September 23, 2014
11:51 AM

The bridge crossed a ravine which was perpendicular to a nearby river. A small boat stopped at the intersection, allowing four men and a pony to get out. “I’ll wait for you here. Don’t take too long, okay?” Twitch said, waving them off.

“Alright, the train’s not here yet,” Dallas said, pulling on his mask. “Let’s figure out how we’re going to hit it. There’s no high enough places to spot from that Rainbow can reach without flying, so she’s gonna stay down here. We don’t want to lose her now.” She nodded slowly, not liking the situation, but able to accept it. Once again, she flapped her wings a few times, as if hoping against hope that she could miraculously fly again.

“There’s three carriages, carrying three vaults,” Bain reported. “The Dentist said that the gemstone is the priority, but if you want to take the turret as well, he says that’s on your initiative. Just be careful out there. GenSec are pretty jumpy after the hit we gave them last night.”

“It looks like there’s six entrances, though,” Hoxton said, pointing at a schematic of the train. “And only three vaults, which they wouldn’t put doors on both sides of.”

Dallas nodded agreement. “That means we’ll need to find out where the vault doors are as well. There’s camera feeds inside each vault, but we only have one of those anti-vault thermal drills, so we’ll have to make sure that it’s the right one before we place it. Wolf, I’ll leave that to you.” Wolf cocked and reloaded his shotgun again.

“Chains, it’s likely that GenSec are going to defend in depth. We’ll try and sneak in if we can, but if that isn’t an option, we’ll need your help to clear them all out.” Chains raised his own shotgun in response, an automatic with a regular clip rather than Wolf’s more ‘traditional’ style. “Hoxton, I’ll need your help to get into the cars. I’m sure I can probably coerce some assistance out of the guards, unless things start getting loud, but you’re our primary man on the job.” Hoxton screwed a silencer onto his pistol and nodded.

“If you find the turret, disassemble it, bag it up and toss it down. Rainbow can probably move the parts back to the boat by herself. Be a little more careful if you find the ammo, though; it’s explosive, and it won’t like being tossed around. I’ll tell you more when you get there,” Bain added. With a quick pause to check his data, he continued, “Security seems pretty loose. They think it’s a bug in the rail system, and they aren’t on guard for an attack. Just don’t get spotted too early. Clear? Transform and roll out.”

The crew started heading through the ravine towards the bridge, and Rainbow watched them go, sitting and flicking her tail. Already bored, she pulled up her binoculars again, seeing them climb the stairs to the train bridge. A few men in orange were standing around, and others in black were crawling over the train and the depot at one end. She couldn’t see very clearly, though, and gave up after only a few seconds. Instead, she focused on the voices coming through her earpiece, trying to follow the heist through only sound.

“Alright, moving in.”

“Be careful, Hox. You don’t wanna get seen, at all. You don’t command the same respect that I do.”

“Speaking of that, there’s someone alone in that shed on the side. Maybe they know something. Go check it out; I’ll look for keycards.”

“So, Chains, do you think Rainbow would take to Transformers? It seems like her kind of show...”

“What, like ‘transform and roll out’ before?”

“Yeah, that was the reference. And it wouldn’t even give you nightmares, the way some of Wolf’s DVD library would.”

“Hi, my name’s Dallas. I’d like to ask a few questions about that train there. And it’ll be a lot easier for everyone if you don’t touch that phone, and stay away from the window...”

“Maybe it’s something I could catch up on while you guys are having poker night. Bain seems to be a lot better as your fifth player than I am.”

“They can’t tell when I’m lying because they can’t see my face, that’s really all it is. Oh, by the way, Hoxton, nice work finding the dropped card. Now get one of those doors open, and keep an eye on the situation outside. Wolf’s not as good at sneaking as you, remember.”

“Okay, entering the fourth door, back of the centre carriage... Huh, there’s a vault door right here, and—Drop that gun! Down on the ground, right now! And give me that pager!”

“Nice work, Hoxton.”

“Wait, what else did he find in there?”

“What’s going on down there? Respond immediately, over.”

“Nothing’s the matter. I’m trying to quit smoking, but my hands keep twitching. I was just fiddling with the radio. Everything’s okay on this end.”

“Alright, just give me a second... Yeah, sorry, you know how it is. Can’t be too careful after that hit last night.”

“Looks like he bought it. I found a camera feed for the inside of the vault. Looks like that turret you mentioned, and a few boxes of bullets.”

“What’s the code to the centre vault? ...3104? Interesting. Thanks for your cooperation. Now stay down, stay quiet, and I won’t have to retract my appreciation and replace it with a bullet.”

“Hey, buddy, can I borrow your hand for a minute? Wolf, don’t bother coming in yet, I’ve got this under control.”

“Is it working, Hox? Because I’d really like to see you pull this heist yourself. I really don’t feel like steppin’ in, I still need some coffee...”

“Don’t pressure me, Chains. ...Yeah, looks like it’s legit. Turret’s right here.”

“Alright, you can unscrew the top part, separate it and place the two halves in a bag each, then the tripod in a third bag. Toss ‘em down to Rainbow when you’re done, and get to work on the other cars.”

“What if somebody finds that guy you tied up just now?”

“I’ll lock the door. Nobody’ll be coming for him until the train’s reached its final destination.”

“Good thinking. ...Hmm, looks like you forgot to shave this morning...”

“First bag coming down. Heads up!”

The duffel bag fell from the bridge, and Rainbow broke into a sprint to catch it before it hit the ground. She laid it gently on the ground as Hoxton kicked the second bag over, and did the same for it and the third. The pieces were all quite heavy, so she had to start moving them one bag at a time back to the boat. As she did, the chatter continued.

“So anyway, do you have cartoons in your world, Rainbow?”

“I don’t really know what those are, so I’m gonna say no.”

“Okay, door’s locked and the middle carriage is secure. Heading for the back right now. Shit, gotta get over the train!”

“What happened, Hoxtolicious? Somebody see you? That would be bad.”

“...No, looks like I’m in the clear. That was way too close, though. We can’t afford to mess up like that again, especially not you, Wolfie.”

“Okay, first bag’s in the boat. I’m coming back for the next.”

“This guy doesn’t know anything. If you find the next vault, you’ll probably just have to drill it and hope nobody gets close enough to hear it.”

“That end of the bridge looks pretty deserted to me. Wolf, cross at the bottom. There’s a ladder on that side you can use to get into the train car without having to go through as many people.”

“Thanks, Chains. On my way. Hey, Regnbåge, I’ll help you move that other bag first. Hoxton can probably wait in the cars. Just lock them again, yeah?”

As Rainbow returned to the pair of bags, Wolf slid down the side of the ravine and picked up one of them, leaving his orange bag with the drill. “Let’s go,” he said, gesturing back to the boat. “So, anyway, Transformers. Very popular show when I was little. You’d probably like it, it’s got lots of action in it. And giant robots. No kid your age doesn’t like giant robots.”

“How old am I?” Rainbow asked, stopping for a moment and staring at Wolf through the black holes in his mask.

“Uh... Fourteen? I don’t know how ponies age.”

“Closer to twenty-two. C’mon, keep walking. Those bags aren’t gonna deliver themselves.” Shrugging, Wolf fell behind slightly.

“Okay, what’s behind door number five... Nothing. Except... There’s a camera feed here.”

“Yeah? What’s inside? C’mon, Hox, don’t keep us all waitin’ around.”

“...Looks like this is pay dirt. There’s definitely a bigass gem right in the middle of it.”

“Great find, Hoxton. Go drill it open and grab it.”

“I’m already heading ‘round the other side. Wolf, get ready to drill her open.”

As Rainbow was about to throw the bag into the boat, she suddenly stopped, perking her ears straight up. “Hang on, Hoxton, what did the gem in the middle look like?” Wolf pulled the bag out of her hooves and tossed it in, sprinting back for the bag with the drill he’d left behind.

“Uh... I didn’t get a good look at it. Some kinda ruby, I think. Why d’you ask?”

“Okay, I got the drill back. Which side are you on?”

“From where you are, I think Hoxton’s in the furthest door to the left.”

“Yeah, that one’s open. I’m heading up.”

“What colour was it? What shape?”

“Why the hell do you wanna know all this stuff? It’s what we came here to get. Why do you need to know more than that about it?”

“Tell her, Hoxton,” Bain cut in, more harshly than Rainbow had ever heard him speak. “Just do it. If she’s that concerned about it, then it could be something from her world. If it is, then the Dentist has a lot more explaining to do.”

“Alright, fine. It was a ruby, couldn’t see the shape, but it wasn’t cut like a normal gem. The necklace was pretty ornate, too. Had these kinda cloud-shaped markings on it...”

“A ruby, set in a gold necklace, with kind of cloud-shaped markings... Guys, I’m coming up. If this is what I think it is...”

“The heck are you saying, D? Stay with the boat! If you get spotted, there’s no telling what’ll happen!”

“Listen to yourself! I’ve seen too many plans ended by someone doing something against the plan that they just ‘had to do’!”

“I’m sorry, guys. But you can’t change my mind on this.” She broke into a gallop towards the bridge, ignoring the voices coming through. She wouldn’t pass up her chance to get her Element necklace back for anything. She hadn’t known that it had been taken too, but having it back could only work out in her favour long-term.

“Hey, why’s the door opening?” Wolf suddenly asked, and Rainbow stopped in her tracks. “What’s going on in there... So there’s the camera, and—Hoxton. RUN!” The sound of a very loud gun being fired for an extended burst filled the air. “Get out of the train! Shit, there’s too many of them!” Wolf’s shotgun and Hoxton’s rifle both fought to be heard over the sound of the other gun, but only barely succeeded.

“The guards all just woke up! I’m surrounded, and my cover’s not great here! Chains, I could really use a hand right about now!”

“On it, Dallas! But what about Hox and Wolf?”

“They’re too far away right now! Just do what you can for Dallas!”

Trying to find an opening in the battle, Rainbow crept up the stairs, seeing the open train carriage. She was about to jump in when someone, or something, jumped out. For a moment, it looked like the Bulldozer from the job at the docks, but this one was wearing a black-and-white speckled suit, and the faceplate had a skull painted on. She barely noticed the massive gun that it was pointing at her until it laughed, sounding nothing short of evil.

Only barely coming to her senses in time, she dodged out of the way of the burst of gunfire that ripped through where she’d been just a moment before, and slid under the Skulldozer’s arm before it could grab her. As he turned around, she ran into the train carriage, hiding behind the vault door. “Yes, that’s good, my little pony,” it said in the same insane voice. “Hide if you want, but I will find you again, as soon as I’m done with your clown friends. And when I do, you’ll be wishing they’d never gotten you out in the first place.”

He walked away around the side of the train, towards the gunshots that were penetrating the door on the other side. Rainbow let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, and looked at the necklace sitting on a podium in the middle of the vault. A single look at the gem in the middle confirmed her suspicions. All she had to do was take it and run, and never look back. She couldn’t let herself get caught by the Skulldozer.

As she placed it around her neck, though, a surge of energy flowed through her. No, that wasn’t quite correct, it was a surge of Loyalty. Immediately, she discarded the idea of escape. She couldn’t leave the people who’d rescued her, multiple times, and were willing to rescue one another, despite the danger they were frequently in because of it. She owed them the same, no matter how scared she was.

Pressing a button near the closed door on the far side, she saw the Skulldozer approaching a crate that Hoxton and Wolf were cowering behind. Letting out a war cry as it turned to face the opening door, she charged, jumping at its faceplate. The sudden impact from a fast-running Pegasus to the head took it off-balance, and it stumbled, hitting the guard rail and continuing past it.

Rainbow was still holding onto the faceplate, but quickly tensed every muscle in her body as it tried to grab at her. With a single movement, she jumped off, heading straight up in the air. She stretched out her wings again, feeling the air underneath them, and then pulled them back down.

Somehow, she felt herself moving forward from the action.

Braking and turning around, switching into a hover, she realised she was flying again. Before she could wonder how or why, a bullet whizzed past her ear, and she fell into a crash dive, swooping around like a madmare to keep the GenSec guards from landing any solid hits on her. Down below, she could see the Payday Crew taking advantage of the situation, gunning down the distracted guards rapidly. Not wanting to stick around too long, she flew back towards the boat, diving into the river and feeling the rush of water around her.

It had been far too long since she’d flown, and she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could now that she had it back. She’d never take her wings for granted again.

When she finally saw the boat pulling off, she made a landing on it. Everyone was staring at her through their masks, and even Twitch had turned around. After a few seconds, she decided to break the silence herself. “Rainbow Dash is back, bitches!” she shouted, pumping a hoof into the air.

There was silence for another few moments. Then the clowns all started cheering and whooping. Dallas slapped her on the back, saying, “We’ll have to have poker night early this week, I reckon. We even managed to make a lot on the side.” He pointed out the three bags containing the turret parts, along with a few more red bags that he said had the ammunition. “Gage is going to love us for this!”

“Hold on, fellas,” Bain suddenly cut in. “The Dentist specifically told me that he wanted the gemstone himself. That means you’re probably not going to get to keep it...” Everyone fell silent, and Rainbow fell into a sitting position, head lowered and ears drooped. “Hey, don’t give up yet. We at least pulled off the heist. And I’m sure I’ll be able to work something out.”

“Yeah...” Rainbow looked down at her neck, and the ruby sitting there. “Celebrate because we’re alive. And because that Skulldozer is dead. I mean, nobody could have survived that fall. Right?” Everyone nodded agreement, and the boat continued its journey back up the river.

~~~

Bain had left his monitors for a while to grab a bite to eat. When he returned, there was a message sitting there. It was an audio file, and as it began, he recognised the voice as the Dentist’s.

“Excellent work. Your crew performed admirably despite the conditions, and I suspect that they owe many thanks to your guidance as well. GenSec will now think twice about moving such precious things, which may well make any further valuables easy to find.

“I received your prior message about the Element of Loyalty. I only wanted it so that Rainbow Dash could return to her peak. She will be a vital asset to your team in the future, I am sure. Having a spotter who can fly and see a situation from many angles will surely come in quite useful.

“The money I offered will be wired to your accounts come morning. Enjoy your payday. I will be in touch.”

Bain nodded slowly as the message ended. It made sense; the Elements of Harmony were concentrated sources of magic, and in a world with no magic of its own, Rainbow Dash would need it in order to fly again. That the Dentist hadn’t taken it from them in the end worked out strongly in their favour. But whether Rainbow would want to continue working with them, he couldn’t say.

Well, he’d be able to figure all that out later. For now, he returned to his work, lighting one of his special cigars, to commemorate a job that went wrong, but that they pulled off in the end. Success under duress was worth celebrating as much as a perfect crime, after all.

~~~

When FBI agent Roy Wilson had taken to tapping the Director’s phone on a bar bet, he hadn’t expected much to come of it. He could only hear what was coming from his side, and the Director often didn’t have that much to say. Besides, it was surely only a matter of time before he was found out and fired, or worse. The message that he found on his phone that night, however, disturbed him greatly.

“So the train was hit, and the Element was taken. Well, I suppose that was the only possible outcome, after they did that harbour job. Don’t worry too much about it.”

“...”

“It’s only a temporary setback. And now, they’re in the same place. We can reach out and take one along with the other just as easily.”

“...”

“Flight seems like a great advantage at first, yes. But we humans learned to fly as well. And we are so much stronger once we’re in the air than anything else that flies.”

“...”

“Hoxworth? ...Yes, I suppose he might be able to help. Particularly with the right... encouragement.”

“...”

“Promise him anything, but don’t feel like you have to follow through. He’s a criminal, after all. And he deserves no better.”

“...”

“Jared Stone failed, you say? Well, that’ll give him an incentive to perform better next time. Revenge is one of the most powerful motivators out there.”

“...”

“Yes, I understand perfectly. It will be done. Good day.” The phone beeped off, and the next message played, given to him directly. “Mr. Wilson, I have an assignment for you. There is a bounty hunter who will be entering Washington in three days. You will accompany him from Dulles, and ensure he has the full cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Intervention. If you want career recognition for the capture of the Payday Crew, I suggest you carry this out.”

Roy fell back in his chair, wondering how he kept getting into these things. He hadn’t even been told the man’s name, or what he looked like. Guess I’ll just have to roll with it, he thought. Not like I have a choice. I’m dead when they find out about the bug anyway, but maybe I can at least delay it by playing along.

Author's Note

So there you have it. I expect some of you aren't going to like me giving Rainbow her wings back this early, but it works for the arc I want to tell. Also, can anyone guess who this bounty hunter might be?