Dan couldn't believe it. He blinked, blinked again hard and shook his head but the image before he stayed the same. His eyes were not lying. In front of him now, inside the shipping crate was something he never thought he'd see again. Something he loved, truly loved out of all the other things in the world. One thing that had his heart.
"My... my..." his voice quivered, until finally it burst forth from him a shout, "MY CAR!!!!!!!!!"
"Dan-"
He ran forward into the shipping container. And right into the false wall. Hard enough to break it, apparently, because he ran right through and fell flat on the floor in the middle of a pile of splintered wood.
Rarity and Doco popped their heads through. "Dan?"
"Are you all right, Dan?"
"Why..." the human moaned sadly. "Who would do something like that? It's so cruel..."
"Does he normally act like this?"
"No," Rarity shook her head. "I-I think this is the first time I've ever seen him sad."
"WHYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!" Dan raged. In a single motion he rose to his knees and shouted a deafening roar, pieces of wood clutched tight in his fists, slowly breaking to smaller pieces. "IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!"
"There we go. And we're back to anger again," Whooves said.
Face redder than the fake picture of the car he'd just destroyed, Dan got to his feet, huffing and declared, "I'M GOING TO MURDER THE NEXT THING I SEE! WITH MY FINGER NAILS ALONE!!!" Rarity and the Doctor removed themselves from the container. "I WILL KILL, BURN AND EAT THE NEXT THING THAT I- wait." The usual pale color returned to his face. "There ARE vehicles in here."
Rarity and Doctor popped back in. "Oh? Good! What are they?"
"Couple'a quadbikes," Dan said, mounting one of them. Two four-wheel ATVs, quadbikes, were at the back of the shipping container. They were both painted jet black, had rugged tires and, to Dan's pleasant surprise, were fully fueled up. "Well? What are you two waiting for?! Get on, we've got a train to catch!"
"Well, er, emm..."
"Dan darling, are you quite sure you know how to operate one of those?"
"Sure!" Dan eagerly replied. "Just like driving my tank only smaller and without the added fun of a cannon. NOW GET ON!! No wait, you two take that one."
"Right. Shall I drive?" Whooves asked. "So you can do your protective spell thingy?"
Rarity nodded. "Splendid idea, Doctor."
"Follow my lead!" Dan shouted and gunned his bike. It immediately sped in reverse and smashed through the back of the container, flipped and threw Dan on the ground. "Owwww... oowwwaaaa owwwwww..."
"I'd be a touch more inclined to follow your lead if it didn't go through so much crippling pain and anguish," Doctor Whooves remarked.
"It was in reverse!!" Dan yelled. "Who would park a bike in reverse?!"
"Someone who backs into a shipping container," Rarity and Doctor said simultaneously.
"Shut up. Let's just go."
The train was just about to exit the Ponyville city limits when they caught up to it. The constant snowfall didn't seem to deter the train at all. The Friendship Express and Ponyville Express were the normal trains that rain through Equestria, named so because they were primarily passenger trains. Two other trains, the Right Stuff Express and the Harmony Express delivered mostly cargo. Flim and Flam frequently petitioned for use of the rails to test their own trains, but railway authorities denied them use of their own private train.
"I see it! It's coming up!" And no sooner had Dan spoken those words than the Team Rocket Grunts on the caboose of the train start firing at them.
Puffs of snow bursted into the air as their shots hammered the ground. Not as accurate as the GenoHaradan; Team Rocket Grunts were not militarily trained or inclined. Still, Dan swerved to avoid the oncoming fire and Rarity projected her shield and took the lead to protect them.
"If I don't get my sonic screwdriver back, and really I fully intend to, I'm just saying, but I want a wand," Doctor Whooves said. Over the howling wind the fire of automatic weapons, the Doctor proclaimed, "I just really want a wand."
"Now's not the time, Doctor!" Rarity yelled. She clutched him by the shoulders, forcing him to hunker down on the bike as she shielded them. About half the bullets fired at them actually bounced off her magic shield while the rest just hit around them. Dan also lowered himself on the bike and took up position behind them, keeping close.
The Doctor gritted his teeth, eyes narrowed as rounds sparked off the shield. "Rarity, I can't see! You're gonna have to do something about them shooting at us!"
Rarity's horn glowed again and the shield gained a windshield wiper.
"Not really helpful, but keep trying!"
"Dan!" Rarity called over her shoulder, "We can't get on the train with them shooting at us! Distract them somehow!"
"With what?!!" Dan looked around. "Wait, I got something!" He pulled out a weapon that had been strapped to the back. Dollar's Special Change-For-A-Buck Shotgun was imprinted on the side of it.
"Is that a shotgun?!"
"Let's find out!" Dan fired the gun. A fireball launched from the gun and exploded on the back of the train. The force of the shot was so powerful that it flung out of Dan's grip. Fortunately, Rarity caught it with her own magic grip very quickly and returned it to him. "Sorry! I'm more of a pistol and punching kinda guy. One more time!"
He fired the shot gun again. An electric bolt shot from the gun instead. "Ha! Hahaha!" Once again, the gun's recoil almost lifted it out of his hand. "I get it now; CHANGE for a BUCK."
"It changes every time it fires, yes, that's quite nice. I'm sure the mayhem is soon to follow," Whooves commented.
"THIS SHOTGUN FILLS ME WITH AN AWESOME POWER!!" Dan declared, suddenly rising to stand on the quadbike. "IT'S BURNING CHAMBER TELLS ME TO DEFEAT YOU!" He fired again, launching a rock that hit the train and exploded in rocky fury. Fired again, and again, and again, each time a different thing. The caboose shook with each shot until finally, it flipped over and disconnected from the train, breaking off like a bent branch.
"Doctor, keep your head down!"
"What are you doing?!"
Rarity turned around. She picked up Dan with her magic. "Sometimes, one must make proper use of mayhem!"
"HAHAHAHA! HAHAHAAHA HA HA-HAAAAA!" Dan laughed manically and unloaded round after elementally-infused round at the train. Once he compensated for the gun's massive recoil properly, it was easy.