//------------------------------//
// Change The Channel (Tunnel) 
// Story: The Original Spy Ponies 
// by OctaScratchRock 
//------------------------------//

Dover, Great Britain was a gorgeous city. Stone bridges spanned crystal-clear rivers with castles and clock towers in the background. The tracker that Octavia had placed on Kaacha's car had lead her here, ironically into her home country. Dover seemed very quiet by their first look. But deep underwater, Kaacha's men were at their work. At the bottom of Dover's rivers were a few power stations, each of them bearing the logo of Nokatio. They took the appearance of gigantic crankshafts, almost like that of an automobile. 

These gigantic machines were using the river water as hydroelectric power. The electricity was powering machines which were being used to construct the second satellite, underwater and hidden from the view of authorities.

Suddenly, a massive blast shook the compound.

The Interceptor, now on water, was releasing high-powered depth charges into the water to destroy the facilities and the unfinished satellite. With more depth charges released, the machines were reduced to rubble, but not without pursuit from enemy boats. A massive group of opposing boats came rushing into the scene. They were black and orangish-red in color, and they each had heavy missile pods on their backs.

A swarm of rockets wooshed past the Interceptor, missing it completely. 

"HA!" laughed Vinyl. "You missed!"

Octavia nudged Vinyl. "I highly doubt that was the attack."

And right she was. The enormous cluster of missiles smashed into a stone bridge up ahead, and the debris of the structure fell into the water. Octavia screamed as she tried to stop the OV-15 before a collision could occur. Vinyl reached over Octavia and pulled a switch. Suddenly, the Interceptor sprouted a massive cruise missile which was immediately fired ahead. The rubble of the bridge was blown out of the way just in time for the Interceptor to shoot through.

Their pursuers were following aggressively, firing on civilian targets in hopes to use their surroundings as a weapon. Cars, chunks of stone, lampposts, and whatnot were constantly falling into Octavia and Vinyl's way, and Octavia's steering skills were being tested to the absolute limit! Octavia finally found a spot where she could get the Interceptor back on land, an opportunity she quickly took. The pursuing boats found themselves crashing upon shore, their unfired missiles exploding and burning the remains of the boats to molten materials within seconds.

"I think we've completed our England mission!" said Octavia confidently.

Vinyl suddenly heard voices coming from her headphones. She slipped her headphones over her ears and had herself a listen. She was being contacted by the Equestrian government.

A look of pure horror rose on her face as she listened.

Octavia looked over. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"You know the Channel Tunnel?" asked Vinyl. "You know, the gigantic train tunnel that connects the United Kingdom and France under the English Channel?"

Octavia nodded. "It's one of the most important engineering marvels of today. Why?"

Vinyl gulped. "According to the intel I was just informed about, there were four high explosives detected in the Channel Tunnel! Somebody's trying to blow it up!"

Octavia gasped in horror. "No! We're gonna go stop it!" She gunned the Interceptor's engine and blasted off at 500 miles per hour towards the British Channel Tunnel station.

Arriving less than a minute later, she easily found the first bomb inside the station, where passersby were viewing it with horror. Authorities were trying to disarm it to no avail.

"How do we disarm a bomb?" asked Octavia.

"I know something!" said Vinyl. "Give me the controls to the Interceptor!" 

For the first time, Vinyl got to drive her own creation. She pressed a bright blue button marked "EMP" which then activated a small concealed laser on the car's rear-right fender. A pulse of electricity blasted out of it and seemed to coat the bomb, which diffused it successfully. With Octavia in the passenger seat, Vinyl drove the Interceptor at full speed deep into the Channel Tunnel, firing EMP blasts at two more explosive devices she found before being stumped.

"We got three of them. Where's the fourth one?" Vinyl asked herself.

Octavia spoke. "Maybe they're hiding it from us on purpose."

Octavia's words were cut short by the sound of a train.

Vinyl, who had forgotten that she'd stopped the Interceptor on the train tracks, wore a face of genuine horror when she saw a train charging at them at 190 miles per hour. If it weren't for Vinyl smashing the accelerator at that instant, the two musical ponies would have been history.

But that's when Octavia's sharp eyes noticed something. 

"Hey!" shouted Octavia. "The last bomb's on that train!"

Vinyl followed the train as it travelled at high speed through the tunnel. "How are we supposed to get to that bomb without derailing the train or hurting anypony!?" she grunted.

Octavia's eyes started darting around, looking for an answer to that question. The car's speed now matched that of the train, and Octavia began to have ideas. "Hey!" she shouted. "Maybe we can bash out a window on the train and shoot through the window!"

Vinyl tried it. She fired a few shots at the windows to shatter them, and succeeded. Her hoof pressed down on the EMP button, and the electric sparks went flying. That's when Vinyl realized she'd missed the bomb. The train, being electric, had been hit, and was now slowing to a halt. Vinyl jammed onto the brake pedal in hopes to steady the vehicle with the slowing train. On the second shot, the bomb was hit, and shut down.

But before they could celebrate saving the Channel Tunnel, their communications switched on. However, a voice neither of them expected to hear played itself.

Kaacha could be heard on the other side of the mic.

"Oh, that was TOO EASY...."

Octavia cringed at the idea she had just been lured into a trap. "What's easy?" she asked, expecting the worst.

"Considering that I will be destroying the world, why would I need to individually destroy the Channel Tunnel? Oh, it's simple. I placed those bombs down there to lure you away from my current project. And did you know that I KNEW about the tracker you put on my car?"

"Y-you led me to England on purpose!? But you know, we destroyed your second satellite here!" Octavia said.

Kaacha could be heard cackling. "Ah, you think so? Well, I think it's about time I let you in on a secret. The bases I made in the UK were fake!"

Octavia and Vinyl both gasped.

Kaacha's laughter continued as he spoke. "I've managed to re-construct my first satellite that you destroyed in Germany. Now, all four needed satellites are completed as we speak!"

Octavia could feel genuine fear sweeping across her body. "Where are you!? What are you doing!? Where are these spacecraft being launched from!?"

No response.

Octavia felt destroyed. 

She could feel her own heart beating out of guilt.

A pair of tears dripped from her eyes.

"The world...…...is ending...……" she said, "And it's MY fault for being so foolish!!"

Vinyl, however, still had a smile on her face.

"I don't think it's time to cry just yet." she said.

Octavia looked up.

Vinyl shot her a grin. "Kaacha forgot to take the tracker off his car! Now it's genuinely working!"

Octavia's heart began to sing in her chest. Hope struck her like a tsunami. "Where is he!?" she asked.

Vinyl studied the info screen on the dashboard.

"According to this, the tracker's current location is in Panama City, Panama.

"Panama?" asked Octavia. "I've ironically always wanted to go there." she said as she fixed her bowtie.