Dawn the Derby Horse

by Meadow_Dawn

10 - A Rescue Within a Rescue

The small herd of armored ponies made their way over the course of their next day following the map to their town’s destination. After a brief rest under another secluded place outside of town, they fanned out into pairs to check the various farmlands at night. One black insect-like pony was with each of the scouting pairs, the others that didn’t have such a partner being placed on guard duty of their campsite.

Each night, the group returned and reported about what they found. The changelings would speak in their hissing dialect and then they would move on when nothing was found.

After three nights of looking, and the AI relayed a command through its speaker that more searchers would be assigned despite the inability to speak. It covered more ground and when the AI debriefed the pairs, it wasn’t long before one pair raised their hoof, indicating they found their target. It was no surprise that the group left immediately, putting their fatigue aside to arrive at their destination

It was nearly midnight when they got close enough to the field for inspection. A break was issued while the commander and the larger black form scouted ahead. The commander’s eyes were glowing a soft green as her night vision was engaged while the other could not be seen at night at all with human eyes beyond as a dark form. Neither would rest until they knew for sure their target was confirmed.

No less than three people were able to be found, partly with the assistance of her AI outlining the figures, all of whom were less than equipped for the task and not nearly trained enough if they were aiming to be stealthy. What worried her was the appearance of hunting rifles and camo jackets and pants. It was one talkative fellow that they listened in on to get the situation, like he was trying to keep from falling asleep.

“Yes boss, no boss, three bags full boss… Come on, what are we doing here just watching some girl and her horses… Get us back to where the money is.” He rambled to himself, then would look through his binoculars and continue muttering, seemingly oblivious to the glow behind him.

When it was clear he was just repeating his frustrations to keep himself awake, the pair skirted around the sentry and could see the stable but wouldn’t be able to approach without the sentries knowing. A plain field would still see a dark form moving across it. After a careful trot back, they relayed the information they gained and began formulating a plan to scout and retrieve with minimal detection.

Tomorrow came readily, with most of the squad being fully rested and another stream provided their water needs while a nearby farm’s produce would sustain their food needs between three different crops they were able to find within a half mile radius.

Observation confirmed their target at the ranch again. Dawn appeared to stay in the stable during the day, but left midafternoon to go to the house. The commander had two ponies and two changelings assigned to observing the rest of the family, to determine their disposition and how much resistance they would give when ready for retrieval.

Dawn didn’t leave the house after dinner like expected, and the commander’s eyes narrowed. Using her binoculars to look into the home, through the sliver of curtains, she could see a gun being polished.

“So… something’s definitely wrong.” The speaker in her shoulder commented.

“Apparently.” The one beside her whispered, looking through her own binoculars. “You trained her better than that otherwise.

The commander didn’t give any reply, and continued to watch, seeing a new car come in and a dark skinned human approach the house. Something was definitely about to go down, she knew it, but she couldn’t determine what until she had more intel.

It wasn’t until an hour later that the four squad members returned, being stealthy but quick and rejoined the group. The two changelings didn’t catch much, being on the wrong side of the house, but the two ponies began drawing in the dirt as best they could with their hooves to relay a message.

Stick figures were drawn, two adults, one not quite adult, one equine. A box around one adult, bars drawn in the box, signifying capture. An arrow drawn from the box to the horse above, an arrow drawn from the horse to the father below. An arrow pointing down was drawn, three human stick figures again, horse to the side with a question mark. A circle, notches added, must be a clock. Short hand drawn, an arrow going around once, no, twice. So they had twenty four hours to decide what to do.

The cybernetic horse frowned. This would not do. It took a couple weeks to get this far as is, and while they didn’t know when the gate would open for return, they needed to have the target ready and waiting.

“Take a rest you four. Close observations beyond the target are suspended until further notice.” The AI said through the speaker. “All units not on watch duty are to make sure their equipment is in full readiness for deployment at a moment’s notice. Rotations are to proceed as planned.”

The group gave a salute, bringing a foreleg up to their heads before setting about preparing their equipment again, three of them staying at their posts to observe for maintaining their outpost’s secrecy.

“Ransoming my daughter,” the large insect-horse hummed, still trying to keep some of the hissing down but failing, “clearly they can see her value, but they are making a huge mistake.”

“Not like anyone knows we’re here.” The ai countered through the speaker.

“Considering she revealed her armor and weapons and shapeshifting, she must have told the family who she was.”

“Probably.” The ai replied as the cybernetic pony tried to allow herself to rest.

The large insect-horse settled down by the cyborg at her back, resting close and protectively. Neither slept much, but they would be ready for what was to come.

The next day, there was some activity that the long range group could report. The newcomer had already left late that prior night, looked from afar like they were just a friend to the family, though the commander was sure something else was ahoof. Dawn had passed several of her tactical training tests, as well as performed admirably in the test where she faced a no win situation. That contact was probably going under the radar to request help, considering last night in the distance an emergency vehicle seemed to come partway and then turn around.

All the two leaders could do was trust that Dawn would do what was necessary to ensure her survival. She was as equipped as they were able to make her be.

-----

Dawn rather quickly came to dislike the Master Sergeant. He was cocky, know-it-all, and wouldn’t take any advice even if it was sound. He almost tried to say it was “stupid” to try and sneak horse armor into the delivery because it wouldn’t do any good. That was when she realized she as a horse would be nothing more than ‘lesser property’ and she as a person was disregarded as a crazy teenager. She sighed as she realized she should have seen that coming and simply prepared up in Erin’s bedroom to make sure her armor and weapons were ready for that night. The greasing of her equipment unsettled the mother still.

She would be delivered in her horse trailer after dinnertime. Erin’s cover story if she ever got pulled over is that she’s visiting some relatives. When they arrive at the intersection, they will follow the other vehicle to their destination. James will be on standby and when the exchange is made and Erin is driving in, police will arrive to make the arrest.

Dawn’s only positive point to this plan is that they would be caught off guard and if they did let the father go, she would have free reign to act as she needed to defend herself, only to revert to being a horse and be assumed uninvolved.

“I don’t like this.” Erin said, moving her suitcase of stored things she had packed two days ago close to the door. “It’s too risky.”

-Honestly it’s not a bad plan. It needs improving with more actual backup, but it’s not bad. I simply have to act before they simply reattach the trailer and drive away with me in tow if they don’t bother to unload me.- Dawn wrote back. –Just make absolutely sure that you don’t hand me over until you have your father unless you are going to be hurt.-

“I know.”

-I’m lending you a set of armor to wear under your clothes. It’ll only block one shot in any given section, but it’s better than nothing and they won’t suspect anything in the dark.-

“Dawn, I don’t know about-”

Dawn simply ignored her and proceeded to summon a light set of dark camo armor, still meant to fit an equine shape, bearing the patch of the EDF on the left side but no namebadge for the chest piece. A patch to be put where the namebadge would go appeared, stating “V.I.P.” and was pushed onto the velcro.

Erin stood in surprise, then blinked, “It looks like it’s meant for a child.”

-It’s meant for a pony.- Dawn corrected. –We’re actually smaller than your horses normally. Only the older royalty grow to be as large as your horses. Just be glad it’s able to fit at all since it was my backup armor. This is definitely not going to be spotted under clothes.-

“So, after this, can I keep it?” She asked.

-For now. If you insist on coming with me with no guarantees of coming back, then you’d have to earn it, assuming they even let you enlist.- Dawn warned.

“It’s why I packed all my essentials in my suitcase here. Some clothes, electronics, plenty of photos. We’re meant to be together. I know it!” She grinned. “Even told my dad as much… you are gonna be able to get him home safe right?”

-I will take off my own armor and put it on him myself if they renege on their agreement and this goes from a takedown to a hostage situation.- Dawn answered. –My shield is durable and a bit flexible, and I have options for creating escape routes. As long as rescue comes, we will make it.-

“Good. I’ll do my part.” She nodded, taking a deep breath and patting Dawn’s back. “You focus on taking care of the rest and get back safe ok?”

-I am the bearer of the element of Hope. I’d like to think I’ll be ok or I wouldn’t be true to Hope.- Dawn smirked as she wrote and then showed the message.

Erin laughed, giving Dawn a hug before hearing her mother call for dinner. “Come on… it’s time.”

-----

The squad sentries waved to the commander, daylight already beginning to fade. The cybernetic pony approached the line and followed where they were pointing.

Their target, currently in the form of a green horse, was climbing into the trailer now hitched to a cherry red pickup truck.

“Attention all units, prepare to move out and follow target as best as able. It is on the move.” The speaker said, only loud enough to be heard.

Multiple clicks of equipment being set into their armor for safe transport and ready deployment into action. As the truck began to pull away, they moved out, making as little noise as able as they followed the road, allowing their leader and her mate with the best visions to keep track of the vehicle.

In following the vehicle for the next hour further into the countryside, they saw another car trailing just barely behind, the one of the visitor. The disregarded it outside of minor awareness. It changed little about their mission.

The group followed the vehicle into an abandoned cabin’s lot. The entire area was thickly wooded and full of brush, an ideal situation for stealthy approaches, but poor observation. A quick hoof signal later and the group stopped to grab what rest they could while staying ready, the tireless leader creeping ahead.

The truck waited, running in idle as it waited. After ten minutes, three men armed with semiautomatic weapons in plain view approached and a black truck parked alongside the truck. It rolled its window down and the red one followed suit.

The commander couldn’t make out what was said, and her AI was unable to remove the engine distortions in time to capture what was said. The black truck began to pull out and lead the way, and the red truck shifted gears.

A quick stealthy dash back to the main group and a hoof signal later, and the group once again began tailing their target.

-----

Dawn felt the trailer hit bumpy road after bumpy road, small swerves here and there as Erin no doubt tried to avoid the worst ones.

All she could do was stay in her earth horse disguise and wait, paying attention to her surroundings so the moment they get disconnected and have the father, signaled by Erin ‘accidentally’ turning off the truck briefly, she begin her plan.

Another half an hour later, with many turns, she could see through the nightfall they had arrived at a small abandoned warehouse with a cabin nearby.

Erin pulled forward and when she stopped in front of the cabin. Another pause and Erin slowly began to move, circling the building before the rear of the trailer showed the wilderness behind them. As her anxiety to perform well and keep everyone safe mounted, she went through her relaxing techniques as she waited for the signal.

-----

Erin parked the car, really nervous but glad she was wearing the armor Dawn gave. It was uncomfortable and a little tight, but she couldn’t loosen it any further. Besides, any looser and it’d show through.

A vehicle had followed them to the place, practically screaming “escort” in her opinion, but the two trucks shut down fully at the cabin and left their lights on, staring her in the face.

One of the goons stepped out of the truck and motioned for her to cut the engine, waving a flat hand over his neck. She complied and an eerie silence fell on the place.

“Stay put while we secure the horse and bring out your father.” One voice called, she couldn’t tell which.

“Show him to me first, then we’ll unlock the trailer!” She called back.

“If we wanted to just take it, we would have. Shut up and sit there.” He ordered, implying the ‘or else,’ that followed.

Erin sighed and did what she was told. The trailer wasn’t unhitched yet from what she could see, and it seems like they were going ahead and following through with their demands, so far.

It was ten minutes of stressful waiting before her father was guided out to view, blindfolded, gagged, and stumbling, but very much alive.

“Come on, let him go and we’ll unhook the trailer!” Erin called.

Her father tried to yell through the gag, but a small jab kept him quiet again and they walked back toward the warehouse.

“We’ve already unhooked it. Start your truck and pull forward slowly!”

“That wasn’t the deal!” She protested, “Just give me my dad back, why are you taking him inside!”

“It’s called insurance bitch!” He called back, “We don’t want any funny business, so until we know we’ve got it, you do what we say!”

“We’ll see who the bitch is.” She muttered to herself, starting up the truck and pulling forward slowly. “Sorry Dawn, looks like it got harder for you.”

She pulled into the middle of the ring of people and the two trucks, debating if it was worth it to ram them before she was told to stop. A brief glance confirmed they did somehow get the trailer off without her knowing or noticing.

“Ok, you have her, now give me back my dad!”

“Shut up already or you’re not seein’ him again!” He warned.

Erin growled loudly as she turned to watch her mirrors, seeing how two men had her firmly tied around the neck and holding her leash leads, guiding her to the inside of the warehouse.

“All right. Now git out of here. When this is done he’ll be dropped off and you can pick him up.” She was instructed.

“That wasn’t the deal.” Erin started to protest before the guy fired three rounds above the roof of the truck.

“You think we’re gonna do things your way bitch? You have no power and you’re gonna do what we say and maybe after today you can go to your life cursing that you got nothin’ or actually bein’ glad you’re getting away! NOW GIT!”

Erin growled in frustration, rolled up her window while the guns all faced her truck and began driving away. “Dammit! Dawn, you’d better save my dad!”

-----

Dawn took a deep breath as she heard the gunshots, barely getting to hear the truck start up and get faint. She did not hear the truck engine stall earlier either, signaling that her father was not in the car.

‘All right, so this got harder. Let’s follow plan B.’ She thought as they guided her into the back of the warehouse.

All kinds of hazards were littered about, creating various corridors of stuff further in, but they stopped by a relatively clear area, twenty feet by twenty feet. A desk connected to some battery hookups held a computer and a couple bits of recording equipment. What held her attention more was the father figure, unblindfolded and ungagged, watched by two armed men as he sat bound to a chair by rope in a darker corner.

‘All right, two targets who likely would focus on me as a threat when they realize what’s hitting them. Approximately one second after gunfire is heard before support would come, could be enough to release the hostage.’ Dawn thought, continuing to calculate as she was taken to in front of the recording area.

“Get that horse over here, boss is gonna want to see we got it.” One of the goons said while they turned the computer on.

Dawn gave an internal smile. She should wait until they finished, and then launch her surprise. The real question was if she could dash forward fast enough to knock them out with the flat of her blade or if she would have to use lethal force.

“Yeah boss, we got the horse right here.” The goon suddenly answered and moved aside. The computer had turned on insanely fast, perhaps it was in sleep mode Dawn wondered, “Good for delivery.”

“Good.” The boss said, no video being sent on his end, leaving just a silhouette of a person as the icon. “Keep it running. I want to make sure we do this right from start to finish. Don’t let it get loose and treat it good.”

“Look, we got this.” He answered confidently before turning around to face the horse.

Dawn made her move.

In a split second, the lead ropes around her neck went slack, getting pushed off her by a pair of legs that turned into arms. Another split second and combat armor was on her body and a sword and large white riot shield appeared in her hands.

They barely had time to register what they were seeing, despite the cameras recording everything as it progressed. Dawn swiftly used her blade held sideways to bash the heads of both the handlers, knocking them out cold, and then the computer operator before the two guards of the hostage finally reacted by raising their weapons.

Dawn put her sword back into magical storage, acting like she was sheathing it and proceeded to pull out her pistol in its place, putting it at the edge of her shield, aiming at the first of the two.

Several bursts of gunfire ensued, hitting the shield and marring its surface ever so slightly before Dawn let out two rounds, hitting them in their hands. Both of them yowled in pain as they dropped, feeling the bullets go through one hand and into their chest, though in non-vital areas. A few swift steps and a pair of sword-strokes and the guards were knocked out.

“Don’t hurt me!” the dad cowered, blinking before he realized who he was looking at and looking at her in confusion.

Dawn rolled her eyes and gave him a smile before using her sword to cut through the ropes binding him to the chair.

She barely finished when people rounded the corner.

“Hey! Pillip! What’s-” one of them asked, guns raised before seeing the others on the floor and then seeing an unfamiliar person with their hostage. “Hey! You! BACK AWAY FROM THERE! YOU ARE TRESSPASSING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY!”

Dawn used her shield to stay in front of the father and bullets started to fly, rapidly hitting the shield as she stood her ground.

‘Come on Dawn, think! There’s got to be a way-’ She grumbled to herself when a new, familiar set of gunfire sounds reached her ears.

Bullets broke the more fragile pieces in the shed, one of them going through the computer screen.

“What the-” One of them started to say before dropping his weapon as his hands shot up to his throat.

The remaining two turned around, guns raised, only to meet similar fates and falling to the ground.

Things went quiet, distant yelling could be heard and occasional gunfire when Dawn’s eyes caught motion from some bushes in her line of sight. Four armored dark dog-sized forms and a fifth the size of a leopard were dashing forward to the warehouse entryway, taking cover under the wall before peeking around and seeing Dawn’s hand in a thumb’s up signal.

“Dawn!” the large one hissed happily, bounding forward with mouth open and tongue wiggling in plain view of the damaged equipment.

Dawn poked her head out and grinned behind her shield while the other four forms began to sweep the area.

“What the hell is that!” The father yelled, looking at Chysalis in horror.

“How rude.” She hissed in reply, looking at him straight on with a mild smile, highlighting her fangs as she gave an unnatural tilt for his benefit. “You should be asking who the hell I am, not what.”

The father started shaking before he fainted and fell off the chair.

Dawn chuckled quietly, patting her mom on the neck as she put away her equipment into magical storage. She gestured to herself, pointed to the throat and made a cutting motion. She pointed to the father and covered her eyes, then her mouth, then gripped both wrists.

“See that he is gagged, blindfolded, and bound.” Chrysalis ordered and two of the squadmembers began to make the order be fulfilled as another burst of gunfire could be heard outside the building and then went quiet once more.

Once he was secured, Dawn pointed from the father to herself, patting on her back before turning into her horse form once more, laying on the ground to make reaching it easier.

The father was grabbed none too gently and hoisted onto Dawn’s back. Once he was loosely held in place with some additional rope, one of the four squadmates spoke.

“Legate, we are going to make a break for the cover and then head to rendezvous point.”

Dawn knickered mildly in protest, looking back to the father and tapping him.

“We will ensure his safety until he will be released.” It replied.

Dawn wished she could frown, instead stamping her hoof in insistence on returning him home.

“Daughter… this is not negotiable.” Chrysalis warned. “You will come with us to the rendezvous point before we decide what to do with the rude one.”

Dawn sighed, then gave a bow to her adopted mother.

The six of them approached the entryway, Dawn standing in it just inside the building to broadcast they were about to exit. A few seconds passed when a mirror flashed toward them three times.

Dawn took off into a gallop toward that the direction of the mirror, and two bursts of gunshots rang into the air along the warehouse before they were deep into the bushes, galloping away.

Dawn could feel her heart pound as her body worked off the adrenaline dump from the engagement. A glance around as they fled showed twelve ponies in formation around her, keeping an eye out for interference as they fled.

----

Frank growled internally as he watched his men be tricked by some person in a suit. They had to have been tricked! A horse just doesn’t change into a person! They must have called the police and they had been set up!

He slammed his desk as he watched his men taken out with ease only seen in the movies, then stopped as he saw four miniature horses in military gear approach. Each of them looked strange, like out of a horror film with their serrated teeth like a shark lining the black chitin covered mouth, not to mention the rest of their bodies. The largest one was by far the scariest, especially when it could speak

“What the hell?” He asked, checking the feed to make sure he wasn’t seeing something wrong or being pranked. Every location he could check confirmed the same thing, even the backup of the full quality video was still in progress, if slow due to being out in the sticks.

He watched as the dog sized horse horrors went behind the desk while the girl and larger monster embraced. To his surprise, the girl turned back to a horse and then had a conversation that was just barely too quiet to be heard clearly beyond the hissing of the smaller creatures.

He watched for several more minutes before a much more familiar scary scene came into view. Red and blue flashing lights were outlined on the treeline. He immediately ended the video and stream, then remotely tried to activate the self-terminate program… and the system wouldn’t respond. All he could do was disconnect fully and pray the command would act in time to prevent any unfortunate outcomes… Maybe the police could believe they were attempting to film a movie scene for an idea they had and some vigilantes came and attacked his men, planting the weapons on them to make him look bad…