Rarity’s Relaxing Vacation

by Lime Contraption

8 The Rescue

Rarity and Rook crept closer to the bandit camp, keeping their heads down. The base was still some distance away, but the wooden walls could be seen through the trees and there was a chance observant guards could spot them.

The designer frowned at the crude fortifications. Aesthetically they were distressingly ugly, but as security they looked irritatingly effective. Spiky barriers that only the strongest of earth ponies or unicorns could force their way through. And while there was no way of telling how many bandits were inside, she could see two standing guard at the main gate.

A pegasus could get over the walls. But they didn't have a pegasus and even if they did, the flyer would be seen by the guards patrolling the top of the wall.

The walls also made it impossible to tell if Indigo was on the other side. Rook insisted that the tinkerer was located within, but Rarity only had the thief's word for that.

"Alright, this is as close as you get," Rook said, dropping to the ground and gesturing for Rarity to crouch down beside her.

The designer's frown deepened, but she lowered herself to the jungle floor, her already dirt-stained fur picking up an extra layer. Trying to suppress the shiver of disgust and the desire to run directly to the nearest bath without stopping, Rarity took a deep breath and nodded for Rook to continue.

"It doesn't look like the bandits patrol this far out," The thief explained, peeking at the bandit camp through the thick foliage, "So you'll be safe here while I sneak in and grab our kidnapped pony."

Rarity reached out a hoof to stop Rook who was already moving away.

"How?" the designer hissed.

"How will I rescue her?" Rook tilted her head to the side in confusion, "You know the plan, love, we've been talking about it since yesterday."

"That was before we saw their defences," Rarity insisted in a forceful whisper, "It looks impenetrable. The wall is unclimbable and the only entrance is under constant guard."

"You're underestimating how incredible I am at climbing and infiltration," Rook smiled, "Trust me. This is what I'm best at."

Rarity hesitated, her blue eyes darting between the bandit camp and the thief.

"And besides, we don't really have a choice," Rook shrugged, "So, stay here, keep watch and be ready if anything goes wrong."

The designer sighed and nodded.

"See you soon," Rook patted Rarity's shoulder before disappearing into the undergrowth with her cloak shimmering oddly around her.

---

Rook's body kept unnaturally low for a pony as she stuck to the thinning undergrowth leading up to the bandit camp. When she was sure the vegetation behind hid her from Rarity's view, she came to a stop, her eyes closing as her cloak shimmered.

When her eyes opened again, the once black cape had turned shades of mottled green and the smooth surface had become broken and disjointed, like overlapping leaves. If the designer had spotted the thief, she would've sworn that Rook's fur had also turned green in the shadows of her cloak.

Blending into the jungle, the thief made her way toward the wooden walls of the bandit camp. She stayed low to the ground, her limbs flexing at odd angles to keep her position against the uneven jungle floor.

Purple eyes reflected green as Rook looked up at the barricade, studying the exterior to find the best place to climb. The light from the setting sun made it easy to find her route, but it also made it impossible to hide completely. Just one of the many reasons she usually robbed places after dark.

Reaching the edge of the jungle, she waited for the bandit atop that section of wall to be facing away before crossing the four body-lengths to the barricade. Without breaking her momentum, Rook slipped on her climbing shoes and began to scramble silently up the wooden wall.

She weaved around spikes, sticking to the smoothest path as she climbed the vertical surface. In less than five-seconds she pulled herself over the top and landed on the narrow walkway as the nearest bandit was turning around again.

Closing her eyes, Rook concentrated as the cloak shimmered again.

When she opened her eyes, the bandit was looking straight at her. Her cloak had shifted, clinging tight to her body and scrunching up in places to resemble the crude, metal armour pieces worn by the bandits.

Giving the lookout a brief nod, Rook turned toward the sloping steps that led down to the bandit camp proper. The stallion behind her shrugged and continued his patrol as the thief breathed a sigh of relief.

Her camouflage wasn't perfect, if any of the bandits got too close then it wouldn't be long before they saw through her disguise. But it allowed her to trot around the collection of tents and shacks with relative ease.

Now that she was close to her target, it was getting harder to pinpoint Indigo's direction, but Rook soon found the piles of junk and the jury-rigged airship behind them. If a kidnapped tinkerer was going to be anywhere, it would be among the magical technology in need of repair.

"Bingo!" Rook whispered. "Now I just need to sneak her out of-"

The thief's joy was cut short as the airship shuddered, the engines roared and the armoured vehicle of metal and canvas rose into the air with trembling, jerking movements. Through the glassless windows into the flight deck, she spotted a pony wearing the outfit and goggles that Rarity had described.

"Well... that's going to be a problem," Rook groaned, watching the airship turning to fly over her head and away from the bandit camp.

---

Indigo's goggles focused rapidly as her gaze darted across every piece of equipment inside the airship. So far it was all in one piece and showed no immediate signs of falling apart or exploding. But if she'd had a choice she wouldn't be testing her repairs by taking the war machine on a flight. She would've preferred to run the engines a few times on the ground where the chances of falling out of the sky were much lower.

"It works!" Sapper laughed, clapping the tinkerer on the shoulder with a powerful forehoof, "We did it!"

"It really is sluggish as Tartarus," Red grunted as he manipulated the controls to bring the airship around in a wide arc, "But it flies!"

The airship juddered and Indigo watched through the many holes in the hull and armour as they skimmed over the treetops. She could feel the imbalanced gravity distortion enchantments struggling and the engine trying to compensate. It wasn't elegant, but it was holding together.

She glanced upward, wondering how the balloons of gas in the upper framework were coping. The balloons had been something Sapper had worked on before Indigo had arrived and aside from a quick glance through the hatch above, she hadn't had a chance to really examine them. They were one of the many items on her list of potentially fatal corners cut because of the deadline.

"Zap!" Red barked, "Get back there and try out the cannons, I want to see something burn!"

The tinkerer suppressed a fearful groan as Zap jumped down the steps to the middle section and approached the nearest cannon. Not only were the bandits not worried about the ancient airship exploding, they were keen to increase the chances by trying out the untested weaponry too.

"Only three of these guns look like they're working," Zap growled, pointing at the worst of the cannons as he looked up into the flight deck to glare at Indigo.

Once again Sapper took a step in front of the tinkerer, returning Zap's glare.

"Seriously, Zap?" the chemist and metallurgist snorted, "You've contributed absolutely nothing to the restoration of this airship. Do you really want to criticise our work?"

"We only had enough parts for three cannons," Indigo added in a near-whisper.

"Just see if they work, Zap!" Red instructed, adjusting the controls to hover over the jungle.

Zap hesitated, his electrified hoof-armour crackling before he grunted and turned back to the weapon.

Standing on his hind legs, Zap slipped his forehooves into the grips on either side of the cannon. He leaned the weapon forward and a hole opened in the armoured hull, allowing him to aim down at the jungle around them.

"The trigger works like a ballista?" the bandit asked, not looking away from his target.

"Yeah," Sapper nodded, "But it'll take a moment to charge the shot before firing."

Indigo wondered where Zap had even seen a ballista as the giant crossbows weren't common. Earth Pony soldiers tended to kick stones, pegasai would use lightning or hail and from what she'd heard, Equestria's unicorn soldiers focused on shield spells more than projectile magic.

Zap twisted the trigger while Red and the other bandits watched out the flight deck window. The weapon hummed with power, light from the crystals inside leaking through gaps in the metal as the end of the cannon began to shimmer from the heat.

With a crack like thunder, the weapon fired and a ball of magical flames arched toward the jungle below. The white hot sphere hit the dark green canopy before exploding in a burst of flames, sparks and dark lightning. The bandits yelped, shutting their eyes and staggering back from the bright light while Indigo's goggles quickly shifted to compensate for the blinding glow.

Looking down, she saw the near-barren crater where a stretch of jungle had once stood. The circle was more than a dozen body lengths across and no vegetation remained standing. Deep down, part of her was grateful that the explosion had burnt itself out instead of setting the jungle on fire, at least that was one problem she didn't have to think about.

But the weapons were even more devastating than Indigo had imagined. Whatever pre-Equestrian magic remained in the gemstones was far more effective than the modern equivalent.

"Yes!" Red hollered with delight as his vision finally cleared and he shoved Indigo aside to get a better look at the devastation. "Look at that! That's real power!"

Zap grinned silently while the unnamed bandit mare giggled, her eyes wide as she stared gleefully at the destruction.

"A fully functional pre-Equestrian gunship!" Sapper nodded with a smile as she trotted down the steps to the middle section to admire the cannons, "They're going to pay big bits for this beauty!"

"It's not fully functional," Indigo said, but her whispered words were ignored.

"Indeed they will!" Red nodded before reluctantly stepping away from the side window and returning to the controls, "let's get this thing back to the camp. I want us stocked up and ready to move as soon as possible."

"if we can head off before sunset, we should be in Canterlot before morning," Sapper almost bounced on the spot, her messy mane dancing as she struggled to contain her elation. Kicking a lever, she watched the shutters slam down over the window, obscuring most of the view with damaged armour, "I can't wait to see what the eggheads at the Archives say when they see our masterpiece! And I can't wait to hear what the royal purse will pay for this!"

Indigo wasn't sure if it was the thought of recognition or money that excited Sapper more, but the teenager's bombastic energy-level doubled as she imagined the rewards.

"Oh, we're not heading to Canterlot," Red replied with a shrug, "I've got a much better offer from beyond the southern border."

Indigo shuddered and suppressed the urge to be sick as she realised how much worse the situation had become.

"Another country?" Sapper frowned, glancing to Zap and the silent bandit who both appeared unsurprised by the news, "You said we'd be selling to the Archives. They'd pay a fortune for a working pre-equestrian airship. Enough that we could all retire to our own castles and have a second castle as a summer home!"

Zap laughed and Red shook his head in mocking disbelief as he guided the airship over the bandit camp and began the decent into the clearing behind the junk piles. Their approach was slow, giving Sapper time for beads of cold sweat to appear on her fur.

"Why waste this beautiful airship on the archives?" Red asked without looking away from the controls as he tried to land them in the tight space inside the bandit camp. "The Princess will stick it in a museum while boring academics poke at it from time to time. This thing is a weapon, it should be used. It needs to be used. And my contacts down south want to build an air fleet!"

"But... that could start a war." Sapper stammered, "it's guaranteed to start a war!”

"So?" Red snorted as the airship thudded to the ground, "War is good. All the ponies who treated us like dirt, cast us out, told us we were worthless? They don't deserve peace. They don't deserve safety. They've been complacent for too long and we get to show them how vulnerable their naivety has made them."

"I didn't sign up to hurt ponies," Sapper stood tall and squared her powerful shoulders, "I won't let you!"

Before Sapper's trembling jaw could unhook the first grenade from her belt, Zap grabbed her from behind. Ripping the weapon harness from her shoulders, the bandit tossed the bombs to Red before pressing his electrified hooves against the back of the teenager's skull.

Sapper bucked and twisted, but Zap held on tight until she collapsed to the airship deck, her fallen body twitching.

"You were useful, kid," Red shrugged, "but we don't need you now. We don't need either of you."

Indigo stepped toward the fallen Sapper but found a lasso wrapped around her throat. Coming to an abrupt halt, she looked back to the unnamed bandit giggling at her through gritted teeth as she tugged on the end of the rope. The lasso tightened as the airship thudded to the ground.

“Alright, drag these two outside, I don't want to get blood all over our new ship.”

Indigo hissed as she was shoved out into direct sunlight. Struggling to stay on her feet, she staggered into the nearest pile of junk as Zap carried Sapper out over his shoulders before dropping her to the ground at the tinkerer's hooves.

“Sorry kid, but if you're not with us then you're not worth saving,” Red shrugged.

Goggle's whirring and skin burning, Indigo scanned the pile she'd crashed into for a weapon, anything she could use to defend herself. But the lasso-wielding bandit saw her intentions and yanked on the rope, forcing Indigo away from the pile and choking her.

"What's the matter, does the light burn you?" Red laughed, examining the grenades they'd taken from Sapper and picking out one with a purple cap, "Let's make that burning more intense."

Lifting the bomb with his magical field, Red tossed it toward the gasping, breathless Indigo.

"No!" A scream filled the air as Sapper leaped to her hooves and dived in front of the tinkerer.

The grenade collided with Sapper's head and exploded soaking the chemist with purple liquid that began to burn.

Indigo had never heard a scream like it. Pure pain vocalised as Sapper dropped to the ground with smoke rising from her dissolving fur.

“Not what I intended, but a suitably ironic fate,” Red shrugged, plucking another grenade from the belt, "Let's see what this one does."

The leader was about to toss the bomb when one of the bandits watching the execution leaped forward. Jumping onto Red's back, her armour transformed into a dark cloak which wrapped around his head. Rook squeezed tighter, blocking the bandit leader’s horn and causing the grenade to drop at his hooves as Zap charged forward to tackle the attacker.

A burst of lightning knocked Red and Zap to the ground, sending the cloaked-bandit rolling off his back and leaping to her feet.

The lasso-wielding mare didn't have time to react as Rook crashed into her, both forehooves colliding with her jaw, forcing her to drop the rope.

As soon as the lasso went slack, Indigo scrambled forward, grabbing at the grenades around the fallen Red. Tossing a sleep bomb at the crowd of bandits closing in on her, she grabbed another grenade with familiar writing around it.

Smashing the ceramic sphere open, the tinkerer poured the blue liquid inside over the screaming Sapper, watching as the burning stopped with a loud hiss.

Bandits staggered and fell in the cloud of smoke, but half a dozen emerged still on their hooves, weapons raised as they approached Indigo, Sapper and Rook.

"Can she move? We have to get out of here," Rook asked, the hood of her cloak wrapping around her face to shield her from some of the sleep-smoke drifting around them.

"What?" the tinkerer stammered, "I don't..."

"I can move!" Sapper growled, forcing herself upright and turning to kick the nearest bandit.

The attacker was thrown backward as Sapper started to run with Indigo and Rook close behind.

Charging for the gap in the bandits where the smoke was thickest, the trio held their breaths as they barrelled through the remaining ponies, knocking them aside. Indigo barely dodged a bladed hoof as Rook's cloak swept around her, blocking groggy attacks.

Emerging from the other side of the smoke, they picked up speed and pulled ahead of their pursuers. Rook took the lead as Sapper faltered, her legs trembling with pain and her eyes watering as she forced herself onward.

Indigo looked across at the younger mare, her goggle's focusing on the acid burns down the side of her face. Whatever discomfort the tinkerer felt from her sun-exposed fur, the metallurgist was suffering a thousand times worse. She didn't know how the teenager was still on her hooves.

"Follow me!” Rook barked.

"Who are you?"

"Rook. I’m part of the rescue party," the thief called as they raced toward the open gates and the two bandits standing guard.

The trio were almost upon the guards who'd raised spear and bladed shoes to greet them when a flash of blue light appeared and a pair of pebbles shot through the air, striking the two bandit's heads from behind.

The guards grunted with pain and turned to find Rarity emerging from the jungle with two more stones held in her magical field. But before the bandits could respond, Indigo, Rook and Sapper were upon them, shoving the distracted guards aside and knocking one unconscious with a well-placed kick.

"Keep running and stay close to me!" Rook called as she crashed into the jungle with the others following.

Behind them a dozen bandits were in pursuit, but some of their members were still groggy from the sleep-smoke and others were recovering from kicks and stones. This allowed the escaping ponies to pull further ahead as they disappeared into the greenery.

"The filly with the pocket-watch?" indigo gasped as she ran alongside the designer.

"Rarity," Rarity reintroduced herself before frowning at Sapper, "Isn't that the mare who kidnapped you?"

"Long story," Sapper grunted, her left eye closed tight with most of the fur on that side of her face burnt off.

"Less talking, more running!" Rook insisted, "And stick closer! This is going to be tight!"

They crashed through the dense undergrowth, vines and branches whipping at them while Rook kept a rapid pace. Rarity was sure the only reason nopony had tripped or broken a leg was pure luck.

The first shriek of pain behind them was almost lost in the thunder of hooves and the snapping of branches. But it was quickly followed by a second and third scream at which point Rook slowed their pace. By the sixth bandit scream, the escaping ponies had come to a halt and were turning to face their pursuers.

"What's happening?" Indigo gasped.

"Venomous Vines," Rarity explained, brushing back a wave of sweat-soaked mane and taking a fighting stance, "Rook led us straight through them."

"And the bandits weren't as careful," the thief shrugged, her dark cloak shimmering as she reached inside to fix the metal climbing shoes to her forehooves.

"Not all of them," Sapper hissed as five armoured ponies staggered out of the jungle.

"Can you fight?" Rook asked Sapper as the remaining bandits came to a halt before circling around them in the small clearing.

"You were always too weak to be one of us!" One of the bandits sneered, taking a step toward the four ponies, "You've outlived your use-" the rest was interrupted by a scream as Sapper turned to kick a stone which slammed into the attacker's forehead, knocking the stallion to the ground.

"Yeah, I can still fight," The metallurgist nodded, twisting her head back and forth so the one good eye could keep track of the four remaining bandits.

The attackers charged in unison. Rook leaped upward, grabbing a thick vine and scrambling up the nearest tree while Rarity and Sapper tossed more stones.

The bandits were expecting the projectiles and managed to take the blows on their armour, staggering but not stopping as they pushed forward.

Blue eyes narrowed as Rarity dodged an armoured, bladed hoof aimed for her head. With the bandit carried forward by momentum, Rarity slammed her bare hooves into his side, knocking the stallion to the ground.

Sapper grunted as the shaft of a spear bounced off of her acid-burned shoulder. Grabbing the weapon with her teeth, the muscular pony ripped it from the attacker's grasp before spinning it around and thrusting it back at its former wielder. The older mare yelped as the jagged point pierced her shoulder followed by Sapper's hoof colliding with her jaw.

Indigo kept her head down, shielded between Rarity and Sapper as the three remaining bandits circled around them. There was a flash of blue-white light as a weighted hoof hit Rarity's shoulder and her flash-shield barely caught the blow. Both designer and attacker staggered back, wincing from the impact.

One stallion was unsteady on his feet, still dazed and breathless from where the designer had knocked him down. And the other two were hanging back, more cautious now that the chemist had a bladed spear and Rarity had proven herself harder to hit than the average unicorn.

"Now would be an opportune time for you to surrender," Rarity offered.

"Never!" the largest of the remaining bandits screamed, waving her comrades forward as she leaped at the designer.

Before armoured hooves could slam into Rarity's head, Rook dropped from the shadows above. The thief slammed into the lead attacker, metal climbing shoes hitting her head and sending the mare thudding to the jungle floor.

The last pair of bandits were distracted by the pony falling from the sky, their attention flicking away for a heartbeat. The moment of confusion was enough for Sapper to turn and land a bucking kick against the nearest attacker while Rarity reared up and launched a flurry of blows with her fore-hooves.

With every bandit knocked down, the four mares took a second to catch their breath. Rook examined their fallen enemies, determining that most of them were unconscious and the remainder were in no position to be attacking any time soon.

"Sapper?" Indigo whispered, getting to her hooves as her goggles focused on the scarred bandit.

"Need... need to find..." Sapper staggered to the edge of the clearing, her one working eye scanning the undergrowth.

Checking her freshly bruised shoulder, Rarity sighed before stepping closer to the recently rescued pony.

"Are you alright, Indigo?" she asked, her attention split between the tinkerer and Sapper.

"I'm... fine," Indigo nodded.

"What's the deal with her?" Rook asked, removing her climbing shoes and pointing toward the teenage bandit.

"She... saved my life," Indigo explained as Sapper stopped to sniff a cluster of blue flowers with yellow veins across the petals, "She didn't realise how far the others were willing to go."

“Then she's terribly naive," Rarity sighed, watching Sapper bite into the flowers and start chewing.

"And brave," Rook added with admiration, "I don't know many ponies who'd jump in front of an acid grenade for somepony they barely know."

"But you all did," Indigo frowned, “Well, you've all risked your lives to save me."

"It's the right thing to do, darling," Rarity shrugged before wincing at her aching shoulder.

The tinkerer slowly shook her head as they silently watched Sapper bite into a dozen orange berries, mixing them with the blue paste in her mouth. Swallowing most of the mixture, the former bandit spat the rest onto her left forehoof before applying it directly to the worst burns.

Indigo rushed forward as Sapper screamed with pain before collapsing to the ground.

"I'm alright!" the teenager insisted as the exposed, scarred skin on the side of her face turned bright red, "It'll go numb soon."

"We need to get you to a hospital," Rarity said, glancing back into the jungle, "And away from the bandit camp. The rest of them will come after us soon."

“No. We need to destroy the airship," Sapper insisted, getting to her feet and cautiously touching her face and the less serious burns down her shoulder and forelegs.

"She's right," Indigo nodded, her goggles shifting to focus tighter on Sapper's injuries. She wasn't a medic, but she had experience assessing damage and was certain pony skin didn't bounce back from that condition. "They're going to sell it to an enemy army. That's our priority."

"Well, they won't get very far without this," Rook grinned, reaching inside her cloak and pulling out a large, orange crystal with ancient runes decorating the exterior, "I swiped the power core!"

The tinkerer was about to respond when the group turned toward the sound of roaring engines. Looking up, they watched as the airship passed overhead, accelerating as it headed away from the bandit camp.

"You were saying?" Rarity groaned.

"But, they didn't have a spare power crystal! I checked the camp!" Rook insisted.

"Unless they took the one from the smaller gondola," Sapper groaned in realisation.

"Would that work?" Rarity asked.

"It wouldn't get them very far," The tinkerer said, tilting her head to the side as she did the calculations, "Ten gallops at most."

"Far enough to reach the trade road and the caravans of industrial crystals being shipped from the mountain?" Rarity asked with a strained squeak to her voice.

"Yes," Indigo nodded.

"What are we going to do?" Sapper snapped, "They're going to hurt so many ponies."

"Well... we've got the gondola and a pre-Equestrian military grade power crystal," Indigo observed, "I'm pretty sure we can catch them."

"But how will we stop them?" Rarity frowned. "None of us can take down an airship!"

"We'll worry about that while we're in the air," Rook declared. "They've already got a head start!"

The four ponies started to run back toward the camp, certain that it was a bad idea, but all determined to try anyway.

"Oh!" Rarity gasped, skidding to a halt and looking around for one of the more conscious bandits around the clearing, "Your friends are currently being dragged to the mouthes of Venomous Vine plants. If you move quickly, you should be able to rescue them before they're swallowed whole. Good luck, darlings." with a flick of her currently tangled tail, the designer turned to chase after her comrades, leaving the beaten bandits to resolve their own problems.

Rarity had bigger issues. Somehow she needed to stop a weapon of war.

Comments

[Scyphi]

The designer frowned at the crude fortifications. Aesthetically they were distressingly ugly, but as security they looked irritatingly effective.

Yup, that's our Rarity--judging by aesthetics before effectiveness, every time, all the time.

"It really is sluggish as Tartarus," Red grunted as he manipulated the controls to bring the airship around in a wide arc, "But it flies!"

At least that means they'd probably be more or less a sitting duck once the authorities finally come after them, as they surely will eventually if they're allowed to get that far with whatever their plans are next.

"Another country?" Sapper frowned, glancing to Zap and the silent bandit who both appeared unsurprised by the news, "You said we'd be selling to the Archives. They'd pay a fortune for a working pre-equestrian airship. Enough that we could all retire to our own castles and have a second castle as a summer home!"

And you believed him?

[Lime Contraption]

11229864

Yup, that's our Rarity--judging by aesthetics before effectiveness, every time, all the time

Honestly, I'm proud of her for considering the effectiveness at all

At least that means they'd probably be more or less a sitting duck once the authorities finally come after them, as they surely will eventually if they're allowed to get that far with whatever their plans are next.

Yep. As powerful and dangerous as the flying warship is, it's not going to last long against all of Equestria. The question is how much damage can they do before the authorities catch them?

And you believed him?

Sapper was very desperately looking for a place to belong