//------------------------------// // Taking Fire! // Story: Three Guys in a Stryker Return to Equestria // by Citrus Solutions //------------------------------// Luna stepped into the war room in the lonely area of the castle, once again lighting half the torches along the wall with an exotic blue flame. The room appeared to have been cleaned, there was no longer a layer of dust over everything and the cobwebs had been removed, the old torn graphite maps had simply been removed since there was a giant interactive one in the middle of the room. Celestia, the men noted, was not present. As if sensing it, she assured the group. "My dear sister will be with us shortly." She set a hoof upon the table, which responded by lighting up. It's mystical display of the world still focused on Canterlot. What the Stryker crew had not noticed before, is that if they looked closely enough they could see ponies going through their day to day lives. It was like having twenty-four seven unmanned air vehicle coverage all over the world. Splash freed his eyes to look up at Luna, who just winked. "Ah, sister, Echo." Celestia walked in, closing the doors behind her and lighting her torches. "Pleasure to see you all again so soon. I had expected this to take longer, but when it comes down to it the list was fairly short. But first, did you happen to learn anything?" The crew looked between each other, the only real info they got was from Grape. When they thought about what she'd told them, only a little bit of it was useful. "We met an officer named White Grape," Splash started. "She told us right away the guard couldn't be responsible, but she did say the noble's had enough resources to send people after us." Luna nodded. "They would, and many of Canterlot's fencers are of noble blood, relating to the original attack." Raptor added on. "I overheard a conversation about us, somepony in a crowd was saying we couldn't be real soldiers since we didn't have a real uniform or what they think is armor. Which to be fair, we are security contractors. It might make for some negative opinions on us." Celestia's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Security contractors? And you three were chosen to operate such a vehicle as the one settled in the throne room?" Roar grinned. "It was a loose ship back home." Splash nodded. "We do come from a place where we never die for good." "I suppose I can see that." Celestia said, before nodded and levitating a parchment over to Raptor. "Look over these names, are any of them familiar?" When Celestia said 'fairly short' the men had assumed it would be maybe a dozen names. The entire page was filled with names in very small cursive, and almost side by side, only being separated by commas. "This includes guards, right? We can just mark those off." Raptor said. "No." Celestia shook her head. "I excluded them from the list, and Capt-... Excuse me, Prince Shining Armor is conducting his own investigation into the guard just in case. Originally the list started with the nobles who attended the fake wedding, however I realized by talking to some that news of your existence as individuals spread quickly throughout the noble families and... Oh, there's a back side to that, I ran out of space so the last five are just family names." The men groaned. Luna walked over to the men and upon looking at the list, shared the reaction. "Pray tell, dear sister. How are we going to go about finding the culprit among these names? 'Tis a needle in a haystack filled with heated caltrops! The mare earned stares from every set of eyes in the room at the analogy. She groaned. "I mean it's going to be difficult, and this pony may have gained support in the time we've been trying to find out who they are." A collective 'Oh' replied. Celestia stepped forward. "Please Luna, it is unlike your sister to not have a plan. I assure you I know what to do..." ... "A fucking party. Can't believe that." Roar growled for the umpteenth time as the train ride progressed. Between the clacking of the tracks and the occasional sounding of the steam whistle, Roar's complaining was all they heard. They sat in a nice privacy cabin wherein the lavender seats were soft enough to sink into. Raptor lay in his seat opposite from his two friends swinging his phone between his index finger and his thumb. Splash sat with his legs crossed, closest to the window, Roar was leaned against the interior wall. They'd left their primary weapons in the Stryker, assuring the Princesses they could manage without walking into the small town armed for bear. "At least it's a plan." Splash sighed as he stretched his arms above his head, arcing his back. "Half baked, but still a plan." Raptor nodded in agreement. "Okay, I still don't see why we need to head all the way to the town we arrived in to get clothes, if we need something formal we could've had it done in the city." "Apparently," Raptor said. "Celestia chatted up one of the Elements of Harmony. One of them is a tailor or something, she said she'd do it for free, but her shop is in Ponyville." Roar sat up. "For free? That's ridiculous." "We don't have to pay so I don't see the problem." "Well yeah, but there's gotta be a catch." Raptor sat up and shrugged before looking out the window, Ponyville was getting closer. The train began to brake, though screeching was at a minimum. He stood up, grabbing a handrail on the ceiling. This was a bit of an experiment, as well as a necessity. The three needed proper clothes for the "formal party" Celestia had planned, but at the same time they'd be seeing how the public would react. The train stopped, and ponies began disembarking. None of the men opened the cabin door, and they began to look between eachother. Roar finally cracked and yelled. "These ponies are fucking scary okay?" Splash and Raptor blinked in surprise. With a sigh of reluctance, Raptor opened the cabin door and the men stepped outside. Only the conductor stood in the hall staring at the men, he'd doubtlessly heard the outburst. Echo stepped out of the train and onto the station platform. The area around the station was fairly devoid, the only ponies around getting of or onto the train. Of course, all movement stopped as the ponies took note of the tall bipeds. It was like catching a deer in your headlights. Fortunately Celestia had thought of the three, and had a royal guard waiting there at the station. The grey coated pegasus flapped their wings and boosted over to the group, with a friendly smile. "Hello sirs, i'm to accompany the three of you to the Carousel Boutique." He wasted no time for questions, which was fine, the men had none. The followed close and within twenty minutes, they arrived at what was to them, a giant tent. Their pegasus escort stopped at the door and stood aside. "I shall remain outside, and keep watch." The men each said their thanks, Raptor pushed the door open and the men entered. A chime alerted the shopkeeper to their presence, and Rarity soon stepped in from the other room. "Why hello!" She said gleefully, Splash's eyes darted over to Raptor to see discomfort evident the man's face. Rarity continued. "I'd been told to expect you by Princess Celestia, I hear I have the privilege of creating suits for you fine gentlemen, oh i'm so excited! I'll begin by taking your measurements. Who's first?" "I'll go." Splash said with a smile, and fell into step behind the mare. Raptor turned towards the door as Splash and Rarity went into the other room, he threw a hand into the air and simply said "I'm out of here." Roar pulled him back in when he was halfway out the door, the door chime sounded multiple times, leaving Rarity to wonder what the Hell the other two humans were doing as she started on the one in front of her. "Woah woah woah man you can't just leave." Roar said. "That'd be a dick move." Raptor grunted. "If I knew Rarity was the tailor I wouldn't have come in the first place, you're right we should just have this done back at Canterlot. Raptor turned away again, and Roar turned him back so they were face to face. "What's the deal? She's just another pony." "Her voice." Raptor grumbled. Roar deadpanned. "She's handcrafting-hoofcrafting-whatever making us suits and your going to leave because her voice?" His leader frowned and looked away, but not yet relenting. He sighed. "I can make a way for her not to talk to you, at least much, okay?" Raptor thought for a moment looking up at the ceiling. "Alright, alright." When Splash stepped back into the room, Raptor looked to his other subordinate expectantly. The man sighed and stood from his seat, which Splash then sat in. Roar led himself into the room where Rarity was waiting, measuring tape around her neck and reading glasses rested upon her snout as she scrutinizing some schematics. She turned to the man as he entered and lead him onto a pedestal, he stood facing the mare, mirrors to the side and behind him. And then, a blinding flash. The cameras! Oh they loved him! He was the star, envied by many, equaled by none! All his beauty and passion come to fruiti- Roar blinked. Surprise and confusion was obvious on his face. "Dearie," Rarity asked. "Are you okay?" "D-does that happen to everyone who steps up on this thing?" "Does wh-..." The mare gasped. "You had the vision! Why if you had a flank I bet you'd something related to fashion appear on it right now." She looked the man over, thinking. "Take off your pants." "W-what?!" "Relax dear I just want to see if you earned a cutie mark. You'd have to take them off anyway. While your at it, your vest, shirt, and that... thing slung around your torso." Roar sighed, but complied, leaving his underpants on. Rarity hummed. "Well, no cutie mark here. It's okay dear, keep your dream alive." Roar shook his head. "We can't get cutie marks... Besides." The man raised his hands, looking into his palms. "These hands are meant for hockey." The mare chortled. Some silent moments passed with Rarity quietly working before Roar worked up the courage to execute his plan. "Hey Rarity, about your voice..." Roar started sheepishly. "What about it, dear?" "Look, don't take this the wrong way I just... Is it possible to like... Change it?" Rarity blinked, not sure how to answer the question right away. "I um... I'm afraid not, this the octave I speak at." "Sorry I just uh..." Roar rubbed the back of his neck. "Back where we come from, I uh. I mean I understand this is how you usually speak it's just that back home, a woman's voice gets like that when she..." Roar felt his face burning red hot, how the Hell did he come up with this bullshit? "When she what, dear?" "When she's horny." Rarity reared back, her blush surpassing Roar's as her face went firetruck red in half the time. "I see, and this attracts the. Umm. Males." She looked away, saying that. "Yep." Roar coughed awkwardly. "I... Don't worry about Splash or I, we're cool. But uh, Raptor y'know he's a real maverick. I think it would be a good idea to just not try to make conversation y'know? Don't worry about him talking to you though, he's like the strong silent type." 'Holy shit I think i'm going to vomit.' Roar thought, fighting down the urge to smash his face into the nearest brick wall multiple times. "I..." Rarity's face contorted in a fashion Roar couldn't begin to describe as she resumed her work. "Thank you, that must have been hard to say." The man dragged his hand down his face. "You have no idea." "You're measurements are done, you're free to dress and leave, Mister..." "Roar." He finished for the mare. He dressed and swiftly left. "I need to find a table to drink myself under." He said to his friends, pulling the front door open and leaving the building, leaving Splash and Raptor to look at each other questioningly. Rarity poked her head out from the privacy curtains separating the two rooms and waved Splash in, the man looked at her with a confused face but got up and walked to the mare regardless. "Don't worry." The mare told him quietly. "Your acquaintance explained Raptor's um, interesting condition. Could you please explain to him the process of taking measurements?" Splash raised his eyebrows, but nodded and turned back for Raptor. As Splash stopped the man sitting before him looked up. "Apparently Roar said you had some kind of disease or something, because it doesn't seem like she'll be talking to you herself." Splash said to him. "Huh. Whatever works, I guess." Splash shrugged, and continued. "Anyway, she'll want you to undress so she can get your measurements, when she's not walking around you with measuring tape she's probably done." The man stood up and began walking to the other room. "Simple enough." Raptor's measurement session went by harmlessly, to his surprise. The mare didn't open her mouth once, but her body language concerned him, she moved as if every part of her body was stiff. The measuring tape was pulled away and the mare left him standing on the pedestal, she was on the opposite side of the room writing dimensions or drawing designs. Raptor re-dressed and quietly left. "That was weird." He said to his partner, opening the shop door. ... Their escort led them to a small restaurant, where he'd led Roar to previously. It was a square building with double doors at the front and two large arching windows on each side. The inhabiting ponies had been capable of ignoring the single human in the establishment, but with two more coming in they had started to grow uneasy. The two newcomers found their friend sitting at a bar with a clear glass of water. They seated themselves on opposite sides of him. "Hey Roar," Splash said, looking at him with concern. "You alright?" "Yeah, yeah." The man shook his head. "I just needed to sit down and clear my head." "What'd you tell Rarity?" Raptor asked. "I don't really want to talk about it. I'm not proud of what I said to her." Splash spoke again. "The way you're talking i'm surprised you aren't drinking yourself, and I quote; 'under the table.'" The man shrugged. "Funny story actually, when I asked for a stiff one they gave me a cup of water mixed with a lot of salt, it was disgusting." "How're you paying?" Raptor raised an eyebrow. "In bullets." Raptor and Splash stared at their friend, eyes wide with alarm. It took a moment for him to catch their looks. "Oh, oh Jesus not like that. I mean i'm literally giving them bullets." Splash shook his head. "That's still a terrible idea." Roar shrugged. There was a moment of silence between the three which allowed them to realize how quiet the establishment actually was. Echo slowly turned their heads to the rear to find the once crowded restaurant was now completely empty but them. The door was still in the process of closing itself, it seemed all the ponies just silently got up and left. Including the bartender, who was no longer to their front scrubbing the bar. "Nice job Roar, you scared them off." Splash joked, but like his friends, he was cautiously reaching for his sidearm. They stood to approach the door, just as an explosion blew it off it's hinges, and shattered the two front windows into tiny bits. It was all Echo could do to shield their eyes as tiny bits of glass embedded themselves into any bare skin and the force of the explosion sent themselves flying over the bar. Roar, being the incredibly unlucky one in this scenario, was thrown over the bar then straight into glass bottles containing salt water of different concentrations. He fell to the floor screaming, the glass embedded in his back and saltwater trickling into the wounds. A dazed Raptor tried to pick himself up at the wrong time as red flares of magic began to burst through the breaches at the front of the building, one hitting him in the side of the head, slamming him into some of the glass bottles behind the bar before he crumpled on the floor on his back. Seeing this, Splash stayed low, the man's eyes darted between his two incapacitated team members. The concept of permadeath came to the forefront of his mind again as he began to succumb to uncontrolled panic. It was all he could do to put his hands over his head as flares riddled the wall above him and sent shards of glass raining down on him. The barrage was deafening, the wall and bar were becoming scorched black and sparks danced across the wood as it began to ignite. Splash saw this, and apparently the attackers as well, the barrage only increased to fuel the fire as it spread to the walls and roof. Over the roar of the flames the man heard a large bell ringing frantically, possibly to warn the town of the burning building he currently inhabited. The barrage stopped shortly after, and did not resume for a minute. Roar had long-since stopped screaming, and shakily push himself up and rested on his knees. Splash calmed a little down seeing one of his friends get up, and cautiously stood to look over the fire. Whoever had attacked them was gone, but ponies could be seen distantly with buckets of what was hopefully water approaching the building quickly. "Roar." Splash stuttered. "Get outta here, they're gone." The man, who looked barely conscious, nodded sluggishly. Roar rose to his feet, and despite the way his legs shook with the pain and shock he'd just endured, was able to carry himself out of the building. Splash stood over Raptor's head and knelt down, he wrapped his arms under his friend's and linked his hands together at Raptor's chest before rising slightly and slowly dragged the man out from behind the bar. As he did so Roar's payments exploded from the immense heat under the counter, sending blue flares of magic flying out. The smoke choked Splash, his rushed and panicked breathing only serving to make matters worse. He only remained in the building for a sixty seconds at tops, but to him it felt like several minutes. when he breached the smoke and came out into the open air relief flood through his system, but his legs did not stop moving. Splash's hands remained locked as he continued to drag Raptor away from the building until he bumped into a pony who squealed a little, not noticing the human. Splash apologized and finally set Raptor down, then scanned the area for Roar. The man had passed out yards from the building in prone, and was now being dragged to safety by a pony whose mouth was clamped down on a carry handle on his vest between the shoulders. Splash looked down at Raptor, who wasn't looking too hot, literally. Sweat was showing on his face, but his body was unnaturally cool to the touch. Splash turned on his knees and grabbed the pony by her upper arms and demanded a medic. The mare pushed the man's arms away. "I'm a doctor, I can help." She told him. Splash stepped back and the mare took off a pair a saddlebags he hadn't seen, they bore a red cross on the flap. More ponies in proper medical gear began to appear and lifted Raptor onto a litter, a few meters away, the same was happening to Roar, and eventually they brought one for Splash, who had lost his standing strength. He could hear the burning building collapse as he was carried away.