Rosa was starting to get worried as the sun began to set over the distant fields and there was still no sign of her pegasus friend. Sky Light had her hide in what looked like an abandoned shed a short distance from the White Pigeon city limits, while she went to buy a couple of black suits. Something which would conceal their colorful coats when they broke into the government pony-napping facility that night.
In a few more minutes, Rosa decided, she would go out and look for her friend. Despite Sky Light's admonishment, Rosa knew people didn't care about ponies too much so no one should really notice her walking about. Besides, she had to do something. Sky Light had promised she'd be back by sunset and that time was quickly running out. Maybe she was in trouble? More likely, though, Sky Light had simply forgotten the time.
"Ugh!" Finally Rosa couldn't stand it anymore and left the shadowy interior of the dilapidated building.
The door had nearly disintegrated and Rosa pushed it carefully so it didn't fall apart. She emerged into the orange and red hues of the setting sun, blinking in the strong light. It took a minute for her eyes to adjust and then she scanned the horizon for a welcome flying speck which would grow into her pegasus friend. Rosa sat down by a nearly overgrown dirt road to wait out the remainder of the day. That way she would have technically kept her promise to Sky.
The evening was quite warm, so she didn't need her uniform, and the last rays of the sun felt quite pleasant on her coat. Lacking anything else to do, Rosa inspected the run-down barn. It must have been part of someone's property, but she couldn't see any houses nearby, nor any ruins where a house might have once stood. It felt weird that someone would just build a hay barn out in the middle of nowhere, Rosa thought, without even any fields around.
The building itself was near to falling apart. Whoever owned it apparently had no interest in maintaining it. There were several tiles missing in the roof and Rosa could see a lot of cracking and splintering in the wooden boards which made up the outside. Come to think of it, the place probably wasn't very safe to stay inside. It was away from the main road and apparently abandoned, so it had made for a good hiding place, but she certainly wouldn't want to spend more than maybe a few days in it.
Lacking anything better to do at the moment, Rosa tried to imagine what it would take to fix it up enough to be livable for the long term. Maybe with several more ponies they could shore up some of the cracked supports and replace those broken boards. Sky Light and Paolo working together could probably fix the roof, if they could find some wooden planks somewhere. Then it'd just take some glue or something to patch up the smaller holes in the walls. The door would have to be completely replaced, of course, but maybe they could reuse the hinges from the current one. Then the place might be downright livable.
The only problem Rosa could imagine was that this scary government facility was less than five miles away. That might be a drawback, now that she remembered it. The mare chuckled to herself and shook her head. Even if she had a few more ponies, they probably wouldn't want to stay in a run-down place in the middle of nowhere. How would they even get food?
As she turned her gaze back towards the city, Rosa's breath caught. The shape she saw in the air definitely wasn't a bird and it was heading right for her. She smiled involuntarily and stood up, hardly able to keep her hooves still. Sky Light was on her way back! It was a huge relief. In mere minutes Rosa could recognize the pegasus and a short while later her friend landed beside her, a puzzled grin on her muzzle when she spotted Rosa's expression.
"Um, you drunk again, or what?" Sky asked.
"No!" Rosa shook her head. "Just happy to see you. I was getting a bit worried."
The other mare looked at the sunset, which was almost completely over. There was a bit of pink still visible, but the orb of the sun was definitely below the horizon. "Yeah, I guess I'm a bit late, but I said I'd be here, didn't I?"
Rosa nodded and went to give the pegasus a very brief nuzzle. "You did."
"Okay, so I got us some clothes," her friend explained and opened her bulging saddlebags. She drew out four large, black sweaters and two smaller bundles which Rosa couldn't quite make out.
She watched to see what else Sky had brought, but it seemed this was it. "Well?"
Sky Light gave Rosa a puzzled look. "Well what? This is it."
"Um, it's just sweaters. For humans."
Sky Light nodded happily. "Exactly! Put one on - well - normally and the other on your hind legs, upside down. Your tail can go out the neck hole since it's black, but I'll tie mine up. Orange shows too well."
Her explanation was starting to draw the picture in Rosa's mind. "Oh, I get it! We wear two sweaters so they join in the middle!"
"Exactly!" Sky Light confirmed. "Tie them around your waist with this sash..." She rummaged in the bags again and brought out two thin strips of black cloth. She dropped them on the pile and shrugged off her bags so she could start getting ready. "I also got these-" she picked up one of the smaller pieces and unfolded it to reveal a black ski mask.
"I didn't even know you could buy those! Aren't they just used in movies for like robbing the bank?"
"Where do you think I got the idea?" Sky Light asked, giggling a little. "They're a bit big, but I hope we can make them work." She pulled one of the big sweaters over her head. It ended up hanging almost to the ground and covered most of her rump. Sky Light really had gotten the extra large sizes, it seemed. "See? Like this," she explained, then lay on her back to get the other sweater on her hind legs. She curled her tail up against her belly, so it didn't poke out and grunted a little as she pulled the cloth as high up her barrel as it would reach.
The two pieces of clothing overlapped in the middle, but that was okay and it would just take one sash to tie them on. When she was done, Sky Light stood up and made a few experimental steps. "A bit weird, but it works! How do I look? Hold on, lemme get my mask on!"
Rosa had to admit it was a good disguise. After Sky had hidden her mane under the mask, there was just a bit of gray neck visible between the sweater and the hood. A few dozen paces away she would be pretty much invisible in dark. "Very good, actually," Rosa said, starting to smile at the unusual sight. Something else caught her eye and her grin faded. "Um, you can't use your wings like this."
"Ugh, damn it!" Sky Light swore, "I knew I forgot something. Here, give me a hoof..." She untied the belt and pulled the sweaters apart until she could free her wings. "Here, just tie the bottom one back, under my wings."
It took both of them to haphazardly secure the sweaters again. The effect was not as good as before, but Sky Light's wings were as gray as her fur so it was not too bad. If she folded them up they hardly showed.
"Yeah, this could work," Rosa said at last.
"Okay, now you."
It was easier because Rosa only had four appendages, so Sky Light's original idea applied perfectly to her. Not to mention that dark purple fur should be pretty invisible on the bits which did show, Rosa hoped, and her tail and mane were black so she didn't have to stuff them under cloth like Sky had done.
Her pegasus friend helped Rosa with the sash and then she tried walking. The cloth felt weird, even though Rosa was used to wearing things. It chafed in some places and it felt too lose in others, but she could live with it. She tried an experimental trot and found that it didn't slow her down at all.
"Okay, now the mask," Sky Light commanded.
Pulling it over her muzzle, Rosa found that it was pressing rather uncomfortably against her nose. It had never been designed for the shape of a pony's head, but the material was stretchy and it covered most of the fur. The eye holes were a bit misplaced, so the thing tended to restrict Rosa's vision somewhat. "I dunno..."
"It looks fine," Sky Light assured her. "Okay, time to get going I guess. Tim said we should circle around and come in from the south. This way..."
The pegasus set off and Rosa fell in step behind her. It would only be for a couple of hours, she told herself.
This was it. The gate was just where Tim had said it would be. How he'd known about it Rosa couldn't begin to guess, but it looked like a much better option than the main entrance. She and Sky Light had skirted around there, observing from the bushes, and it had been a horror-show. Well lit, sliding iron chain fence and several guards constantly patrolling around. There was even a small guard house. Rosa couldn't tell at the distance, but Sky Light had assured her that there was a human posted inside with what looked like security monitors. There was no way for the two ponies to get in through there. Of course, for a pegasus it wouldn't be a problem to just fly over the wall anywhere at all, but this back opening let them see inside so Sky didn't have to fly blind.
The two had been watching it for an hour and it looked like there were two guards who periodically made their rounds through the area.
"So, we'll wait for the guy to come around, then we have twenty minutes or so before the next one shows up," Sky Light estimated.
Nodding her agreement, Rosa tried to get her heart to calm down a little. It was rattling so loudly that it must have sounded like a drumbeat, even to humans' insensitive ears.
"You doing okay?" Sky asked.
All Rosa could manage was another nod and a grin, which probably looked nervous as all hell. She hoped Sky couldn't see her expression through the ski mask.
After watching her for a few seconds in silence, Sky Light went back to peering through the chain link fence. The guards patrolled on the inside, so the two mares just had to duck behind the wall to be hidden from view. There also weren't too many lights, so both Rosa and her lighter-colored friend could huddle in a shadow and be fairly certain they couldn't be seen.
Sky Light's feathers rustled as she ducked behind the concrete and she reached out a hoof, as if to steady Rosa. "Okay, here he comes now."
They focused their ears and listened to the heavy footsteps of the human soldier. There was a lump in Rosa's throat and she desperately tried to swallow it. Despite her attempts, she couldn't get her heart to calm down. It was probably all the adrenaline, Rosa told herself, hoping that if she understood it, the fear would lessen. Her hooves didn't seem to be quite obeying her and her muscles kept jerking uncontrollably. It was a good thing Sky Light would be doing the flying, because Rosa was not too sure she could manage to so much as walk in a straight line at the moment. She had to calm down, or she wouldn't be any use inside. Out of desperation Rosa closed her eyes and focused on taking deep, slow breaths.
The guard approached the door and stopped, looking out through the iron bars of the gate for a few moments. Rosa saw his pool of light slide around, seeking, then it went away and the man started walking again. The footsteps were receding.
"Ready?" Sky Light asked, laying a hoof on Rosa's shoulder.
The touch was welcome and it helped calm Rosa down somewhat. "Y-Y-Yes..."
Her friend stuck her head out again, carefully looking past the gate. "We can hide between those sheds, I think. Then we plan our next move, okay?"
This time all Rosa could do was nod.
"Okay, here we go!"
Rosa went limp as Sky Light put her hooves around her barrel, already flapping her wings. She felt her friend lift her up a little and Rosa reached trembling legs as far up as she could in an effort to grab and hold on to the pegasus. Her wings started to beat faster and Sky Light's hooves dug into Rosa's barrel. She was lifted until she was standing on her hind legs. Then Sky grunted a little and put some more effort into her flapping. As if by magic, the ground fell away and Rosa found herself dangling completely from the pegasus' grasp. It was a disconcerting feeling, the way the ground swerved and tilted crazily. Rosa's stomach lurched and she was suddenly happy she hadn't had dinner.
It was all she could do to strangle a squeak as it occurred to Rosa that it might have been a good idea to practice before now, if only so she'd know what to expect. Unfortunately it was too late. The best she could do now was close her eyes and try to pretend she was just floating in water. It was not easy, but it was her only hope. All Rosa could hear was Sky Light's powerful wing strokes, which made them bob slightly up and down. She wondered how high up they were, but didn't dare look. Earth ponies were never meant to fly!
Suddenly, unexpectedly, her hind legs hit something and Rosa couldn't stop a frightened squeak.
"Ground! Just the ground!" Sky Light hissed. She must have noticed Rosa wasn't looking.
Her eyes opened wide and Rosa saw she was floating just above the concrete inside the wall. She let her legs down and touched the hard surface. Sky Light lowered her, but Rosa's limbs couldn't hold her upright and she just folded to the ground when her friend released her. A moment later Sky landed beside with four barely audible clicks, then Rosa felt a hoof on her back.
"You okay?" It was a bit of a struggle to get to her hooves, but Rosa managed to stand, even if she was shivering like a leaf in the wind. She turned wide, terrified eyes on the other mare and Sky smiled a little. "Don't worry, it takes everyone differently the first time they fly. We probably should have practiced before now, though..."
Her stating what Rosa had just been thinking felt so familiar that Rosa couldn't help but smile a little. "Yeah, we s-should ha-have."
The mare put her wing over Rosa and brushed her muzzle against her neck. "Take it easy, we have plenty of time," she whispered. "Let's give it a minute and then we'll go hide behind those boxes."
Rosa followed her pointing hoof and saw a haphazard stack of empty boxes and round, spool-looking things. They looked like they used to have wire wrapped on them, now that she thought about it. It all looked abandoned, so it was a safe bet the humans wouldn't check it out too closely. Maybe they could even find a place to sleep through the day, if they couldn't find a way inside the facility during the night.
That part might be a problem. There were entirely too many guards. Rosa had been hoping the people went home in the evening and left the place empty, except for the ponies. Sky Light, on the other hoof, had been expecting a couple of guards and maybe a security guy with cameras, but even she looked uneasy at the sight of armed soldiers.
Rosa was suddenly not sure that breaking into this place was a good idea, but they had come thus far and if they stopped now Rosa would never forgive herself. At the very least they had to try.
"Um, if- if we have to, you can f-fly us out, right?" Rosa whispered to the pegasus.
Sky Light looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded. "Sure."
It was not as reassuring as Rosa had hoped, but it would have to do. She forced her legs into obedience and started walking for the hiding place behind the stack of old boxes. Sky Light followed right after and soon they were both as concealed as they could make themselves. Rosa was really grateful to Tim for suggesting black clothes.
"Let's wait until the other guy goes past, then we can scout out what's where," Sky Light suggested and Rosa nodded gratefully. It would give her a few more minutes to get herself together. She concentrated on her breathing while her friend kept a watch for the patrol.
It took almost fifteen minutes, give or take. An eternity to Rosa's adrenaline-sloshed brain. By the time they finally heard footsteps, Rosa was fidgeting nervously. Sky laid a warning wing across her back and Rosa forced herself to stillness. This guard didn't shine his light through the gate like his colleague, but just stared out for a few seconds before moving on. Soon everything was quiet once again.
"Okay, go," Sky Light commanded and Rosa swallowed the rest of her fear. Maribelle needed them. She hadn't really imagined how the ponies in this place might be kept, but now Rosa tentatively thought it might be in some sheds, or maybe in a warehouse-like building with cages. There was only one place that looked even remotely big enough. A box-shaped, squat building, several storeys tall and with a number of windows, all of them dark.
"Over t-there?"
Sky Light took a look, then grinned at Rosa. "Just what I was thinking. No door on this side, follow me."
They tried to crouch and walk at the same time, but after few steps Rosa realized it wouldn't work. It was too strenuous and she would soon start panting like a bellows. Instead, she decided to walk normally, but took extra care when placing down her hooves to minimize the noise.
Sky Light went in front, her steps barely audible even to Rosa, which made her heart lift a little, They were both very quiet and besides, the humans didn't have that good a hearing. They were also both wearing black and staying out of the lights, so even if a guard happened to glance their way he probably wouldn't see a thing. They had this! She kept telling herself that.
A few steps in Rosa realized that she was pressing her ears flat and it was making it harder to hear what was happening around her. It took an effort of will to force them upright and Rosa started scanning for noise. She was about to tell Sky to do the same, but noticed that the mare kept constantly swiveling her ears around. Smart.
The storage sheds ran out and there was a patch of open tarmac in front of them. It didn't look good, but it was the only way forward. Sky Light stopped and held out a wing so Rosa wouldn't walk past her. "Let's wait here a minute and see if there's any patrols!"
Rosa gave her a nod and lay flat on her belly to make her shape as small as possible.
Several long minutes later the pegasus visibly relaxed. "I think it's safe. I don't see any cameras, you?"
Chagrined, Rosa realized that she'd forgotten about that detail and almost hoofed herself in the muzzle. Stupid! Now she hurriedly scanned the walls, in particular up near the roof, for anything that might look like a camera. "N-No," she ventured.
"Okay, good. Wait here, I'll go and have a look. I'll give you a signal."
Rosa waited, as ordered, but all the pegasus was doing was shuffling around a little. "What are you doing?"
Rather than replying, the other mare held up a foreleg. She had pulled the sweater's sleeves completely over her hoof, but Rosa didn't understand why. Just as she opened her mouth to ask Sky trotted forward. Her steps were completely silent.
That was clever! Rosa quickly did the same, pulling the sleeves over each of her hooves so she'd be ready to follow at a moment's notice. She watched closely as Sky Light ran up to the building and pressed herself against the side. Then she carefully peeked around the corner. Rosa realized that she had been holding her breath and forced it out just as the pegasus looked back and beckoned with a hoof. This was the signal. Rosa made a dash for it, nearly tripping on the sweater but saving herself at the last second. Her hoofsteps were muffled, but she could still hear them clearly and she nearly stumbled in fear.
Luckily there was no cry of outrage, and no wailing alarm rang out. She made it to the pegasus undetected.
"Follow me!" Sky hissed as soon as Rosa was close enough, and dashed around the corner. Rosa didn't question her decision and just followed close on her heels. She lead them to a dark and lonely lot, with a few cars still parked in it. Belonging to the guards, Rosa guessed. There was a back entrance from the lot into the building and it didn't look guarded.
Sky Light headed for it, but Rosa already saw a problem. "Sky!" She didn't hear, so Rosa hurried after her friend. "Sky! There's a keypad! We can't get in this way!" She caught up to the pegasus just as Sky Light reached the door.
Too late they heard the lock click. Both mares froze in terror as the door opened, spilling light from a brightly lit hallway into the night. There was a man in a white lab coat and with a thoroughly shocked expression as he looked at two black-clad ponies standing in front of him.
"Back the way we came!" the pegasus snapped and dashed away, wings beating for extra speed.
Unfortunately Rosa was frozen to the ground. It felt like slow motion as the man opened his mouth. "Hey! Stop!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "Help!"
There were answering shouts from around the corner and Rosa heard running footsteps. Still she couldn't move. It had all gone wrong so quickly! There was nothing they could have done! It just wasn't fair!
They were going to catch her!
"No no no!" Rosa finally woke up and tried to sort out her legs. As she twirled around, she stepped on one of the sleeves, which tripped her up and Rosa hit her muzzle on the concrete.
"Stop! Freeze!" the scientist guy yelled, but Rosa wasn't about to listen.
She was scrambling to her hooves when she belatedly realized the soldiers were almost on top of her. This was what she had been training for. Rosa braced her forelegs on the ground, twisted her body and struck out with her hind hooves. At least they wouldn't take her without a fight!
Back at the van she had been able to kick the wood exactly where she aimed, every time. Unfortunately, the wood had never dodged out of the way. Rosa flopped to her belly with a painful grunt and moments later the soldier landed on her, pinning her down. He was too heavy to shift, especially as she didn't have her legs under her. Rosa still scrabbled, trying to wriggle free.
"Nooo! Please! Noo!" she yelled.
The other guard was almost there, too. If he joined his friend, there would be no more hope, even with her earth pony strength. Rosa tried to get some leverage with a hoof, but then something whooshed past her and she heard a dull thud. The weight lifted from her back.
"What the fuck, Rosa! I said run!"
It was Sky Light and Rosa had never been happier to see the mare. Tears were streaming from her eyes as Rosa scurried to her hooves. The pegasus grunted and Rosa looked back to see the scientist guy with his arms around her. He had managed to pin one of her wings down and she was slapping his face with the other.
Rosa rushed at the human and, lacking any other good options, bit his leg as hard as she could. He yelled and let Sky go, but not before giving Rosa a good blow on the nose with his fist. For several seconds the world swam around her and her ears rang with the slap. Rosa almost fell, but managed to stay upright by spreading her stance.
"Come on!" Sky Light yelled again and butted Rosa with her head.
Rosa took a step, and then another.
The other guard was suddenly standing in front of her, his weapon raised. His friend, the one Sky had hit, was picking himself up, swearing. "Don't move..." the one ahead said so calmly that it made Rosa's blood run cold.
"Take them alive!" the scientist gasped out, voice choked up with pain.
Rosa felt a tiny bit of pride for biting him that hard. She turned her head to keep an eye on the second soldier just in time to see him twirl a length of rope around his hands. Where had he even gotten that?! "Rope! Behind us!" she warned.
Sky Light turned to look, which was a mistake the guy in front of her immediately seized on. He rushed forward, his rifle already swinging towards Rosa with the butt end. Too late she realized he was going to use it like a club, too late for her to dodge it completely. It smacked painfully against Rosa's jaw and all she could see was stars and flashing lights for a moment.
Despite the pain she kicked out blindly with a foreleg and her hoof connected. It was not a particularly strong blow, but she felt something crunch with a sickening pop. The man screamed out in pain and fell away from her. Her sudden attack also gave the other guard pause and he held back, watching her and Sky's hind legs with a newfound respect.
It was time to get out of there, and fast! Rosa could already hear alarms going and more people running toward the commotion. "Let's go! Quick, before more come!"
"Yeah!" Sky Light confirmed, but there was a low bang at the same time as she spoke. The mare suddenly cried out in pain and fell to the floor.
"SKY!" Rosa didn't know what was wrong with her. That hadn't been a gunshot!
She caught a glimpse of two glittering wires, going from the mare's flank to-
With an inward groan Rosa realized she hadn't been paying attention to what the scientist had been doing. He was now holding a gun-shaped object in his hands and that was where the wires led. A stun gun.
Rosa almost tried to yank the needles out of Sky's skin with her teeth, but remembered in time that it would just shock her instead. "No! Fuck! FUCK!" She tried to think of another way to free the pegasus, who was jerking violently and staring at Rosa with a fixed, horrified, expression. She couldn't even scream properly anymore.
That had been Rosa's second mistake. Focusing on Sky distracted her and her mistake had given the remaining guard his opening. She heard his footstep, but it was too late and all she had time for was to open her mouth to scream, before the butt of his rifle slammed into her head with frightening finality.
Everything went black.