Life in the Fast Lane

by TheAmazingMe

Beauty and the Beast: Finale

The same unit that lead the search for me after the bridge collapse now stood ready to turn Canterlot upside down to find Bruiser. Now we had to have a direction. They stood waiting in the hospital while Div and Sergeant Mountain Stone and I spoke with the last ponies to see him.

Progetta and Amore put up a good fight. Both were hurt. Amore hadn't stirred once in all the time we spent in the room. Progetta had a broken wing, a black eye, and several cuts and bruises. Div froze at the sight and stood silently by Mama Pro's bed. As they spoke, I sat next to Amore's bed, stroking her hoof carefully.

"They'd surrounded us in the middle of the park. Four earth ponies, four pegasus ponies and a unicorn. When the unicorn pulled Bruiser with a magic rope, Bru didn't resist. He rushed up and socked the bastard right in the jaw. Broke his concentration and stunned him. Amore and I bucked two each and we made a retreat with the other four on our heels. Amore took to the air and flew circles around the two pegasi as they made a grab for Bru. I made a sudden stop and bucked an earther right in the face. Bruiser tried the same on the last one, but I gave the bastard a flying kick. We turned to leave, but the one I'd just downed grabbed my ankle. Nearly broke it. Bru helped me knock him out and we made a line for home."

"All three of us almost made it, but the unicorn blew Amore out of the sky. She crashed on our doorstep, and Bruiser lost his head. He ran at the unicorn again, but took a blast and fell. He was still moving when two pegasi picked him up. I...I tried, Div. But the ones we didn't knock out caught up with us. One caught my wing as I tried flying after the ones carrying Bru away. I don't remember much after that."

"Mama." Div said, his voice nearly choked out with emotion.

Progetta shook her head. "There's time for that later. Go find my grandson."

As we left the room, Sergeant Stone shook his head. "Not much to go on. She doesn't know who they were."

"They were DelManeco's thugs." Paisley Ember said as she walked towards us. "One of the ones your mothers knocked out has known ties to the family. The unicorn also matches one of Erede's friends. He's an SGU grad turned pawnbroker who operates out of Cliffside."

"So where would they take Bruiser?" Stone asked.

"Probably to one of their safe houses." Carina said, walking up from the other end with Genuine in tow.

"Ms. Locale." Paisley said stiffly.

"Officer." Carina said, nodding slightly. "They attacked two of my employees as well. Security Guards, hired by Madam Article here on behalf of Mr. Story and Mr. DiVolare."

Sergeant Stone looked around at all parties involved, and then looked at Div. "You have an...interesting assortment of friends."

Genuine addressed the group. "That unicorn was Tightrope. He's in charge of the two safehouses. One on the border of Upper and Lower Cliffside and the other one in Sol District."

"Then we'll split up into two and check them both." Sgt. Stone announced.

Ember eyed the sergeant and bit her lip. "Um, I appreciate the help, Sergeant..."

The sergeant returned Ember's scrutiny. "Stone. Sergeant Mountain Stone of Princess Luna's House Guard. As this is Div's son, I've mobilized my unit to assist. I have my unit here. Where are your ponies?"

Unflinching, Ember answered. "Currently searching the Upper and Lower Cliffside. It's been a fruitless effort so far, but we can take the safehouse here if you can handle the one in Sol." Paisley suggested. Genuine tapped Ember's shoulder and the two turned away to speak.

"On it. Ponies, with me." Sgt. Stone ordered. As I fell in with the rest, Stone looked at me. He drew a breath to say something, but then his eyes flipped up to my horn and he closed his mouth. Clearing his throat, he turned his gaze on those assembled and spoke. "We have a family member missing, ponies. Foalnapped. We have two leads. City Guard has one, we have the other in Sol. Madam Article?" Stone called over his shoulder. She stood beside him an instant later and gave the address of the Sol safehouse. "Right. Flyers in the air now. The rest of us, City Guard has a wagon for us outside. Let's go."

On the way out, Div fell in beside Stone. The two spoke, with Stone shaking his head at first and then turning a determined look on him at the end. As we got out to the street, Div took off like a bolt of lightning. I started after him, but Stone pulled me over to the wagon. "Your husband is a runner." He reminded me. "He'll be there around the same time as the flyers. He's under the same orders, but it's anypony's guess if he'll listen to them."

***

Sidelined with Astral Bolt guarding me, we watched as the team made their way into the warehouse. Div was there shortly after the flyers landed and waited long enough to see that Stone was nearly there before plunging in. The flyers followed, Stone paused only to leave Astral with me before jumping in as well with the rest of the squad.

A flicked a stone idly with one hoof, trying and failing to quell the uneasiness I felt. "It's been too long, Astral."

Astral fluttered his wings and sighed. "Life, I know what you're thinking, but please..."

He left the rest of the sentence hanging in the air. Please... Please what? Did Astral want in on the action? I decided to test him. "Astral, I don't want to have to knock you out."

Astral looked at me with a smirk. "That would put a damper on our friendship. You're sure you just can't hold on a few more minutes?"

"I'm sure."

Flapping his wings heartily, Astral Bolt gestured forward. "Good. I'll give you a headstart and say you slipped away from me."

As we made our way in, we ran directly into Sgt. Stone, Gear Grinder, and Cloud Lance. He sighed softly and rolled his eyes. "Doesn't anypony know how to follow orders?"

"Sorry, sir." Astral apologized. "He got away from me."

"Likely story." Stone shrugged. "Oh well, couldn't hurt to have another unicorn to take down Tightrope. He's got Bruiser tied down in the middle of the room. Mixer and Battle Ready are getting into position. Harvest is trying to locate Div. At the signal, we..."

A loud bang echoed through the warehouse. "Go! Take down the henchponies and secure Bruiser."

The flyers took to wing, the high ceiling of the warehouse giving them ample room to maneuver. I stuck to Sgt. Stone as I saw Div and Harvest pop out from the side, Tightrope hot on their heels. From the corner of my eye I could see Mixer and Stone standing over Bruiser. Mixer's horn glowed as he began undoing the tethers holding Bru down.

Straight ahead, Div and Harvest pulled down a stack of crates to block the way between them and Tightrope. His magical ropes caught the crates in a net and solidified into steel cables. He let a bolt of energy fly and I cast my own magic out. The shield snapped into place just in time to deflect the rudimentary bolt. It ricocheted and dispersed erratically.

Tightrope might be a tethering master, but he was no battle-hardened bolt caster. I looked around for Battle Ready, but she wasn't in sight with the stacks of crates around. Looking back, I realized I'd gotten somepony's attention; Tightrope's magic arced through the air towards me, a lasso of energy ready to snag me.

I brought my shield up to deflect it, leaving Div and Harvest exposed as the shield around them flickered out. Tightrope let out another blast of energy towards them. I shot a tether at a nearby crate and swung it in the bolt's path. The wooden crate exploded, but the debris field shot back at Tightrope. The unicorn jumped out of the way of the deadly splinters and was out of sight behind a pyramid of crates.

Div took off to the top of the pyramid to gain a vantage point. As he leapt onto the top crate, it was pulled out from under him. Before he could be crushed underneath, I pulled him away with my tether. Div rolled down the stack and landed on his feet, none the worse for the wear. He took off around the crates as I drew a glyph on the floor.

Every action was an equal and opposite reaction. But let's amplify physics here. I thought to myself as I finished the glyph and jumped down on it, hard. I bounced off of the glyph like it was a super-powered trampoline. Attaching a quick tether to a rafter, I used the magic rope to swing over the crates and catch sight of Tightrope. Div and Mountain Stone had him cornered, but Tightrope seemed uninterested in surrendering. As he charged his horn, I landed behind him. Tightrope turned around to level his blast at me, point-blank. Instead, I popped him in the jaw with an uppercut. His blast went high, struck a window and blew the shards out in an arc. The slivers of glass flew over us and towards Div and Stone.

As the pair back away, Mixer raised a shield to protect them. The henchponies apparently dispatched, Gear Grinder and Astral Bolt landed on two crate stacks and flared their wings. Tightrope used the distraction to slip a tether around my neck and he stood behind me.

"Nopony move!" Tightrope barked harshly. "If I see anypony's horn so much as flicker, I'll pop the top off of this skunk."

Skunk! My white streak wasn't anything like a skunk's--

"You're surrounded, Tightrope. Stand down, surrender, and it'll be much easier on you." Stone cautioned.

The tether tightened. "I don't think you quite grasp the pull I've got here." From the corner of my eye, I could see Battle Ready creeping around a pile of crates, unnoticed.

"I don't think you understand who you're holding." I pointed out, my hoof beginning to trace a pattern in the dirt.

"Shut up!" Tightrope hissed as the rope tightened again. The magic started to heat up around my neck as well. "You guards are going to let me walk out of here. If I hear anypony following me, the red one gets it. Now clear the way." It was time to break free. I fell to my face, coughing and struggling against the tether around my neck.

"Get up!" Tightrope ordered. "It's not even--"

A shot a pulse through my horn into the glyph on the floor, negating the magic powering the tether around my neck. Without missing a beat, Battle Ready fired a volley, knocking Tightrope into Gear Grinder's pile of crates and out cold.

Comments

[Grekoy]

Mission Accomplish!