Hurricane and Heavyweight sat amongst a group of soldiers on a dark plane headed for Dodger City. They had left minutes after they had heard the news of Fluttershy getting spotted and expected to land within the hour.
Hurricane had been watching Heavyweight as they traveled, observing him flex his fingers and looked at the other soldiers with a disapproving glare. “Something wrong, Sargent?” Hurricane asked, knowing what Heavyweight was going through.
Hurricane had suffered more defeats to Fluttershy’s monster than anyone, and he had thirsted for revenge for a few years. He, eventually, got over it though and continued his hunt for the good of his country.
Heavyweight glanced up at his commanding officer. “I’m fine,” he replied in a frustrated tone. “But the rest of these guys are gonna piss their pants if things don’t go as planned,” he continued, knowing not to mention the monster directly. Hurricane prefered keeping information on a need to know basis.
“I expect them to,” Hurricane said, glancing at the soldiers to make sure none of them were paying attention. “But let’s try to take Fluttershy without a fight. The body count would be far too high if she lost control in the city,” he informed. Heavyweight rolled his eyes.
“And what if she loses control? Fluttershy has a pretty good winning streak. If she loses control, we may have to just end it,” Heavyweight argued, a small smile forming on his face at the thought.
Hurricane glared at Heavyweight. “If she loses control, then we lure her to an unpopulated area,” Hurricane said calmly.
Heavyweight’s jaw clenched as he glared at Hurricane. “Fine. What about the help you said she was getting?” he asked, barely keeping the anger out of his voice.
“Boot Strap. Former soldier. He was my eyes on the inside of the experiment Fluttershy was conducting. I wanted to see if it had any weapons application,” Hurricane explained.
Heavyweight raised an eyebrow and started to calm down. “What happened? If he’s your guy, why is he helping her?” he asked.
Hurricane glared at the ground as he remembered. “After the accident, he started feeling guilty and it was affecting his work. The first time we caught Fluttershy, he helped her escape,” Hurricane said bitterly.
Heavyweight’s eyes widened in surprise. “Shouldn’t he be locked up for aiding a fugitive?” he asked, louder than intended and attracting looks from the other soldiers.
Hurricane continued looking at the ground. “We had no proof, but it had to be him. He was the only one working for me that had personal interaction with Fluttershy. I placed my trust in him and he betrayed me. I haven’t trusted anypony like that since,” Hurricane explained. “Remember that. Because if I see you acting even a little strangely, I’m pulling you off of my team until you straighten out,” Hurricane threatened as he looked Heavyweight in the eye.
Heavyweight glared at the General. “Yes sir,” he replied, gritting his teeth.
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Fluttershy and Boot Strap ran into Boot’s apartment in a rush. They knew it was only a matter of time until General Hurricane showed up and they didn’t intend to be here when he did. “Grab the data,” Boot said as he threw some clothes in a bag.
Fluttershy nodded and ran to the back room where she had been keeping the USB that contained what she needed. Fluttershy looked at the small device and took a deep breath. It’ll be over soon, she told herself, trying her best to keep calm. Fluttershy stood up and walked back to the living room as Boot Strap finished packing another bag. Just as they were getting ready to go they heard a knock at the door.
Both ponies froze at the noise, expecting the worst. They feared they were too late and Hurricane was literally on their doorstep.
“Open up,” a familiar female voice said as the pony outside knocked again. Fluttershy and Boot relaxed as Rarity called out to them. “I know your inside, we’re still keeping an eye on you,” the agent said as Boot stepped over to the door and opened it. “You two are impossible,” Rarity said as she stepped inside, wearing a light jacket. Boot opened his mouth to argue, but Rarity interrupted. “I leave you to yourselves for less than a day and you’ve already been spotted,” she complained.
“Umm… actually we were-,” Fluttershy began, the tension in the room starting to ruin her calm state.
Boot glared at the agent as he found his voice. “Well, what happened to S.H.I.E.L.D. keeping us covered?” he asked accusingly, not liking the way Rarity was acting at the moment. Fluttershy held a hand to her head as she felt her other half starting to break free.
“We really should-,” Fluttershy tried to interject, her voice becoming more shake as the other two continued arguing.
Rarity remained calm as she stared down Boot, unaware of Fluttershy’s mental state. “We do the best we can, but it’s a little difficult to lend you help when we have less than a day to be ready. We had an extraction ready and waiting to take Fluttershy someplace safe, but you insisted on going to Manehattan,” Rarity argued.
Boot was getting ready to retaliate when Fluttershy shouted,” Enough!” Boot and Rarity stepped back and Rarity put her hand in her jacket. Fluttershy took a deep breathand closed her eyes, making sure she had control before speaking. “Hurricane is on his way and we don’t have time to argue. We need to go,” she said calmly. Rarity and Boot shared a look before nodding in agreement.
“Fine, but I’d like to accompany you,” Rarity said as she pulled her hand out of her jacket and relaxed.
Boot narrowed his eyes at her. “Why?” he asked suspiciously.
Rarity held his gaze. “Because I have experience staying out of sight when I need to and it seems like you two need help with that,” she replied coolly. Boot looked like he wanted to argue, but didn’t seem to have a reply. “Do you mind having me along?” Rarity asked looking to Fluttershy.
Fluttershy considered her answer. She knew she didn’t trust Rarity, but at the same time, they didn’t have a lot of time to get to Dr. Study and they’d need all the help they could get if they wanted to evade Hurricane within Equestrian borders.
“I don’t mind,” Fluttershy replied, earning a smile from Rarity.
“Alright then,” Boot said as he grabbed his bags. “We’d better get going.”
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Fluttershy stuck close to Boot as they moved through a crowded train station with Rarity. They had decided it would be the best way to get to Manehattan, due to the more relaxed security and it would be faster than walking.
The group stopped at a ticket booth and Rarity stepped forward to pay for the tickets. Boot glanced around while Fluttershy kept her head down and hood up so she wouldn’t get spotted again. “We’re almost out of here,” Boot told her, calming her a bit. “Do you really think we can trust her?” he asked, looking at Rarity.
Fluttershy still wasn’t sure about the agent, but she’d been nothing but helpful. “She hasn’t given us a reason not to yet,” Fluttershy replied, speaking quietly. Boot nodded in agreement as Rarity approached them with the tickets.
“We’re ready to go. Our train will be leaving in about fifteen minutes, so let’s hurry,” Rarity told them as she continued walking towards the platforms.
“Good. I can’t wait to be out of Hurricane’s warpath,” Boot said as he put a hand on Fluttershy’s back, guiding her through the crowd.
Fluttershy watched the shoes in front of her to avoid running into anyone. She still bumped into a few passersby, but as far as she knew, no one was paying any attention to them. Everything will be fine, She told herself. Nopony can even see my face. They won’t know it’s me.
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General Hurricane stepped into Boot Strap’s apartment with Winchester and Heavyweight close behind and shook his head in disappointment. “Jeez, what a dump,” Heavyweight commented, scanning the small home and grimacing at the mess of dishes that had been left out.
“Looks like they’ve already left,” Winchester said as she started looking through what little storage space there was. The closet only had a few jackets and a vacuum that had more dust on it than the floor.
“As expected,” Hurricane replied. “Search it. Take anything worth taking and then start checking in with the other units,” Hurricane ordered.
Heavyweight rolled his eyes at the order. “Yeah that’s not gonna take long at all,” he said as he scanned the apartment, already sure that they wouldn’t find anything of value here. “So why am I here and not out there helping the others look for Fluttershy?” he asked, earning the General’s attention.
“Because those were my orders,” Hurricane answered. “They could be anywhere in the city right now. I want you close enough to me, so that as soon as we get eyes on her, you know where to go,” the General explained.
Heavyweight smiled at the answer. “Sounds good to me.”
Just as they were returning to their search, the radio on Winchester’s belt crackled to life. “This is Unit one. We have eyes on secondary target. Over,” a soldier said over the radio. Heavyweight looked at the mare’s radio with interest, the search halted.
Winchester grabbed her radio and replied,” Is he with Fluttershy, over?” she asked hurriedly.
There was a brief silence before the soldier answered. “We have no visual, but he’s with two mares. One white, purple mane and the other is wearing a hood. Can’t see a face. Over,” the soldier responded.
“That’s them,” Hurricane said, absolutely sure he was correct. “Find out where they are and tell them to stall. They are not to engage unless necessary,” he ordered.
Winchester nodded as she spoke into her radio. “Understood. What is your position, over?” Winchester asked.
“Train station. Targets are boarding the train to Manehattan. Over,” the soldier replied.
“Keep the train in the station. Do not engage the target. Back up is on the way,” Winchester replied.
Heavyweight smiled as he turned to Hurricane. Hurricane looked at the larger stallion and nodded. “Go get her.” Heavyweight wasted no time. He leaped through the window behind the couch and landed on a fire escape in an alley, broken glass showering the concrete below. He quickly jumped over the railing and landed on the ground three stories below, hitting the ground rolling. Heavyweight jumped back to his feet and started running through the streets as the sun set below the horizon.
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Rarity glanced at her watch apprehensively, tapping her foot on the floor of the train compartment she was sharing with Boot and Fluttershy. “Why haven’t we left yet?” she asked nervously, hoping they hadn’t been spotted.
Boot gave her a questioning look. “What do you mean?” he asked, growing concerned himself and piquing Fluttershy’s interest.
Rarity showed the pair her watch. “The train should have left nearly fifteen minutes ago. I think we’re being stalled,” she explained, glancing out of the window and scanning the crowd. After only a few seconds she spotted a stallion sitting on a bench with a newspaper and wearing sunglasses. “How cliche,” she muttered as she stood up.
“Where are you going?” Fluttershy asked, remaining calm as she looked out of the window as well, trying to see what Rarity had.
“We’ve been spotted,” Rarity confirmed. “We need to leave now.”
Boot looked out of the window and cursed. “Okay what’s the plan then?” he asked looking to Rarity.
Rarity gave him an incredulous look. “I have no idea. My plan involved a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. It was your plan to go to Manehattan,” she accused opening the door of the compartment and glancing down the train car.
Boot glared at the agent. “Well, our plan didn’t involve you,” he countered as he and Fluttershy stood up and grabbed their bags.
Rarity scoffed as she stepped out of the compartment, Fluttershy and Boot close behind. “Your plan is what got us caught in the first place. From now on I lead,” she told her companions. Fluttershy seemed hesitant as Rarity took charge, but followed anyway.
“Okay fine. So what do we do?” Boot asked, holding back a growl, angered by Rarity simply bringing the conversation full circle.
Rarity took a moment to consider their options before replying. “Well, we aren’t leaving by train and we can be sure the General will be sending reinforcements,” she said, more to herself than her companions. “I’m going to distract our tail. Move for the exit as soon as he isn’t watching,” she said as they arrived at an exit. Rarity calmly walked off of the train in the direction she had seen the stallion and pulled out her phone, pretending to be distracted by the glowing screen.
As she neared the stallion she quickly dipped her hand in a passing mare’s purse and retrieved the stranger’s wallet. The stallion averted his gaze as Rarity approached.
“Hey! Somepony stole my wallet!” As soon as Rarity heard the shout she walked by the stallion and threw the wallet at him.
The stallion snatching the wallet out of the air on reflex. “It’s him!” Rarity shouted. “He’s the thief!” The stallion looked bewildered as a police mare approached with her hand on her hip. Rarity looked back at the stallion and winked as he held his hands over his head. Satisfied Rarity walked away and saw Fluttershy and Boot headed for the exit.
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“Almost there,” Boot said as he and Fluttershy pushed through the crowd toward the exit. Fluttershy was fighting herself internally to maintain control and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold out. She needed to find someplace quiet to take a break.
Just as the pair reached the entrance, Fluttershy watched a large stallion breakthrough the crowd and slam into Boot, knocking the smaller stallion to the floor. The soldier stood nearly twice as tall as Fluttershy and glared at her. He smiled as their eyes met. “Ready for another go?” he asked as Fluttershy stood in front of him shocked and frightened.