where is Cadance?) ... said student is now dead for treason (or was sacrificed in a power play, like Rainbow suggested) ... Nightmare Moon is still trapped, but that isn't likely to continue for long ... Oh, and then there is Shining, the "treasonous" Twilight's big brother and captain of the Royal Guard, I don't think he's taking his little sisters death well (or lying down) ... and finally Twig's presumed death (we haven't seen a body yet) at the hands of very quite killers who are implied to have significant resources sounds like the government or a megacorp tying up a loose end to me ...

Well, I'm intrigued.

[Fourpony]

I imagined Rainbow would have been an adept and not a mage.

[AyanamiRei]

Loving this story and this crossover! Can't wait to read more! <3

8983232
If she has to hide being a Thestral, the choice may have been made FOR her.

8982913
I bet that Twilight is NOT actually dead. I think that is a cover up. Let's not forget it was from the Propaganda Network AND the fact that there was whispering going on...words that were almost certainly involving Twilight's supposed Death that they did NOT want The General Populace to know.

Then again I COULD be wrong, but I imagine that they're going to need all 6 Elements of Harmony to help Luna/Nightmare Moon

[Dashie04]

Loving this alt-universe already.

Interesting that Rainbow’s a batpony, but that makes it more awesome.

[Violet Sky]

We have determined that a pupil of the Princess, Twilight Sparkle, was caught red-hooved selling defense secrets to a minotaur special agent.

As for the suspects, they did not surrender quietly, requiring the Royal Guard to gun her down.

Sweet Luna's Turtle Beach headset! You killed her off!

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Okay, how is Rainbow a bat pony?