Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Jade watched carefully as Jackie spoke on the phone. "Uncle?" he called out worriedly one more time. His eyes then widened, then narrowed as his body stiffened in fear. "Yes, yes, I understand," he continued, his voice level. "I will bring it. I will tell no one." When he hung up, Captain Black approached him curiously. "A favor, between friends," Jackie explained.
"Does he seriously think he's being subtle?" Scootaloo whispered to Jade, who nodded in understanding.
"Watch the girls," Jackie requested of Captain Black, pointing to the four as he turned to race out.
"Jackie, where are you-" Captain Black began.
"Please!" Jackie pleaded as he reached the elevator. "Don't ask questions."
"Okay, he doesn't think he's being subtle," Sweetie Belle mused.
"That's a relief," Apple Bloom agreed. "I'd hate ta see what he thinks is blatant if he thought that was subtle." A flash of light surrounded the four, unnoticed by anyone else.
Captain Black sighed. "Alright, young ladies-" His words stopped as he turned, and saw only the plant monstrosity, that had shrunk down to roughly the size of a Great Dane rather than the size of King Kong.
The plant looked up at him imploringly, despite the absence of eyes. "Feed me, Augustus?" it sang out pleadingly.
"No," Captain Black replied firmly, turning to see if he could track down where Jackie was going so he could locate the girls.
When the light faded, all four girls found themselves back in the antique shop, though more than a little singed. Jade coughed as she arrived. "What was that?" she demanded irritably.
"Teleportation spell," Sweetie explained as she brushed soot out of her mane and tail. "Sorry it was a little rough. It's the first time I ever tried it."
"Pretty accurate, though," Apple Bloom offered through her own coughs. "At least, ah assume ya were tryin' ta come here."
"I was," Sweetie Belle confirmed. "We should have time to clean ourselves up before Jackie gets here." She glanced nervously at the others. "Can we...not mention the teleporting? Uncle said I'm not supposed to try that spell yet..."
"I won't snitch!" Jade promised as she brushed soot from her hoodie. "So...what's this all about anyway?"
"Jackie brought back a shield from his last expedition," Apple Bloom explained. "Everybody wants it fer some reason. Least, ah think that's what ah heard him sayin' to the Cap'n afore we started busting up the place."
"It has magic inside it, though it's mostly focused in the stone in the center," Sweetie Belle added. "I felt it the moment Jackie brought it in, though I didn't say anything."
"So where is the shield, anyway?" Jade asked curiously, looking around.
"Bottom of that stack on the chair," Scootaloo pointed without looking. "It's the only part of the shop that's arranged differently than it was when you arrived. Whoever snagged Uncle to make Jackie give up the shield was careful as they went through, to not break anything."
Jade stared at Scootaloo. "How do you know it's the only thing arranged differently?" she asked curiously.
"I fly," Scootaloo stated bluntly. "Part of that is having a heightened awareness of your surroundings from the air. Otherwise, it's called crashing."
"How do you know it's a ransom trade?" Sweetie Belle asked Apple Bloom curiously as she started carefully levitating the objects stacked on the shield off of it one by one so Jade could pull the shield out without making a mess.
"Ker-duh!" Apple Bloom replied. "Why else would Jackie be actin' all cagey and not tellin' his friend the Cap'n what was up when he was on the phone with Uncle earlier?"
"So how are we going to convince Jackie to let us help rescue Uncle?" Sweetie Belle asked hopefully. "I don't want to be left behind when Uncle's in danger. I think I'd go crazy!"
Scootaloo's wings twitched in response to something, and she grinned widely. "Yeah," she added, "I don't think I could sit still not knowing what's happened to Uncle. I'd probably go stir crazy."
Apple Bloom glanced over at Scootaloo, then hid her own grin. "And ah don't think ah could keep my magic in check if ah was left here ta fret like crazy. No tellin' what would happen!"
"I'm sure Jackie will be reasonable," Jade offered consolingly, balancing the shield. "We just want to go with to make sure everything's okay. I mean, with what you three are capable of, I doubt we'll be in any sort of danger, right?"
A disgruntled sigh echoed behind them. "And you'd be on Cumulo following me before I even made it to the door if I sent you all to your rooms, wouldn't you?" Jackie groaned, having walked up behind them while they spoke, making Sweetie and Jade jump.
"...possibly..." Scootaloo offered noncommittally, lowering her face to hide her grin.
Jackie groaned softly. "Fine!" he grunted out finally. "You can come, but you have to stay out of danger."
"Scout's Honor!" all four girls responded readily, Jade raising her hand to her forehead while the fillies mirrored the action with one forehoof.
As Jackie left the four girls at the bottom of the skyscraper where the exchange was to take place, the four exchanged amused glances. "Pssh, like I'm a scout!" Jade joked playfully.
"Sing it, sister!" Scootaloo agreed, bumping her hoof with Jade's clenched fist. "So what's the plan?"
"You ride Cumulo up there to scout from above," Jade explained. "I'll go up through the building. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, you two stay down here as backup. Apple Bloom, focus on waking up any nearby plants to act as a distraction if we have to make a quick getaway. Sweetie Belle, conserve your magic for something big in case we need it. There's no telling how many baddies we'll be dealing with."
As Scootaloo hopped on Cumulo and Jade rushed into the building, Apple Bloom grinned widely. "She's good." Turning, she started searching around for amenable plants.
Sweetie Belle sighed. "Still going to call Captain Black as soon as Uncle's not in immediate danger," she muttered, holding Jackie's cell phone close. "Now...what's his number, anyway?"
"Bad day, BAD DAY BAD DAY!"
Dailing Captain Black.
"Huh. I can't believe that worked."
I can't wait to see how long it takes Jackie to give up on keeping the Crusaders and Jade safe. I can totally see him banding his head against a wall after he realizes they've followed him again. Now if only he's plan for it from the start he'd probably have more success. Also, can he fight some guys in a Home Depot or a hardware store????
Jade as a general while the CMC as soldiers... I sense incoming chaos followed by debris and tree sap. This will be either really funny or have massive property damage. Either way I'm going to enjoy it. *Continues to munch on Hayburger orders and snacks*
7332420
...why would he do that?
7332430 because the bad guys chased him in there and he suddenly has tons of improvised weapons to beat them up with???? Of the girls lure them in there so Jackie can have the advantage.
I don't know his phone number, but I do remember that the keypad password is 007.
Discord Level Chaos incoming! Brace people, BRACE!
LET LOOSE THE PWNIES OF WAR! MAY THE TREE SAP BE WITH YOU!
CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, BIG DARN HEROES, YAY!
And may Faust have mercy on those poor saps' souls...
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Great choice or words there. those poor saps will really be confused when the sap hits the fan.
7332442 that is so evil it's funny
Love how this going! Can't wait for the next chapter.
Dear Sweet Celestia I pity those dark hand thugs. Jade is OP enough as it is.
So, how is it that Scootaloo can still fly and Sweetie Belle is so good at magic? I thought the reason they could earlier was due to wild foal magic or something...
Cutie Mark Crusaders versus the Shadowkhan? Excellent!
But Echo still expects Tohru to d'awww at ponies!
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See this comment.
Chapter Twenty Two:
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 19
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 42
I just realized something:
Tohru.
The future installments shall be interesting
7332647
I think he will faint from shock... or something...
7332430 Because it's Jackie Chan. And he loves him some improvised weapons.
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
7332535 Indeed.
Hmm... I actually have nothing to pun about here. Well, save for the fact that our favourite girls were gone... in a flash. But hey, at least trouble shouldn't really... stack up from here, right?
7332862 No puns? Seems you have a... Bad Day.
7332755 Coffee pot is a go to for Jackie.
7332600
Thanks for referencing my comment!!!
I thought you were going to reference that other guys comment that explains the magic boosting effect of the smelly good-chi-superfood-recipe!
7332862 Looks like they have a plan firmly planted. Jade hopped right into that building. Oh wait, I actually meant jump... but there's no way I could bounce back from that mistake. Looks like Jade is going to scout the building and possibly vent her... There'a an air of mistakes in this comment so I'll just reserve my energy.
7332429 And what makes you think those are mutually exclusive?
7332429 hey i brought the pizzas.
who ordered the veggie supreme again and who got the smore's pizza?
also brought some more Doritos again and some sodas.
7334246
I'll take a piece of both, I'll take an orange soda as well.
7334352 *hands over 2 slices of of both pizzas and glass of orange soda* i also have recording equipment so i can re-watch the chaos with Twilight and the girls.
7334364
Make me a copy as well, you never know when you need blackmail. Especially when it comes to the CMC.
7334823 *hands over spare recording equipment plus 10 mana battery's for power* make sure to give proof to these ponies for blackmail threat to work. Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Miss Cheerily. Jackie Chan, Uncle.
Avoid giving to Pinkie Pie, Discord (unless you want to have help with chaos protection), Captain Black, Rainbow Dash (same reason as discord, but less responsible).
7335045 the only thing worse than that would be if they found a hentai manga. (Cringe) tenticles.
Very nice, good work.
7334867
Don't worry, I know someone who was able to hook me up with one of the fly cams that Dr. Gero from the DBZ universe used to use. Bad thing was that it was one of the versions that could only take pictures. I set that up since the beginning to take pictures but I prefer video recordings, they have so much more visuals that can be stored. Plus the audio along with the visuals has much more value to it.
7336866 smart. i'll see if i can get Bulma to merge the fly cam with the video and sound recording devises as well run off of the extra mana battery's. maybe a holo-projector so the the evidence can be shown easily.
*Calls Bulma and asks request.* where gonna have to use my equipment for a bit. she said she'll be here in a few days to look at the specs and see what she can do. we might miss a few hours worth of chaos though while shes working on them.
7182581 here, here brother!!
7336916
Let me get in touch with one of my contacts and he can send the video equipment into the past to record the chaos that we missed. *pulls out a small compact mirror* Q, remember that favor you owe me, well I'm calling it in. When a friend of mine is done adjusting some video equipment I need you to send it a few hours into the past so we can record some chaos. *Puts away the compact mirror* I am so glad I called him flirting with Janeway while he's married. Also he can't touch me or he brings down Loki's wrath. Having Loki's protection is such a bonus for having prick the egos of Thor and the Four Idiots. I did it for fun but Loki decided to reward me.
7337147 Sweet! Discord's protection is more for the mind breaking chaos. for the physical i just go to Goku or Beerus. doesn't hurt to have the god of destruction and a super sayan god in your corner for backup in dire situations.
7337181
For power houses I prefer Alucard. He bet against me in who could cause the most pain to a vampire, I won. One blessed silver serrated dagger dipped in holy water straight to the low zones of the male vampire that was our test subject, I know it's wrong but that was the best thing I can think of at that moment, which was surprisingly effective. Alucard made me swear never to tell Integra what I did that way she can't use it against him.
7337658
7337181
I would request the two of you confine your discussion to the story itself, rather than...whatever it is you've been discussing for so long. The initial comments regarding bunkers or supplies to 'survive' the story are amusing, but anything much beyond that and I'm left slogging through notifications on my story that have nothing to do with it...which is more than a little disappointing.
7337658
7337720 Sorry Tats.
This is gonna be a disaster.
Thomas Edison method, they stole it, claimed it as their own, then tried to destroy the lives of any others in the field to keep themselves on top?
7508181
Heh.
7332646 Please accept my apologies for duplicating your counters, especially when I didn't do near as good a job as you have done. My mistake was to not peruse the comments for anyone that had not done those counters, and simply assumed nobody had done it. I will be removing my counters as soon as I am able to.
7873422
Just make sure to replace them with comments on the chapter itself. The last thing I need on this story is a string of deleted comments without explanation.
WUUAAHHG!! Counter
Total: 6
not to be confused with kill me.... *looks at spy head*