Equestria's Suicide Squad

Svengallop couldn't possibly comprehend why he or his teammates were granted parachutes. In a rushed transition, they'd all been dumped through a vortex to Celestia-knows where. Now, as they had reached the opposite end, he understood the purpose of the "gifts".

Their drop-off was located a thousand feet above ground.

Svengallop gasped as he saw Equestria beneath. Dozens of tiny lights from buildings and more dotted the ground under Luna's moon. He gulped.

Equestria looks so small from up here.

His thoughts were torn away when the old stallion dropped onto him, forcing him below. Suddenly, he heard the wind all around him howl as his fall picked up speed. He watched Wind Rider simply open his wings and dive downward. The dragon followed suit.

Svengallop grasped the cord as the others pulled theirs, sprouting green patchwork parachutes from the bundles. They dangled through the air. The stallion yanked his own cord, yet there was no response from his saddlebag.

"No, no!" He squawked, frantically repeating the movement. He stared down to the ground below, which slowly grew closer each passing second. The air surrounding him raised its pitch.

He curled himself up and shut his eyes, forcing his tears to stream upward. He braced.

Suddenly coming to a stop, he felt himself glide to the ground. Opening one eye, he saw he was in the forelegs of the old stallion.

"Hang on now, I gotcha..." The old stallion mumbled as he set him down.

Others had landed, emerging from their green canopies.

"I would not want to do that again, Flam." Flim said to his brother.

"Oh, come now. I'm sure we've done worse things." He replied.

Wind Rider shook his head. "You guys think that's bad? I flew a record distance for the Wonderbolts for years. Don't cry to me about a simple drop."

Something massive rumbled from behind them. Turning to look, they saw Ahuizotl. His parachute had also failed, but he merely had a jumbled row of garbage cans to break his fall. The beast let out a low snarl.

"A simple drop, huh?" Flam asked.

The beast pulled himself from the heap of metal and garbage.

"Curse you, Discord." He growled. "I absolutely loathe him and this plan."

Cabelleron spoke. "I would imagine we all do. But we have to get moving."

The doctor trotted ahead of the group, and they soon began to follow.

"There it is." Flim pointed a hoof to the suite.

"How can you be sure?" Cabelleron asked.

The suite was decorated with a sign reading "CLOSED FOR SUPER-SECRET TASK FORCE HIDEOUT" on the front window and several bright balloons tied to the mailbox.

"A lucky guess, perhaps." Flam smiled.

Pushing past the revolving door revealed an elegant lobby. The hotel's architecture was regal in its design, as well as thoroughly mended and clean. Floors were polished, much like the wooden furniture arranged in the room. They moved toward a polished wooden counter.

"Wow, this is the best suite bits can buy." Wind Rider gasped. "You'd have to practically be royalty to stay here."

"I've never been in a place like this." Cabelleron added, examining the suite's details which had won over every critic in the newspaper.

"Meh. I've seen better." Garble dismissed.

Flim raised a hoof and tapped the bell. Its quiet ring was ever present in the empty lobby.

"Well, it's midnight. Way past my bedtime. I'd already taken my pills anyway... before I was foalnapped." Wind Rider swiped a key from the counter and walked off.

Flim and Flam moved toward a vacant table, which was the site of an incomplete game. Flat strips of paper featuring red and black littered the table, and circular chips were stacked atop one another in piles.

"I say, Flam! Let's have a hoof!" Flim grinned.  The two dashed to the table and began to resume the poker game.

"Very well." His brother accepted this as his horn's magic arranged his cards into a fan. "Anypony else in?" He called.

Cabelleron shrugged.

"Might as well. I've got nothing to lose."  He walked over to the game.

"Oh, now that sounds like a smart idea. Play a poker game with you two?" Svengallop walked off.

"What about you, Ahuizotl?" Cabelleron asked the beast.

"I shall need further emphasis of this game's rules." He himself moved to the table and seized his cards.

It was then they all looked toward Garble. The dragon stood with his arms crossed, facing the wall.

"You playing, or what?" One called.

"Yeah, that's rich. Yeah, I'll play a lame pony game." He laughed and walked off.

Svengallop strolled along the deserted hallway in search of his room. He'd taken a key before heading upstairs.

He passed a door labelled "STORAGE" and continued along, but then he heard a small thump behind the door. A chair was propped up against the handle.

Grabbing the handle and pulling the door open, he gasped.

"MMMM! MMMM!" A maid begged through the cloth across her mouth. The ropes were tightened against her black and white uniform. A white coated, blue-maned unicorn who Svengallop knew was none other than Fancy Pants, echoed the maid's sounds. Bundled up were many staff members, guests-

He slammed the door shut, pulling the chair back in its original position.

"Good on you, keeping that closed." The voice of the old stallion startled him.

Svengallop turned. The old stallion had found a room right across from the storage closet.

"It's not a nice thing to do, not at all. But if we let 'em go, they'll go rat us out and get us all blown up." He said. Svengallop remembered the amulets on their necks and shuddered.

Svengallop spoke. "I just wanted to thank you for... well, saving my life. I should have expected Discord to do something like that."

Wind Rider's eyes didn't leave the mirror on the room's wall.

"Yeah well, I'm a Wonderbolt veteran." He said.

"It's what we do."