When a government calls you to take down an international threat, but you're just a musician, what do you do?
We all know Octavia Melody and her best friend Vinyl Scratch for their amazing music, both solo and together, but what we might not think of is international espionage! Octavia's physical strength and Vinyl's technological knowledge are noticed by the Equestrian government, who hope to use the two to take down an evil corporate entity that seeks to destroy the entire world!
"But Octavia! That would be a TERRIBLE idea!" shouted Vinyl.
Octavia Melody and Vinyl Scratch were in financial crisis. The two musicians, whose music was normally the best selling in all of Equestria, was now beginning to plummet in sales due to a rather unfortunate set of lyrics Vinyl had written into a new single of hers.
"I don't care how bad it sounds." replied Octavia. "If we're to keep this roof over our heads, we're going to HAVE to retire from music. I know music is what we're best at, but if we can't support ourselves doing it, we're gonna have to find work elsewhere."
Vinyl was cross. "Have you ever seen a professional wrestler with the cutie mark of a donut vendor!? How about a race car driver with the cutie mark of a professional athlete!? NO! Our cutie marks TELL US we're musicians!"
Octavia sighed. "I didn't say we had to give up music as a whole. We can still play music for fun! We just can't do it for a living anymore. Also, YOU'RE the one who sang 'I'M GONNA POOP ENOUGH BRICKS TO BUILD A HOUSE AND THEN FORCE 'EM ALL DOWN YOUR WINDPIPE!' a few nights ago!
Vinyl finally gave up. "What ever. Come on, we're going to go get something to drink. I'll pay."
The local tavern wasn't much. just a quaint, wooden building that lacked electricity and plumbing. However, enough manure-covered townspeople showed up after 9 o'clock every evening to keep the place in business. With that said, Octavia and Vinyl would usually drink at places with heating and lighting, but they figured they could probably make use of a bill that only totaled at 12 pence even after buying the most expensive dishes served there. As Octavia and Vinyl sat down together and ordered themselves regular beers, a few inconspicuous figures entered the tavern muttering things across their breaths to each other. The two of them were the first to see an ugly, muscular hillbilly redneck stand up and punch Octavia in the face for an unknown reason.
Octavia didn't budge at all even though the blow could have knocked out anypony else. Instead, she flipped her head around and picked up her attacker before hurling him with one hoof straight through the wooden wall.
The whole bar stood up and clapped.
The two shady figures, however, stayed quiet, but exchanged smiles. "You think we've found what we're looking for?" one of them whispered.
"No doubts about it." the other replied.
The rest of the night was extremely uneventful. Octavia and Vinyl finished their drinks and went home just as they normally would. The alcohol daze easily allowed them to fall asleep that night, and it kept them asleep, too. However, this is what would allow the two shady figures from earlier to break in and silently kidnap the two sleeping mares unnoticed.
When Octavia woke up, she was in a futuristic, glowing, blue-greyish room that stretched about 50 meters in either direction. The ceilings were high over her head, around 20 meters above. The walls had no windows whatsoever. It was almost as if she had found herself in a bunker from a science fiction movie. As she tired to get up, she found that she was restrained. As her head spun around, she realized she was chained down to an upright steel bed. Further inspection revealed that she wasn't far from Vinyl, who was still sleeping, also chained to a vertical steel bed. Octavia spoke.
"V-Vinyl?"
Vinyl awoke.
"U-ugh..... Octavia..... Wait! Octavia!? Where are we?"
Octavia shot her friend a look. "I'm trying to figure that out myself. Can you do anything?"
Vinyl's eyes darted around.
"I don't know. I think I'm stuck too good to move."
Octavia built up some of her strength and with one mighty blow broke the restraints she was fastened to. She then proceeded to tear the restraints off of Vinyl's trap, freeing her.
A door opened in the far corner. A voice called out.
"Hey! Don't run, we're with the government!"
Octavia stood in front of her friend in a defensive stance. "What do you want?" she asked.
Three tall stallions with pale coats walked out of the door. They all looked intimidating, but they each seemed to be trying to act as unintimidating as they possibly could. Octavia readied her body to fight. However, her muscles loosened when she saw Princess Celestia herself trot out from behind the three stallions.
"Your Highness?" Octavia and Vinyl both gasped at the same time.
"My top men have told me about your abilities, and I feel that Equestria - and the rest of the world - needs them. to be put to work at once."
Vinyl gulped. "Are we, like, being sold into slave labour or something...?"
Celestia gave a shocked look. "What? No! We don't do that in Equestria and you know it! What I'm asking of you is if you'll become SPIES!"
Octavia and Vinyl both gave Celestia a confused look. "Spies?" Octavia asked. "You mean like James Bond and Peter Gunn?"
Celestia nodded. "Exactly! THOSE kinds of spies!"
Vinyl raised her hoof. "What exactly about us makes us seem like we'd be good at espionage and subterfuge?" she asked.
Celestia stepped closer. "Allow me to explain. You see, a few of my men were in the tavern last night when your friend Octavia destroyed a buffed redneck hillbilly and threw him through the wall with one hoof. They had never seen such incredible physical strength before, and we're currently in a national crisis that has been top secret until now, at least to you. Vinyl, on the other hand, has time and time again demonstrated her incredible technological knowledge time and time again. In the end, we decided you two were the absolute perfect duo to help us with the national crisis that's going on."
Octavia stepped closer. "What national crisis are we dealing with here?"
Celestia drooped her head a bit and turned. "You see, there's a massive corporate entity that we fear has ill intentions for the planet. They've kept themselves extremely separated from any and all world governments, and have been taking in an abnormally large amount of resources. This has made us wonder if they're up to something. They've also built large facilities in many countries around the world, those being Equestria, Germany, the United Kingdom, the USA, Italy, and Panama. With all this being said, I need someone to infiltrate each and every one of those bases and see what they're up to."
Octavia nodded. "I do believe you've never told us exactly who these ponies were in the first place." she asked.
"Nokatio Corporation." replied Celestia. "Headed by an older, thin and tall stallion from Kenya named Kaacha Later. Kaacha has been incredibly wealthy yet incredibly quiet about his whereabouts for years now. He founded his mega corporation in Italy in 1988, but since then not much has been revealed about him."
Vinyl raised her hoof. "Will we get a reward if we complete the missions you speak of?"
Celestia nodded. "Anything. You choose your reward."
Octavia smiled. "We'd like to ask for financial support! We're down in the dumps right now, and we'd like financial support!"
Celestia nodded. "Then I guess that means you accept the mission?"
Octavia and Vinyl looked at each other. Octavia smiled, and Vinyl gave her a wink.
"Yes!" said Octavia. "Bring it on!"
Celestia smiled. "You do not realize how grateful I am, nor do you realize the good you have pledged to do. Should this mission succeed, your names will go down in history as Equestrian heroes."
Vinyl clapped her hooves in excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for!? Bring on the missions!" she shouted.
"Not just yet." said Celestia. "First, there's a job you'll need to do. Vinyl, since you're such an electronics and engineering genius, why don't you design the vehicle you will use?"
"Vehicle?" asked a puzzled Vinyl.
"You will need some sort of armed and armored vehicle to use should you wish to take out their defenses and guards." said Celestia.
Vinyl scratched her head. She had designed a car that could transform from an automobile to a bass cannon before, but she'd never imagined herself designing a James Bond-esque getaway car.
"Give me some resources and time, I'll build you something." she said, confidently.
"Octavia! I'm finally finished!" shouted Vinyl from the garage.
It was three days after Octavia and Vinyl had accepted to become agents of sabotage and subterfuge, and Vinyl had just now finished the monster she had promised to build.
Octavia walked down into the garage with a hopeful look on her face. "What does it look like?" she asked.
She was greeted by a sleek, sliver automobile whose front end seemed to resemble a Koenigsegg CCR, whose middle reminded her of a Ferrari F12berlinetta, and whose rear looked something like a Lotus Exige. The vehicle seemed to have to armament or armor whatsoever.
"It's cool, Vinyl." said Octavia. "But we needed a SPY car here!"
Vinyl nodded. She reached through the passenger side window and pressed a small button. Suddenly, two slots opened up on top of the wheel arches to reveal a pair of 50 caliber machine guns!
"There's more weapons where that came from." said Vinyl.
Octavia smiled. "What's she called?"
"The OV-15 INTERCEPTOR. The OV part stands for our names, and the 15 part refers to when our TV show's episode "Slice Of Life"aired. The vehicle has performance to match its looks. The 10,000 horsepower quad-turbocharged V20 engine and the all-wheel-drive system will allow the vehicle to do nought to sixty miles per hour in under one second, and reach a top speed of 400 miles per hour! And if you need more for some reason, there's a special boost feature that can momentarily speed it up to 900 miles per hour!"
Octavia gasped. "What a machine! Who's doing the driving?"
"You." said Vinyl. "I can make cars, but I don't know if I can drive them. I know you're a really good driver with lightning fast reflexes though, so I fit the driver's seat to fit your dimensions exactly."
Octavia grinned.
"And here's a little quirk I added just for you!" said Vinyl as she reached into the car once more. She pressed a blue button near the steering wheel, and a fresh cup of tea dispensed itself towards the driver's seat. A robotic voice could be heard saying "Here is your tea, Octavia!"
Octavia laughed. "I guess even spies need to relax once in a while!"
Suddenly, their giggling was interrupted by the OV-15 Interceptor's radio speaking. "Octavia? Vinyl?" it called.
"We read you." replied Octavia.
"We have a special private flight reserved for you and your car at the Canterlot International Airport at five today. It will leave for Venice, Italy soon afterward. Don't miss it!"
Octavia and Vinyl shared and glance, and they both hopped into the OV-15 Interceptor and drove as inconspicuously as they could to the airport.
Nokatio Corporation's meeting house in Venice was packed. All of the top exectutives including Kaacha Later stood around a long polished wooden table with a holographic display in the center. The room they stood in was dimly lit only by a brick fireplace, and the walls were painted deep black. Paintings of some of the executives in the room were hung on the long walls, which reached about ten meters above the floor.
Kaacha finally spoke.
"Greetings. I believe I owe you an explanation as to why I have summoned you here. So, without further delay, let me begin such an explanation."
He stood up and walked towards the burning fireplace. A menacing look could be seen on his tall, wrinkly face, and the dim light from the fire only seemed to make it look more menacing.
"Pony kind has fallen. I think we all know that. The world that Celestia's creators gave us has been destroyed not by an enemy of our kind, but by our own kind. The rainforests of South America have been clear cut to the ground. The polar ice caps continue to melt under climate change. And guess who is responsible for all this?"
"Pony kind is. Us and nopony else."
"That is why I feel it is time that we shall start over as a race. We need a second try. That is why I have commissioned four identical satellites to be constructed, each containing the most powerful lasers ever built. In two weeks, we will launch the completed spacecraft into orbit, and with their combined strength, we shall destroy the Earth that we have failed to live on. We shall then bring my newly built Mars base into operation, and we shall breed there and allow pony kind a second chance."
Suddenly, the door burst open.
"We've got reports that a few Equestrian spies might be on our trail." said the newcomer.
Kaacha Later gave a disturbingly wide grin. "I was ironically just about to begin to cover that." he said.
"You see, we have reason to believe that the Equestrian government has sent two spies onto our trail. Normally, I wouldn't be disturbed about this whatsoever. However, our intelligence tells us that they have a new top-grade military vehicle of configurations unknown. Here are their profiles."
"Octavia Melody. Age is 20. She's a young, fair skinned pony with a grey coat and a deep grey polished mane. She's intelligent, incredibly strong, and basically a fighting force of nature all to herself. She's usually seen with a white collar around her neck, which will sport a pink bowtie. She was born in Great Britain, only to later move to Equestria so she could be with her best friend that lived there. Ironically, this best friend I speak of just happens to be the other spy. She's also young and fair skinned, except her coat is a pale yellow and her mane is messy and blue. Her name is Vinyl Scratch, and she's approximately 19 years old. She can usually be seen with a pair of blue-green and white headphones around her neck."
One of the executives raised his hoof. "So, you want us to dispatch agents to kill these two?"
Kaacha shook his head. "No, actually. I want defense on high alert, but we're going to need more than just agents to defeat them, considering the vehicle they're using. We don't know anything about its specifications other than that it's more advanced than anything the world has ever seen. Plus, not even the strongest of my bodyguards could out-muscle this Octavia I speak of....."
Suddenly, the alarm sounded, and more lights glowed in the room. The once-dark room now appeared normally lit up, and the executives fled to see what the commotion was over. That is, all except for Kaacha, who simply pressed a hidden button on the fireplace which opened up a secret door leading to a helipad on the roof.
Outside their Venice base, the OV-15 Interceptor was showing its true colors. The machine's armor proved not only bullet-proof, but also strong enough to hold back explosions and direct missile impacts! The OV-15 smashed its way into one of the main warehouses, and Octavia activated the 50-caliber machine guns. The first things to go up in flames were the enemy ceiling turrets, followed by the entire warehouse itself. As Kaacha's helicopter flew above the smoldering debris of his base, he gave a sharp frown. He turned to his pilot.
"Quickly, get the attack helicopters ready." he ordered.
Just as Octavia and Vinyl were retreating from the base, five heavily armed choppers shot out of nowhere and began to drop bombs. The busy Venetian streets were now a warzone, Octavia swerving to try and avoid civilian casualties. "Come on, there's got to be a way to get away from these guys! Do you have, like, anti-air weapons of any sort?" Octavia shouted.
"I have an idea." said Vinyl as they drove into the plaza at San Marco. "Just drive straight into the canal."
"WHAT!?" screamed Octavia.
"TRUST ME!" replied Vinyl.
Octavia went by Vinyl's words and drove over the edge of the platform.
The helicopter pilots could hardly believe their own eyes as the Interceptor began to morph. The front of the car retracted, the wheel wells closed, and the rear of the vehicle sprouted a jet booster of some sort! The car came into contact with the water and floated perfectly, acting as a high performance speedboat!
"Woah!" shouted Octavia. "So this is both a car, AND a boat!?"
"I got the idea from those old Midway video games." said Vinyl. "What were they called again? Spy-something? Am I legally allowed to say the name in a fan fiction?"
"Never mind! The helicopters are still hot on our tail! How do we lose them!?" Octavia asked.
Suddenly, an explosion next to the vehicle caught them off guard. The five helicopters were all dropping bombs into the canal in hopes to sink the Interceptor, which was now driving on a one-way course for disaster.
"We're gonna DIE!!" shouted Octavia!
"Not if I can help it!" replied Vinyl as she reached for a button on the door frame.
A salvo of guided missiles suddenly shot up from the roof of the vehicle, each of them aimed at one of the helicopters. All five of them came crashing down, one of them smashing into the Rialto Bridge. The Interceptor vacated the Grand Canal and found a hiding spot for the time being in someone's boat garage.
"What do you mean, they escaped!?" furiously asked Kaacha Later at the two surviving helicopter pilots who participated in the chase.
"We tried our best! I swe-" said one of the pilots, but he was cut short when Kaacha produced a pistol and shot him on the spot. The other pilot met the same fate less than half a second later.
"Fail me, will they...." muttered Kaacha.
Kaacha turned to his board of trustees.
"EVERYONE! IF THEY STOP OUR GREAT REBIRTH OF PONY KIND, ALL OF YOU SHALL PAY!!!!"
Germany was a beautiful country. The ponies who lived there were among the friendliest and kindest that Octavia or Vinyl had ever met. However, on the edge of the city of Frankfurt lay a threat: the next Nokaito Corporation facility. This was where the first laser satellite was being built. The satellite was nearing completion; all that was left to be installed was the laser, which would be arriving today. Octavia and Vinyl had received word about this, and had prepared the OV-15 Interceptor for battle. They figured that Kaacha Later and his men would be much warier of their presence this time around, so Vinyl had upgraded the Interceptor for the worse. She had replaced the anti-air missiles with larger warheads that used uranium tips, and she had changed the fifty caliber primary machine guns to eighty caliber machine guns. She had also improved the vehicle's engine power so that it would produce 20,000 horsepower, and the new top speed would be around 700 miles per hour. The boosting speed would now reach 1,200 miles per hour. Not to mention, the vehicle would now reach 100 miles per hour in 0.001 seconds. In order to keep control at such insane speeds, Vinyl installed concealed thrusters that would push the car downward at high speeds to create artificial downforce which would force the car to the pavement far harder than natural aerodynamic downforce could possibly produce.
Octavia drove the vehicle to the outskirts of Frankfurt as inconspicuously as possible, and once she and Vinyl had reached the compound, they let the vehicle loose, Nokaito's defense cannons and vehicles found that they simply could not lock onto a vehicle that moved so fast, and even if they could, it would always vanish before they could fire a single round into it.
The prototype satellite was reduced to rubble with a direct missile hit, much to Kaacha Later's fury. He soon found himself ordering full pursuit of the Interceptor with all available units on its tail. As the victorious Interceptor smashed its way out of the compound and rocketed down the freeway towards Frankfurt, twelve armed cars and four missile-armed helicopters chased their way after it. The Autobahn was now a warzone, covered in explosions and chaos. Octavia tried hard to minimize civilian casualties, but it seemed that the Nokaito henchmen were less concerned. A civilian Audi Quattro was smashed off the road into a fiery blast as it collided with a Bed and Breakfast shop, and a green Aston Martin found its way into the light when a Nokaito vehicle accidentally fired its 20 caliber machine gun straight through it. Octavia, hoping to find a shortcut, swerved and drove straight through the grounds of Frankfurt Castle. The helicopters, trying hard to follow along with the rocket-like vehicle, ended up meeting their fates when each of them collided with different towers of the castle, resulting in fiery graves for the pilots.
Octavia drove straight into the castle, her pursuers hot on her trail. The 20 caliber machine guns from the Nokaito vehicles fired non-stop rounds at the Interceptor, bullets bouncing off the vehicle's armor at least 300 times per second. Octavia could feel the sweat rolling down her forehead, and her heart was beating so hard and so fast that she felt like it could punch its way out of her chest. The vehicles smashed out of a window on the castle and landed on the Autobahn at high speed, tension high. Vinyl decided she'd help Octavia out, and pressed a button on the center console. Oil began to spray out of the rear of the car, sending their pursuers over the cliffside! Five of their pursuers managed to keep their vehicles on the road while the rest met flaming deaths at the bottom of the valley.
"Sheesh!" shouted Octavia. "I never imagined that a country as gorgeous as Germany could be host to such deadly business!"
Vinyl smiled. "Always who you least expect, huh?" she said.
Octavia drove the Interceptor into a train station. The remaining pursuers tried to follow, but ended up crashing into either pillars or walls. One unlucky fellow even had his vehicle smashed into scrap metal by an oncoming train, which pounded him to a bloody mess in short order. Octavia drove the Interceptor out the other end of the station, home free.
By now, Kaacha was sick of Octavia and Vinyl's intervention in his evil plan. However, as evil as he was, he had a plan that he was certain would neutralize the threat. And it wasn't to kill Octavia or Vinyl.
Throughout his young life in Kenya, Kaacha Later had earned an excellent reputation at talking his way out of things. As cruel and menacing as he could be, he had proven that he could easily charm even the most tormented soul.
"Perhaps I can simply convince Octavia and Vinyl to lay down their weapons without the hassle of killing them. And I know just how to convince them." he thought.
A day had passed, an Octavia received an anonymous invite to dinner in Frankfurt. Octavia knew exactly who she was being called by, but decided to go along with it in the end. Octavia figured that getting to know her enemy would serve her well in the future. She had her bowtie and collar washed and her mane polished for the event, and met Kaacha at one of the finest restaurants in Frankfurt that night.
"Greetings, young lady!" said Kaacha in the friendliest voice he could give.
Octavia remained calm, but alert.
"I believe you want to talk. You wouldn't have invited me to dinner here if you wanted otherwise."
Kaacha gave a friendly laugh. "Oh, of course. Why not get to that? You see, I'm aware you work for the Equestrian government. I'm also aware that you're ordered to stop me from doing what I know is the right thing for pony kind."
"What about it?" asked Octavia.
"I just want to ask to make a deal." replied Kaacha. "You see, I think you're aware that I have given my men orders to kill you if they see you. The same thing goes to your friend. But why would you have to die? Why don't you just back off and live your own life?"
"Based on your evil plan, I'll die if I let you go. Not only that, but so will everypony I know, and everypony I don't know." said Octavia.
Kaacha gave a giggle. "It doesn't have to be like that, you know! I tell you what. You see, we're going to re-start pony kind on Mars. If you agree to stop meddling with my plans, I will allow you to come with us and live the full length of your life. Not to mention, I will allow you to take ANY individuals you wish to come with you. This could be your friends, family, or both. Including that DJ you hang out with."
Octavia sighed. "You mean I have to abandon the world and let everypony on Earth die?"
"It's for the better of the world." replied Kaacha. "Pony kind NEEDS to start over. We've made too many mistakes on Earth that we just can't continue in this direction."
Octavia gave a hissy look. "What about countries like Germany that are trying to turn the tide of that? Germany has let aside a boatload of land for wildlife and has invested billions into eco-friendly technology."
Kaacha began to lose his warm smile. "Well, what about the United States, which refuses to comply with any and all environmental standards the rest of the world hopes for? Not to mention, America's constant militaristic stance has the whole planet worried about nuclear war."
Octavia smiled. "I'm not a big fan of America's barbaric practices either, but to hear someone who uses bombs and guns accuse someone of being to militaristic is quite silly..."
Kaacha was losing his patience by now. However, he kept himself together well enough to continue a calm conversation.
"Well, back to the topic at hand. Shall you cease fire on my operations, and afford both you, your friends, and your family seats in my new Mars utopia? Or, shall you continue to torment me, resulting in your own death?" he asked.
Octavia tugged at her white collar. She didn't know what to decide. If she failed to stop this monster, she and everypony she knew would surely parish in the Earth's destruction. However, if she were to successfully stop him, she could not only save herself, but the entire planet's population. Octavia continued to weigh each and every option she had, slowly eating the food that had just now arrived at their table. She had just taken a tiny nibble out of a pretzel when she finally spoke.
"All right. I'll give in." she said, head drooping in shame.
"Ah, wonderful!" said Kaacha in approval. "I knew you'd see what good I'm doing for the universe. Those ignorant government agencies do not deserve to be commanding such a beautiful and gorgeous young girl as yourself!"
Octavia felt a tear drop down onto her cheek. She felt purely ashamed of what she had just decided. The thought of it was troubling her to the point that she just couldn't eat her food, and she left early.
But not before she placed a tracker on Kaacha's limousine.
Octavia gave a hushed cackle to herself. "Did he really think I'd given up on saving the world? He'd have to be like a Donald Trump supporter on the matter that he'll believe literally ANYTHING I say!
And with that, the OV-15 Interceptor left the scene.
Dover, Great Britain was a gorgeous city. Stone bridges spanned crystal-clear rivers with castles and clock towers in the background. The tracker that Octavia had placed on Kaacha's car had lead her here, ironically into her home country. Dover seemed very quiet by their first look. But deep underwater, Kaacha's men were at their work. At the bottom of Dover's rivers were a few power stations, each of them bearing the logo of Nokatio. They took the appearance of gigantic crankshafts, almost like that of an automobile.
These gigantic machines were using the river water as hydroelectric power. The electricity was powering machines which were being used to construct the second satellite, underwater and hidden from the view of authorities.
Suddenly, a massive blast shook the compound.
The Interceptor, now on water, was releasing high-powered depth charges into the water to destroy the facilities and the unfinished satellite. With more depth charges released, the machines were reduced to rubble, but not without pursuit from enemy boats. A massive group of opposing boats came rushing into the scene. They were black and orangish-red in color, and they each had heavy missile pods on their backs.
A swarm of rockets wooshed past the Interceptor, missing it completely.
"HA!" laughed Vinyl. "You missed!"
Octavia nudged Vinyl. "I highly doubt that was the attack."
And right she was. The enormous cluster of missiles smashed into a stone bridge up ahead, and the debris of the structure fell into the water. Octavia screamed as she tried to stop the OV-15 before a collision could occur. Vinyl reached over Octavia and pulled a switch. Suddenly, the Interceptor sprouted a massive cruise missile which was immediately fired ahead. The rubble of the bridge was blown out of the way just in time for the Interceptor to shoot through.
Their pursuers were following aggressively, firing on civilian targets in hopes to use their surroundings as a weapon. Cars, chunks of stone, lampposts, and whatnot were constantly falling into Octavia and Vinyl's way, and Octavia's steering skills were being tested to the absolute limit! Octavia finally found a spot where she could get the Interceptor back on land, an opportunity she quickly took. The pursuing boats found themselves crashing upon shore, their unfired missiles exploding and burning the remains of the boats to molten materials within seconds.
"I think we've completed our England mission!" said Octavia confidently.
Vinyl suddenly heard voices coming from her headphones. She slipped her headphones over her ears and had herself a listen. She was being contacted by the Equestrian government.
A look of pure horror rose on her face as she listened.
Octavia looked over. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"You know the Channel Tunnel?" asked Vinyl. "You know, the gigantic train tunnel that connects the United Kingdom and France under the English Channel?"
Octavia nodded. "It's one of the most important engineering marvels of today. Why?"
Vinyl gulped. "According to the intel I was just informed about, there were four high explosives detected in the Channel Tunnel! Somebody's trying to blow it up!"
Octavia gasped in horror. "No! We're gonna go stop it!" She gunned the Interceptor's engine and blasted off at 500 miles per hour towards the British Channel Tunnel station.
Arriving less than a minute later, she easily found the first bomb inside the station, where passersby were viewing it with horror. Authorities were trying to disarm it to no avail.
"How do we disarm a bomb?" asked Octavia.
"I know something!" said Vinyl. "Give me the controls to the Interceptor!"
For the first time, Vinyl got to drive her own creation. She pressed a bright blue button marked "EMP" which then activated a small concealed laser on the car's rear-right fender. A pulse of electricity blasted out of it and seemed to coat the bomb, which diffused it successfully. With Octavia in the passenger seat, Vinyl drove the Interceptor at full speed deep into the Channel Tunnel, firing EMP blasts at two more explosive devices she found before being stumped.
"We got three of them. Where's the fourth one?" Vinyl asked herself.
Octavia spoke. "Maybe they're hiding it from us on purpose."
Octavia's words were cut short by the sound of a train.
Vinyl, who had forgotten that she'd stopped the Interceptor on the train tracks, wore a face of genuine horror when she saw a train charging at them at 190 miles per hour. If it weren't for Vinyl smashing the accelerator at that instant, the two musical ponies would have been history.
But that's when Octavia's sharp eyes noticed something.
"Hey!" shouted Octavia. "The last bomb's on that train!"
Vinyl followed the train as it travelled at high speed through the tunnel. "How are we supposed to get to that bomb without derailing the train or hurting anypony!?" she grunted.
Octavia's eyes started darting around, looking for an answer to that question. The car's speed now matched that of the train, and Octavia began to have ideas. "Hey!" she shouted. "Maybe we can bash out a window on the train and shoot through the window!"
Vinyl tried it. She fired a few shots at the windows to shatter them, and succeeded. Her hoof pressed down on the EMP button, and the electric sparks went flying. That's when Vinyl realized she'd missed the bomb. The train, being electric, had been hit, and was now slowing to a halt. Vinyl jammed onto the brake pedal in hopes to steady the vehicle with the slowing train. On the second shot, the bomb was hit, and shut down.
But before they could celebrate saving the Channel Tunnel, their communications switched on. However, a voice neither of them expected to hear played itself.
Kaacha could be heard on the other side of the mic.
"Oh, that was TOO EASY...."
Octavia cringed at the idea she had just been lured into a trap. "What's easy?" she asked, expecting the worst.
"Considering that I will be destroying the world, why would I need to individually destroy the Channel Tunnel? Oh, it's simple. I placed those bombs down there to lure you away from my current project. And did you know that I KNEW about the tracker you put on my car?"
"Y-you led me to England on purpose!? But you know, we destroyed your second satellite here!" Octavia said.
Kaacha could be heard cackling. "Ah, you think so? Well, I think it's about time I let you in on a secret. The bases I made in the UK were fake!"
Octavia and Vinyl both gasped.
Kaacha's laughter continued as he spoke. "I've managed to re-construct my first satellite that you destroyed in Germany. Now, all four needed satellites are completed as we speak!"
Octavia could feel genuine fear sweeping across her body. "Where are you!? What are you doing!? Where are these spacecraft being launched from!?"
No response.
Octavia felt destroyed.
She could feel her own heart beating out of guilt.
A pair of tears dripped from her eyes.
"The world...…...is ending...……" she said, "And it's MY fault for being so foolish!!"
Vinyl, however, still had a smile on her face.
"I don't think it's time to cry just yet." she said.
Octavia looked up.
Vinyl shot her a grin. "Kaacha forgot to take the tracker off his car! Now it's genuinely working!"
Octavia's heart began to sing in her chest. Hope struck her like a tsunami. "Where is he!?" she asked.
Vinyl studied the info screen on the dashboard.
"According to this, the tracker's current location is in Panama City, Panama.
"Panama?" asked Octavia. "I've ironically always wanted to go there." she said as she fixed her bowtie.
Panama was a very tropical and hot country. The temperature was around 110 degrees Fahrenheit upon Octavia and Vinyl's arrival. Vinyl knew it would be hot, so she installed an air conditioning system to the Interceptor.
"So, I'm guessing we just go where the tracker tells us to?" said Octavia as she drove along the old paved jungle road.
"I guess so." said Vinyl in response. She spoke in short sentences, as she was eating a Philly cheese steak grinder she got at a restaurant in Panama City.
As the OV-15 Interceptor drove its way further out of town, the jungle became incredibly dense. Monkeys swung from the trees above and seagulls chirped from above.
Eventually, they came close enough to the tracker's location that they could see where they needed to head.
There was a massive space launch facility hidden behind the thick vegetation. In the middle of a clearing stood a four story building with five massive launch pads outside. Four of the launch pads were all occupied by rockets carrying satellites. The fifth one was occupied by a unique rocket that looked as if it were fit for ponies to ride in.
"I'll bet those are the satellites he's gonna destroy the planet with." said Octavia. "And that rocket must be the getaway vehicle he and his guys will take to Mars."
Vinyl began to study the facility from their position. But before she could truly study it, she was caught off guard by a bullet.
Octavia gunned the engine of the Interceptor just as a hail storm of bullets began to rain down upon them. five massive helicopters, each geared to the teeth in high-tech weaponry. Missiles and bombs littered the ground where Octavia drove furiously, hoping to avoid death. As Vinyl began to activate the weapon system, even more rockets and shells pelted at the ground around them.
"Sir, they're here!" shouted one of Kaacha Later's men.
"Oh, shit... they've found me. Come on! Launch the satellites immediately and get us to the Mars rocket!!!" he demanded.
That's when a gigantic explosion threw him back. He stood up to see that a helicopter had been shot down by the Interceptor and had crashed into the building, killing the man who had just warned him of Octavia and Vinyl's presence.
He ran out of the room and ran into the room which housed the controls to the space launch platforms. He immediately ordered the scientists working to fire the satellites into space and to prepare the escape rocket for launch.
Octavia's eardrums were pounded by a tremendous blast unlike any blast she'd ever heard before. Her eyeballs adjusted to the chaos to see all four satellite rockets being launched.
"HELL NO, IT'S TOO LATE!" Octavia shouted.
"No it's not! I'll settle this!" shouted Vinyl as she punched in a button combination.
Just as she pressed the last button, four anti-air missiles launched from the Interceptor's roof. All four satellite rockets were blasted by the missile fire, and each of them came crashing back down to Earth. One of them fell on a direct course for the Mars rocket, destroying it completely. Kaacha Later could only watch as his creations were obliterated before his very eyes.
""My dreams! My utopia! They've ruined it ALL!!!!!! EVERYTHING I HAD!!!!! EVERYTHING I COULD HAVE DONE!!!! IT'S RUINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Octavia and Vinyl crashed the Interceptor through the front doors of the building. "Time's up, Kaacha!" said Octavia.
Octavia got out of the Interceptor. "It's over." she said. "You can come with us or let Vinyl, who's currently in the driver's seat of that car she built, shoot you to bits."
Kaacha ran. He darted up the stairs of the building. Octavia ran after him, Vinyl waiting in the Interceptor.
Octavia stopped at the meeting hall in the top floor. She was certain that he had run into there. However, the room seemed extremely quiet and still. It was a large room, a long wooden meeting table in its center. There were three ceiling fans on the ceiling of the room. But as she noticed the fans, she also noticed Kaacha, who was hiding from her by latching himself to the ceiling. He dropped down onto Octavia and grabbed onto the poor mare, and this was a serious attack, for he weighed 220 pounds! Octavia, however, seemed entirely unfazed by this, and threw him onto the table, which was crushed upon contact.
Kaacha jumped up, ready to strike again. He charged at Octavia at full speed, but Octavia grabbed the man by the sides of his face and threw him against the window. The window shattered upon contact, and he found himself hanging on for dear life from the shattered top floor window. Octavia stood over him with a look of rage and fury, and found herself about to kick him from his grasp on the window when she heard him begin to beg for mercy.
"No! I'm sorry!!!" he shouted over the wind. "Remember, Octavia! I only wanted to do good for pony kind! That's all I ever wanted!!! I promise!!!!! Just PLEASE, spare me!! I promise, I'll spare you, I will!!"
Octavia's expression began to change slowly.
She had never wanted to kill anypony in her life, and even though Kaacha had committed enough crimes that most ponies would consider it okay kill him, Octavia's beating heart began to get the better of her.
Octavia reached out and grabbed the aging stallion's hoof. With her strength, she pulled him back up.
"Come with me, we're going to the authorities." said Octavia.
However, the second Octavia turned her back to walk out of the room, she felt a tremendous stinging pain in the back of her left shoulder. She screamed in agony as loud as her powerful voice could carry, which was loud indeed, as blood began to run down her shoulder.
Kaacha had - quite literally - stabbed her in the back.
Kaacha was just about to deliver his knife into Octavia's heart, when a gust of wind from the broken window caused him to drop his knife and lose his balance. He fell over backwards, his scream of pure terror echoing through the jungle as his body fell over the side of the building and out of sight.
The screams stopped with a soft "thud" from outside.
Vinyl burst in the door to see her best friend bleeding. She immediately ran over and did what she could to treat Octavia's wound.
As Vinyl wrapped a string of bandages around Octavia's shoulder, she asked a question.
"Where did Kaacha Later go?"
Octavia gave a satisfied smile. "He's no more. He fell out that window to his death shortly after stabbing me."
With Octavia's wound patched up, the two musicians made their way back to the Interceptor, and drove away, leaving the smoldering ruins behind as just another memory.
With the mission a success, Octavia and Vinyl found themselves out of financial trouble in no time, thanks to Celestia's help. Over time, Octavia and Vinyl were able to restore their musical career to its former glory, and found themselves just as they had been before.
Unfortunately, nopony will ever know about the heroic deed that Octavia and Vinyl did for the world, for in the end, it was top secret. As far as history goes, there never was a plan to destroy the world, Kaacha Later was a normal corporation owner, and he died of natural causes.
However, Vinyl and Octavia were given one thing to remember their heroic journey by.
The OV-15 Interceptor, while never driven, remains in their garage to this very day.
