Face Off
Chapter 46: Face Off
(Freefall Island Resort) (Backstage)
Hoity was getting impatient. He paced around the backstage, one hand on his chin and another at his back. His mind raced as he predicted several scenarios over, wondering which of them would come true. Normally he’d be out there, greeting his guests and making small chat. But those girls really threw a wrench in his security.
So far none of his minions have reported anything suspicious. Not that they could. There were over a hundred guests in this resort alone and all of them dressed to the nines. The only suspect he had on his list were Flash and his supposed ‘date’. That woman had magic glowing all around her which prompted her to be the red herring of the operation. But it’s not like he could just throw them out. What would his father say?
Sombra was another suspect. And who knows? Perhaps Fancy Pants himself was in on the whole thing. Or maybe everyone!
Gah! How was he supposed to separate the sheep from the wolves prowling amongst them? He can’t just go there himself. What if that’s what they want him to do? Strut around the lounge, all vulnerable, without anyway of defending himself. If he tried to do anything bold, it’ll be broadcast throughout the whole world. He’ll be ruined in more ways than one!
He could go in with a bunch of his minions… but folks would question why he needed the extra security. Damn it! This was a disaster. If there was a quote here, he’d say that they caught him with his pants down.
He looked at his watch. Only thirty more minutes before the pageant show begins. That means all the cameras will be moving to the backyard. Reporters and journalists alike will be vying for the best spots while his guests clamored around the runway. Once that starts it’ll be too late for him to do anything. He’ll be latched to the stage, coordinating the other models and fashion designers who are presenting ‘their’ clothes.
And it’s there where his plans will be most vulnerable. If the spell he prepared isn’t done properly then all of this… everything he worked these last few months will be for nothing. And worse still…
Ugh… damn it.
That’s it. If Flash Sentry wants a fight, he’ll get it.
Quickly he reached out for his phone and dialed a number.
(Pool)
This is god darn ridiculous.
Applejack felt her teeth chatter as she scouted around the pool area dressed as one of the many waiters around here complete with long pants and blazer. She traded her hat for a few pins that held her hair in place and a bowtie to boot. With a little poise, acting and a little bit of luck she was able to get through security without too much hassle. Either those muscle heads were bad at their job or they were too busy keeping the paparazzi out to bother a small fry like her.
Either way her part of the plan worked and she had the pool all to herself. No surprise seeing that there wasn’t idiot out here dumb enough to take a quick dip at this weather, less they were really into getting frostbites. Hiding behind the mini-bar counter proved to be effective but unnecessary.
All she needed to do now was wait for Twilight to give the signal and…
“So what are we doing?”
“Gah!” AJ yelped nearly blowing her cover. She quickly returned to her hidey spot grabbing the intruder by the collar, yelling at her quietly. “Rainbow! You scared the living daylights out of me!”
“Sorry. My bad. Couldn’t resist.”
“What in tarnation are you even doing here!? I thought you were supposed to be with Twilight and keeping a lookout! Somebody could’da saw you!”
“Oh please. I’m too fast for that.” The sports gal replied like it was the answer to everything. “Besides, Twilight sent me here. She thought that you could use a hand with uh…… that thing you’re doing.”
“Do you even know what the plan is?”
“Course I do. We beat Hoity in his own game. The moment he steps onto that stage and use his magical mumbo jumbo, we Pony-Up, swoop in and thrash him with style.” The look that her friend gave said otherwise. “That… is what we’re doing… right?”
That was the rough draft of the latter part. But there were so many steps that needed processing. Figures Rainbow wouldn’t pay attention to those little details. If anything, Twilight probably sent her here to keep her out of trouble.
“Ok fine. So I didn’t really paid much attention to everything we were talking about. But can you help me?” Not really. “Why did I have to be saddled with the boring guard duty while you guys get to do cool spy stuff?”
“Because you’re as subtle as a bull in a china shop?” AJ countered, rolling her eyes. “Look. This is a very delicate assignment. And it’s too late to send you back without getting attention. So can I trust you to be quieter than Big Mac?”
“You got it chief.” Rainbow Dash gave a playful salute as her friend pulled out a number of fancy looking plastic balls. “Whoa… are those Trixie’s smoke bombs?”
“Yup. Stuff a few of these in the right places and it’ll look like a fire’s starting.” Applejack grinned mischievously. She wasn’t really one for being sneaky but it felt somewhat cool to be acting like real time spies. “We just need to put them on…” Her eyes turned over to the doorway of the pool, widening before she quickly pulled Rainbow Dash into the counter. “Get down!”
“Ow! What are you…?” The cowgirl hushed her loud friend pointing at the small open slit revealing a number of hulky figures walking in all menacing. “Whoa… someone rolled in the big guns.”
“Not just that. Look.” Applejack pointed to the back where a familiar figure stood by, scanning the area with a darkened expression. “It’s Vignette. They must be looking for us.” She gave Rainbow a look. “You sure no one saw you here?”
“Come on AJ. You know me.” She scoffed back lowly. “I’d never jeopardize a mission.”
“Search the area!” They heard Vignette bark out to the other hypnotized minions. Their leathery outfit was apparent. “The waiters said they saw a rainbow haired girl run through here.”
…
…
…
Applejack’s stare sharpened.
“Ah… aheh. That could’ve been anyone.”
Damn it Rainbow Dash!
(Ladies’ restroom)
“Go for Twilight.” The brain of the Equestria Girls answered instantly as her phone rang. She sounded rather chirpy. Almost too pleased with herself.
“Twi. We got a problem.” Her chirpy mood was instantly ruined at that moment. “We think Hoity’s onto us. He’s got his goons searching the pool.”
“But… that’s not possible.” She stuttered. “The pool should be the last place they search. How’d they…” Her pause only reminded her of a decision she made. “Rainbow Dash?”
“Rainbow Dash.” There was an audible ‘Hey!’ in the background. “What do we do?”
Twilight rubbed the temple above her nose and groaned. Honestly, that girl. “Alright. There’s no need to panic. We expected this to happen. This is what we were hoping for. Hoity is bringing all of his possessed to the resort. We just need to keep ourselves hidden until the last minute. Can you still pull off the plan?”
“We’ll try. But it’ll be a tight fit.”
“Good. I’ll tell the others to go on radio silence until the pageant show starts. Stay safe. And…” Her phone buzzed again. “I got another call. Talk to you later.”
Rarity’s voice whispered in after a click. “Twilight dear. Sorry to bother you on such a busy time. But we may have a bit of an eensy weensy problem on our hands.”
“Yeah. Applejack already told me. Hoity’s sending out his goons.”
“Yes that too. But it looks like the petting zoo is locked for the duration. Apparently some of the animals got loose, now it’s locked up tight until the pageant is done.”
“What!?” Twilight stifled her mouth as her voice echoed loudly. “That’s bad. We need those animals to complete our plan. Can you do something about it?”
“We’ll try. But no promises.” Rarity gulped. “Call you back soon.”
Ugh… this was going south real fast. The resort was big. Big enough that it’ll take hours just to search the place from top to bottom. She didn’t think that Hoity would have so much extra manpower to speed up the process. So much for a smooth ride. And the plan was going so well earlier.
“Trouble?”
“Just an inconvenience.” She said to her evil counterpart. “Looks like Hoity brought in more people than I anticipated. It… shouldn’t be a problem on Sunset’s side. But as long as they’re not discovered, the plan is still a go. I just hope nothing else goes wrong.” But the universe decided to play a reverse card on her instead. A loud banging noise startled her from the toilet seat. “Wh… what was that?”
No one in their right mind would dare use this restroom. Rainbow Dash put that maintenance sign outside to keep folks out. She even had the water running madly, which flooded the place up to the ankles. Any rich patron worth his salt wouldn’t dare approach this place to sully their expensive shoes.
Unless… it wasn’t a guest but someone else entirely.
Midnight Sparkle decided to find out, phasing her head out of the stall for a brief second before returning, eyes shot in dread. “You got a big guy coming! Hide!”
Oh crud. This was the very reason why Twilight had Rainbow Dash here in the first place. To keep people out. What a blunder.
And where was she to hide!? This was a restroom stall. A 4x6 area with 2 inches thick walls and a lockable door. An office cubicle was bigger than this! There was no place to hide!
Wham!
She heard the door to the other stalls open. Whoever it was, has decided to check out all the stalls. Luckily she made her lair at the far end which gave her only a few more seconds to think of a way out.
Wham! The second stall smashed open.
Could she go out the vents? No. This isn’t like the museum. They were far too small for her to fit and they had grills on them. She’d need specialized tools just to get them open.
WHAM! A third stall.
“Any day now, Twilight!”
She could try to outrun the attacker. Bah! Who was she kidding? She can’t do cardio to save her own skin.
WHAM! The stall next to hers buckled. Wet footsteps pounded the floor followed by a grunting noise.
Maybe she can fight it out. No! That’ll ruin the whole operation. And it’ll put everyone here in grave danger.
He was there. She could see his shadow on the other side of the door.
No time. She had to wing it.
WHAM!!!
The door swung open and a large man appeared. Black ink marks trailed all over his exposed skin while pulse of magic vibrated from his clothes. The leather garments that he wore underneath his clothes were also apparent, gripping tightly on his body.
Twilight stifled a gasp as their eyes met.
But it lasted only for a few seconds before he let out a snort and turned to his radio. “Bathroom’s all clear. Moving up to the second floor.”
With a gruff and a heave, the large man stomped off, his feet slopping over the water, probably searching another location.
“Is… is he gone?”
Midnight took another peek and came back with a nod. They let out a sigh of relief. “I think we’re overstaying our welcome.”
Twilight chuckled, removing a magic cloak sighing. “Agreed.”
(Suite room)
Sunset glanced down the balcony staring at the many famous figures mingling below. She watched as they chatted, laughed and joked around, completely unaware of the battle raging around them or the danger they were in.
In just a few more minutes the show would start and Hoity would unveil his plan of total domination over every audience member taking over their minds and bending them to his will. It sounded like a genuine evil villain plan and the guy had power and evil henchmen to back it up. If this wasn’t real life, he’d say that this whole thing had the makings of a great action hero movie.
“You worried?” Flash asked, appearing beside her, looking as dashing as he did before in that suit of his.
“About the plan? Not a bit.” She smiled. “About my part in it? Maybe a little. I’m just worried something might go wrong and the whole plan goes sideway.”
“Well if it does, I’m sure you girls can handle it. I’ve seen you work. You can do it. No need to feel any pressure. Just don’t think about the fact that if you fail, everyone down there, including my dad and me, will become enslaved mindless obeying zombies who will follow the fashion sense of a tyrannical psychopath.”
Her eyes pointed sharply at him. “Yeah. No pressure.”
He laughed. “I’m just saying that this fight should be cakewalk for you. I mean out of all the bad guys I’ve seen you girls fight, this one has to be the least interesting one. I mean… come on. Turning the whole city into zombies that obey your every whim? Please. You’re the one who invented that scheme. Who better to stop him than the true original mastermind?”
Sunset gave him a pointed look. She knew that he was only trying to lighten the mood but the whole scenario playing around her did little to ease her tensed muscle.
“Gee… thanks.”
“What I’m trying to say is… you guys will do fine. I have complete faith in you and your friends. So lighten up and relax while you can.”
“I totally agree!” Pinkie chimed in appearing from the door with a literal basket of treats. “Chill out a bit Sunshim. We got the royal suite room all to ourselves. This place has everything. Two jumbo size beds, a fully stocked fridge, free cable, and have you seen the tub in the bathroom? It’s huge!”
“I agree with the bumbling idiot.” Adagio followed suit holding a wine glass, professionally. Though the contents of the glass was less likely anything intoxicating. “You don’t often get to enjoy the luxury of the rich so you may as well get comfortable. First class food, unlimited room service and a view to kill for. Compared to where I’ve been staying, this is a palace.”
Sunset didn’t seem to agree. “Aren’t you guys being a little too comfortable? What if something goes wrong?”
“If something does go wrong it’ll be because of your friends, not you. Why worry over things that are out of your control? I’d say that’s the kind of things you get wrinkles over. Even your pink fellow here knows how to relax.” She pointed over to Pinkie Pie who somehow teleported from the balcony to the bed, squealing and bouncing off the mattress like the fluffiest trampoline.
“Adagio has a point.” Flash agreed rather readily which surprised her. “If something goes wrong, then it’ll go wrong. Besides, Twilight will call if things need fixing. So we should enjoy this little peace and quiet while we can.”
“See? Even the human gets it.”
“I’m just saying that we can’t let our guard down.” She said. “I’m still wondering why Twilight asked me to bring you two along. I could’ve done this part on my own.”
“Is that a complaint I hear?” Adagio feigned a gasp nearly spilling her glass. “Flash here went out of his way to give you the best room in the entire resort where you’re guaranteed to have absolute privacy and all you do is whine and wallow. The least you could do is be grateful and learn to enjoy the finer things in life.” She then took a sip, moaning softly from the taste. Her eyes then shifted to the boy expectantly. “Hmmm… a girl can get use to this.”
“Yeah Sunset.” Pinkie came again, teleporting across the room like magic. “You gotta live life if you want to experience life. Sure, we’re about to go and fight the most powerful enemy we’ve ever seen before, and we might fail and doom the whole city into a dark future. But why let a little doom and gloom get in the way of having a good time?”
Et tu Pinkie?
Gosh it feels like she was the only one here who was taking things seriously.
“Fine.” She said finally, hanging her head lowly in defeat. “But only because you insisted.”
The siren leader smirked. “I’ll order room service.”
(Petting Zoo)
Ok Rarity. No time to panic. Sure you might not be the better-dressed gal in the party tonight, and you might be endanger of getting caught by Hoity’s possessed minions. But that’s all part of the plan. This whole debacle was just a little pressure. And we know that one does not become a diamond without pressure.
Hopefully not too much pressure.
“Alright. The coast seems clear for now.” She whispered to no one in particular. “There’s no need to panic. We just need to find a way into the petting zoo. Here’s the plan Fluttershy. We’ll change into our backup disguises, sneak into the maintenance closet and take the master key from there. We’ll then double back through the lounge meeting and greeting some of the guests. They’ll marvel at our style and make it back to the petting zoo just in time for…”
“Done.” Fluttershy announced plainly as the padlock to the petting zoo dropped from its socket.
Rarity blinked dumbly. “But… how… when?”
“Mr. Mousekewitz offered to help out.” The little mice chittered happily in her hands before scampering off to the nearest crack on the wall. “Bye bye Mr. Mousekewitz. Good luck finding your son.”
Well… that was… convenient.
“Then I suppose we’ll have to get to the next part of the plan.” Rarity coughed, forcing a change of subject. “Here’s what I’m thinking. I’ll change into my backup disguise, mingle with the crowd and…”
“Actually… I can do this next part on my own. I just need to give instructions to the animals here.”
“O… oh.” She paused. “Well… then I’ll just change into my backup disguise and…”
“Rarity.” Fluttershy gave her a raised brow look. “Are you just looking for an excuse to change?”
“Whaaaat? No~~” She tried to brush it off for like half a second before she bawled. “Ok yes! YES! I do! I really do!” She grabbed her friend by the shoulder, crying a river. “Just look around you! This place is like a gala of my dreams. Fashion, style, celebrities everywhere you look! I have to present myself. Social interaction with the rich and famous is like air to me. Without it, I’ll suffocate and die.”
Fluttershy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Now now Rarity. You know what Twilight said. We shouldn’t do anything to draw attention.”
“But I would do no such thing! I’ll just dress up and take a quick stroll around the lounge. I’ll hardly even standout.” Now that was a lie if she ever told one. “Ok fine. I’m lying. I’ll totally stand out.”
“Just stay here and don’t let anyone see you.” The animal lover demanded, threatening to use her mighty stare if she had to.
Rarity could do nothing but sulk.
(Backstage)
Hoity bit the tip of his nails as he paced back and forth behind the curtains. A rough guess would say that he was worried out of his mind. His enemies were here doing god knows what. Scenarios played over his head, unable to deduce the girls’ plans.
He thought that their fight at the castle would deter them or perhaps even scare them into hiding. But somehow they became bold and even decided to face him at his own game.
“Fifteen minutes Mr. Toity.” The stage manager shouted from the blinds to which he nodded back. The show was starting soon.
At this rate he’ll have no other choice but to proceed.
Damn it! Curse those insufferable oafs. They’re far smarter than he imagined. He thought that these girls were nothing more than teens blessed with magic. But it was obvious that they thought this plan through.
Challenging him here was no doubt pre-meditated. His hands were tied to the event, and there were too many witnesses for him to free use his powers. Not to mention that his shadow creature was allergic to bright lights. This whole thing limited his actions greatly, making him vulnerable to whatever attack they had plan.
If he wasn’t the target of their grand scheme, he would’ve been impressed.
There was no other choice. He had to make a move.
“Kaaz.” His shadow formed up against the wall, with red slits acting as eyes. “Prepare to take control of the audience.”
The snake gasped. “The spell is not yet ready.”
“Cast too soon and it will be unsteady.”
“Perhaps even… deadly.”
“It doesn’t matter. We can’t wait any longer. More than half of the guests are already at the garden. I don’t know what those girls are planning but they will not disrupt our plans. I’d rather have a few of those influencers under my control than none at all. Go!” The shadow obeyed and vanished leaving the man to his anger. But thankfully he breathed it out before heading off to the stage. “You there.”
“Y… yes sir?”
“Tell the stage manager that we’re moving ahead with the show.”
“Bw… what?” The lady fumbled with her words. “B… but it’s too early sir. Not everyone is in their seats and the camera crew are still adjusting to…”
“We’ll only begin the opening. Everything else will come later!” He turned to his possessed minions. “That goes for the rest of you! Move!”
The whole stage quickly mobilized at his command, hastening their preparations, all of them completely unaware of the intruder that had somehow snuck its way unnoticed in the darkness.
(Pool)
Applejack groaned in her hiding spot. It’s been over fifteen minutes now and Vignette and her goons continued to search the area despite having found nothing so far. You’d think they’d have searched elsewhere. But oddly enough she was tenacious.
There was no time to delay. They were already behind schedule and the plan relied on everything going smoothly. One little hiccup and it’ll all fall apart.
So with little choice on the matter, she decided to rely on her friend to get the job done.
“Alright Rainbow Dash. You remember the plan?”
The sports gal puffed her cheeks. “Yeah yeah. Plant the smoke bombs in the vents, set the timer, and then meet up at the lounge for the grand finale. I heard you the first time.”
“Good. I’ll distract Vignette. You have to go fast.”
“AJ, please. This girl only has one gear, and it’s always fast.”
Applejack rolled her eyes at her “And try not to hurt anyone. These folks might be doing bad things but they’re not in control.”
“Says the girl with super-strength.” With an overconfident smirk, Rainbow Dash crawled off, avoiding the patrolling muscles.
Applejack took a breath. She trusted Rainbow Dash on this assignment like flipping a coin. She can be quick with her task but was prone to many distractions. Either way, she didn’t have much of a choice.
With a heave, she revealed herself and called out. “Hey! You fellas looking for something?”
Vignette’s eyes visibly flared with black ink tracing all over her body. An expression of recognition formed on her face as she turned to face the cowgirl on the opposite side of the pool.
“Well well well… look who decided to show up. Applejack.” The evil fashionista retorted cockily with one hand on her hip as her two brutes taking her flanks. “I should’ve known you’d be the one skulking around here. You’ve seem to have a habit of sticking your nose where it’s not wanted.”
“What can I say? Meddling in other the business of evil wizards is kind of our thing.”
“Yes. So it would seem.”
“Are you still upset that we ruined your show in Equestria World?”
“Upset? Of course not. Annoyed? Possibly.” She shrugged. “Furious…?” Her eyes flared. “Ab-so-lute-ly.”
Well… someone certainly has a grudge.
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Well this was certainly an interesting build up. Can't wait to see the climax.
Wuh-oh... Applejack you're such a braves soul.
That scene in the restroom had me on edge for a moment. It kinda reminded me of a similar moment in Monsters Inc.
I can’t wait to see what happens next, and which side will be able to outplay the other.
Ok.
Guess that explains why she wasn't happy in the last chapter, at least it's not something worse or fancy like what sunset, pinkie, and the sirens are wearing.
I bet she's not gonna be happy once she notices them missing.
You just had to leave the bathroom didn't you rainbow dash!
That's ain't good. 😦
Thank goodness she brought that, otherwise she'd be toast right about now.
Well it's hard to worry about this while at the same time that once this is over sunset will unfortunately have to go back to equestria and I bet her friends will be shocked why.
She definitely is just so she can get to feel what sunset and pinkie are going through.
They're tougher than you think it toity.
Which is still good for the girls and won't have to worry about anything.
Something tells me that plan of his will not succeed.
Wonder who that might be?
All this mention of ink is making me think of a video game that has ink in it that plays an important role in it. Cough cough bendy and the ink machine to be precise if anyone had heard of it or played it.