The storm front spanned most of the western sky, but Ebony and Gray returned to the Hyacinth Apartments ahead of the approaching rain. They halted outside the front door for a few moments to catch their breath. "I'm too out of shape," Gray groused around her dinner, panting a little, "if I'm letting a little jog wind me like that..."
"Aren't you the one who's always telling me not to eat while I talk?" Ebony reminded her, recovering from their run first. "And that was hardly a 'little' jog."
Gray obligingly took the sandwich out of her mouth. "Sorry... just lamenting my lost youth."
Ebony snorted softly. "'Lost youth' my Cutie Mark." She took a quick bite from her own meal before continuing, smiling playfully. "You don't look any older than that Countess what's-her-name. Seriously, Mom, what's your secret?"
"If I knew, I'd make a mint. Could you hold on to this for a moment?" Gray answered, gesturing for Ebony to carry her BLT in her magic. "I have to warn that mannequin of the incoming storm. I don't think that tarp's going to be enough to protect it from rain damage."
Ebony shivered violently enough to make her teeth chatter for a moment, but obligingly claimed her mom's meal as the pegasus ducked into the alley. She took a sip from her lemonade to calm herself down---
"Nightmare Moon's sweet sorry keister!"
---and almost spilled her drink across her face when an angry shout escaped the alley a moment later. "Um, Mom?" she called out tentatively, ears folded to the sides. "Language?"
Gray flew back out of the alley, looking anything but apologetic for that burst of pony profanity. "Mortar & Son were here ahead of time," she said, lips set in a frown as she landed. "The alley's empty. Nothing left in there but the dumpster, and nothing in there but the trash."
Ebony shivered again, this time at the thought of the mannequin being on the loose. "But... that would mean..."
"That the mannequin's out and about somewhere, yes," Gray finished for her, looking up and down the street as if hoping to spot it somewhere. "Assuming that it woke up while they were on their way back to their office, or..." Her eyes widened, a thought crossing her mind that Ebony wasn't privy to. "...On second thought, I have a hunch as to where it is. Remember that 'cry of horror and despair' I mentioned at the park?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"The Pyre's off in the direction I was looking." Gray turned her head off that way for the sake of illustration. "Sally's special talent lets her lure in like-minded ponies with the promise of fright, summoning them as easily as her puppets. Her latest performance ended its run pretty recently, and there's no way she could have come up with an entirely new show so soon, unless..."
Unless she has the mannequin, Ebony finished mentally, whimpering softly. "You're sure it's t-there?" she asked nervously. "Maybe the remodelers just took it back to their office without r-realizing it?"
Gray rejected that line of thought outright. "They're not blind, Ebony. Or stupid. They would have known something was strange about it immediately." She unfurled her wings, letting the apartment key that was concealed in one of them fall out; Ebony grabbed it with her magic before it hit the ground. "I'm going to see if I can run damage control. Go upstairs and stay there until I get back. Might want to keep a few towels handy, because there's no way I'll be back before it starts raining." She took flight, arrowing upwards.
"Mom, wait!" Ebony called after her. "What about your dinner?"
"Just put it in the fridge! I'll finish it when I get back!" Gray's reply dwindled in volume as she arced over the top of the building, not slowing down.
For a few moments, Ebony looked worriedly up at the place where her mother had vanished from view before shaking her head. "You really give new meaning to 'winging it', mom," she said as she entered the building, food in tow. I just hope that you don't get it in your head to bring it back here. I've already had one close call today. I don't need another.
So this is what it must have been like from the Resistance's point of view. I can't say I approve.
These ponies are persistent, especially that crazy unicorn that's leading the chase. The first chance she got, she tried to snare my foot with a tendril that wasn't there a few seconds before. A quick dash let me evade it, but then I had to make some fairly fancy acrobatics to avoid a series of flying lunges by the group's lone pegasus. I thought they were supposed to be afraid of the unknown? They sure aren't acting like it. If anything, it feels like they're making a game out of this.
Most likely that unicorn's work, even if I don't understand how she's doing it.
Counting "Sally" and the pegasus, I have ten ponies in pursuit. There are countless others all along the streets and looking out from the storefronts; some of them are gaping at the chase, not understanding what is going on, and most of the rest are either scared or getting that way. There's going to be a lot of panicking once that storm behind me catches up, I figure.
I risk a quick look behind me, deciding to make an attempt at calling off the chase. "Will you stop this already, please? I'm going to end up dying at this rate, so if I could live to see tomorrow, that would be great!"
One of the ponies seemed a bit disconcerted at this, slowing from a gallop to a trot, and finally to a walk. The rest of the group are undaunted, ignoring my pleas entirely as they leave him behind.
Energen Levels: 24%.
Grimacing at my general lack of success, I refocus on the path ahead. There aren't too many escape routes I can take, and even those I can use would still leave me to get accosted by that pegasus. Fighting back against them isn't an option: I might have been responsible for retiring numerous Reploids innocent and otherwise, but if I turned my Javelin on flesh-and-blood citizens who haven't done anything wrong, then I really would be considered a Maverick. While I can keep up this chase for a while, it's still an energy drain I can't afford.
And I refuse to contemplate trying to vanish into the sewers. Sorry, just... no.
But there isn't anything that keeps me from making this chase as fruitless as possible for my pursuers...
Summoning my weapon back to my hand and ignoring several gasps from the viewing audience, I channel a bit of power into it and tap the sidewalk with it in passing. A layer of ice rapidly forms across the ground, expanding for about two meters in all directions before coming to a stop.
As I correctly guess, none of my ground-bound chasers see that coming. "Sally" slips and skids on the ice, stumbling as she reaches the undisturbed pavement. She recovers and prepares to lash out with another tendril, but yelps as most of the other ponies collide into her and bowl her over, unable to recover their footing in time. The ball of equines crash into a lamppost, which brings their chase to a halt.
This maneuver handily reduces the number of pursuers to the pegasus alone. It's quick... definitely not Harpuia or Aztec Falcon quick, but fast and evasive all the same. One hundred miles per hour is nothing to scoff at, though happily my reflexes are still up to par in defending myself from its charges; to give Zero something resembling a good fight, they'd have to be. I try to avoid taking any direct hits from the pegasus, though: ceratanium frame or not, damage is still damage, and I don't want to make mine worse.
Shadows are encroaching on my field of view. A flash of light and a roar of thunder shake the air, and I can hear rain hitting everything close by in that direction. With the storm having arrived, the bulk of the onlookers decide to play it safe and retreat indoors. That still leaves a few of them out on the streets, and they're looking decidedly hostile. Best not make any moves towards them if I want them to stay out of this.
Normally I'd welcome an influx of rain, but as I was warned earlier, I still have substantial dust, dirt and debris clogging up space within my frame. Some of it was accumulated while I was sitting uselessly awaiting repairs that would never come, with more of it from the charge towards the abandoned lab that Zero was fighting Omega in. To say nothing of the lab itself. That place was a cesspool. Getting that stuff wet won't be doing my reflexes and mobility any favors, given the added weight.
The lightning, on the other hand... that might prove to be beneficial to me. I leap at the nearest building---a grocery store, if I'm any judge---with the intent of wall-jumping my way to new heights.
"Where are you going, dolly? Leaving so soon?"
I should have expected that "Sally" would have been too stubborn to quit just because of a little bit of ice. Another tendril has just coiled around my arm, yanking me off-balance in mid-air, and a split second's recognition lets me see that she's removed herself from the pile of ponies without issue. The pesky pegasus takes the cue and drives one of its hooves towards my gut; I place the Frost Javelin's shaft in its way just in time, but there is still enough force to smash me into the ground.
That strike wasn't anywhere near as damaging as what I've had to put up with in Neo Arcadia, but enough of them will add up over time. I flip back to my feet almost immediately---
"Whoa, dear!"
---and make another attempt at wall-jumping up the grocery store, this time dragging "Sally" along for the ride. I don't want her within range of what I intend to do, so as I scale the building I swing the Javelin one-handed through the tendril, severing and dissipating it. Magic, because of course. Don't think about it, just go.
I wince as the freed unicorn lands on her tailbone with a screechy "Yi!", but I can't spare the time and energy for any sympathy. As a smattering of rain drops begins pelting my helmet, the pegasus gets in close and directs strikes against my limbs to try and keep me from making any progress up the building. Foolish in most situations; had I been openly hostile, it wouldn't have lasted long. Pretty sure that the pegasus is taking full advantage of the fact that I'm trying not to be antagonistic.
Energen Levels: 23%.
It's not doing my patience any good, though, and I can see the other ponies finally recover from their collision and barrel on down toward me. It's mind-boggling; do they not care that they're in the middle of a storm? And just how durable are they to shrug off their crash? "Go..." I drop to the ground---coincidentally ducking beneath another swing from the pegasus---and stab the Frost Javelin straight down. "...AWAY!"
The Javelin plants itself in the sidewalk, blasting out a wave of iced-over dirt and cement in all directions. I see the ponies dodge by leaping over the attack as one, but at least it got them to back away at what I'd just done. "Sally", who is closer still, has the reflexes to smack away one particularly large fragment with one of those tendrils. The few bystanders in the attack's range have the foresight to get out of it before it can reach them.
But in my frustration, I'd forgotten about the pegasus. A single wingbeat takes it out of range of my attack, and I look up just in time to see it pivot in mid-air and deliver both of its back hooves to my face... "postage due", I think the expression is. The impact makes me stumble against one of the store's windows, cracking the glass with my helmet. Okay, that actually stung.
The pegasus hisses in what is likely mild pain and shakes one of its back hooves a little. I can hear those watching murmuring to themselves, but I'm ignoring them right now. "What kind of freaky thing are you? That felt like I was trying to buck through solid steel!"
"I don't see why I should tell you anything," I answer coldly as I dismiss the Javelin, one hand against my temple where the hooves had struck. I glance back behind me through the window, then face the ponies again. Was something trying to get my attention in that store? My HUD seems to think so, but first things first. "I've been trying to get you all to back off since this chase began. You haven't listened to a thing I've said, so why should I expect you to be willing to listen now?"
"GOTCHA NOW!" 'Sally' crows, taking another flying leap at my face.
Case in point! I cross my arms in front of my face to block, and as I do so I register the turquoise glow that surrounds my arms from the elbows forward...
"...?!"
And now I'm confronted with the reality that magic is a very dangerous thing to have. Both my arms have been forced down just far enough away from my face to prevent me from defending myself, much to my astonishment, and the unicorn's enthusiastic bound is met with zero resistance.
Kyahaha... 'Zero?' 'Resistance?' ... get it?
Self, just quit that already! It wasn't funny the first time!
...Anyway, if I hadn't braced myself before attempting to block, I'm certain I would have fallen over just now. These ponies are lighter than the average human to be sure, but momentum's quite the thing sometimes. And they're pretty strong, too: 'Sally's' legs are wrapped around my neck and torso, and they're taking some work to disentangle without physically harming her.
And I really wish that she would stop nuzzling my face. She's acting way too friendly towards what she thinks is a living work of art. I might have a high opinion of my appearance, but even I know that this is just wrong. "You ever hear of something called personal space?"
"Oh, sure," 'Sally' cheerfully answered. "I just don't feel that it applies here."
Energen Levels: 22%.
What. "Why? Because I'm not really 'alive', just some sort of puppet or doll? Because I'm obviously not having real thoughts and feelings?" I'm trying again to extricate the unicorn, using both my hands and forearms to pry her legs off of me... and now I have a pony holding on tight to my left arm like a monkey. Lovely. "You and I have different definitions of the term 'sentient'!" I turn to those that are just standing out in the rain like idiots, watching this all happen. "A little help here? This isn't a live performance!"
"And get near her? Or you?" one of the ponies answers, both too afraid to help but too curious to run. "As if! She's off her rocker, and Celestia knows what you are!"
There's that name again... "And I don't suppose you have any bright ideas?" I ask the pegasus who is still hovering close by. I had to close one eye to keep 'Sally's' mane from interfering with my optics.
"I got involved in this because I wanted to help her catch you," is said pegasus' reply. Odd; he actually seems a bit sheepish compared to his prior behavior. "Don't ask me why. It just seemed like a good idea at the ti---" He looks up, his eyes widening. "Take cover!"
As he shouts his warning and tears off across the street, with those nearest to us joining him, my systems are detecting all the pertinent warning signs. Prior to refocusing on combat, I'd worked with Harpuia---who would later become the Guardians' master of the skies---to help reclaim land for humans to live in. As such, while I can't harness any of it myself, I'm very familiar with the danger represented by high winds, heavy rain, and lightning. If the residents here are capable of predicting the precise location of where the next bolt is going to strike, something that we have yet to do back home, then that is as clear a sign as any that I have to act promptly.
And that means dislodging "Sally" from my arm through sheer force, or risk her becoming a casualty of high voltage. I channel every bit of strength I can afford to spare and throw my arm out to the side with a yell. The unicorn is flung away to my left with an indignant cry, and for a split second my peripheral vision spots a shadow moving to intercept.
I shut my eyes to protect my optics just before the world temporarily turns a bright blue-white.
Gray Ghost had caught up with the mannequin just in time to see Salamandra attach herself to the thing's face. Keeping a few other ponies between it and herself out of habit, she watched as...
I never did get its name, did I? Assuming it has one. ...Maybe I'll just call it 'Model Citizen' until I can learn what it is? That would be a nice dose of irony.
...'Model Citizen' struggled to remove the enthusiastic facehugger without hurting her. Another point in its favor, Gray mused as she let her eyes wander, taking in the damage that was done to the street while keeping one ear trained on the mannequin's 'discussion'. Most of a block away, a circular ice patch was in the middle of dissolving. Closer to the grocery store, a chunk of the sidewalk was straight-up scattered around the street in a multitude of pieces, each one glimmering with that same frozen sheen. Its first instinct when it comes to protecting itself isn't to hurt ponies. None of those close by look hurt---
"Take cover!" the pegasus who'd been talking to Model Citizen blurted out, catching Gray's attention just before he flew off towards the gathering. The earth ponies who were on the far side of the street rushed to obey.
Gray had wanted to be part of the city's Royal Police when she was growing up, not weather control, but she liked to think that those with an affinity for it knew what they were doing. And if what little she'd seen of Model Citizen fit any sort of pattern---
Sure enough, the mannequin forcibly flung Salamandra away from her across the road. Gray quickly calculated the trajectory, noticed the total lack of anything that would soften the theater owner's landing, and without any further thought she acted. As silently as her namesake, she shot forward and snagged her out of the air, delivering her to safety---
Two point three seconds after the order to take cover was made, a brilliant and particularly spectacular lightning bolt lanced down from the storm clouds above, striking Model Citizen directly. Those who were able to squeezed their eyes shut and jammed their hooves in their ears, the light and sound a consequence of being this close to ground zero.
It took a few seconds for those present to recover from the unexpected assault. Gray deposited a shivering Salamandra on the sidewalk under an awning and turned to see what happened to the mannequin, expecting to see it blasted apart from the lightning strike.
What she saw instead was Model Citizen still standing in the pose it had assumed when it had flung Salamandra aside, paying the rain sliding down off its form no mind. There was a sound akin to electrical crackling, but that faded to nothing after a couple moments more. There was absolutely no sign of damage beyond a black speck on its helmet where the lightning had struck, and even that gradually disappeared as the rain washed it away. There wasn't even a scorch mark, or any sign of the intense heat that lightning gave off. One by one, jaws dropped open until not a single one remained closed.
The mannequin stood up straight and brought one of its hands before its face, flexing its fingers as a pleased smile graced its lips. She brought the hand back to rest at her side before surveying both sides of the gathering. "Getting inside," Gray heard Model Citizen say in an appropriately dry tone, "would be a wise idea." Another lightning flash, this one off in the distance, punctuated her words.
This time the on-lookers obeyed, those who had nothing to do with the chase making tracks for home or otherwise seeking shelter. Most of those who had evidently joined in chasing after her did the same, apparently deciding that enough was enough. By the time everyone who was going to leave had done so, only four were left: Gray and the mannequin themselves, a visibly shaken Salamandra, and an ashamed-looking earth pony who was just now arriving at the scene.
Model Citizen folded its arms. "That goes for the rest of you, too," it... she stated in a tone that made it clear that she was not merely suggesting that they leave.
The earth pony regarded the ground for a second before getting his nerves about him. "Actually, Miss... Mrs.?..." he said with a tone of mild confusion.
The mannequin snorted quietly. Gray got the impression that she was imitating the sound instead of utilizing her nose, which made sense: still life didn't need to breathe. "'Miss' is fine. I've obviously never married."
The stallion chuckled at this before the situation settled back in. His speech was rife with hesitance. "I was wondering, Miss... if you could clarify what you said back there? You know, about dying?"
"'Dying'?" Gray mouthed, puzzled and just the slightest bit worried.
Model Citizen started to say something at this, but her hand went to her chin as she paused to think it over. Gray had just began to think about how pony-like a gesture that was when a reply was finally made. "Let's take care of that indoors. I can't imagine that being out in the storm like this is comfortable for any of you."
"Never mind us," Salamandra protested loud enough to be heard over the rain, her tone not as enthusiastic as Gray was used to hearing from her. "What about you?"
The mannequin's grin was easily compared to one Ebony once had when she received straight A's in school; it was wide enough that it could be seen from across the street. "'Sally'," she told the horror fanatic with a voice full of pride, "I was made for water." She turned and walked towards the grocery store's entrance, motioning for them to follow her. Gray was no expert in how bipeds walked, but it almost looked like she was strutting.
This show of arrogance vanished entirely as she approached the door, gestured at it... and smacked into it without so much as touching the handle. She stumbled back, looking for all the world like a confused puppy as she rubbed her nose. "Someone help me open this, please?"
Beat.
"...I take it back," Salamandra deadpanned, eyes half-closed. "I don't want it for the theater anymore."
"Yeah, I think the No Takebacks Accord has an allowance for this," Gray told her in the same tone. "And if there isn't one, we'll make one. Come on, let's go."
As she galloped across the street with Salamandra close behind, Gray's curiosity was at its peak. Ice manipulation? Lightning immunity? Completely out of the loop with concepts as basic as magic and door handles?
There was a story behind all of that, and she was going to hear it.