Yellow Submarine Part 3: Burial at Sea
Trot Harbor, 994 C. E.
[REDACTED] Status: About to Go Down
"Hey, open up in there! OPEN UP IN THERE!" *BANG BANG BANG*
Flash blanched. "Think they know it's us?"
The Look Sweetie gave him spoke for itself.
"No, I meant, they know somepony's in here, but it could be, like, one of the crew who forgot to unlock the door or something, right?"
Sweetie's Look continued.
"Okay, okay, dumb question. So, how do we get out of here then?"
"I was thinking the same way you came in. How are the vents?"
"Cramped. Really cramped. And, uh," He hoofed at the steel deck, trying to find a polite way to word his next thought. "I don't know if they can hold your, uh, you know... you."
*WHAM* *WHAM* "OPEN THIS HATCH!"
Sweetie's jaw dropped as she realized what the guardspony was implying. "Are you... calling me fat?!?!?!"
"No! I swear to Celestia, I'm not! I'm a pegasus! We're, like, super light for our size! Hollow bones! Flight magic and stuff! Please don't beat me up again..."
Sweetie couldn't help but laugh a little. This poor stallion had a serious case of hoof-in-mouth. "Relax Corporal, I won't. This time. We don't need the vents to hold my dense earthpony flank for very long," she motioned to the ventilation grate. "Lead the way."
At a loss for words, Flash squeezed his lanky frame back into the ventilation shaft. Sweetie followed quickly as sparks began to fly from the hatch.
The group of Blackbeak thugs stood back from the hatch as a unicorn mare slowly worked a Blowtorch spell over the hinges. As they turned from cherry red to bright orange, she backed off, shaking her head frantically to cool her glowing horn. The rest of the group moved to replace her, taking flanking positions on either side of the hatch. One earthpony stood opposite the door, drew back his hindlegs, and gave the hatch a tooth-rattling buck. The door flew off its weakened hinges and the assorted ponies and griffons stormed into the room.
The lead griffon reared up, brandishing his cutlass. "NOPONY MOVE! GET DOWN ON THE DECK AND-- wait, where are they?"
*Clang*
*WHAM*
"Wow, you weren't kidding about these vents, Corporal."
Everypony jumped back. The griffon leading the charge was now pinned to the floor by a mangled piece of ducting, blood trickling slowly from his beak. The pile of twisted metal and insulation shifted. A blue-and-pink mane popped up out of the mass, followed by a pony's head as Sweetie fought to extact herself from her scrap-metal prison. The other griffon in the group stepped reacted first, leveling her crossbow at the intruder. "It's her! Shoot her!"
*WHACK*
She went down too, brained by a pipe wrench. Flash hung from the remains of the air-conditioning duct, his head and forelegs poking out of the hole left by a Sweetie-induced structural failure. He gracefully dropped down to scoop up the fallen bird's weapon, bringing the crossbow to bear at the three remaining ponies before they could turn to the new threat.
*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*
The two earthponies flinched as the shots splintered in front of them, harmlessly bouncing off a shimmering orange barrier between them and Flash. Flash gawked as the unicorn smirked at him. She flicked her dusky mane out of her eyes, drawing his attention to her lit horn. "Nice try, soldier-boy, but no penetration 'till the third date."
Flash gulped as his bow clicked on empty. The two stallions grinned as they charged their shock-spears, static bolts flickering off the tips. He shied away as they advanced.
The unicorn lowered her shield, pointing a hoof towards Flash. "Fry him."
A cream blur tackled Flash just as two lightning bolts swept through the space where he had been standing. Sweetie and Flash tumbled across the deck, coming to rest next to the broken steel hatch. She propped it up with her forehooves and flicked her head, sending a small cylinder sailing from her mouth up over the makeshift barricade.
"Cover your ears!"
Flash buried his face under his wings.
*BOOM*
The whole world went white. Flash stumbled to his hooves, shaking his head as a sharp ringing drilled into his brain. The three Blackbeak ponies lay on the deck, dazed and moaning. As the darker-coated stallion struggled to regain his footing, he felt his spear pulled loose from the crook of his foreleg. Sweetie, having already regained her equilibrium, whirled the weapon around and brought the grip crashing down onto his helmet. His eyes rolled up as he collapsed back to the deck. She spun the spear back level under her foreleg and swung it towards his partner. The point glowed blue-white as her fetlock tightened around the grip, arcing bolts of lightning over the disoriented stallion. He fell, still twitching as he went. The unicorn, ears bleeding from the flashbomb, relit her horn as Sweetie tried to readjust her aim in time.
A jet of white-hot fire carved through the air where Sweetie's head had occupied a split-second earlier. She scrambled away from the wave of heat as the unicorn's Blowtorch spell sliced through radio equipment like butter. Backed into a corner, Sweetie brought the spear back up. She aimed and squeezed, the spear giving out a single pitiful spark.
The pointy end was nothing more than molten slag, sheared off by magical flame. I thought this thing felt lighter.
The Blackbeak unicorn's mocking smirk was gone, replaced by murderous anger. Sweetie could see the heat emanating off her yellow coat. She shouted something at Sweetie.
"WHAT??"
The tips of her burgundy mane glowed cherry as she yelled louder. Sweetie couldn't make out anything over the ringing in her ears.
"I CAN'T HEAR YOU! STILL DEAF FROM THE FLASH GRENADE! GIVE IT A MINUTE!"
She glared, again shouting something unintelligible as she chargerd her horn.
"IF YOU'RE TRYING TO GLOAT, IT'S GOTTA WAIT! I'M NOT GETTING ANY LESS DEAF HERE!"
Her horn glowed white-hot as she dug a hoof at the deck. Just as she was about to swing her head down and fire, she let out a silent yelp and her magic fizzled. She only had a moment to look back at the crossbow bolts sticking into her barrel and flank before she keeled over. Flash lowered his crossbow, limping over the fallen mercenary to offer Sweetie a hoof up. He asked Sweetie something, but the words were washed away by an incessant ringing the second they left his lips.
Sweetie facehoofed. "HANG ON!"
She dug a hoof into her saddlebag, pulling out a bottle labeled Tonic of Tinnitus. She slugged back half then offered the rest to Flash.
"Much better. Thank you for the rescue Corporal, I suppose you're not such a buckup after all."
"It took me a while to find some bolts for this. Why was she shouting at you?"
"Who knows? Trying to show off how much better she is than me, maybe." Sweetie pulled her own bow from the wreckage of the air duct. "Here's Spycraft Lesson One, anything you may want to tell your opponent right before you kill them will sound just as cool right after you kill them. My trainers burned that lesson into me on my first day."
"Makes sense. Wait..." he held up the empty bottle. "Why do you have this stuff? How many times have you blown out your ears before where you'd plan for it?"
"You'd be suprised. C'mon, we need to move, like, yesterday. Grab that stallion's vest and helmet and let's get out of here before we make any new friends."
Over at the watch station, a pair of heavily-armed thugs stormed through the front double doors and marched up to the desk sergeant.
"Where's the sheriff?"
A hoof pointed meekly down the hall. The Trot town guardsponies knew when they were in over their heads.
The pair barged into the sheriff's office. The shorter of the two, a vermillion pegasus, slammed his hooves down on the desktop and scattered piles of paperwork across the room. Sheriff Rusty Coal Train flinched, drawing away from the angry henchponies.
"What the fuck is going on here, Sheriff? I thought we had a deal!!"
"Blitzkreig, I don't know any more than you do, honest!"
"We're paying you a literal ton of money to keep the townsponies away from our operation! Not wander right up to the dock and attack my workers!"
The sheriff straightened his stance, refusing to show the intimidation he felt. The town depended on him keeping these jackals more or less on the up-and-up. With less than twenty officers on the force, he didn't like his chances against a mercenary army. "Blitz," he began, "those enforcers of yours won't let anypony near the docks, including my Guards! Whatever happened wasn't on my end, so why don't you go ask your salted-up fratcolts about it?"
Oops. Far from cowing the goons, his false bravado only seemed to provoke them. "Funny you should mention that," Tire Iron remarked, "cause all our boys down at the docks swore they saw a policepony make an arrest right in front of the Sorena. Miss Glasgow brought them into our office to have a word about respecting private property. Next thing they know, the Captain's sounding the alarm. So they go and check on the warehouse, and whaddaya know, everypony's dead."
Rusty broke out into a cold sweat. If the Blackbeaks decided that they couldn't trust the Trot Guard, they'd have them replaced. With extreme prejudice. "Whoa there, I didn't know any of that 'till you just told me! Who was it??"
"Nopony recognizd him or the purse-snatcher he was after." Blitz said. "Seems to me like we've got one of two possibilities here. One, you let one of your colts go all psycho-vigilante and off a griffon and three ponies. Now, if those chumps let some backwater hick deputy get the jump on them, they weren't worth their paychecks. Buuut, I'm not fond of some crusader skulking around and killing my colleauges when their backs are turned, so we've got a problem. And two..." he leaned on Rusty's desk, causing the now-terrified sheriff to scoot his chair back into the wall. "Two, maybe it isn't one of your deputies. Maybe we've got a Changeling in sheep's clothing on our hands. That distress call that went out, pony that we think sent it is Equestrian Royal Guard, maybe he has some friends trying to bust him out. Friends that like to dress up as cops, to gain the public trust and all that. Either way, Sheriff, you've got a big mess on your hooves. So, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna call aaaaallll your guards back here so you can deal with this little rat problem of yours, and if you don't, we'll have to rework our deal." He pulled a knife from a sheath on his haunches in case the veiled threats weren't enough to motivate Rusty.
Rusty hung his head. "There's a hook-up to the townwide PA in the telegraph room. Follow me..."
"Ground One to all stations, check in."
"This is Ground Two. Somepony poked the parasprite's nest pretty hard over here. Boat went on alert and cast off, looks like its gettin' underway. Rest of the mercs're worked up in a fit."
"Ground Three here, picked up a Royal Guard groupie. We're not engaged at the moment but that won't last. I planted the tracker, are we good to exfil?"
"That's a negative, Three. Just heard back from Base. There is some Threat-Level-Lavender cargo aboard that they want investigated."
"Umm, you sure about that, One? I didn't see any Loveclawian horrors chained up when I took the tour. What exactly am I looking for?"
"Unknown, Three. Telegram says that intel came direct from EUP high command. Your call, if things get too hot then you can exfil, but whatever this is has them scared."
"Wilco, I'll see what I can do. Three out."
"Ground One, Two. What are we gonna do 'bout all these goons on the docks? They're gettin a little too close to my vantage point."
"Sky One checking in, your 'vantage point' looks a lot like a dumpster from here, Ground Two."
"It's called 'cover', not that I'd expect ya to know that, Miss Spotlight Hog."
"Sooooomepoooony's jeallllous"
"Of what?? Starin at clouds all day?"
"Howabout not being covered in moldy old hayfries?"
"Touché. I don't like the looks these seagulls'r givin me."
"All units, this is Ground One, standby, *knock*knock* *thunk* Ah, shi-- *ksht*"
"Say again, Ground One?"
"Ground One?"
"Huh. That ain't good."
"He probably just had to go thow up because your dumpster-musk is strong enough to leak through the radio."
"Eve, I will lock ya in a maze fulla sound-absorbin mirrors."
"Are you sure this'll work?"
"Of course I am! It always works, that's Spycraft Lesson One!"
"I thought Lesson One was--"
"Look, it doesn't matter what Lesson One is. I've seen Mr. Cross and Mr. Story pull this off least ten times, and it always works."
"...wait, you've never done this before??"
The two stowaways trotted down the sub's main corridor with a purpose. Flash wore 'borrowed' mercenary armor, Sweetie had the sailor's uniform she'd stolen earlier. Neither would be enough on its own, with the boat on high alert everypony being treated as a possible infiltrator. The trick was to take it one hoofstep further, to really sell to any crew they ran into that, no, they're the ones hunting the spies.
That was the theory, at least. Two mechanics trotting the opposite direction down the corridor would soon put that to the test. Sweetie put on the most officious face she could manage. "Halt!"
The pair stopped. The unicorn stallion gave his griffon partner a worried look. "Yes, ma'am?"
Body language and tone of voice were crucial, but to really sell the con, you needed a good prop. Sweetie held up her Clipboard of Authority. "Security check. We're searching for the stowaways. Names and billets, please"
"But we were already cleared by--"
"Do I tell you two how to do your jobs? Names, now!"
"T-Topsail."
"Gyro"
"Hmm..." Sweetie perused the Clipboard of Authority, holding it at an angle so the two hapless crewmembers couldn't see the doodles that covered the paper. "I don't see them on the list. Corporal?"
"Uhh, yes, I've got a Topsail right here. A Mr. Gyroscope too. Machinist's mates, right?" Flash pointed a primary feather at his own Clipboard of Authority. These things really gave you a confidence boost.
"Yes, miss... sorry, ma'am, I don't know your name."
Sweetie put on her best arrogant-junior-officer impression. "Smiles. Lieutenant Gumdrop Smiles. Well, don't just stand there! Dont you two have jobs to get to? Carry on, then!" With that, she marched past the confused mechanics and continued down the hallway.
Once they were out of earshot, she put her Clipboard away and filled Flash in on her radio chat. "So EUP Command told my bosses that there's something dangerous aboard. We'll give it a look, but I want to leave before our friends here figure out these brilliant disguises. If we can't find whatever sea monsters Bathysphere fished up, we'll just have to give the Aquastralians a heads up before it reaches Berth."
"Wait, sea monsters?" Flash gave her a befuddled look as they walked.
"The professor is the go-to expert on marine cryptids and predatory magical fauna. We think she's trying to use this boat to unleash some on the seaponies of Berth."
"I don't get it. What about Yoke Mountain? You're not here for that?"
Now it was Sweetie's turn to look confused. "Why would I be? The Blackbeaks knocked over a Guard armory to steal a few cannons, so what? Not the issue here."
Flash wouldn't meet her eye. Sweetie stopped and turned to him. "Do you know something about this?"
"I thought you knew..." he trailed off.
"Knew what? Corporal, if you know something that could affect this mission, you need to tell me. Right. Now."
Sweetie could see sweat forming under his helmet. "This is, like, really classified. I'm not even supposed to know, but you work in a place as isolated as Yoke, there isn't much to do besides talk. You end up hearing things..."
Sweetie wanted to strangle him, but she forced herself to take a few deep breaths. She rested a hoof on his shoulder to help calm him down. "Flash, I know I'm not Guard, but we're all on the same side here. I need to know, what did they take? What did the Guard keep at Yoke Mountain?"
"Yer kiddin me. A sun-damned BALEFIRE BOMB?"
"That was my reacton too. I didn't know those things still existed!"
"Far as I know, they don't, Three. The old pegasi legionnaires made 'em as a 'just-in-case' type deal if the dragons ever decided to stop playing nice. Think we lit off a few at Discord, fat lotta good that did. The Guard must've inherited 'em after the Longest Night and buried 'em in the darkest basement they could find."
"I don't... I mean, we cant... what do we do here, Double?"
"We keep doin' our jobs, Drops. That boat can't dive 'till it reaches deep water, and we ain't gonna let that happen. Do whatever you can think of to sabotage 'em. Sky Team, ya locked and loaded?"
"Sky One standing by."
"Sky Two up."
"Think it's high time we stirred up some trouble. Two, you shadow the boat and be ready to back up Ground Three."
"Sir, I don't know if I have enough on me to sink it."
"Ya don't need to sink it, just make some noise, maybe poke a few holes in the deck to keep 'em from going under. Keep their eyes on the sky while Three does her thing."
"Wilco."
"Sky One, I think Ground One went and got himself pinched, I'm gonna see if I can't pull his plot out of the frying pan. Again. Yew go and do what'cha do best."
"Cowpony, if you're going to give a girl a proposal, you need to stallion up and say the actual words."
"Fine, fine. Weapons free, keep it over the docks though. Civilians in the town. Ya happy?"
"I love you too."
The lid of the "vantage point" in the alley across from the watch station creaked open. Double Cross propped it up with a hoof, peeking out from his new lookout spot. Ever since Cover Story had stopped broadcasting, more and more Blackbeaks made their way to the local police headquarters. Double watched the mercenaries guarding the building, his mane itching with anticipation. Well, maybe not just anticipation, he thought as he pulled a slimy banana peel that had somehow found its way in there. Eve and Door Kicker better hurry it up, I'm getting really sick of these dumpsters.
A minute passed. Then another. Nothing happened, aside from a few birds singing and one Blackbeak guard nibbling on a wheat stalk to pass the time. Double's muzzle twitched as an overly friendly cockroach began exploring his left nostril. He willed himself not to sneeze.
Just as he was about to hoof his radio, he heard a faint whistle. His ears perked up, straining to locate the source.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,"
The two mercs noticed as well.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,"
They looked around for the source of the noise, expecting to see a gnat buzzing around. As it grew louder, both heads turned to the sky.
""EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHE!!"
A gray-pink blur shot overhead, cackling madly. It blew past the watch station in the blink of an eye, the wind roiling in its wake. As it reached the pier, a brightly-colored plume of smoke streaked towards a loading crane. The blur cranked up to the sky as the crane blossomed into a yellow-red fireball. As it traded speed for altitude, Double could make out a bat-winged shadow silhouetted against the morning sun.
Eve let her momentum run out, then flipped herself around and let gravity carry her back towards her quarry. As she gained speed, she pointed a forehoof at a group of fleeing Blackbeaks and cocked her fetlock. A firework-rocket leapt off her flight harness on a pillar of arcid smoke. It closed the distance in a split second and scattered the defenders with an impressive blast.
"FLEE! FLEE, PEASANTS! BEHOLD, THE POWER OF THE NIGHT!"
Double saw his chance as the Blackbeak guards took off, intent on aiding their comrades under siege from a hellfire-raining demon. He rolled out of the vantage point, brushed off the trash sticking to his coat, and rushed inside. Amid the chaos, nopony in the watch station gave him a second look. He quickly reached the telegraph room and bucked the door open, crossbow at the ready.
Two mercenaries lay slumped across the floor, unmoving. Cover sat on his rump, head between his forehooves as he toyed with the damping cone over his horn. A dazed sheriff stood in the corner, attempting to prossess what just happened.
"Shoulda freakin' known." Double lowered his weapon.
"Next time I'm caught, I'll just sit and wait so you can get your big hero moment. I promise." Explosions rattled the windows. "Eve must be having the time of her life."
"We ran inta a few complications. Door Kicker should be along any minute to start the cleanup, but the boat's underway. Drops is on her own."
Cover sighed. "Of course her operational evaluation would turn into a giant clusterf-*ahem*," he cleared his throat. "Sheriff Coal Train, my partner and I require your assistiance. Can you direct your officers to move civilians away from the loading docks? Preferably into the south side of town or even the old city ruins." Another explosion. "Time is of the essence."
The Sheriff seemed to snap out of his fugue state. "Wait, you two aren't on my force!"
Double and Cover both paused, momemtarily forgetting they were both wearing Trot guard uniforms. Double spoke up first. "We're, ah... suprise inspectors."
"With the Equestrian Bureau of Tourism," Cover added helpfully. "Can't have one of the Luna Sea's premier vacation spots overrun by a private army now, can we?"
"N-No?"
"Sheriff, our associates are arriving shortly to help you regain control of your island. In exchange for your assistance on this matter, we will gladly overlook any arrangements the Trot Guard has with any criminal elements. I'm sure you were just acting in the best interests of your citizens."
"Sure mister, whatever you need... wait, I know you! Had you in here a few times on drunk and disorderlies, oh, eight or nine years ago, wasn't it?"
"You must have me mistaken for somepony else," Cover glared at Double as the cowpony covered his muzzle to hide a snicker. Rolling his eyes, Cover gestured to the metal cone affixed to his horn. "Mind giving me a hoof here?"
The Sheriff nodded as Double got to work on Cover's horn clamp, still eyeing the pale blue unicorn suspiciously. Not counting the slightly graying mane, he could've sworn it was the same pony. Rusty never forgot a face. Still, he wasn't one to look a gift pony in the mouth. He stepped over Blitzkrieg's motionless form and switched on the town public-address system. He was just happy to be out from under the Blackbeaks' claws, questions about these two ponies and why they were dressed as police would come later.
As he broadcast orders to his guards over the town loudspeakers, Double and Cover started for the exit. Cover, free of horn restraint, pulled off his guard disguise and floated his weapon in front of him. They stepped through the station's front door into absolute pandemonium. Plumes of smoke rose from several warehouses near the docks. Blackbeaks scrambled everywhere, firing weapons wildly into the sky. Eve pinwheeled around blasts of magic and surface-to-air firework rockets, spinning and juking like a madmare. Three griffons flew after her, futilely trying to engage the Shadowbolt in the air.
They watched as the birds' bigger wings and momentum closed the gap between them and Eve. As they reached her, she effortlessly dodged rockets, swords, and claws, bouncing between the three with lightning-fast strikes. Griffons were fast, powerful flyers, but they couldn't hope to outmaneuver somepony who spent her childhood flitting through pitch-black caves. They watched as one lunged for her, only for her to dance out of his reach and send him tumbling to the ground with a blast from a small rocket. She flitted off as the other two rounded on her, cackling madly.
"EHEHEHEHEHEHE! FLY, MY PRETTIES!!! FLY!!!!"
"Where did she get a broom?" Double squinted. She was hitting a pegasus who unwisely joined the dogfight with what did appear to be custodial equipment. "Ya know what, never mind. But if I see her wearin a witch's hat, I'm resigning."
|-|-|-|-|
"Is this it?"
"Hang on, let me check my reference book on thousand-year-old city-buster warheads. You worked with these things! You tell me!!"
"I don't know!! I'm not even an officer! If anypony on base knew about this, they weren't telling me!"
"Fair enough."
"So how do we disarm it then?"
"We don't. We disable the sub so the Service can board and recover it."
"So how do we do that?"
"I. Don't. Know. The engine room's all the way aft, and there's a lot of angry ponies between here and there."
"So--"
Sweetie buried her face in a hoof. "Corporal Sentry, For the love of Celestia, please shut up. I am trying to think."
Flash remained silent. A minute passed as they both stared at the large conical object laying mounted on a pallet in front of them. A sickly green glow shined though the seams in its stone casing. Writing was etched along the side, probably warnings and handling instructions that would make their task much easier if only either could read ancient Pegasi.
A muffled boom shook the dive room. The water in the room's central pool sloshed around. At the bottom of the pool lay a massive clamshell door, clamped tightly shut. The pool was an airlock, designed so that griffons in divesuits could enter, have a second door close above them, flood the chamber, and swim out. Sweetie assumed the bomb's presence here meant that Bathysphere planned to plant it on the outside of the city's dome. Not that she needs to. She could light this off a mile away and kill thousands. Hmmm...
She scratched her chin with a hoof. "Can you swim?"
Flash shook his head. "No, I grew up in Cloudsdale. Took a dip in a rainbow vat once on a dare."
"How did that go?"
"Not well."
"Okay, I was thinking we could grab scuba suits and just steal it, but I can't drag that thing underwater on my own. Maybe we could blast that airlock open, I have a few small bombs in my bags..."
"Would that sink it?"
"No, they can seal this room off. It'd buy us some time though, keep them from taking it underwater. Let's--"
She never finished her thought. A blue-green blast of magic struck her square in the flank, sending her tumbling across the room. Flash yelped and flew after her.
"Looks like we've found our stowaways, Captain. You two, if you'd be so kind as to keep your hooves off my property..."
They looked up. Two figures stood in the room's hatchway. A gigantic griffon stepped foward, muscles bulging out from under his Blackbeak mercenary gear. He doffed his captain's hat to his partner, a sky-blue unicorn mare wearing a diving hardsuit with some... sinister-looking attachments. "Thank you, milady. So! Saboteurs aboard my ship!" His bombastic voice rang across the room. "I admire your tenacity in resisting my crew's attempts at capture! But I've grown rather attached to this vessel, so I'm afraid it ends here."
Professor Bathysphere peered over the rims of her glasses at him. "Gideon--"
"Captain Gideon."
She rolled her eyes. "Captain Gideon, we have a schedule to keep. If you and your employees want your paychecks, we need to reach our destination by tomorrow morning."
"Yes, yes, no worries, love. Our voyage shall not be delayed, we have more than enough time to show these dastardly pirates a proper Blackbeak reception!"
Sweetie struggled to her feet, her saddlebags and bow scorched black. "What!? You stole this boat from the Griffon military! If anypony here is a pirate, it's you!"
"Privateers, my dear intruder! We're privateers! The demon's in the details in a situation such as ours! Besides, 'pirate' just sounds so... uncouth." He drew his cutlass.
"Okay, so this is actually happening," Sweetie shook herself off. "Which one do you want to--"
*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*THWAK*
Crossbow bolts slammed into Bathysphere's armored divesuit, splintering and scattering over the metal deck. None left a mark on the rig. She looked down at her chest and barrel for a moment, then levitated an armored round helmet onto her head.
Sweetie's mouth hung open in disbelief. "Really!? Again?"
Flash flailed his empty weapon around. "I'm sorry! I panicked! I figured we should shoot the boss first!"
"NOT WHEN SHE'S WEARING A GIANT SUIT OF ARMOR! YOU COULD'VE AT LEAST AIMED FOR HER HEAD!"
"I DID! THE SIGHTS ON THIS BOW MUST BE OFF!"
Gideon let out a hearty guffaw. "A spirited attempt, my friend! But it shall not alter your fate!" He advanced on Flash. Bathysphere stomped foward, the viewports in her helmet glowing green with magic.
Sweetie tensed, sizing up her opponent. The suit looked big and heavy, which would protect the professor but hinder her reaction time. Bathysphere lifted her left foreleg, an attachment on the lower leg clicked and slid down to the hoof. It neatly unfolded into a high-guage drill.
"Oh, for the love of... "
"Ya think she's doin okay?" Double Cross looked out across the harbor at the Red Sorena. The submarine was slowly making its way to the open ocean. He could see Night Glider flitting over the boat's topsail, trading fire with several crew on the deck. The occasional rocket blast rocked the boat, but did no more than cosmetic damage.
"She'll be fine." Eve replied. She danced on her hooves, impatient to get back in the air as a strike team pony dressed several shrapnel cuts on her wing. Several bandages already covered her left flank where she had been a split-second too slow dodging a griffon's claws. "She'd be even better if somepony would hurry up and get me back out there!" The medic ignored her, continuing his work. All around them, commando ponies in ninja suits roughly shoved surrendering Blackbeaks into small groups, slapping hoofcuffs on them and gathering their weapons into piles.
Cover trotted up to the two. "Door Kicker's pegasi are on their way to support her. As for us, none of these ships can get underway quickly enough to catch them." He paused. "I still can't belive they got their hooves on a balefire bomb. I thought those nightmares were gone forever."
"Shoulda went in loud as soon as we landed. All this sneakin around an 'gatherin intel' put Drops in danger, and we didn't learn shit."
"True. Nothing to do about it now, though. It's out of our hooves." He pulled out a scroll from his pack. "We did find something, though. One of the troopers said this was sent to Bathysphere's office shortly after the raid."
"Telegram?"
"Magic spell." Cover replied. Double raised an eyebrow at that. Outiside the dragon lands, those who could perform that spell were on a very short list. He took the letter, crinkling his muzzle at the smell of sulphur wafting off the parchment.
Dr. Marié Bathysphere, Ph. D,
Due to recent global events, your services are no longer required. As of 1200 hours today, Canterlot Standard Time, all contracts are hereby terminated. We wish you luck in future endeavors.
Regards,
-Management
"Well, that explains nothin."
"It's something to go on," Cover replied.
Eve twitched her wings as her medic applied another bandage. "Stop worrying guys, Sweetie'll be fiiiiiine. Despite the fact you you're the two biggest morons ever to stumble plotfirst into the Service, the both of you together make one passable training officer. Gotta let the foals out of the roost at some point. Now, I'm gonna go back up my wingmare," She spread her leathery wings, earning an annoyed look from the medic, "and you get everything cleaned up here."
The medic spoke up. "Miss, I ca--"
"I will eat you. See you two later, I'll be back with your protegé!" She took off, flapping erratically as she headed for the Red Sorena. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow."
The ground-bound ponies watched her go. Double Cross sighed. "She's right, Drops's probably doin fine."
Sweetie saw stars as a powerful hoof slammed her up against the bulkhead. Her eyes glazed over, then focused on the giant shiny drill bit an inch from her muzzle. It let out a high pitched screech as Bathysphere revved it up to speed. She struggled, but the clanking monstrosity the professor wore made her impossibly strong. Bracing a hindleg against the professor's barrel, Sweetie forced herself free moments before the Prof. shoved the drill forward, grinding it into the metal behind her. She fell to the deck, rolled, and sprang back to her hooves, panting. She dodged away as the drill struck again, throwing up a shower of sparks.
Bathysphere was faster in that suit than anypony wearing such a monstronsity had any right to be, but all that weight meant a lot of momentum. Sweetie slipped behind her, then put all her strength into her hindlegs for a knockout double-buck. As her hooves clanged into the professor's suit, Sweetie felt the reverberation in her bones. Ow, okay don't try that again.
She sidestepped Bathysphere's next strike and skirted the edge of the dive pool. The professor started after her, stowing her drill to catche the more agile pony. Sweetie spotted the griffon captain and Flash out of the corner of her eye. Gideon had sheathed his sword, opting to simply throttle the pegasus with his superior reach. Flash lashed out frantically with all four hooves but failed to faze the massive warrior.
We need to end this, fast. Sweetie thought. They were both holding their own... she was holding her own for now, but anypony could see it was only a matter of time. She would tire, eventually. One wrong move, one lucky shot would put her down, hard. She needed-
"Comin' through!"
She hit the deck as an orange fastball hurtled over her head. Flash slammed into the far wall, groaning as he slowly slid down the bulkhead.
"Ho, most impressive! You fight with heart for such a small pony!" Gideon chortled.
"I'm four-eleven..." Flash spluttered weakly. "Above... above average..."
Sweetie scrambled to her hooves. Bathysphere used the distraction to advance on her, Stomping at the spot she lay with hydraulically-strengthened boots. "Just give it up," her voice rang out, cold and filtered.
Sweetie danced away from her strikes. "Is your friend always like this?"
"...Yes. Is yours?"
"I just met him today." She patted down her gear as she kept her distance. Broken crossbow, half a shock spear, almost all her equipment fried from the magic blast. "Why are you doing this? I read your file. This won't bring your daughter back!"
Bathysphere's viewports glowed as she charged a spell. "You think I don't know that? That I'd go through all this, for petty revenge?"
Sweetie leapt to the side as a teal beam raked the deck where she had stood. Jagged dark crystals sprouted up, one clipping an inch off her tail. "Then why!? You'll kill thousands!!! Why would you do this!?"
"Yes, let me take a break from this fight to the death to explain all the details of my convoluted plan to the poor confused G-pony," the professor shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I'll stand here and monolouge while you use the time to ambush me. Sorry, filly, but I have no interest in letting my guard down so you can kill me, destroy everything I've worked for, and fly off into the sunset with your lover-of-the-week."
"WHAT!?" Sweetie exclaimed, shocked. "It is NOT like that!!! I have been nothing but professional and furthermore--"
*WHAM*
Should've seen that coming.
Sweetie sailed across the room and skidded along the deck. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but a swirling fog.
"I apologize, I just assumed," Bathysphere continued. "You spies have a bit of a reputation. Thank you for standing still, though."
Sweetie groaned. Her vision started to focus. She barely made out Flash and Gideon circling each other, trading strikes. A rust-and-gold figure stomped towards her. Gideon looked over and laughed. "Excellent, milady! Now I must only vanquish her betrothed and we--squaaak!" He flailed, grasping behind his head. A battered Flash had somehow wormed his way loose from the griffon's crushing grip and slipped his crossbow string around Gideon's neck. He dangled between Gideon's wings, hanging on to his weapon for dear life as the captain thrashed in panic. Gideon stumbled near the lip of the dive pool, trying his hardest to buck Flash off.
An idea struck Sweetie. Wincing in pain, she brought a hoof to her earpiece. "Night Glider, do you copy?"
"Five by five, Three. We've been trying to reach you--"
"Been a little busy. Listen, there's no time. I assume that's you hitting the boat?"
"Affirm, what do you need?"
"On my mark, launch all your ordnance at the bow, just aft of the torpedo tubes!"
"I don't have the firepower to put a hole in th--"
"It doesn't matter! Trust me, everything you have on my signal!"
"Wilco."
Bathysphere stomped over to assist her colleauge. "Hold still, you dimwit!" A claw attachment popped into place over her forehoof, which she snagged on the crossbow string. As she pulled Flash up, Gideon grabbed his wing. Flash whimpered as he felt bones crunch. Gideon whirled around and launched the pegasus across the room yet again, grinning triumphantly to himself.
"NOW!"
*BOOM*
A concussion shook the Red Sorena. Gideon and Bathysphere tumbled head-over-hooves into the dive pool. Sweetie, struggling aginst what felt like numerous broken ribs, pulled the broken shock spear from her saddle strap. She squeezed the hilt and, straining from her injuries, gave the weapon a gentle lob in their direction.
The spear couldn't fire without the tip, but the gem in its hilt still held an impressive charge. It splashed down next to the two villians.
*BRZZZZZZZZZZZZT*
An earsplitting hawk's screech and a mechanically distorted whinny rang out. The lights in the room flickered, then died. Sweetie struggled to her hooves, blinking at the pitch blackness. If I survive this, I am bringing night vision with me every time I leave base. Even if it's just to Canterlot to visit Octie. She limped in the direction she saw Flash land, feeling around for him with her hooves.
A whirring noise rang from the pool, where a soft teal glow shined up from under the water. Sweetie's heart almost stopped as she saw a helmet slowly rise from the surface, Its viewports lit up blue-green. She needed to find Flash and leave, now. An idea suddenly struck her, triggered by her memories of her friend back in Canterlot.
"Marco!"
"P-Polo?" Flash's confused voice called out. There he is! She reached the downed soldier, pulling his hoof around her shoulder. As she pulled him up, Bathysphere clambered out of the pool. Spotlights shone from her suit, sweeping the room.
"C'mon, we need to leave, now!" She limped for the nearest hatch, Flash stumbling alongside her. Ten feet from the exit, Light washed over them. She heard an angry roar, followed by stomping hoofboots.
"Move move MOVE!" The two of them tumbled through the hatch. She kicked it shut just in time, it shuddered with an impact from the other side.
Flash slowly rose to his hooves. He blinked, looking around the small room. Torpedoes sat on racks along the walls, and two tubes protruded from the far wall. "What are we doing?"
"Escaping." Sweetie ran over to a torpedo sitting on a dolly, wheeling it over to the door. It shuddered from another impact.
Flash nodded, still slightly rattled. He was bruised all over and one wing hung limply from his side. Sweetie continued her work, pulling out the torpedo's safety pin.
Flash simply stared at her, confused and beaten, as she positioned the torpedo so the detonator in its nose sat an inch from the locked hatch. She flicked a few switches on the weapon's service panel, then trotted over to the wall mounted tubes.
Wheels clicked into place in Flash's head. He gulped as she opened the hatch of the nearest tube. "No..."
"Yes."
"I can't swim!"
"Better learn quick, it's our only way."
"There's not another door??"
"This is the torpedo room. It's all the way at the front of the boat. Only other way to go is back that way." The hatch shook again, as if to punctuate her point.
Flash groaned. "Maybe I'll just go down with the ship..."
The hatch's hinges began to glow red. "We're out of time! Into the torpedo tube, flyboy!"
Flash groaned and pulled himself into the tube. Sweetie quickly set the controls for a delayed launch as heat wafted off the hatch behind her, then followed him in. She pulled the tube's cover shut, sealing them inside what felt forebodingly like a coffin.
"I just want to say on the record that I am doing this under duress--"
A blast of air launched them both into the cold, wet abyss.
Sweetie thrashed around in the water, trying to orient herself. She fought the panicky urge to breathe in. Bubbles swirled around her, and though she could see light - the submarine was still cruising on the surface - she couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. She closed her eyes, going still for a few moments and letting the bubbles clear. As the pressure to breathe rose, she again looked around, spotting the surface just a few feet away. Two kicks and her head broke above water, gasping for air. Once the spots in her vision faded, she spotted Flash, thrashing like a madpony. She quickly swam over to him, pulling his head above the surface.
"AAAAH! AAAAH! Aah! A-" he broke into a coughing fit.
"Quit being such a foal. This isn't even the worst part!"
"W-what??" He spluttered. Then, in a flash of pink, he was gone.
"That's the worst part," Sweetie stated to nopony, bracing for her own violent pickup.
Night Glider hit her like an azure cannonball, grabbing Sweetie with a flying tackle then rocketing back into the sky. She swept back into formation alongside Eve, who was clutching a stunned, soaked Flash Sentry.
"Nice to see you among the living, ma'am!" Night Glider exclaimed as the wind roared around them. "Sorry, but Bossmare thinks you brought her a new pet!"
"She can have him, but he's not housetrained!"
"Will do. What do we do about the Red Sorena?"
"Don't worry, I've got it covered!"
Back inside the torpedo room, the hatch's hinges glowed white-hot. Bits of metal began sloughing off. The door shuddered with a reverberating thud. Then another.
On the third strike, the hinges gave way, launching the door inwards. A millisecond later, it struck the nose of the torpedo, pushing in the detonator's impact plate.
Then everything went white.
The two flyers wobbled at the blast as they drifted down for a landing on the pier. The stricken submarine, bow engulfed in flame, gound to a halt. Moments later, it began listing foward, slowly sliding under the waves.
Sweetie wobbled a bit as Night Glider set her down. She smiled sheepishly to Double and Cover as both ponies trotted over to her.
"Good ta see ya, Drops. Had us worried there for a minute."
"Thanks, Mr. Cross." She winced as she shifted her stance. "I, uh, think I need a medic. And Flash, the pegasus Eve brought in, his wing is broken."
Double waved one of the medics from the crowd of police and Service stormtroopers. As a pony made her way over, he turned back to Sweetie. "That was a major clusterfuck you just sorted out, Drops. Damn fine job."
"Congratulations are in order," Cover added. "...Special Agent."
Sweetie looked up in suprise. "But-"
Cover held up a hoof. "There's still the after-action report, the promotion board, and a lot of paperwork." He gave her a sly grin. "But after all this, I'd say you earned it a little early."
"If they don't clear ya to lead a team after this, then I'm quittin." Double remarked.
Sweetie blinked tears from her eyes. The medic wrapped a blanket over her and motioned for her to sit down. Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, she couldn't stop shaking. "Thank you. Thanks so much." She sighed.
"Get some rest, we're leaving for Equestria at sunset," Cover told her. Noting her panicked look, he put a hoof on her shoulder. "Relax, we're not taking a plane. There's a griffon airship about an hour away, they picked up Mr. Sentry's distress call. They're heading to Canterlot and have graciously offered to give us a lift."
Sweetie nodded, saying nothing. Her head wobbled a little.
"Relax kid, ya did good. Get a few hours shut-eye. The action's over, but the real job starts when we leave."
"Huh?" Sweetie cocked an eyebrow.
"Somepony's gotta explain to the griffons why their multimillion-bit bath toy is sitting in pecies at the bottom a' Trot Harbor," he said.
"You're joking. You're joking, right??"
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It was a nice conclusion to the mission.
And I really hope that you continue with Sweetie Drops's tales
7072591
Careful what you wish for, it will inevitably morph into nothing but Double Cross and Evening Mist snarking at each other. The last thing FimFic needs is another buddy cop comedy starring two OCs.
Seriously though, thanks! I think I will soon, finishing a one-shot at the moment. I seriously gotta cut down on the length of the next mission though.