Ghost in the shell: Equestrian architecture

Applejack adjusted herself in the truck´s seat. Though the sky was calm and clear she could still feel the cold evening air sipping in from cracks and busted AC. The guns clicked and smacked as Twilight Sparkle loaded them in the storage behind them.

“How´s it going back there?” Applejack asked.

“Almost done.” Twilight replied while loading up a shotgun with shells .

“Did you see the report Flyttershy send out before we left?”

“Yes.” Twilight smacked a magazine into a gun. “Why do you ask?”

“Because the body was almost an exact copy of yours. Don´t you think that´s a little suspicious?”

“Of course I think it is. But I don´t have any hard evidence for who could have done it or why and considering the number of enemies we´ve made over the years it’s hard to tell who´s after us.”

“Not sure if they are after us so much has you.” Applejack accelerated and drove past a smaller car. “Considering what Osborn said; the cyborg seemed to going for you has soon as it could see you.”

“Probably because it considered me the bigger threat.” She pulled back the mantle. “They probably made a body that looked like me in order to scare me and give them an advantage.”

“I don´t think so. A full cyber body isn´t cheap and takes some effort. Why would they do that if they just wanted to throw you of your game? They could have just given a random thug a body that looked similar to yours. Instead they made something that was almost a perfect clone and removed the individual’s entire history.”

“Maybe they had a thug who wanted out and his bosses decided that it would be a better idea to have him perform a suicide mission instead of becoming a snitch.” She holstered her gun and turned on the tachikoma. The spiderlike robot was no bigger than a motorcycle and mostly designed for supply carriages before actual combat but it was all they had for the moment.

“That still doesn´t explain why they went to such efforts to make a body that looked exactly like yours.” Applejack glanced quickly at the GPS and turned left at the oncoming intersection. “What was that thing you said in the elevator, Twilight?” Applejack didn´t wait for a response. “´All of you be careful´. That applies to you to.”

Twilight sighed. “You´re right.” She put some commands into the tachikoma. “But I still find the idea of them coming after me, specifically, farfetched.” She climbed into the passenger seat. “Either way it´s almost confirmed that we are dealing with an organization at this point.”

“Rainbow Dash and Osborn are taking a look into the hacker and we´re heading to the woman who bought the damn drill bullet. So after this they should know we are on their trail and we´re coming after them.”

“Sunset Shimmer.” Twilight said. “A relatively unknown assassin who more often than not only kills street thugs and drug dealers.”

“A bit of a step up to go after a section twelve officer. Think maybe she didn´t know and was just set up to take the fall for it?”

“No. Getting a drill bullet requires that you make some rather specific deals and considering the setup of the shoot I find that even more farfetched. It´s possible that she just managed to stay under the radar until now.”

“Think by using a name like ´The long death´?” Applejack shifted into a lower gear.

“Will have to ask her if we get her.” Twilight put her elbow on the edge of the door and looked out the window.

Still unsure. Applejack thought.

Sunset Shimmer was registered in the southern district of Manehatttan, a neighborhood marked by multiple homicides and even more known drug dealers living in the area. A good hunter sticks close to the prey.

The walls on the buildings where scared by years of neglect, with only the occasional graffiti text to hide the marks of gunfire and decay.

Applejack stopped a few blocks away from the address.

“I´ll go in first.” Twilight unlashed her seatbelt. “You and the tachikoma will position yourselves outside the building in case she tries to make a run for it.”

“Roger that Major.” Out of habit, Applejack tipped the edge of her hat almost instinctively.

Twilight nodded, took an assault rifle and exited the car.

Before the Major was out, Applejack climbed out of the driver´s seat. took the shotgun Twilight had loaded earlier and opened the trucks back door. The tachikoma rolled out on its wheeled legs, turned around with an almost perfect circle and waited for Applejack. When the Sergeant had exited and closed the doors the tachikoma followed her like a loyal dog.

They followed Twilight until they reached the building that Sunset Shimmer was registered at. Twilight made her way up the fire ladder with an almost silent jump. She covered five levels in less than five seconds. Applejack positioned herself outside the entrance with the tachikoma positioned next to her.

A few moments passed.

“Applejack?” Twilight appeared in the Sergeants sight.

“Yes, Major?”

“I´m outside the apartment and ready to enter. Get ready.”

Applejack released the safety on the shotgun. “Roger.” She pressed her back against the wall and peered into the entrance. Aside from a busted lamp and wall that had giant colorful letters sprayed over it the entrance looked like any other of the standard apartment entrances built during the last thirty years.

The wall gave a rumbling and vibrated. Applejack felt bits of knocked out concrete dropping on her head.

“She´s heading jumped out of the window!” Twilight said. “She´s heading east.”

“Roger.” Applejack took a brief moment to remind herself that she was facing the western wall. She and the tachikoma rushed alongside each other. When she made it around the corner the Sergeant saw a human sized shape leaping from the rooftop of next building, over the narrow road and grabbing the edge of the roof with her arms. She struggled for a moment before hauling herself over.

“She´s heading south.” Applejack turned to follow.

“Copy that.” In the upper corner of her sight she could see the Major leaping over the street. She disappeared when she landed the roof.

The alley in front of Applejack was blocked by sheet metal fence. She ran up to the blockade and gave it a hard kick with her boot. The thin metal fell down as if it was made with cardboard. The tachikoma followed her through the opening into the alley.

“She´s heading down, Applejack.” The Major said. “Heading southeast, into the marketplace.”

“Roger.” Applejack turned to her right when she reached the end.

The square opening was crowded. People filled up whatever small openings they could find and walked in narrow streams between the stands. The merchants behind the stands where showing of ancient processors and cheap produce.

“What´s your position, Major?” Applejack pressed into the dense crowd, looking for the assassin.

“I´m on the rooftop behind you.”

“Think that she´s trying to hide inside the crowd?” Applejack pushed a few shoulders aside to reach a more open area.

“Yes.”

Applejack threw a quick glance over her shoulder and saw the Major crouched at the corner of a building facing the marketplace. She had a pair of digital binoculars pressed against her eyes. “See anything?”

“Got a possible match at a stand on the north corner.” The point that the Major pointed out appeared in Applejack´s sight. The tachikoma hurried away before she had a chance to get going. It turned out to help Applejack, has people jumped out of the incoming robot’s way it made an easy path for the Sergeant to follow.

“She´s spotted me.” Twilight said. “She´s heading northeast.”

“Roger.” Applejack and the tachikoma adjusted their paths to try and intersect her. She stopped when passing a stand and saw a woman breaking her sprint when seeing her. The woman wore a black, unzipped jacket and a green shirt beneath that. Long fiery red hair with blond cracks threw itself forward when she stopped. It´s her. The Sergeant was about to raise her shotgun when Sunset Shimmer drew a gun out of her jacket. There was no chance for Applejack to avoid it.

The tachikoma jumped Between the two and caught the bullet. Though the sound of the shot was muffled by a silencer, the tachikoma´s metallic body clanged sharply when the bullet made contact.

Applejack continued her action, but when the tachikoma passed she saw Sunset Shimmer pressing into the crowd. “Shit.” Applejack raised the barrel to the sky and fired. The shotgun produced a thundering bark and the crowd screamed. Applejack couldn´t see her. “Major?”

“She´s rushing towards the building on your right.” Twilight responded. “Be careful, she´s got a hostage. I´m heading down now.”

“Roger.” Applejack fired another shoot towards the sky and the crowd around her quickly dispersed. She managed to glimpse Sunset Shimmer dragging another woman by the arm into an apartment building nearby. Twilight was not far behind.

“I´m gonna be coming in from the front.” Twilight said. “You circle around and take them from behind.”

“No problem.” Applejack said when she passed the Major. She ran around the building and was met by a solid wall.

“Please just let me go.” She heard a shacking voice echoing between the walls.

“Shut up.” Another voice responded.

It only took Applejack a moment to figure out where they were. The sergeant pressed up against the wall. “I got their position, Major.”

“I see them. Hold your position.” The Major went quite for a moment. “Let her go.” Twilight´s voice echoed.

“Drop your weapon.” The voice replied.

Applejack carefully put the shotgun on the floor and adjusted her position.

“She´s not up against the wall.” Twilight said. “Give me a moment.”

“Please help me.” The other voice said again.

Now Applejack was certain of their position. She took a step back from the wall and waited.

“I will shoot!” Twilight barked. “Now!”

The sergeant´s fist pushed into the drywall exited through the other end. Before her arm was even halfway through, she opened her fist and turned once the elbow was through. She grasped a head and shoved it into the wall. Applejack could hear a gun hit floor and someone running.

“Good work, Applejack.” Twilight said when she came around. She had placed a lockdown collar around Sunset Shimmers neck. The assassin was still out from the hit and Applejack spotted a red mark on the wall next to the hole she made. “That fifty cal. arm sure came in handy.”

“Sure did.” Applejack brushed of the dust that had gathered on her jacket and arm. “Now we might finally have some idea of who is chasing us.”

“Or chasing me.”

Applejack was about to reply when the heard the sound a silenced gun being fired behind them. They both looked to their left, up the stair well. But there was nothing. Applejack turned around and saw a pool of crimson blood growing from Sunset Shimmers head. In her hand was the same gun she had used to shoot the tachikoma with two shells next to it.

But there was only one shot.