//------------------------------// // 6.0 … In Which Ponies Misbehave … // Story: Through A Darkened Mirror // by Dorath //------------------------------// “Is it always so loud in here?” asked Fluttershy with a small wince as she and the other girls slipped inside Tchernobog’s Porch, while Fondled Weasel’s newest song blared from the club’s speaker system. “Depends on the music,” Sunset shrugged, her voice raised slightly, “I’m not fond of this band myself, I prefer DJ Pon-3 or the classics, like Breaking Benjamin.” Leading her friends over to the bar, Sunset ignored Rarity’s mouthing of “Breaking benjamin?” and Applejack’s confused shrug as she called out to the statuesque woman at the other end, “Hoi, Cherry!” “Sunset!” the redhead, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, chirped happily as she bounced over, “Finally decided to drop by for some R’n’R, huh? Oh, and you brought an entourage too, what’s the occasion? Ooh, ooh, is it a bachelorette party, or maybe somebody’s birthday?” “I like her,” commented Pinkie to no one in particular. “Laugh it up Cher’,” the razorgirl gave the other woman an amused grin as she handed her a credstick, “Set my friends up with a tab, will you? But none of the hard stuff, they have a meeting with Mercy in a little while. Cherry will look after you,” Sunset added, turning back to face the other girls, “Go ahead and kick back and relax some, there’s a few people I want to have a word with before we go talk with Mercy.” Cherry idly waved to Sunset, before turning her smile on the six girls in front of her, “What can I getya?” After pouring their orders, the redhead glanced around to see if she was needed elsewhere, then leaned on the bar and looked her newest customers over, “So you’re Sunset’s new crew, huh? I have to say I’m a bit surprised, she's always been more of the ‘hired gun’ type.” “Have you known Sunset for long?” asked Rarity, sipping from her glass of wine. “Three years now,” replied Cherry as she started wiping down the bar, “I was here the night she first came in, looking half-starved and more than a little feral, the Boss happened to be down here in the main room when Sunset came in and asked for work, and she decided to give her a chance. Sunset’s been working for Mercy ever since.” “Sunset seems to be quite the admirer of Ms. Mercy,” observed Fluttershy quietly. “Noticed that did you?” Cherry chuckled as she shot a grin at the pink-haired girl, “Yeah, it turns out the street rumors about Mercy are what convinced Sunset to come here in the first place. She goes out of her way to try and act the complete professional in front of Mercy, but Sunset’s not fooling anyone but herself, and it’s no secret around here that she idolizes the Boss.” The seven girls shared a brief chuckle and some more small talk, before Sunset finally returned, “Hey, I just got the call from Mercy, so we need to head up. And Pinkie? I know you’re … enthusiastic … sometimes, but try and tone it down, okay?” “Okie-dokie-lokie, Sunny!” Twilight and her friends followed the flame-haired girl upstairs to the office where Mercy was waiting. Five of the Equestrians eventually began to shift uneasily as the woman continued to silently watch them, while Sunset simply stood impassively, her hands clasped behind her back, and Pinkie waved happily at the older woman. ‘She looks about the same age as Principals Celestia and Luna,’ the academic thought, ‘But she doesn’t have their warmth … and I’m pretty sure it’s not just the fact that her eyes are probably implants.’ “This is your new crew, Sunset?” asked Mercy dryly, “So you’ve got yourself squad of juvie amazons, vhat do they actually bring to table other than eye candy?” “Flutters here is a medic,” Sunset replied, while her friends frowned at the woman’s dismissive words and Rainbow grumbled to herself, “Sparky and Rarity are both espers, Rainbow and Applejack are shooters, and Pinkie has a knack with locks and demolitions.” “I’m still not impressed.” “You were willing to take a chance on me, all those years ago,” Sunset entreated the older woman, “And I’m taking a chance on them now. Please, Ma’am, give them a shot, they’ll surprise you.” “Hmmm … very vell. I vill give them chance to prove their vorth, but it is your rep, rep that you have vorked so hard to earn, that vill suffer if they fail, Sunset.” “I understand, Ma’am, thank you, Ma’am.” Mercy gave a short nod, and then typed something on her PDA, causing a street map to appear on one of the monitors covering the wall behind her desk. “This is location of CMS’ storage facility fifteen near Lake Everett. Apparently, they’ve installed some new sensor system, and Johnson vants to know vhat it does.” A grainy picture of an unassuming grey metal box adorned with a pair of small radar dish-style antennas popped up on another monitor, “If you can access sensor’s logs and command codes and download them, fine, if not, Johnson vill be satisfied if you tear vhole unit off vall and bring it back for his own teks study. In either case, he vants run to look like common smash and grab, so swipe anything you can carry. Questions?” Sunset frowned up at the monitors, “Anything unusual about the security to go with this new sensor?” “Johnson’s information, and some initial observation, shows just usual CMS mileetsya,” the older woman replied with a shrug, “Sensor is on exterior vall of main building, but still vell vithin compound.” “What kind of time restraints are we working under?” “Johnson vants it done ASAP, of course,” Mercy responded with a sour chuckle, “But you can take a few days to scope site out and plan your run.” “What’s the offer?” “Six thousand after my cut, plus vhatever you steal, of course.” Sunset started to nod, only to be interrupted as Applejack spoke up, “So jus’ who are these ‘CMS’ ponies anyway, Ms. Mercy, Ma’am?” “Celestia Medical Systems,” Mercy replied absently, one brow quirked at the blonde’s odd phrasing, she frowned at the six girls as she noticed the troubled looks they were sharing, “Is this going be problem?” “No, Ma’am,” Sunset quickly assured her as she took the datachip the fixer offered, “No problem at all, we’ll get right on it.” ________________________________________ Once they were all safe back at the apartment, Sunset whirled around to face the other girls, “Alright, what gives? What’s your deal with CMS?” “We don’t have a ‘deal’ with CMS,” Twilight objected, “It’s just … Princess Celestia is one of our rulers … and it’s very disconcerting to be robbing a company with her name.” “Plus, we’re robbing a hospital,” added Fluttershy quietly, “And, well, I don’t feel good about that.” “Alright,” sighed Sunset, “First of all, Flutters, we aren’t hitting a hospital, we’re hitting a storage depot for a hospital supply and research corp. If it makes you feel any better, we can donate some of what we swipe to Doc Razor’s clinic, God knows they could use it. As for ‘rulers’,” she continued, turning to face Twilight, “CMS is only an ‘A-Rank’ corp, it’s the Big Ten who run the world, and I try to avoid anything involving them as much as I can.” “Now, are we good?” the razorgirl asked as she dropped into one of the seats around the table. Once the other girls had nodded, Fluttershy with noticeable reluctance, she propped her own PDA on the table and slotted the datachip Mercy had given them, “Alright then, let’s see what we’ve got ….” ________________________________________ Four nights later found the seven girls running through a last-minute equipment check in the back of a battered cargo van, “Guns loaded and reserve clips prepped?” “Check,” confirmed the six Equestrians, as Fluttershy glowered unhappily at the NarcoJect tranquilizer pistol in her hands and Applejack casually spun the cylinder of her revolver. *Com check,* Sunset subvocalized. The other girls all checked their radio headsets before nodding, “Coms are green.” “Flashlights working?” The inside of the van temporarily lit as six flashlights turned on, “Check.” “Everyone armored up?” “Yes,” the rest of the team caroled, although a vexed sniff punctuated Rarity’s response. “What is it Rarity?” sighed Sunset. “Nothing, darling, just … the designers could have put a little effort into the appearance of these outfits, is all.” “Ah don’t know, Rares,” Applejack drawled, “Ah kinda like mine.” “The cowgirl likes her duster, who would have guessed,” Sunset chuckled, earning a lazy swat from the farmgirl, “And it’s armor Rarity, it’s supposed to keep your blood inside of you, not look good.” “Says the girl in the tight black outfit that happens to have armor plates added on.” “Hey, biosteel is expensive!” the razorgirl objected, “And can we continue this discussion after the run, once we’re all back at the apartment counting our take? Now is everybody ready? Good. Cheshire, how are things on your end?” *I’m in the system and all boards are green, Sunset,* the voice of their hired netrunner came over their radios, *The ice was thicker than what you’d expect on a storage depot, but nothing I couldn’t handle.* “Ah don’t suppose ya found out what this sensor doohickey does?” *That’s a negative, Cowgirl, whatever it’s recording, it’s either storing it internally or transmitting it off-site. Sorry.* “It was worth a shot,” shrugged Sunset, “Alright, girls, when Cheshire gives the word, we head for the gate.” A few minutes later, the netrunner’s voice broke over their radios, *Go! Go! Go!* Piling out of the van, the seven girls rushed for the chain-link fence a block away, the gate rolling itself to the side as they approached, only to reverse its course and start closing as the group dashed through and huddled alongside one of the warehouses, *Alright, gang, you have approximately four minutes until the guard I diverted finally comes by on his patrol. Good news is that warehouse you’re next too would be a great place to hide and should be full of swag. Bad news is the maglock is independent from the computer system, so you’ll have to bypass it on your own.* “Got it,” Sunset replied, “Pinks, you’re up.” Twilight watched the party girl hum happily to herself as she fiddled with the maglock for a few moments, then leaned over to whisper to Sunset, “Aren’t we supposed to be obvious about our presence?” “Yep,” the razorgirl nodded, “But a fight avoided is a fight won, and I’ll be happier if we don’t have the Badges coming down on our heads because they happened to notice a busted door. Cheshire and Pinkie will get us in, and I’ll slap a remote charge on the maglocks. Once we’re all back in the van, I’ll trigger the charges and blow the locks and doors, all of the mess and confusion of a traditional Smash and Grab, but with us safely off site when it goes down.” “I got it!” Pinkie’s happy chirp drew everyone’s attention as the maglock clicked and the warehouse’s side door cracked open, quickly slipping inside, the girls made sure that the door was fully closed before turning on their flashlights. “Whoa,” Rainbow exclaimed as she looked out at rack after rack of medical equipment and cases of drugs, “And we’re just supposed to help ourselves to all of this?” “That’s the plan,” Sunset grinned at the athlete as she started prepping the charge for the door, “Poke around a bit and then take as much as you can reasonably carry. Just don’t load up completely here, we need to hit some of the other warehouses and store rooms to make this believable.” The razorgirl remained near the door on guard, while her friends began to circulate through the warehouse, stopping occasionally to put something into their backpacks, while Fluttershy pulled a paper from her pocket and began to search through the shelves. “What ya got there, sugarcube?” asked Applejack, drawing a startled squeak out of the distracted medic. “Meep! Oh, Applejack, uhm … it’s just a list,” Fluttershy explained in a nervous tone as she hid her face behind her hair, “Sunset said we could give some of what we’re stealing to the Free Clinic … so I … sorta dropped by to see what drugs they needed ….” The farmgirl patted her shoulder, “It’s fine, Fluttershy, if we’re goin’ ta be doin’ this, we ought ta at least be helpin’ out some ponies along tha way.” Several minutes later, Cheshire broke in on their radios, *Alright ladies, we’ve got a nice big window coming up in the guards’ circuit, so it’s time to move on to the main building.* “Understood, Cheshire,” Twilight replied, “We’ll head out as soon as Sunset is done setting her explosives.” Not long after, the six Equestrians stood waiting impatiently as Sunset finished setting her charge on the new door. With the razorgirl’s nod, the group slipped inside the portal that their netrunner had unlocked for them, “What do we have, Cheshire?” *The ground floor is mostly storage and utility rooms, probably to make getting shipments in and out easier, and the second floor is offices and the breakroom. Your mystery sensor is on the second floor eastern wall, but there’s a door out onto the first floor roof, so getting to it should be pretty simple. Oh, and we have a security guard down at the far end of the building that you girls are going to need to deal with.* “Copy that. AJ, you’re with me on the sensor, the rest of you take out that corp-cop and then go do some looting, Pinks, here are a few remote charges, make sure you rig the doors as you go.” ________________________________________ The five girls slowly crept down the hall, Rainbow a short distance ahead, only to stop as the athlete urgently motioned to the others and hurried back to them, “The guardpony is just a bit down this side hall,” she whispered, “He doesn’t seem to be paying a lot of attention, so we ought to be able to get the drop on him.” “Wait a moment,” Twilight requested as the other girls readied their weapons (and Fluttershy prepared her medical supplies), “Sunset said that even these rubber bullets could potentially cause significant injury, let me try the stun bolt spell I’ve been working on first, please?” “Of course, darling,” Rarity assured her, “However, we’ll be ready to back you up, just in case.” Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, the former alicorn strode purposefully around the corner to confront the corporate security guard, who gaped at her for a moment before scrambling for his pistol and starting to shout the alarm into his headset, unfortunately, he got no farther than “Secu--,” before a bolt of magenta energy crashed into him, dropping the man to his knees, where a second bolt quickly laid him out. Twilight let out a small, relieved, sigh as her friends gathered around the unconscious guard, Rainbow quickly binding his hands with zip-ties while Pinkie helped herself to his radio, cufftaper, sidearm and passkey. “Uhm … We’re not going to just leave him in the hallway, are we?” “Certainly not, Fluttershy,” Rarity declared, “Cheshire, darling, would you be a dear and open storeroom … let’s see now … ah, yes, A-sixteen?” *One sec … got it, good thing I ran a jammer program through the building’s communication’s grid, nobody outside heard his transmission.* “Thank you, dear,” the blue-haired girl smiled, “Now let’s get this poor gentlecolt inside, shall we?” Once inside the storeroom, Fluttershy immediately began to check their prisoner for injuries, while the other girls looked around. ‘Hmm, what’s this?’ mused Rainbow as a hard-plastic case caught her eye, ‘“Medical Assistance Bracer, Field Test Unit X-zero-four”, sounds like something Fluttershy or Twilight might be interested in,’ the athlete thought absently as she added the case to her pack. ________________________________________ As she made her way through the second floor, Applejack’s pack already laden with small items swiped from the offices to add to the veracity of their cover, Sunset took a moment to switch frequencies on her cell implant, *How are they doing, Cheshire?* she subvocalized. *So far, so good, Sunset,* replied the netrunner quietly, *They’re enthusiastic, especially Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, but they’re trying to play it cautious for now, and I think they show potential … I believe I’m going to like this new crew of yours,* the razorgirl gave a small chuckle as Cheshire continued, *You know, I think these girls will be good for you. You’ve been getting more ruthless over the last few years, and I think they’ll help you get your perspective back.* *Damn it, Cheshire,* Sunset groaned, *The Doc has already been riding my hoop over my “behavior”, I don’t need to be getting it from you too!* *I’m just saying that your mates have been starting to worry about you some, and Our Lady without Mercy may not always be the best influence on you, is all.* *This is not the time, Cheshire!* fumed Sunset, almost walking right out the roof access, but she caught herself at the last moment, “Have you taken care of the fire alarms on the roof door?” the razorgirl snapped crossly as she switched back to the general frequency. *Yes, you can head right out, Sunset,* the netrunner sighed, *We’re only trying to look out for you …* she added quietly. The flame-haired girl ignored her, along with Applejack’s questioning look, and strode out onto the roof, her eyes already searching for the point of the whole run. Spotting the small box, Sunset strode over to examine the sensor with a frown as she ran a hand over the sheet metal covering, “There’s no interface jacks or sockets … I guess we’ll have to pop the case,” slipping a small prybar out of the side pocket of her pack, she got to work. “Any of that make sense ta ya?” asked Applejack as she leaned over Sunset’s shoulder to look at the exposed guts of the mystery sensor. The razorgirl stared at the mass of wires and circuit boards for a moment, before sighing in defeat, “Not even a little. Oh well,” Sunset shrugged philosophically, “We knew we might have to tear the damn thing out going in.” Several minutes later, Cheshire’s exclamation of *Oh drek!* came over everyone’s radios as Sunset and Applejack were slowly lowering the surprisingly heavy sensor off the wall. “What is it?” *I just got a glimpse of some unexpected visitors before I lost two cameras over by the east fence! Probably hit them with electro-rounds.* “Damn it!” the razorgirl groaned, electro-rounds had been an attempt to create taser-loads for normal pistols. The tiny capacitors had turned out to be of only indifferent value against even soft-armored targets, but had proven useful for dealing with cameras and other computer systems, where the electrical discharge tended to scramble the last few seconds of recorded memory in addition to shorting out the electronics in question. The sound of nearby gunfire interrupted the razorgirl’s musings, “Well, this run just went south,” bracing herself, Sunset nodded at Applejack, “I’ve got this, go and watch for company. And keep low!” The farmgirl nodded, and then sprinted for the edge of the roof in a low crouch. Reaching her position, Applejack hunkered down, her eyes sweeping over the lanes between the eastern warehouses, “What’s tha word, Cheshire?” *Nothing good, Cowgirl, I’ve lost two more cameras, my last location for one of the guards was in the blind zone, the other remaining Badge is making his way towards your position, oh, and he’ll probably radio in an alert any moment now if he can’t raise his buddies.* “Ah’ve got him,” Applejack confirmed, her voice dropping to a whisper, “He’s comin’ up on my position now.” The blonde carefully peaked over the roof’s edge as the corp-cop approached below her, only to wince as a loud gunshot echoed between the warehouses and the man dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. Movement between the warehouses kept the farmgirl where she was, as a tall man in a battered duster with a long-barreled rifle in his hands walked out of the lane. The newcomer, likely another freelancer, looked around, but failed to check the roofs, before approaching the downed guard. Giving the injured man a cursory glance, the interloper smirked and began to lift his rifle. “Ahh, hay no!” snarled Applejack as she dropped off the roof, the sound of her impact caused the freelancer to spin around, the barrel of his rifle slapping into the farmgirl’s hand and stopping as if it was held in a vise. The stranger’s eyes widened, just before Applejack’s fist crashed into his face, sending him stumbling back, two more hammering blows followed, leaving the freelancer insentient on the ground, his rifle still in the farmgirl’s grip. Applejack gave the freelancer’s chest an angry stomp, before she turned and crouched beside the corporate guard, “Ahh, horseapples,” she muttered as she looked at the hole the rifle had torn through the man’s spectracloth vest, “Fluttershy! Get yer tail out here! We need a medic somethin’ fierce! Ya stay with me, colt, ya hear me?” the blonde girl added, her hands already soaked in red as she tried to staunch the bleeding. The thud of running boots soon heralded Fluttershy’s arrival, the pink-haired girl dropping to her knees beside Applejack, her medical kit already open, as she started working on the injured man. “Cheshire, you said there was two of ‘em?” asked Sunset as she dropped off the roof, her knees flexing to absorb the force from her landing. *Yes, but I’m still looking for the other gatecrasher, and I haven’t lost any more cameras.* “So, we have two bodies unaccounted for …” the razorgirl sighed, “Alright, Pinkie? Switch packs with me? And be carefully, that’s got our pay in it.” Twilight frowned at the older girl, “What are you up too, Sunset?” “We can’t leave those last two people unaccounted for, we need to track them down, and you girls are still green, so that leaves me.” “You are not going alone, darling,” Rarity said firmly, “Somepony has to watch your back.” “Fine,” grumbled Sunset, “If you’re so concerned, then you can come with me. Sparky, Dash, keep a guard out while AJ and Flutters work. And Pinks? Grab that cufftaper and secure this drekhead, would you?” ________________________________________ As Rarity made her way slowly between the warehouses, she found the weight of the small pistol in her hands oddly comforting while she followed behind the razorgirl, ‘Ohmygosh, I’m tracking a desperate criminal through the nighttime streets, just like Shadow Spade!’ the fashionista squealed to herself. So far, there had been no sign of the other freelancer or the missing guard, and each door they tried was still locked tight, but Rarity had read enough detective novels to know it was only a matter of time before things went bad. As they approached another intersection, the pair stopped at the sight of a limp figure laying halfway down the lane, “I think we found the last guardpony,” Rarity radioed in as Sunset crept forward to check the motionless form and she stood back to watch for trouble. *Is she alright? Do you need me? Where are you?* The fashionista cast a questioning look over at the razorgirl, who grimly shook her head as she rose back to her feet, “I’m sorry, Fluttershy … we were too late to save her.” Ignoring the distressed squeak that came over the radio as they regrouped, the two women proceeded down the lane, checking warehouse doors as they went. They were most of the way through the blind zone in Cheshire’s coverage when Rarity reached out to take the older girl’s shoulder, motioning towards a door that didn’t quite seal properly. “Good catch.” “Well, I do have an eye for details, darling.” “So … what’s the plan?” asked Rarity as she steadied her nerves and crouched beside the door. “Track down our gatecrasher and give him a fatal case of lead poisoning, preferably without getting ventilated ourselves.” At the fashionista’s look, Sunset gave a half-apologetic shrug, “That’s the best I can do without knowing what we’re actually up against and whether him and his buddy were keeping radio silence or checking-in regularly. We’ll just have to play it by ear.” Slipping inside, the pair found the warehouse swathed in darkness, broken by the occasional faint blue-white glow of safety lights … and the brilliant radiance of a high-power flashlight half-hidden in the depths of the depot between shelving and stacks of crates. Sunset quickly put her hand over Rarity’ before the blue-haired girl could activate her own flashlight, leaning forward, she put her lips to the fashionista’s ear to avoid the risk of feedback from the other girl’s headset, and whispered, “Leave your light off, it’ll just announce our presence. Keep your hand on my shoulder and I’ll lead you in.” After Rarity nodded, the razorgirl slowly made her way deeper into the warehouse, the thermographics in her optics combining with the safety lighting to let her lead her charge through the maze of cargo, several obviously plundered boxes of drugs catching her eye as they passed by, ‘Looks like we weren’t the only ones who thought that raiding CMS would make for a good payday….’ Finally, the two women closed in on the source of the light: an average-looking man with his flashlight clipped to the front of his spectracloth jacket and a bullpup-style machine pistol slung over his back, who was currently busy emptying cases of drugs into a pair of duffle bags. Easing down behind what cover they could find, Rarity watched anxiously as Sunset raised her rifle and carefully sighted in on the freelancer. But, just as she pulled the trigger, the cement floor around her target cracked loudly as a heat-mirage distortion enveloped the man and the bullet went spanging off into the darkness. “Ha!” he gloated as he spun around to face the girls, “No one gets the drop on Johnny-Come-Lately!” “Bloody wonderful!” groaned Sunset as she ducked away from a return blast of telekinetic force, “A fragging esper with some kind of precog talent.” “It can’t be that powerful, darling,” Rarity chided as she hurled a bolt of pale blue light at Johnny, causing his telekinetic barrier to briefly become visible as it absorbed the energy, “Otherwise he would have ambushed us! Now let’s focus on dealing with this ruffian so we can get back to the others.” “Right, right,” nodded the razorgirl, before leaning out of cover to fire off a trio of short bursts, all of which failed to breach the freelancer’s telekinetic defenses, “Damn it! I don’t have the firepower to punch through his barrier!” she snarled as she rolled behind the wall of blue light that Rarity had conjured, “Can you get through?” The fashionista responded by throwing a pair of energy bolts at the freelancer, while neither penetrated, both made Johnny’s barrier flare, and the second caused ripples to spread across it. “His shields have nothing on Shining Armor’s or Twilight’s,” Rarity sniffed, “It may take a few hits, but I can break it.” “Do it then, Rares, I’ll have my shot ready.” Sunset smiled grimly as she aimed her rifle, ‘This Johnny-Come-Lately guy has properly screwed himself over. He can’t run unless he drops his barrier, or can fragging teleport, and once his barrier is down, so is he.’ Admittedly, there were some espers who could wrap themselves in a mobile, personal, field of protective telekinesis … just like Rarity was doing … ‘Well, bugger me ….’ Having dropped her own barrier, Rarity was striding forward, a cornflower blue aura wrapped around her and a confident smile on her lips, “Hello there, Mister … Johnny, was it? I know we started off on a bad hoof, but I don’t suppose we can try and talk like civilized ponies?” “Talk?” chuckled Johnny nastily, “I can think of way better things for a hot little piece like you and your rimbo friend over there to do with their mouths than talking.” “How crude,” the fashionista sniffed in disdain, “Is such vulgarity really all that you folk can come up with? Honestly, would it be too much to ask for you to have a little bit of wit and class in your invectives? Fine, let’s try this again … hello, you foul-mouthed ruffian, you’re outnumbered, we have the drop on you, and we’ve already dealt with your associate, so you can choose to surrender and live, or you can keep fighting us, I will destroy your barrier, and then my friend here, the young lady you called a ‘rimbo’, will shoot you in the face. Now which is it going to be?” Johnny-Come-Lately glared at the two women for a moment … and then, with a ripe oath, he raised his hands as his barrier flickered out, “Fine! I surrender.” “On your knees, ankles crossed!” barked Sunset, “Hands on your head! Rarity, secure him,” only once Johnny’s hands were zip-tied behind his back and the blue-haired girl had taken his weapon and stepped away did the razorgirl rise from cover and approach their captive, her rifle still aimed at the esper’s head. Looking down at the kneeling man, Sunset frowned in contemplation for a moment, and then brought the stock of her rifle crashing down onto his skull. Rarity’s shocked cry of “Sunset!” went ignored as she struck again, beating the freelancer unconscious, before she turned to look at her friend, “What?” “Was that really necessary, darling?” “Yes.” The razorgirl ignored Rarity's glare as she used her forearm talons to cut a large strip from the man’s shirt and folded it over several times. Only when she was blindfolding their comatose captive did she finally explain herself to her irritated friend, “Espers just have to be able to see their target and think to use their powers, so it was either this or I take his eyes.” Sunset grunted slightly as she hefted the man over her shoulders, “Can you grab those duffels, Rarity? No sense in leaving good loot behind.” ________________________________________ Returning to their friends, they found Applejack glaring down at the still unconscious freelance shooter – who was wrapped up like a Christmas present in cufftape – while Rainbow and Twilight were in the process of hauling the other guard out from the storeroom, while Pinkie was standing watch with her shotgun. “Drek, AJ,” Sunset exclaimed as she dropped her own burden, “How hard did you hit that guy?” “Pretty danged hard,” the blonde admitted, “An’ then Twilight went an’ gave him a pair of her stun bolts, so he wouldn’t be wakin’ up while me an’ ‘Shy were working on this stallion,” she added, waving a hand at the injured guard Fluttershy was still looking after anxiously. “That’s good thinking,” the razorgirl nodded in approval, “Hey, Sparky, could you give this fragger a double dose of the whammy while Pinkie goes to town on him with the cufftaper?” Tossing a glance at the bound guard, she raised an eyebrow at her friends, “And what’s the story here?” “We need someone to look after this poor colt,” Fluttershy explained, “He’s stable for now, but he needs a real hospital and someone to watch him until he gets there, and to tell the EMTs what I did and which drugs I used.” Sunset chewed on her lip for a moment, and then gave a sharp, if unhappy, nod, “Cheshire, how quick will folks get here if we hit the Panic Button?” she asked as she knelt down to pick-up the injured guard’s gun. *Lone Star should arrive within five minutes, depending on the current volume of calls, and CMS security will likely be another ten to fifteen minutes after that. If I trigger a medical alert at the same time, the local medical response personnel will probably arrive around the same time as the Star.* “Fine,” Sunset said as she rose back to her feet, “Once Pinks is done wrapping up our package, you girls go on back to the van, when you radio that you’re safe inside, I’ll blow the charges while Flutters wakes up sleeping beauty. Once we explain things to him, we’ll head on out to meet you and Cheshire can hit the Panic Button.” ________________________________________ The five waiting girls all gave small sighs of relief as Fluttershy and Sunset slipped into the front seats of the van, “Did everything go okay with that guardpony stallion?” asked Rainbow as the two latecomers buckled themselves in. “Oh, yes,” the medic replied quietly, “He was actually very understanding.” “I think that had more to do with you, Flutters, than him,” Sunset grinned, “You planning on holding on to that rifle?” she inquired, glancing back at Applejack. “Eh? Oh, Ah forgot Ah was carryin’ it, actually,” admitted the farmgirl with a small blush as Rainbow and Rarity chuckled at her. “Keep it,” the older girl advised, “It suits you,” as Fluttershy started the van and pulled out of the alley and into the early morning traffic, the sound of approaching sirens in the distance.