It was a dark and stormy night, and there we were, waiting eagerly as random lightning flashes illuminated the insides of Potts’ Grocer, as we watched for whoever it was that kept sneaking past their security and making off with the Hyper Krunch Cherry Crazie Sweeteez, what would we find, gangers with a sweet tooth? An esper with a Splenda addiction? Experimental cyborgs that needed the energy from the Sweeteez to supplement their power cores? Only the Princesses knew, but whoever it was, the Spectacular Seven would be ready for ‘em!
“Really, Rainbow, there’s no need to be so dramatic,” Rarity shook her head at the athlete while their friends chuckled, and several of them raised their eyebrows at Rarity of all people accusing someone of being overly theatrical, “Honestly, darling,” the fashionista continued, turning to face the PDA on the table, “It was a simple investigative and security case. Shadow Spade has done dozens of them in her books, even if ‘The Case of the Pilfered Sweeteez’ does lack a certain dramatic flair.” She threw a mildly annoyed sniff at Rainbow, “And it wasn’t even raining particularly hard, either.”
*How did you girls end up getting roped into this job, anyway?* asked Cheshire.
“Mister Potts was havin’ problems, so we offered ta help out some,” Applejack explained with a shrug, “It was jus’ tha neighborly thing ta do.”
*Being “neighborly” doesn’t normally involve a seven-man crew,* observed the netrunner, *Never mind that you actually talked Sunset, of all people, into helping out on such a low-pay, goodwill type job … how did you manage that, anyway? Inquiring minds what to know.*
Twilight and the other Equestrians (excepting Pinkie who was currently off babysitting for Mrs. Diaz while she pulled a double-shift) laughed lightly from their places scattered around the living room of their shared apartment, while Sunset fidgeted in her chair.
“I just asked politely,” murmured Fluttershy, a small blush darkening her cheeks.
“Yeah, ‘asked politely’,” snorted the razorgirl, “While looking at me with these huge, pleading, blue eyes. I swear, Cheshire, I felt like I’d just kicked a puppy for even thinking about saying no,” Sunset frowned faintly at Rainbow, “And since when are we the ‘Spectacular Seven’?”
“Well, I wanted to call us the ‘Power Ponies’,” the polychromatic-haired girl replied with a slight pout, eliciting reminiscing grins from the other Equestrians, “But nopony besides the fillies would get the reference.”
“It’s a long story, darlings,” explained Rarity, her voice tinkling with laughter, as she noticed Sunset’s confusion, “We’ll tell you another time. Now, where were we?”
It had only been two hours since the grocery had closed and the Potts had retreated to their apartment above the store, but it felt far longer to the seven young women who waited, with varying degrees of patience, in the darkened aisles, their flashlights turned off so as to not advertise their presence to any observers.
“Sooo bored!” Rainbow groaned quietly into her radio from her spot near the radiation treated fruits and vegetables, “Is something ever going to happen? We’ve been here for forever!”
*Aw, come on, Dashie, it’s just like waiting for a surprise party!* Pinkie transmitted from her own position, *Only instead of a friend, we’ll be surprising those meanie-pants who keep stealing from the Potts.*
*Ah know we’re all gettin’ a mite skittish from waitin’, but hows about we cut down on tha chatter some?*
*Fillies?* broke in Twilight, interrupting Pinkie’s and Rainbow’s apologies, *I’ve got somepony running down the street and trying all the doors. She looks pretty desperate.*
The other six girls quickly moved to join Twilight as she peered out the darkened window.
“She’s wearing Barons colors …,” Rarity murmured as she watched the approaching figure.
“But this is Barons’ territory,” objected Rainbow in confusion, “Why would one of them be running scared on their own turf?”
The ganger, who looked to be barely in her teens, had reached the Grocery while the girls talked and began to desperately pound her fists on the armored glass door, “Please open up, they’re coming!” she begged the shadowed figures she could make out inside, “Just hide me, please!”
While the young ganger was pleading, six new figures, their own gang colors barely visible in the dark and distance, turned onto the street, and immediately rushed for the girl with cries of vicious glee.
Twilight quickly yanked the door open and the seven women piled out to confront the newcomers, although Sunset shook her head in exasperation, and Applejack gently pulled the frightened ganger behind them to stand alongside a nervous, if determined, Fluttershy.
Seeing their prey suddenly reinforced, the gangers slowed, but didn’t halt, their advance, with several of them drawing pistols and one popping a set of forearm talons, while the freelancers readied their own weapons.
*Wait, wait,* Cheshire interrupted, *It doesn’t sound like Twilight and Rarity were making with the telekinetic mojo yet, but you still outnumbered them and had bigger guns, and these gangers kept advancing on you? Were they bakebrains, or just that bloodthirsty?*
“Well it turns out that they were all Crucifixers,” Twilight explained, “So their mental stability was rather questionable to begin with.”
“An’ we … didn’t really bring our rifles with us,” Applejack admitted sheepishly, “This was jus’ supposed ta be a quite look-and-see job, weren’t no call for tha heavy firepower, after all.”
“Which means the only long gun was Pinkie’s shotgun, and Dash’s Berretta M-24 was all we had for rapid-fire,” Sunset added, “That left us with mostly pistols against pistols, and only a small numerical advantage … Considering how desperate the Crucifixers turned out to be, it’s no surprise that they thought they had to take us.”
*So, what was the deal, then?*
“Well, from what Jinx, the Baron’s filly, told us later, the Crucifixers were on a … forced recruitment drive,” murmured Fluttershy as she gave a small shudder, “Apparently, after Sunset … killed … their esper and that other stallion, a lot of the neighboring gangs had been trying to drive them out of the district.”
Twilight nodded as she picked up the shy girl’s explanation, “This was evidently their last chance to bring in fresh blood and prove that the Crucifixers were still a power in the district before they were all forced out or killed by the other gangs.”
Lights flared across the darkened street as Twilight threw up a telekinetic wall to separate them from the gangers, while Rarity wrapped herself in a protective sheathe. Unfortunately, the ganger with the talon’s enhanced reflexes were boosted enough to let her leap past Twilight’s forming wall, and she charged straight for the dark-skinned girl, her talons raised, only to be intercepted bodily by Sunset, the impact knocking them both to the ground.
Rainbow and Applejack were quick to open up on the ganger as she attempted to rise, with the heavy boom of Pinkie’s shotgun joining in moments later, and the ganger was swiftly driven into oblivion in a hail of rubber bullets.
Sunset tossed the three girls a brief smile as she rolled to her feet, “Hey, I know this slitch,” the razorgirl exclaimed as her gaze dropped to the unconscious ganger, “She’s one of the Crucifixer’s heavy hitters!” Sunset frowned over at the remaining gangers, their Crucifixer colors now clearly visible in the glow from Twilight’s barrier, who were futilely blasting away at the telekinetic shield keeping them from their prey, “I don’t think they’re going to give up.”
“They do seem rather fixated,” Twilight concurred, “I don’t suppose we’ll be able to settle this peacefully?” she added hopefully.
“I rather doubt it, darling,” Rarity observed as she looked over her friends, “So … concentrate our fire on one or two at a time, while Twilight and I use our barriers to ward off the others’ shots?”
“Should work,” Sunset agreed, “Especially with how spread out they are, girls?”
“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow said enthusiastically as the others nodded, “I’ve been itching to have another go at these Crucifixer nags.”
“On three then,” instructed Twilight with a sigh, “One … two … three!”
The Crucifixers gave out triumphant shouts and eagerly surged forward as Twilight’s barrier faded away, only for their cries to change to surprised anger as the wall reformed, splitting the group while Rarity raised a bulwark of her own for the girls to shelter behind, from which they quickly directed their fire at the two gangers that had been caught within Twilight’s shield.
Even as the pair of Crucifixers went down under a barrage of bullets, both rubber and lead (as well as a few tranquilizer darts), their three cohorts continued to fire on the wall, their furious swearing echoing through the street alongside the gunfire.
“Damn, these guys are some stubborn fraggers,” swore Sunset in exasperation, “Hey, kid! What the hell did you do to piss them off so bad anyway?”
“I didn’t do anything to them! And my name is Jinx!”
“That I believe!” the razorgirl retorted as she ducked down to reload, “Okay girls, one more good push and I think we’ll have ‘em.”
This time, when Twilight’s glowing magenta field dropped, only one ganger attempted to rush the eight girls as they crouched in the shelter of Rarity’s rampart, and he was quick to fall before the combined might of the librarian’s stun bolts and the fashionista’s carefully aimed gunshots.
The last two Crucifixers had finally had enough, they broke and ran back the way that they had come, leaving the seven freelancers, and the girl they had championed, in possession of the street as the echoes of the gunfire faded, to be swallowed up by the sound of the rain.
“I’m home!” caroled Pinkie from the door as she walked in, her arms filled with foil-covered pans, “What have you fillies been up to?”
“We was jus’ tellin’ Cheshire about tha job we did for tha Potts,” Applejack informed the party girl, “What ya got there, anyway?”
“Mrs. Diaz made us all dinner as a ‘thank you’ for all the help we’ve been giving her with her daughters,” Pinkie grinned, “Let’s eat!”
“Umm, it’s not quesadillas, is it?” asked Twilight apprehensively, her sudden alarm drawing another confused look from Sunset.
“Nope, chimichangas!”
The razorgirl leaned over to Rarity as a relived Twilight went to help Pinkie lay out their meal, “So, what’s with Sparky and quesadillas?”
“Some foalhood trauma apparently,” the fashionista replied quietly, “We try not to make an issue of it.”
*Well, I’ll leave you girls to your dinner, then,* Cheshire broke in as the seven teenagers settled down for their meal, *But I’ve got to ask, did you ever find out who was stealing the grocery’s Sweeteez?*
“Oh, that!” giggled Pinkie as she poured pepper sauce over her chimichanga, “It turned out that Mrs. Potts had put Mister Potts on a diet and he’d been sleepwalking!”