86-34: Arc 1: Fight the Power, Fight the Fad

As night fell, the five ponies finally reached Ratchet’s garage.

“Ah, great to see you again”, Ratchat said as he opened the door, and then shook hooves with Clank. “And it’s good to see you too, brother.”

“Yeah it’s been awhile, hasn’t it, brother?” Clank replied. “Had to cut off all communications with those I’m not supposed to know.”

“Wait, you two are brothers?” said Circuit Cut, alarmed.

“Yep”, both of them said in unison.

“Ha ha ha. Ratchet and Clank. That is hilarious, right there”, laughed Circuit Cut. His laughs died down as the two colts gave him puzzled stares.

“Anyway, you ponies must be famished. I’ll fix up some cabbage soup!” Ratchet said excitedly.

As they were having their dinner, Circuit Cut shared what he found with the rest of the group.

“Marejestic-12, huh? So the rumors were true”, Cipher remarked as he downed a cup of water.

“Yeah, and if Alicorp Industries has the list, they must be searching for the ex-members to assist in their project”, said Clank.

“And with the maps, they know the location of decommissioned Marejestic-12 bunkers and facilities”, added CIrcuit Cut.

“We’ll need to find the remaining Marejestic-12 members and the bunkers before Alicorp Industries does. I’ll send the list of names and the maps to HQ so they can send out agents to find ‘em”, Cipher said as he finished his bowl. “Oh yeah, one more thing, I got word from Manehattan Outskirts that the package Badger and his team were escorting was actually a fake.”

“What?!” said a shocked Badger.

“Hey, you didn’t think we’d give up on the package even after you were done escorting it now did you?” replied Cipher.

“Well....yeah, I didn’t think of that”, said Badger admittedly.

“Which means that the real package they were planning to transport still hasn’t left the facility yet. I’ll have my informants keep an eye out for any movement.”

“Sounds like a plan. *yawn* it sure was a long day. I’m gonna hit the hay early tonight”, Hot Shot said as she went upstairs. “Me too,” Clank replied as he went into a room beside the main lounge. Ratchet went to the kitchen to clean up.

“I haven’t checked the news in ages”, Cipher said, excitedly,“I’m sure the press has something to say about your little ‘operation’ down at the Ponyville TV station.” He opened a 2 day-old video on his HoofPad.

“Officials are still baffled at the incident that took place at the Ponyville TV station earlier this morning, where an unknown voice hijacked the interview with three Masters. This mysterious voice threatened the owner of TheEquestrianPost, The Great Mephistopheles or better known as “Mephisto” who supposedly fail to capture the true meaning of friendship. Mephisto has this to say about the incident:”

“They’ve made a personal attack, not only on me, but also on those who believe in the magic of friendship. Whomever did this has made themselves an enemy to all who supported what we’ve accomplished.”

“However, Mephisto has refused to comment on his involvement in the controversial site Wild Equestria. This is Perry Mic, signing off.”

“Hey check this out”, Circuit Cut added, “After Mephisto was revealed to be the one running Wild Equestria, the number of visitors and posts actually increased.”

“I guess they expected something like this to happen, since they already have a lot of power to make or break trends”, Cipher remarked, “It’s getting worse and worse.”

“Yep,” Circuit Cut replied, “Heck, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders, becoming mini-celebrities after their show-stopping performance at the talent show  a few days ago, now have fanfiction and art written after them too, and ironically, they’re underaged!” Circuit Cut had a hearty laugh.

“Well, we’ll lay off the Masters for now. Alicorp Industries is currently a bigger threat,” Cipher replied as he went off to his own room. “Get some rest. I’m sure there will be some new development tomorrow.” And with that, Cipher went to his own room.

Badger lay on the couch in the lounge, allowing his mind to wander aimlessly.

Old World Ponies,eh? he thought.

~~~

The next morning, the ponies gathered at the table again.

“Morning, guys”, Cipher began, “New intel. The carriage that they were supposed to move, well, it’s prepping to move out from Alicorp Industries today. It’s headed for Ponyville and then towards the Manehattan Outskirts. The convoy will consist of three carriages. Here are the photos.”

Cipher put a photo on the table. The ponies peered around it. The photo were three carriages surrounded by guard ponies.

“Hey those are SP carriages,” Circuit Cut.

“SP carriages?” asked Hot Shot.

“Steam-powered carriages,” said Ratchet, “Twice the ground speed of a pulled carriage. Not many of ‘em around since the zebras are still in the early stages of developing them. If you own an SP carriage, means you got a few extra bits to spare, and they have three.”

“Seems like they’re in a rush to get it to the Outskirts,” Badger remarked.

“The Manehattan Outskirts became town of it’s own not only because of it’s role as a switching point, but also because things can be made to disappear there. Shipping records can be wiped. Items can become ghosts”, added Cipher.

“So once the item gets there, it will be untraceable, and they can send it to anywhere they want. Very sneaky”, said Hot Shot.

“Exactly”, replied Cipher. “Also there seems to be a lot of escorts there. The package has got to be in one of them. So, the convoy will probably be moving at a high speed and in formation. If we stop the first carriage dead in it’s tracks, hopefully the one with the package will speed off. They’ll also be packing  a lot of firepower on this one, so we need to thin out their numbers before we actually engage them. Here’s what we’re gonna do...”

~~~

A few miles outside Ponyville, just before a hill, Circuit Cut, Clank, Hot Shot, and Ratchet hid behind a bush, with the two brothers carrying MO sniper rifles. Further down the road, Badger and Cipher took cover behind another bush on the hill, overlooking the path. They all wore green-striped uniforms, their faces masked, revealing only their eyes.

“Ratchet, what’s the status on the convoy?” Cipher whispered into his communicator.

“I don’t see any of ‘em yet. Nope, no sign of...wait wait, there they are. They’re moving pretty fast. will probably be here in a minute, over,” came the response.

“How many escorts?”

“I see one unicorn on top of each carriage. Unable to identify any personnel inside, over.”

“Alright. Cipher out.”

Greycolt popped out of the tree and lifted up his binoculars. Sure enough, in the distance, he could see three steam-powered carriages moving down the road. They looked just like regular carriages, only with an added section in front to accommodate the driver’s seat and the engine. Two of them had a regular passenger compartment. The one in the middle had a wagon-like compartment. Probably carrying the cargo, he thought.

“Alright, here’s the plan. Clank, Hot Shot, and Ratchet will take out the two unicorns on the roofs simultaneously, wait for any personnel to come out, then shoot them. Wait for them to reach the foot of the hill.”

Hot Shot replied, “Got it. You guys ready? On my mark, 3...2...1.”

All three unicorns fell on the roofs with a single thud. The next second, boulders started to tumble down the cliff. One smashed the right wheel and part of the engine on the first carriage. Suddenly, they heard somepony shout “Sniper!”, and the other two carriages overtook the first carriage and sped off. Two unicorns came out of the damaged carriage, levitating MO rifles. The driver came out as well, levitating an MO pistol.

“You ponies handle the guards. Badger and I will get the runaway wagon”, said Greycolt, flying out of the tree and after the carriage. Badger followed him swiftly, with the two guards firing shots at them.

Hot Shot fired, and one guard fell to the ground. The other guard, unable to identify the direction of the shot, took cover behind the carriage along with the driver.

“Aim just beneath the carriage. Hit their hooves,” Hot Shot said.

Ratchet aligned his sights. When he thought he had a clear shot, he fired. It took a few seconds for the guard to drop to the ground, probably due to the leg-shot. The driver panicked and tried to get into the driver’s seat, but he was too slow. Minerva charged at the other door and opened it. A bullet flew straight to his head, knocking him out of the carriage. The other guard managed to get to his hooves and headed for the driver’s seat, but Clank came around and shot him in the back..

“Clear!” shouted Minerva as she checked the compartment’s interior.

~~~

Cipher and Badger almost caught up to the speeding carriages, with the passenger carriage being in front and the cargo carriage behind it, as both were driving along the hillside. Trying not to look at the steep drop merely a mere 5 feet from the road’s right side, Cipher neared the door left door and opened it, but as he poked his head in, for a split second he caught a glimpse of a pistol pointed at him. He moved aside, just as a shot rang out. The bullet hit Cipher’s left shoulder and he tumbled forward, scraping against the dirt road. Simultaneously, Badger approached from the other side and tackled the driver, and managed to knock him out by hitting his face on the wheel, and threw him off the carriage and off the cliff. With the driver out of the way, Badger brought the vehicle to a halt.

It was not over yet, as the passenger carriage in front soon realized the carriage behind it had stopped. Two unicorns armed with MO rifles appeared from the carriage.

“Alright. You wanna do this? Let’s do this,”Badger frowned, as he drove the vehicle forward. The unicorns eyes widened when they realized the carriage behind them had no intention of slowing down. The scrambled into the passenger carriage, but Badger was too close already.

The cargo carriage rammed right into the passenger carriage, which started to tilt slowly to the right till it was 90 degress with the cargo carriage. There was a turning up ahead and Badger braked just a few feet away. The passenger carriage flew off the side and tumbled down the slope, making loud crashing noises with each hit.

Badger let out a huge sigh of relief, then gasped as he remembered something. “Cipher!” He flew along the road, searching for any sign of the pegasus. Finally he found him, trying to get back on his hooves. His left shoulder and back suffered gashes.

“Damn, that does not look too good”, Badger remarked, “Come on let’s get you patched up.”

“Don’t worry about me. Where’s the package?”

“I haven’t checked the carriages yet.”

“Where are they?”

“Well, the cargo carriage is down the road. The passenger carriage is,well, at the bottom of the hill.”

“What?”

“I kind of rammed into it and sent it over the edge.”

Cipher was speechless from the shock. “Well, let’s hope the package we’re after is in the cargo carriage.”

They flew back to the cargo carriage and opened up the canvas. Among the few crates there was a black locked crate.

“This must be it”, Cipher remarked. “Alright, guess we head back. I’ll check in with the others. Hot Shot, what’s the status on your end?”

“All the guards are taken care of,” came the response.

“Very good. Get rid of the bodies and meet us back at the Manehattan safe-house.”

~~~

“Man, even with levitation, these ponies weigh a ton”, Circuit Cut remarked.

“We got trouble”, Ratchet said as he came running. There’s a Canterlot Royal Army patrol heading this way.”

“Damn. I’ll try and stall them. Dispose of the bodies quick!”Hot Shot said as she hurriedly walked to meet the patrol. It was two unicorns clad in CRA armor. She flashed a smile followed by a greeting, “Good day, sirs.”

“Good day, miss. Is there a problem?” asked one of the guards, donning a serious face.

“Oh, no problem. Just that my friends had an unexpected stop.”

“Is there any trouble with your vehicle, miss?”

“No trouble. Just a small rock slide, that’s all.”

“How can we assist, miss?”

“It’s alright. My friend,uh,he just went to the bushes for a, uh...‘emergency’”. She shouted to the bushes. “I told you to go before we left!”

There was a rustle in the bushes and CC’s voice was heard, “Oh, well excuse me if I wanted to leave in a hurry!”

“I...see. You sure there isn’t anything else we can help you with?” said the guard, as his straight face started to fade into a faint smile. The other guard saw this and bumped a hoof at him, frowning.

“Oh, no no, that’s quite alright. I appreciate you stopping to ask and everything.”

“It’s our duty, miss. Carry on.” The two unicorns then moved on. As they disappeared from sight, Minerva made her way to the bushes. “You all ‘done’, yet?”

“Yeap, all ‘done’, heheh”, Circuit Cut responded.

~~~