It had been a long afternoon. Rarity thought she understood Loowit’s instructions about intertwining her magic with the environment to really interact, but so far she had been unable to do so. The other spells came somewhat easier.
Basic thermal manipulation was a bit of a specialty for Loowit, but Rarity was gaining competency. At first her efforts only produced a mild warmth on the surface of her palms. More practice eventually resulted in a small sparkle of flame. Rarity quickly shook her hands, wary of being burned.
“Come on, you were the one controlling it,” chided Loowit. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have toasted yourself.”
“I’m also not the one who is naturally fireproof.” Rarity shook her head. “I still can’t believe magma facials work for you.”
“My own special brew,” replied Loowit, laughing.
Eventually, it came time for Rarity to go. The magic-based training was an interesting break from what she had experienced so far, but she suspected that it was not really the experience of the average human. While that might be relatively dull and boring, it was preferable to being attacked. Rarity could never quite forget that everything she was learning was for the purpose of fighting.
Rob was sleeping in the car’s backseat when she returned. Rarity thought about startling him awake with some well-placed mental imagery, but decided that nothing she could come up with would ever compete with human media.
In her browsing on the internet, Rarity had seen things no pony would ever hope to experience talked about casually as if it were the weather. By the same token, there was also a lot of good and interesting compensation. Rarity had discovered that she preferred older media, the black and white cartoons without voices. It reminded her more of Equestrian animation style, and Mickey Mouse was rather adorable. She would have to investigate this mysterious Disney company further.
Rob woke up when Rarity opened the driver’s door. He sat up. “Mind if I drive?”
She gave him the pouting face again. “But I’m the one who needs the practice. Besides, you can have plenty of time with the car after I go home.”
Rarity knew she needed more experience driving, but mostly she just wanted to annoy Rob. He probably didn’t get enough of that in his life, and it was nice to know that she could still persuade males to give her what she wanted.
“You’re devious,” muttered Rob. He sighed and brightened somewhat. “Good. That quality will help you stay alive.”
Rarity pondered that as she put the car into gear. While she was no Applejack, lying and cheating were not vices she often indulged in. She supposed that rules like that went out the window when life-or-death situations were involved. She absently reached to where the pistol was digging into her side. While she’d found use for it by shooting Mr. Wright, carrying it had mostly been an annoyance, especially while sitting. Rarity finished tugging the holster into a more comfortable position and finely adjusted it with a slight amount of magic.
“If you’re going to drive, at least I can punish you with a scenic view that you can’t look at because you’re behind the wheel,” said Rob. “Turn south.”
The highway traced a winding path through the forest. A while passed, and Rob pointed her to Washington State Route 14, that traced the northern bank of the Columbia River.
The road ran down inside the river gorge, with towering bluffs and majestic views of flowing water. True to Rob’s word, it was difficult for Rarity to keep her eyes focused on driving. Despite that, she managed.
Her tentative pace on the curving road left Rarity constantly checking the rearview mirror for faster traffic. As it was, she wasn’t caught unaware when a large black SUV came up behind. The surprising thing was what happened next.
Rob screamed something incoherent and yanked the steering wheel out of Rarity’s hands. There was a whoosh of a projectile passing by at high speed through the space where the car had been an instant earlier. Rarity’s eyes jerked to the mirror, spotting someone leaning out the window of the SUV with an empty RPG launch tube. There wasn’t time to marvel at her memory of the basic weapon systems she had been taught. Instead, Rarity did the only thing that made sense and jammed her right foot down on the accelerator.
Rob was busy dialing his cell phone. Rarity wasn’t sure who he called, but she hoped it was for help. As the conversation was relatively short and seemed to cheer him up, she assumed that it held good news. Rarity hadn’t heard the words, concentrating too hard on the road to care. She was more concerned about being blown up or going over the guardrail into the river.
The way she was driving, the second option seemed more likely. Not only were they traveling at a speed far outside of Rarity’s comfort zone, but also well above the posted speed limit. The road also conspired against them, full of irregular twists and sharp turns.
Rob looked sideways, spotting a small yellow airplane coming in their direction over the river. Ahead, the road straightened out, another black SUV heading their way. Rarity saw the impending roadblock and froze with indecision.
“In there!” shouted Rob, pointing to a side road. Rarity obediently turned onto the gentle curve that lead to a parallel path between the main highway and the river. A tall concrete structure built in the river was coming up, holding back the water upstream. A posted sign read Bonneville Dam. Rarity realized they were on the access road to it.
Being off the main path cut off one of their pursuers, but that would only pose a slight delay. Rarity finally saw the airplane, wondering what it was doing so low to the ground. The slight distraction was actually fortunate, preventing Rarity from realizing there was a gate coming up until the car was already crashing through it.
With a squeal, Rarity jammed on the brakes and the car slid to a stop. It was just as well, as the tires had been punctured by security features installed at the checkpoint she had just violated. In the rearview mirror, Rarity saw a uniformed guard frantically calling someone from the little shack beside the gate.
Rob tugged at her shoulder. “Run!”
Rarity piled out of the car and sprinted after him. While the surface beneath her feet was smooth concrete, puddles stood here and there from recent water accumulation. Despite her persnickety nature, Rarity splashed through instead of detouring around. There was simply no time for any other course of action.
Their pursuers had stopped at the gate, unwilling to shred their own tires. There was a sharp report of a shot. Rarity got the sickening feeling that might have been for the guard.
The small airplane buzzed low. Rarity saw a strange system of pipes under the wings. A liquid seemed to be spraying out, and regardless of what it might consist of, she instinctively knew that it couldn’t be anything good.
The two of them barely made it to the cover of a sturdy structure built atop the dam before the airplane swept overhead, its propeller engine buzzing. Small droplets of liquid rained down, although the two of them were sheltered.
“How could they have found us?” demanded Rob. While his question had been rhetorical, Rarity remembered the magic she’d used to reset her holster. It had been an honest mistake after getting to use so much magic earlier in the day. Rob shot her an unpleasant look, but there was no time to dwell on the issue. That was when the gunfire started.
It sounded like machine guns, and a lot of them. Rarity was unsure how many people had been in the two SUV’s, but guessed at least four each. She and Rob both had a handgun. The odds did not look promising.
“I think if we keep going we can get over the top of the dam and to the opposite shore,” said Rob. He was heading south, keeping to cover. Rarity followed him as quickly as possible.
“What if there are more covering the exit?” she asked.
Rob looked like he hadn’t considered it. After a moment, however, he said, “They couldn’t have expected us to pull in here. I doubt we’ll have company, but regardless, I should be able to hear them coming.”
Just then, the airplane made another pass, drenching them both with a foul-smelling chemical. Rarity sputtered, but Rob looked aghast. “They planned ahead. This must be some kind of ability suppressant, and applied with a crop duster, no less! I can’t hear anything.”
Rarity felt something like a slight nagging tug, wondering if it was magic being pulled from her. She found that she was still able to wield her ability, but it felt a bit forced. Perhaps the suppressant had only affected her partially.
She nearly had a terrified reaction the same as when she’d discovered her missing horn, but there was no time for a panic attack. And really, it would be rather egotistical of her, being demoted to mere human. She gritted her teeth with resentment and resignation. Without magic to protect herself, Rarity would be forced to fall back on the training she had received.
As they kept running, Rarity swung her eyes to the lake the dam held back. “Could this substance be washed off?”
“Maybe, but in the water we’d be sitting ducks. Our best bet is to keep going.” Rob kept moving, leading with his gun and looking like he felt very vulnerable. Rarity knew the sensation.
Rarity gripped her own pistol tightly, visually checking it again to make sure it was ready. While unexpectedly shooting Mr. Wright was one thing, a gunfight was quite another.
Their pursuers, wary of a trap, had not caught up by the time Rarity and Rob reached the south gate on the other side of the dam. The guard stationed there appeared to have abandoned his post. The gate was locked, and despite being designed to keep people out, it did a fine job of keeping the two of them in. To add insult to injury, they were doused again by the crop duster.
Rarity had been in a few tough scrapes in Equestria. While perhaps not as many as some of her friends on their own, she still understood enough to know when she was backed into a corner. She also had gained a new consideration of the human psyche, particularly the part about kill or be killed.
Well then, time to gain some practical knowledge, as Twilight would say. Covering behind a concrete pillar near the gate, Rarity raised her gun and waited for a target to appear. Instead, there was a tremendous crash from the sky, as if Rainbow had performed a Sonic Rainboom. Rarity dropped to the ground in surprise and fear, realizing only after landing in a puddle that the noise was merely the arrival of a pair of fighter jets. Rarity was beginning to wonder if the Oregon Air National Guard enjoyed scaring her.
The gun-toting pursuers appeared to consider the situation for a moment and then rapidly retreated. Rarity saw only four of them. At the same time, she spotted one of the black SUV’s departing. Evidently, some of the forces had stayed back in reserve and wisely decided to escape when backup appeared. Rarity shook her head. She was even thinking in battle terms.
Speaking of backup, another vehicle appeared just then. Even from across the dam, Rarity knew it was friendly. Rob gestured her forward. “Come on, we can squeeze the bad guys between us and cut off their escape route.”
While Rarity was reluctant to shift into attacking mode and away from simple self-defense, she saw the value of the plan. Her wet clothes and boots squelched wetly as she and Rob ran back across the dam.
As if things had suddenly turned around in every possible way, the crop duster made a break for escape. One of the jets fired a missile that streaked after the smaller airplane, exploding it into a ball of flaming wreckage that crashed into the river.
Rarity and Rob kept running, weapons ready. There was quite a lot of activity going on near the north gate. Rarity saw magic, bullets, and bodies flying.
The first thing to catch her attention was a large, dark-colored wolf bloodily ravaging one of the gun-toting assailants. Rarity saw Jenny toothily dealing with another man in a manner that was just as messy. With careful application of force fields, magical gusts of wind, and more than a little profanity, Morgan’s opponent was thrown over the face of the dam, falling more than one hundred feet into the white water of the spillway below.
Veronica looked up from where she was mashing the last man’s face into the concrete and twisting his arms. “Am I the only one to not kill somebody?”
“Good job,” said Bear. “We’ll need him for interrogation.” She had changed back to her human shape, still covered in blood and completely naked. One of the jets banked low over the dam. Bear made a rude hand gesture to the sky.
Rarity cast her eyes over the bloodshed, suddenly less enthusiastic about attacking than she had been a moment before. While human emotions for battle were powerful, they couldn’t override what she was feeling now—sympathy. Nobody should have to die in so inelegant a fashion.
“We should go,” advised Jenny, wiping her mouth. That sounded like a great idea. Rob looked back forlornly at the car they would have to leave behind.
“Surely the public will notice all this?” asked Rarity as the six of them piled into the SUV and took off in a hurry.
“It’s fucking amazing what people sometimes miss,” said Morgan with a shrug.
“And if that doesn’t work, we can just say it was terrorists,” put in Bear. “In the United States, that’s the answer to everything.”
“What happened to your clothes?” asked Rarity.
Bear seemed slightly confused, both by the abrupt change of subject but also just general confusion. “I don’t actually know. I assume shredded somewhere back there. I didn’t really stop to think about it.”
“I would lend you this blanket,” called Morgan from the back where he had taken charge of the prisoner, “but we should probably keep out guest covered to avoid suspicion.”
“Which is worse, showing off a beaten-up bad guy or a naked woman covered in gore?” asked Rob.
“Well, we are near Portland…” mused Morgan.
“Oh heavens!” exclaimed Rarity in annoyance, taking off her jacket and giving it to Bear. It was wet, but the werewolf did not complain.
Rarity rested her head back, reflecting for a moment on what had just transpired. It was a stunning revelation that she herself had been perfectly willing to kill. Granted, in self-defense, but had a target presented itself, Rarity told herself that she would have pulled the trigger.
A bigger revelation was what had happened next. The others had been willing to end lives in her defense. That was a more difficult thing to think about. Rarity had been shocked to see it happen in front of her eyes, but she had to admit that it was better than the alternative of not fighting. Did that make her a bad person? Did it make her a bad pony? At the same time, it was unacceptable to just let someone take her life because they didn’t like her.
Rarity shook her head. She found it difficult to justify what was happening, but also felt no need to. She didn’t feel right, but knew she wasn’t completely wrong, either. Maybe the humans were getting to her.
And when they all got back to the cabin, then would come the interrogation of the prisoner. Rarity had read enough novels to know that it wouldn’t be pleasant. For him.