The Do Dilemma

by Metool Bard

On the Fly

Chapter 18:
On the Fly

"Attention all talons and hooves! The prisoners are on the loose on Deck 12! I repeat, prisoners on the loose on Deck 12!"

Scootaloo paid no mind to the blaring alert over the intercom as she continued to race through the corridors of the airship. Tailspin, however, remained attentive as she flew. After all, neither pegasus had any idea where they were going, so knowing what deck they were on was a good start.

"This place will be swarming with guards any minute now!" Tailspin called out to Scootaloo. "We need to make our way to the top!"

"How do we do that?!" Scootaloo hollered back.

Tailspin hemmed and hawed for a moment. "Um, stairs! We need to find some stairs!"

"Stairs! Got it!" said Scootaloo, accelerating ahead.

"Hey, wait up!" Tailspin yelled as she increased her own velocity. "Sheesh, I can't believe I have to say that to a filly on a scooter."

If Scootaloo heard Tailspin's comment, she ignored it and continued to forge ahead. As she made a sharp turn leading down another hallway, a bat-winged pegasus flew out in front of her, barring her path. Or, so he thought.

"Heads up, Tailspin!" Scootaloo called out as she ducked underneath the pegasus. As the guard looked between his legs and tried to process the situation, Tailspin kicked down with her forelegs and leapfrogged over him, sending him face-first into the steel floor.

"Ha ha ha! It'll take more than that to stop us!" Tailspin boasted.

When she turned, she noticed a sign pointing to a stairwell up ahead. Tailspin looked over at Scootaloo.

"Maybe you should ditch the scooter here!" she suggested. "I don't think it'll make it up the stairs!"

Scootaloo gave the older pegasus a cocky smirk. "Heh. Just watch this," she said.

Before Tailspin could ask, Scootaloo did a kick flip, landing her scooter on the banister. She then began to flap her tiny wings with all her might as she proceeded to grind up the steel beam. Tailspin's jaw dropped in astonishment, although she was soon brought back to reality by the sound of flapping wings and angry roars. Quickly, she followed Scootaloo upstairs.

It wasn't long before she noticed two pegasus guards waiting at the top of the stairs, obviously posted there as a precaution. She was about to accelerate ahead of Scootaloo and take care of them, but the younger pegasus had other plans. When she reached the top, she did another kick flip, bashing both guards in the head with her scooter and knocking them out. Once again, Tailspin found herself dumbfounded.

"Are you sure you haven't found your special talent yet?" she asked.

"Yep, I'm sure," said Scootaloo, pointing to her blank flank. "I'm still looking for it, though."

Tailspin found that hard to believe, but simply shrugged. "Well, you can't rush these things, I suppose," she muttered.

"What was that?"

"I said I think we should go right here."

"Oh. Okay!"

Scootaloo quickly turned and headed right, with Tailspin right at her heels. They didn't get far before they were stopped by two familiar-looking griffons.

"You know, I really gotta stop saying the first thing that comes into my head," Tailspin groaned.

"Don't think our score is settled just because we captured you," said Dorsal with a snort. "Do you know what the Commander did to us when she realized we failed to take care of you back in Argoats?"

"Hey, it was better than what she would've done if we were late," said Ventral with a shrug.

"I thought we agreed never to go through that again," Dorsal growled. He then turned back to the pegasi. "Anyway, I think it's time for our payback. The Commander told us to leave the filly alive, but accidents can still happen."

"They can?" Ventral asked, scratching his head with his talon. "But the filly didn't really do anything to us."

"She got away from us, didn't she?"

"Only because of the older pegasus. If anything, we should just kill her."

"You're missing the point. We had a job, and we failed. We are not failing a second time."

"You will notice that our job has changed, Dorsal. We should leave the filly alive and deliver her to the Commander, as instructed."

"Do you not know how to hold a grudge or something?!"

"Do you not know how to stop living in the past?"

As the two griffons continued to bicker and argue, Tailspin and Scootaloo shared a shrug.

"Listen, we'd love to stick around and let you two sort this out, but we're kinda in a hurry," said Tailspin. "Perhaps we can pick this up later. Ciao!"

With that, the two pegasi did an about-face and zoomed off in the opposite direction. Dorsal palmed his face.

"Nice going, Ventral," he snarled.

"Nice going yourself," Ventral retorted. "You're the one that let them get away."

Dorsal didn't respond, but simply flew off after the prisoners. Ventral shrugged and followed his partner in pursuit.

***

"Alright, we're making progress!" said Tailspin, straining her voice over the alarms. "Now, we just need to find the bridge, get the map, and get off this ship!"

"Wait, get the map?!" asked Scootaloo. "Why do we need the map?!"

Tailspin's face became bright red. "I, may have forgotten where we're supposed to go."

Scootaloo smacked her face with her hoof.

"Hey, cut me some slack here, Scootaloo! We've been on this airship for who knows how long! Anypony would get disoriented!"

"Okay, you've got a point," Scootaloo conceded. "So, how are we going to get the map back?"

Tailspin swallowed. "I, actually have no idea. I-I'm working on it, though! For real, this time!"

Scootaloo smiled. "Alright, I'll take your word for it," she said. "Now, let's..."

She was interrupted as the Crimson Baroness herself blocked the way, along with an entourage of guards.

"Well, well, well," she purred, walking up to the two frightened fillies. "Where are you two going in such a rush?"

Tailspin landed in front of Scootaloo and spread her wings. "I-I'll hold her off, Scootaloo! You get out of here!"

The Crimson Baroness chortled. "Oh, how quaint," she purred, stroking Tailspin's chin with her riding crop. "You really think you can stand up to me?"

"I-I'm gonna dang well try!" Tailspin spat. "I-if you want Scootaloo, you'll have to go through me!"

The Crimson Baroness sneered. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that," she said. "And do you want to know what happened every time?"

Tailspin said nothing.

"No guesses? Poo, you're not fun," said the Crimson Baroness with a pout. "Not nearly as much fun as Ms. Do would've been, anyway. Alright, here's a hint."

Her motions a blur, she raised her tail and cracked her riding crop across Tailspin's cheek. The pain was immediate and intense as Tailspin staggered. As she recovered, she turned to Scootaloo, who was still watching in horror.

"What're you still doing here?!" barked Tailspin. "Get a move-on! I'll be okay!"

"Tsk tsk tsk. How shameful," said the Crimson Baroness. "Didn't your mother ever tell you not to lie?"

There was another deafening crack of her riding crop, and Scootaloo winced. A voice inside her head told her to run away, but her body wouldn't listen. As the Crimson Baroness raised her whip for a third strike, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Leave her alone!" she shouted, her voice cracking.

The Crimson Baroness turned to the young filly, surprise in her eyes. "My my. Such spirit," she said, genuinely impressed . "You are indeed just the filly I need to get into Mt. Götterdämarerung."

"I-I'm not gonna do it!" Scootaloo proclaimed.

The Crimson Baroness frowned. "Now now, filly. You must respect your betters," she scolded. "If you don't..."

Instead of completing her thought, she whipped Tailspin a third time. The yellow pegasus slumped over against the wall, breathing heavily as she tried to blot the agony from her mind.

"So, care to reconsider?" asked the Crimson Baroness.

Scootaloo's heart began to pound. She had no idea what to do, so she simply stood there in silence.

"Still need time to think? Hmm, fair enough," said the Crimson Baroness with a shrug.

Just then, Dorsal and Ventral appeared, panting for breath.

"And just where have you two been?" the Crimson Baroness said sternly.

"A-a thousand pardons, Commander," said Dorsal. "See, Ventral here..."

"Oh, right. It's always my fault," said Ventral, rolling his eyes. "Every time something goes wrong, you blame me. Why not take some responsibility for a...?"

The Crimson Baroness was in no mood for this. She cracked her riding crop against the floor, and the two griffons clammed up and gave her their undivided attention.

"Better," said the Crimson Baroness. "Now, take the prisoners to the poop deck. I have something, special for them."

"A-at once, Commander," said the two griffons with a salute. With that, they dragged the injured Tailspin and frightened Scootaloo up the stairs as they followed their mistress. Scootaloo looked over at Tailspin, who gave her a weak smile.

"No worries, Scootaloo," she whispered. "We'll get out of this."

"H-how do you know?" Scootaloo whimpered.

Tailspin shrugged. "I don't. I'm just trying to make you feel better. But even so, I'm not planning to give up here. I know Daring wouldn't."

Scootaloo couldn't help but smile back. "Neither would Rainbow Dash," said she.

Comments

[Reisentanith]

I can just see the two griffins having that conversation from Rooster Teeth's Shadowrun short
Guard 1: Okay the Boss doesn't want us to make any mistakes this time
Guard 2: Why this time, he always says that. I mean at what point is he going to say, "okay guys this time you can totally screw everything up if you want to"
Guard 1: Yeah sarcasm that will help us.

[Windhelm Guard]

Scootaloo earned a cutie mark.

[Metool Bard]

2257117 Honestly, from the stuff I've seen Scootaloo do on her scooter, I'm surprised she hasn't earned it already.

[BenRG]

If I were the Baroness, I'd put some situations vacant ads in the papers for some new minions. Scootaloo alone was too much for this lot; I hesitate to think how ineffective they would have been against Daring Do!

[theNDinspector]

"I-I'm gonna dang well try!" Tailspin spat. "I-if you want Scootaloo, you'll have to go through me!"
The Crimson Baroness sneered. "You wouldn't believe how many times I've heard that," she said. "And do you want to know what happened every time?"

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more,
The Crimson Baroness was rollin' out the score.
Eighty mares died tryin' to end that spree
of the Bloody Baroness of Ger-mane-y.