//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5 
// Story: Under The Rainbow 
// by CommissarVulpin 
//------------------------------//

Secret Underground Facility
San Palomino Peak
6:48 PM
The cells that they had been placed in were small, but not too constricting. The walls were concrete, like the majority of the facility, and a sink and toilet shared the room with a small cot bolted to the wall. The sink produced fresh water, and the toilet was functional. There were no windows, and only a single small vent high on the wall.
Johnny paced the room until the guards who had placed him inside walked away, and then stood on his cot to peer through the vent. He was able to see into the cell immediately adjacent, which was where Cheerilee was being held.
“Cheerilee!”
Cheerilee’s purple face popped up to the vent. “Shh! There’s still a guard out here. Just hold on for a minute.”
“Wait, what…?” Johnny began to say, but Cheerilee disappeared.
A few seconds later, he heard a commotion in the hallway, followed by the wet crack of a pony’s skull being smashed against a wall. After a few moments, his cell door opened with a tiny click, revealing the smug face of Cheerilee.
“Wha…how did you…?”
She tossed her head, showing him a small metal object in her teeth. “Lockpick earrings.”
“Perhaps I should get myself a pair,” he commented as he followed her into the hall.
A cautious look around confirmed that the only guard was now lying unconscious on the floor. Without hesitation, Johnny began to undress the guard.
“What are you doing!?” Cheerilee recoiled in digust.
“We need to blend in with the guards or we’ll never make it to the hangar. He looks your size. Put it on.”
She hesitated. “Fine. But I’m taking it off as soon as I can. What about you?”
“I’m sure we’ll find another guard on the way. You can take care of him.”
Sure enough, they encountered another lone guard on their journey back to the hangar, whom Cheerilee quickly incapacitated with some impressive martial-arts moves. Johnny put on his uniform and they both made their way down the hallways, stopping at the barracks to retrieve his case.

After passing some other guards who didn’t give them as much as a second glance, they found themselves on a catwalk overlooking the hangar. The cloudship below was completed; perched atop the cloud, almost impossibly, were three aluminum structures connected by catwalks. Several workers were busy loading bombs into a central structure, which Johnny guessed contained the bomb bay.

Blackwing’s Cloudship
Secret Underground Facility
7:01 PM

Blackwing stood in the control room at the head of the cloudship, ensuring that everything was in order. He observed the pilots as they made their pre-flight checks. He gazed at his reflection in the huge windows, and smiled devilishly. Once the pilots had confirmed that everything was working properly, he made his way to the bomb bay in the center of the ship.
He watched the workers loading the explosives into racks along the walls. Once triggered, the bombs would fall through hatches in the floor and shower the capital city. Once the bombs were all loaded, the Atomic Rainboom bomb was next. At least three times as large as any of the conventional explosives, it was carefully hoisted up and fastened to the ceiling with chains. When the time came, the entire floor would drop out, making way for the huge device to fall and release its energy on the city.
His inspection of the ship concluded with a visit to the engine room, where technicians were busy checking over the two huge engines that were responsible for moving the cloudship through the sky.
After he received confirmation from everyone that the ship was ready to go, he made his way back to the control room and began giving orders for takeoff.

Blackwing’s Cloudship
Secret Underground Facility
7:10 PM

From the shadows beneath a stairwell, Johnny and Cheerilee listened as Blackwing himself stepped into the cloudship’s engine room, asked several questions to the technicians, then left.
After sneaking aboard the cloudship, they had discarded their guard uniforms and chose to hide instead. Before spotting Blackwing, Johnny had managed to identify each room and lay out a rudimentary plan. They were now crouched beneath one of the connecting walkways just outside the engine room. Luckily for them, the entire surface of the cloud was covered with aluminum deck plates, with a railing all around.
“I think we’re safe to come out now.”
“What about the case?” Cheerilee whispered.
“I guess it’s as good a time as ever to open it.” He brought out the case and popped it open. Inside was a cigarette case, a lighter, two explosive charges, and a watch. Included was a note from Agent V about what each item was and how it was used.
“How nice of her,” Johnny said after reading the note.
“What are these?”
Johnny picked up one of the explosives. “This is a remotely-activated explosive. The other is a timed explosive. Can you place the remote charge on one of the engines?”
She took it from him. “Absolutely. I don’t think any of the guards are out –“ She was interrupted by a low rumbling noise.
“What is that?”
Johnny motioned towards the front of the ship, at the interior wall of the hangar. Currently it was in the process of opening up, allowing the night air to permeate the room. A huge section of the side of the mountain slid sideways on rollers, and then came to a halt.
Johnny and Cheerilee next felt the deck plates beneath them vibrate as the cloudship’s engines started up. All the machinery connecting the cloudship to its dock was disconnected, and the craft began to slowly move forward.
“We’re taking off!” Cheerilee exclaimed.
“Go and plant the explosive. I’ll go check out the control room.”
Cheerilee nodded and crept away.
Johnny edged through the shadows until he stood outside the control room. A ladder affixed to the side allowed his to scale the wall and stand atop the roof. The roof was mostly featureless, with only a few wires snaking along it to a conduit protruding from one end. Placing an ear to the conduit, he was able to overhear the pilots within talking with Blackwing.
“Set heading. Target: Canterlot.”
“Yes, sir. ETA is fifteen minutes.”
Suddenly, an alarm began to sound.
“What the…”
“Alarm from the engine room, sir.”
“What the hay do I pay you for!?”
Johnny heard heavy hoofsteps as Blackwing stormed out of the control room towards the engine room.
Fearing the worst, he scrambled off the roof and hurried back to where he left Cheerilee. His search did not find her, however, until he found himself behind the engine room.
“Mr. Recon!” Blackwing called out to him.
Johnny spun around to see Blackwing standing beneath one of the huge engines, holding a bound Cheerilee aloft by her collar effortlessly with one hoof.
“Put her down, Blackwing.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Recon. You and your little minx here must learn not to meddle with my affairs, and she is going to serve as an example.
He raised her up and walked to the edge of the cloudship, approaching dangerously close to the huge propellers. She struggled, but was no match for his strength as he began to push her head towards the spinning blades.
“Wait!” Johnny called out.
Blackwing pulled Cheerilee back slightly. “What now?”
Johnny pulled the cigarette case and lighter out of an inner pocket. He placed a cigarette in his mouth and began to light it.
“A cigarette? Don’t make me laugh –“
As soon as it was lit, a dart shot out from the cigarette and buried itself in Blackwing’s chest. He stopped mid-sentence, and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed onto the deck.
Johnny tossed the cigarette aside and helped Cheerilee untie herself.
“Who did you say made your equipment again?”
“Agent V. She’s saved my flank more times than I’d like to admit.”
Cheerilee chuckled. “I got the explosives planted like you asked. I don’t think Blackwing noticed.”
“I’ll go over to the bomb bay and see if I can disarm the Atomic Rainboom.”
“I’ll go up to the control room and see try to stop the ship.”
“Are you sure?”
“I can handle myself. A few guards shouldn’t be a problem,” She said, and ran off before Johnny could stop her.

Johnny snuck into the bomb bay, edging around racks of explosives poised to be dropped onto Canterlot. These bombs were not advanced technology; simple canisters of high explosive with a fuze at the tip to detonate it when it stuck the ground. There was no way to disarm all of them before the ship reached Canterlot; but he wasn’t going to try. He looked around and, seeing no one, prepared to plant the timed explosive charge on a bomb rack. He was interrupted, however, by a white hoof colliding with his jaw. He reeled, and lost his grip on the charge, which went sliding along the floor. Before he could react, Eisenhuf’s steely grip was on his collar, hoisting him into the air.
“I am almost sad that I von’t be able to hear you schcream as you fall,” Eisenhuf seethed, standing on his hind legs while punching Johnny in the face again. “You vill be quite the mess to clean up, I’m sure.” Another punch knocked Johnny unconscious for a moment. Johnny kicked at the brute’s legs in desperation, but nothing seemed to faze him. As Eisenhuf was preparing to punch him again, Johnny bit down hard on the hoof that was holding him. The white pegasus yelled and dropped Johnny, who quickly ducked around and leaped onto the huge pony’s back, punching and kicking. Undisturbed by Johnny’s feeble attempts, he simply reared and slammed himself into the wall of bombs, knocking Johnny off. Eisenhuf swiftly kicked Johnny in the stomach, who produced an oof as the wind was knocked out of him.
Rearing again, Eisenhuf prepared to bring his front hooves down and crush Johnny’s skull. Before he could do so, Johnny rolled onto his back and kicked Eisenhuf in the stomach with his hind hooves. Unbalanced by this, he staggered backwards on his hind legs. There was a loud metallic thunk as Eisenhuf’s head collided with something. Johnny looked up to see the Atomic Rainboom, hanging by chains from the ceiling, swaying slightly from the impact with Eisenhuf’s skull.
Eisenhuf quickly recovered, then yelled something incoherent as he charged at Johnny on all fours. Johnny steadied himself, then leapt into the air, avoiding the pony about to collide with him. He then pushed off the pegasus’s back, using the extra boost to vault through the air and land atop the huge bomb hanging from the ceiling. Eisenhuf could do nothing but paw at the underside of the device, being just out of reach.
Johnny inspected the Atomic Rainboom. It was a solid steel cigar-shaped shell, with no markings or obvious entrances. The only distinguishing features were the fins at the back, and the connection points for the two chains. They were remotely-activated quick-release clamps, triggered via wires that snaked up the chains and into the ceiling. Each docking clamp bore a red switch that was clearly labeled, “EMERGENCY RELEASE.”
Eisenhuf paced below, taunting Johnny. “Ze little kitten is too scared to come down from ze tree, ya? Vell ze little kitten can sit up zere all she wants, but soon –“ His taunts were interrupted when one end of the bomb above suddenly came loose and swung, like a giant pendulum, straight into Eisenhuf’s muzzle with a bell-like thwang. The impact sent him sprawling and knocked him unconscious.
Johnny released his grip from the swinging bomb and alit on the aluminum deck. Brushing off his stolen uniform, he retrieved the timed explosive charge and planted it directly onto the side of the Atomic Rainboom, setting the timer for three minutes.

Johnny ran into the control room, and was greeted with the unconscious and bleeding bodies of several guards slumped over control panels. The control panels themselves had been shot up with an assault rifle, and one of the large windows had been shot out. The view before him was that of Canterlot. They were getting dangerously close. He could see fireworks exploding, the thunderous cracks hitting his ears moments after the flashes of color lit up the control room. He could make out individual ponies, milling about on the royal palace grounds.
The clicking of a rifle made his ears prick up.
“Don’t move.” He heard Cheerilee’s voice behind him.
He held up a hoof and turned around. “Relax, dear. I think you’ve dispatched everyone here.”
She lowered the rifle. “Oh. Sorry.”
Johnny motioned to the shot-up control panels. “I trust you haven’t had much luck with stopping the ship?”
“The controls were locked. I couldn’t do anything. But I did find these.” She indicated a pair of parachutes stacked against the wall.
“Excellent. I’ve set the charges to go off in three minutes. Once we jump out, we can detonate the remote – “
“You’re not going anywhere,” An acid voice spoke up from the doorway. Cheerilee spun around to see Blackwing, with fire in his eyes and a pistol trained on them.
“Cheerilee,” Johnny stepped between her and Blackwing. “Take a parachute and get out of here.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” She responded.
“Oh, how romantic,” Blackwing mocked. “Disgusting.”
“It’s over, Blackwing,” Johnny shouted over the wind noise permeating the room.
“Oh, it’s far from over. Do you play chess, Mr. Recon? Are you familiar with a checkmate?”
“I am.”
“I have you and your little marefriend here at gunpoint, with a massive drop at your backs, and your only means of escape at my hooves.” He stepped forward and kicked the parachutes away. “I’m afraid there’s nothing to do but surrender.”
“Are you aware, Blackwing,” Johnny countered, “of the move known as a feint?”
“What are you insinuating?”
At that moment, Johnny hoofed the detonator on his watch, and the remote explosives on one of the engines exploded. The engine was ripped apart in a giant fireball, and the entire cloudship rocked beneath them. Johnny had prepared for the tremor, but Blackwing had not. He lost his balance and stumbled forward, dropping his gun. Johnny stepped out of his way, and he crashed headfirst into a control panel.
Grabbing a loose wire, Johnny jabbed it directly into Blackwing’s mechanical wing. The entire contraption convulsed, and the crystals inside glowed brightly before exploding. Blue lightning arced over the surface, and Blackwing screamed in pain. Johnny grabbed Blackwing’s rear legs and vaulted him end-over-end over the control panel and through the shattered window. Johnny approached the window and stuck his head out.
Blackwing still hung outside by a hoof, the wind throwing his mane in all directions and fireworks lighting his coat in various colors.
“Checkmate,” Johnny said.
“No…” Blackwing managed to eke out before his grip faltered and he plummeted towards the ground, screaming, his one working wing flapping uselessly.

The cloudship’s progress was slowed, but not halted as it passed over the city of Canterlot. Fireworks exploded dangerously close to them, their reports like cannon fire. Johnny grabbed the parachutes and tossed one to Cheerilee. He quickly put it on, and then leapt out the window with his purple partner in tow.
Just after they cleared the ship, the timed explosive charge detonated, setting off the other bombs. The massive explosion that ripped apart the ship went unseen, but the heat of the blast singed their coats as the fell through the air. Several more, equally intense, explosions followed, making their ears ring with the concussive force. Finally, the Atomic Rainboom itself detonated. Johnny watched as what remained of the cloudship was engulfed with a massive explosion of color. Every color of the rainbow thrust outward in a giant chromatic ring, vaporizing the debris above them.
Johnny and Cheerilee pulled the ripcords, and the orange parachutes lowered them gently to the ground, in a grass field outside the palace. After cutting them loose, the parachutes drifted away from them, getting caught in a tree somewhere.
Cheerilee collapsed, exhausted, into Johnny’s hooves. Together, they lay down onto the soft grass. She held him tightly as she gazed up at the remnants of the explosion above them.
“What are we going to do now?” She asked.
After a pause, he looked into her eyes. “We enjoy the show. I’m sure they won’t mind if we drop in.”

They could hear the ponies at the gala cheering at the multicolored spectacle above them, believing it was the grand finale. To them, the lingering rainbow ring following the explosions that rattled the windows was just part of the display.