Grandbeach, Leonia
February 20, 2103
07:30 AM

Although it is still the morning, the skies have reached daytime brightness. Barely a cloud above, just a hint of wind, it looks like today's weather will be calm and beautiful.

Four members of Squad 16 are now squirreling their way up from the Big Blue's underground parking lot, trying to find a door or an accessway into the hotel's corridors. After navigating around countless rusted cars and wrecks, the team finds itself all the way in the back of the parking lot. They ignore the dead elevator door, gathering themselves around the service door with a stairway symbol instead.

"Let me find my kit, and I shall get us inside," exclaimed Rarity, enthusiastic, while opening one of her travel bags. She plunges the entirety of her arm inside of it, fishing for something amidst what seems like an impossibly dense quantity of belongings.

Twilight crosses her arms, judgmentally staring at the bag, full to bursting with stuff. She had warned her squadmates repeatedly about the importance of not carrying too much useless crap, but here they are, with nine bags for six...
Just as she was about to voice her impatience, the Madame finally finds what she's looking for; a lockpicking kit, out of which she retrieves a small, stainless steel prybar, about four inches long.

Immediately, Rarity's lips curl into a smile, and she immediately gets to work. The alabaster mare reaches up to the top of the door with her fingertips, looking for an opening. When she finds one, she inserts the prybar and slides it down as close as possible to the lock. She looks back, glancing at her three companions.

"Stand back, girls! Wouldn't want splinters flying in your eyes."

Suddenly, Rarity applies as much force as she can muster onto her miniature prybar.
Crack!
The lock bends towards her, and much of the wood around it cracks, leaving a huge opening for the mare to slip a hand in and open the now permanently unlocked door.

Rares turns to her teammates, a proud expression on her face. She then opens the door and imitates a butler, gesturing at them to come in.
"If you would please, darlings."

Any anxiety on Twilight's face had evaporated in an instant. "Great work!"
Rarity replies with a wink. "Isn't that what you hired me for?"

Being the squadleader, Twilight comes in first. She is followed by Pinks, AJ, and in last, Rarity. The four make their way upstairs and into the dusty, dilapidated reception. It feels as though this place hasn't seen guests for a century. Many of the walls are cracked and damaged, virtually all of the windows long shattered. A significant amount of furniture had been haphazardly moved to block the front door, forming a crude barricade.

Twilight realized this was good news; as long as they kept away from the windows on the street side and didn't make any kind of undue noises, no-one should be able to see them from the outside, keeping their chances of detection low.

The purple mare seems satisfied with this idea. "This is a pretty good spot... With a little work, we can have ourselves a cozy little camping spot."

She turns to her squadmates, distributing orders. "Rares, AJ, go up the stairs, break into bedrooms if you must. Find me two or three mattresses in good condition, nothing that looks too shot or eaten by humidity. If you find any blankets, bedcovers, anything like that, throw them downstairs too."
Both of which respond with an enthusiastic "Yes, ma'am!" before disappearing up the stairs.

"Hey, hey, what about me, Twilight?" Pinks asks, with her trademark perpetual smile.
The squadleader lifts a finger. "One second."

Twilight walks up to the barricaded front door, trying to look through the openings to check outside. She repeats the same thing with the other windows in the back of the lobby, also crudely barricaded. Finally, she turns back to her pink teammate. "Can you do your thing and find yourself a vantage point? I can't see shit from here... I think you'll want a better spot."
Pinks gives her teammate a toothy grin in response. "Okie-dokie! I'll try and find a spot on the roof!"
Twilight displays a thumbs up. "I'll go get our stuff in here in the meantime."

Outside, the road forms a U-turn, with the corner facing directly in front of the hotel's front door. The road is situated on an incline, with one branch going uphill and the other going downhill - where they came from.

The two pegasi had walked up the street, stopping about sixty to seventy yards from the hotel's front door. Flutters looks nervous.
"Dash, I don't know if I can do this, it's kind of... Steep..."
Her rainbow-maned colleague slaps both of her hands down on the buttermare's shoulders. "A'ight. Listen to me. You CAN do this, and you WILL do this. Twilight's countin' on you. Or d'ya want me to go first?"
Flutters shook her head no. "I'll-- I'll do it."
Dash grins in return. "Bonnie lass. I knew ya got it in you."

Doc Flutters takes a few steps back, eyeing the hotel roof. She knows what she must do, but she never seemed to get used to the actual process. The short pegasus then gulped down, mustered all of the courage she could, and started sprinting down the street, eyes still locked on the roof. After 15 yards of sprinting, she jumps, lunging forward, arms outstretched and wings fully deployed, squeaking in anxiety the whole time, fully expecting to majestically perform what pegasi refer to as "eating shit" and kill herself on the pavement.

But she does not! She ascends! In fact, her first wing-flap deployed enough force to send garbage on the ground flying and rolling away. And as soon as Flutters realizes that yes, she can fly, she is not a gigantic chicken, and she will be fine after all, all of the flying reflexes and natural instincts return to her in an instant. Having overshot past the hotel, the Doc yaws and circles back, lowering her speed and landing gently on the hotel's roof.

The medic mare breathes a huge sigh of relief, rubbing sweat off her forehead, before flashing a thumbs up at Dash.

The rainbow-maned mechanic smiles, full of pride for her fellow pegasus. "Pure dead brilliant mare, aye," she lets out to her companion, almost shouting it to her, before remembering they're not supposed to bring attention to themselves.
Within minutes, she too sprints down the street, jumping, deploying, and ascending off the ground. Unlike Flutters, Dash takes off with more confidence, taking off earlier and landing directly on the roof - no circling-back.

The two pegasi reunited on the roof, they start observing the extent of the damage. Most of the northern side of the Big Blue collapsed a long time ago, being the combined results of artillery shelling and decades of abandonment and decay. While peering down the cracked edges of the roof, Flutters thought to herself that there is no way the entire hotel isn't completely unsafe.

The butter-colored mare turned to her colleague. "Hey, Dash... How long do you reckon we'll be staying?"
Dash shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, I dinnae. Couple o' days at most. We can't stay longer than that. Should swipe the first car or truck with enough seats we see, and off we go..."
"I think we should wait until Twilight has a plan..."
Dash snickered. "Hey, hen. Scared?"
Flutters seemed to blush, cheeks reddening in embarrassment. "W-well... It's my first time doing this kind of, you know... The mercenary thing, the military thing, however you want to call it..."
In response, the mechanic mare gives Flutters a few reassuring pats on the shoulder, a confident smile all over her face. "Dinna fash yourself, Flutterbutter. It's gonna be all right. I'm here, ain't I? And all the others. Now I ken you and I ain't from the same country, but yer as good as kin to me."
The Doc smiles, redness still on the cheeks, but showing a more reassured facial expression. "Thank you, Phoebe... I really appreciate that."
Dash's face briefly displays surprise, but she quickly returns to her confident, almost playful self. "Now what'd I tell ya 'bout names? It's Dash. 'Tis a better name for me."
"S-sorry, Dash," responded Flutters, smile disappearing, covering her mouth with a hand, as though she had just blurted a swear word. Nevertheless, the rainbow-maned merc didn't seem to mind.

The creaking of a metallic door interrupts the conversation, and a familiar voice calls out to the both of them from behind. "Hi-hiiii! Whatcha two lovebirds talking about?"
Both pegasi turn around, only to discover Pinks had joined them on the roof, having found the service door.

"Ay, Pinks," Dash turned with a grin, quite amused to see the Pinkest One. "Whatcha find yer way up here for?"
Pinks responds like she always does: with a joke and an infectious smile. "Welllll, Big Purple wanted me to find a vantage point! So I thought I'd go see if you made a nest for me!"

The pink earth pony makes her way to the edge, finding the view enthralling. "Woah... Amazing view! I might come back here for vacation! When Bug Season is over, of course!"
All three mares giggle. If there's one thing the team was certain of, it's that Pinks knows how to bring a smile to the whole team, even considering the difficult circumstances.

After the laughter died down, Flutters speaks up again. "I think we can pretty much confirm that not a single of the north-side rooms looks safe... I mean, I took a glimpse while I was circling back, and it looks bad to me."
Dash nodded. "Aye, s'what I thought as well. Not worth riskin' it. Let's report back to Big Purple, then."
To which Pinks responded, "Hey, wait-wait! Come with me! I'll give you a tour of the magnificent service stairway!"
More giggling ensues, but the invitation is accepted; the pegasi decide to climb back down the stairs alongside Pinkie.

10:08 AM

The wind outside has picked up, but the six mares have gotten busy in the past few hours, slowly transforming the abandoned hotel lobby into a sort of impromptu camping site.
AJ and Madame Rarity have been unsuccessful in finding mattresses that haven't been completely ravaged by mildew and decades of rot, but they were able to break into some of the better-preserved rooms, scoring a few old pillows and relatively undamaged (if very dusty) bedcovers, which will serve as makeshift blankets. The rest of their time was spent dusting and cleaning what they'd found. AJ had even offered to break some of the wooden furniture, rip the nails and sharp ends out, and lay the planks flat to form some makeshift beds.

Twilight made several trips between the underground parking lot and the lobby, bringing each of the nine bags upstairs, aligning them in front of the receptionist's counter.
Each of the bags possesses a small inconspicuous symbol drawn on the top side instead of names or initials; star-shaped symbols, intended to represent numbers. One star for #1, two for #2, three for #3, and so on and so forth until #9, bearing nine little stars. The shape of the stars - six-pointed - is reminiscent of the one found on the Gallopeian flag.

A few minutes past 10 in the morning, there is now a line of "beds" in the lobby, composed of old furniture doors, salvaged bedcovers, and pillows.

Twilight, arms crossed, looks rather satisfied with the good work. "Excellent, that will do. I know it sounds like a lot of effort for very little use, but I would rather we stay warm even if it's just one night."
The rest of the squad nods and agrees.
"Now. Let's get down to business. Open your bags, it's time to gear up and check that we have everything we need."

Every mare gets to business opening their travel suitcases. Some are heavier than others, some contain more things than the others, but one thing is sure, they did not come unprepared.

Each case contains a set of assorted tools and equipment. #1 contains water supplies (canteens, foldable buckets, bladders, purification tablets), #2 contains survival rations and a fishing kit, #3 is full of clothing and wearables (plenty of spare sets of underwear), #4 contains their six-pony tent and sleeping bags, #5 is entirely dedicated to first aid and medical items, #6 is full of tools and hardware, #7 has their weapons, ammunition, and knives, and #8 carries their belts, vests, pouches, holsters, and other miscellaneous equipment. #9 is just backpacks - they take a fair amount of space, after all.

After spending about half an hour checking that everything is indeed checked and accounted for, the mares gear up. Vests and backpacks come on, belts are clipped into place, pouches and equipment are filled in. Before long, the six incognito mares turned into six battle-ready operators, complete with all of the weapons and equipment they are supposed to carry. Many tools and items still remain in the travel cases, highlighting their need for a vehicle...

"There we go," Twilight opined, with a satisfied smile. "There's my team of professionals. Now, I suppose you all want some action?"
Enthusiastic nodding, complete with a "Hell yeah" from Dash and Pinks.

The purple leader smiles some more in satisfaction. "Good fillies. All right. The plan is fairly simple... in theory. The 'lings likely occupy the old government buildings; police, town hall, fire station, you name it. But we're not interested in fire trucks or old patrol cars; what we want is one of their vans. Do you remember those big Leader transportation vans? Gallopeian police and military used those things all the time, no doubt the 'lings are putting these to use now."

Dash lifted a hand. "Aye, with the large sliding side doors and the three-liter engine? Big lumberin' van like that, I reckon it'd carry us and all our shite without a hitch."
Twilight nodded. "I don't know about the engine, but that's exactly it. So here's my plan..."

The squad leader retrieves a local area map from her navigation kit, unfolding it on the floor and inviting everyone to take a closer look.
"First of all, everybody takes a walkie-talkie and an earpiece, we're going to split into two teams. The first team will be looking around town, looking for one of those Leader vans. I think our best bet is at one of the police stations - there are two in town - but keep an eye out.
The second team will be looking for an escape point. There are plenty of routes that lead out of town, but I have a good feeling that they're not equally well-guarded, even with the fortifications and the roadblocks they built. The roads along the coast and the main roads are where lings will focus their attention. Those are the routes used by their patrols and their logistics vehicles."

The purple mare then points at specific spots on the map.
"However, they don't pay as much attention to the smaller roads, those that lead to the tiny towns and villages... Like here, or here. Those roads are our ticket. We stay away from the main roads, we bounce from village to village, through the countryside, we're good to go. Questions before I assign teams?"

No-one has any questions, so she continues.

"All right. AJ, Rares, you're with me. We're gonna go for a stroll in civilian mode, see if we can spot one of the vans we're looking for, then take it around here. Take off your kits, but keep a knife and a sidearm. Rarity, you bring your lockpicking kit in case we have doors on the way. AJ, you're keeping security for the two of us, I'll be driving until we meet the others."
The Amareican and the refined mare both nod.

Twilight points at a specific spot on the map. "In the meantime, Dash, Flutters, you're gonna put your wings to use again. I need you to fly as discretely as possible. Go to this neighborhood, observe the town exits, find which street or which road looks the least guarded. I'll radio you when we've got the van, I'll take it back here so we can load our supplies, then I'll radio you again when we're on our way. Whatever you do, don't get spotted! Once the van's loaded, we're getting out of here fast. We'll be meeting the two of you on our way out."
Dash nods enthusiastically. Flutters looks relieved, then acknowledges.

Pinks blinks twice. "What about me?"
Twilight turns to her pink colleague. "You're taking your full kit and you're going on the roof. Keep watch over the hotel, make sure nobody suspicious, cloneling or otherwise, is approaching the hotel or acting weird while we're out. If it looks like they're trying to break in, radio me first, shoot only in absolute dead last resort!"
Pinks flashes a double thumbs-up and responds with an endearing "Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Twilight finishes. "I'm counting on you girls. No fuck-ups, okay? Stay frosty, do what you need to do, and we'll be on our way. Everyone ready?"
In response, she gets a "Yes ma'am" from all five of her teammates. The Squad then kits up and prepares to move out...

11:47 AM
On the roof of the Big Blue...

Pinks had decided to gear up in full, bringing her spotting kit and her precision rifle to the roof. The rifle isn't set up yet, but from where she stands, she has a prime view over the U-shaped road in front of the hotel. If anybody comes into view, she can't miss it.

The pink earth mare speaks to herself, as if to reassure herself.
"All right, Diane... Just stay cool. Staaaay coooool. If anything bad happens, you just bring on your game face. Just like Twilight taught you. It's gonna be all right..."

She takes a deep breath.
"...Yeah. What could possibly go wrong?"

Meanwhile... A few hundred feet above the town...

Doc Flutters and Mech Dash are flying side by side far above the town, wearing their full kit. It's not easy to fly with a backpack on, so both of them apply the under-belly technique: Carrying their bags under their chest while in flight, keeping the wings unobstructed.

The two pegasi pass over a few sports fields, noticing they're covered in what looks like tents.

Doc comments on it. "Hey Dash? There are camps on those soccer fields... Don't you think that's a little weird?"
Dash nonchalantly responds. "Figure they ain't usin' em to kick balls around... Maybe the 'lings relocated them there, or something?"
The answer makes Flutters gasp. "There're people forced to camp there? That's awful..."
Nonplussed, the mechanic respond. "Yeah, but we ain't here to break 'em out, hen. Keep yerself together, aye?"
"You're right... Sorry, I just want to stop and help..."
Dash snickered at her partner. "All good, Flutter-butter."

Continuing their flight, the two mares observe from a distance, as silently as possible. It feels as though they are the only pegasi in the air, and that fact is slowly creeping on Dash's mind...

"Oi, Doc, I don't mean ta worry you, but... Ya notice somethin'?"
Flutters looks worried. "W-what?"
"Maybe we don't wanna stay in the air too long. We're the only ones up 'ere."
The Doc looks around, and notices that her partner's right. "Crap... I hope nobody's noticed us..."
Dash responds. "Think we're good fer now... But it ain't all. I don't see no traffic either. It's nothin' like back home. No cars, no pedestrians, nobody's in the air... Looks like them Ling-shits got this town control thing down."

Flutters takes a deep breath, trying to focus on the task at hand. "It's horrible... All those walls and roadblocks... I can't see a single spot they missed..."
Dash points forwards, at what looks like a battle-damaged retail park at the edge of town. "Look. I think I see dirt paths going into the countryside. Might be our ticket...!"

The two pegasi begin descending to investigate the area; a completely abandoned suburban corner at the eastern edge of Grandbeach, right next to the countryside. Not a single living soul in sight besides themselves.
Two pairs of hooves click on the old, cracked asphalt as the two mares land, fold their wings, and return their backpacks in the proper position.

Reflexively, Dash reaches for her big red pipe wrench - and like any proper Trottish mare, she calls it her spanner. Even with firearms at her disposal, the mare has always felt more comfortable with it than any other tool or weapon. No matter what it is she did; fixing engines or busting skulls, the spanner has always been at her side, or in her hands.
In contrast, Flutters keeps her hands firmly onto her backpack's straps.

Dash points to the road ahead. "Y'see that intersection a couple of paces ahead? Road to the right. We walk to the end of it, we should find our gateway to the countryside."
The Doc nodded, and the two start walking, keeping their heads on a swivel, and their ears perked for anything out of the ordinary. Around them, abandoned suburban houses, some with traces of damage. Windows shattered, doors forced open. Some have cracks and bullet impacts on the walls. All of it old - traces of fighting from a long time ago, untouched.

The pair follows Dash's directions, turning right at the first intersection and following the road. Still more abandoned houses on both of their sides. The once well-kept gardens, miniature trees, and bushes are now growing everywhere, far past the fences, to the point they would obstruct the roads, if vehicles still traveled them.

"It's like walking through a ghost town," mumbles Flutters. "It's one thing to be told what to expect, but seeing it in person..."
"Ya ain't afraid o' ghosts, are ya?" Big mischievous grin on the mechanic mare's face. "You DO know we've got plenty of old haunted castles where I come from?"
The Doc visibly shudders, but can't resist a smile. "Oh, sh-shush, Dash... Cracking jokes at a time like this!..."
Undefeated, Dash responds. "- And why wouldn't I! Come on now, ya know I like talkin' shite and making you smile."
Flutters had to admit it was working. "How is it that the Trottish say it, again... Your butt's out the window?"
Dash makes a wide-eyed expression, then bursts into barely-restrained laughter. "Lookit that, the Neighlish lass's tryin' to speak my language! Oh, yer a hoot, Flutters, I love ya."

The pair reaches the end of the road. The house walls and fences on the sides stop, and the asphalt suddenly gives way for a dirt path, with the odd muddy water puddle. Ahead of them, the countryside, for miles and miles.

"Lookit that. Maybe the 'lings aren't as thorough as we thought," Dash exclaims brightly, smiling, with her hands on her hips. "That there looks like an exit to me."
Flutters pulls a compass out of one of her belt pouches, checking the bearing and the direction they're looking into. "Full south... I imagine we'll want to turn left to go... East?"
The rainbow-maned mechanic nodded. "That's right. I can't wait to be drivin' this van. I'll take us right to the Queen's arse, kick it proper."

Flutters was about to respond when one of her ears flickers rearwards, hearing an unknown buzzing noise... Multiple buzzing noises, fast approaching their location.
Without warning, the medic mare yanks her cyan partner towards the closest house, vaulting over the fence and hiding behind the corner. By that point, Dash is hearing the buzzing as well and immediately understands they're, as the Trottish would put it, in some deep shite.

A cloneling patrol. They must've spotted them flying in the area...

Flutters peeks from behind the corner to try and count how many of them there are. She then retreats back behind the wall, and it takes all of her strength not to squeak in terror.
Dash mutters in her partner's ear. "How many?"
She lifts her fist up and raises all of her fingers. Five. Dash silently mouths the word "Fuck" in frustration.

Nearby, the small cloneling squad lands on the ground, chitinous hooves landing one after the other. Immediately, all of them draw pistols from their holsters. Pupil-less green eyes scanning their surroundings.
One of the 'lings called out to his partners. "Search the area and identify them! They can't be far! You two, keep an eye on the sky!"

Two of them remain posted on the street, keeping their eyes up in case their pegasus fugitives are trying to flee. The other three begin their search. Unfortunately, the gate they kick open is that of the house the two mares are hiding behind.

While the clonelings approach, Dash tugs her partner in the other direction, using hand signs to communicate two very simple commands: "This way" and "Follow me." The rainbow-maned mare circles around the house, looking for a way out that will keep them out of sight, but there's no obvious way out. If they fly, they risk being spotted. If they stay, the searching party will find them. And if they make any noise, it's surely going to alert them as well.

Dash mutters into her partner's ear. "Is yer shotgun loaded?"
Flutters nod-nods.
"Lethal?"
Another nod-nod from the butter mare "Buckshot..."
The cyan mare points at a patio door right next to them. It's wide open, the glass has long been shattered. "Go in. I'll give 'em a reason to look inside... Find yerself a good spot... And shoot the moment you see 'em burst in. I want 'em coming inside, not flyin' back for backup, you get me?"
Once again, the pink-haired buttermare nod-nods.

The plan is in motion. Both of them creep into the abandoned house through the patio door, walking over broken glass and bits of wood, knowing full well the 'lings are mere feet away. Flutters hides into the house's kitchen, into a corner, nervously reaching for her weapon of choice, a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun.

She remembered why she picked the 12 gauge. How Twilight explained to her that less-lethal shells work in it. How she insisted she should only use those, until Twilight had to convince her to "carry real ammo" as well.
She recalled the months of practice. How she went from having never touched a gun to destroying thousands of paper targets and putting dents in thousands more steel targets. How she went from reluctance to use a weapon at all, to being trained in their use.

Now, it all comes to a head. Crouching in the disaffected kitchen, shotgun pointed ahead of her, she lies in ambush, ready to put holes in the first bug she sees.

Dash, meanwhile, creeps further into the house, past the kitchen, and into the old living room, where she spots a stairway to the second floor. The front windows - those facing the road - still have their curtains, even if dirty and dusty. This will buy her time, they won't see her immediately.
She expects the 'lings to circle around the house and through the patio door, instead of bursting in from the front. The moment they do that, Flutters will open fire, and Dash fully expects the two idiots outside to come running inside instead of flying away. That's where she comes in...

Reaching for her own weapon, a short, Neighlish, 5.56mm bullpup assault rifle, the mechanic mare climbs a few of the stairs up, giving herself a view of the living room and - most importantly - the front door. From there, she points her weapon, sights trained on the front door... the second they kick in the door is the second she pulls the trigger. Safety off, set to semi-auto.

Both mares are in place, they're now waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Both of them are tense, stock firmly locked against the shoulder.

A few brief seconds of tense silence, followed by the hoofsteps of the first cloneling approaching the patio door. He hesitates. He is just outside of Flutters' line of sight. If only he'd made one more step...
"Are you sure they're here?" Asks one of the 'lings.
A teammate behind him responds. "Come on, get in there. If they're hiding inside, they're done."
The first cloneling grumbles and enters.

The first thing Doc Flutters saw is the side of a 9mm handgun, then the cloneling's hands holding it. He enters, he does not notice Flutters to his left, looking straight ahead of him. She raised her 12 gauge up to her target's side, at the torso, aligning her sights and pressing the trigger.

BLAM

A split-second after the shotgun blast, several crows nestled into nearby trees immediately flee in panic, startling the two clonelings outside. As if the sight of the flying corvids struck fear into their otherwise simple brains, they rush towards the house instead of flying back to town, exactly as Dash had predicted.

Inside, one of the lings found itself with nine new holes into the side of its torso. He turned to Flutters, wide-eyed, before exhaling and crashing on the floor. But before the medic had the chance to realize what just happened, all hell breaks loose.

The second of the three 'lings on Flutters's side immediately enters, concentrating on his fallen comrade instead of who had just shot him. Without a second thought, the medic mare racks the slide, and...

BLAM

Nine pellets form a tight cluster and destroy the second cloneling's left wing, spine, and many internal organs. He dies instantly, awkwardly piled on top of the first body.

Rack-clack.

The third and last cloneling behind the house is getting second thoughts, slamming his back against the wall in fear.
"What- What the fuck... How the fuck-- HEY! I NEED SOME HELP HERE!" He yelled.
A second later, the front door received a kick, then another, practically telegraphing the targets to Dash. On the third, the door breaks, and the two lings that had been guarding the streets are now inside, guns pointed in random directions, not expecting for a second that the shadow in the stairs is about to be their demise.

With the red dot sight firmly pointed at the closest of them, Mech Dash pressed the trigger twice, teeth gritted. Two loud cracks, complete with muzzle blast, briefly illuminate the room. Each bullet finds its way into - and through - her target, one striking the chest and the other passing clean through the right shoulder. He goes down, screaming.

His partner fires, wildly, in Dash's direction, causing more, loud, reverberating bangs in the living room. He's not as accurate, instead cutting holes into the wall behind the blue pegasus. Pointing her red dot onto the other one, she fires again; three shots, and an insult, probably her favorite. "Ya fukken KEUW!" He too, went down.

After this very brief moment of chaos comes silence once more. Having gotten all of her targets and no longer hearing shots coming from the kitchen, the rainbow-maned pegasus went to meet her partner. She first sees the two bodies Flutters had dropped, glancing immediately to the right to see a mortified Flutters, not exactly understanding why.

With one hand, the butter mare made frantic hand signs, pointing to the patio door. Dash squints. She doesn't understand - there's nobody there.
The medic risks it and mutters it audibly: "There's still one!"

Dash heard it, but unfortunately, so did the last surviving 'ling. He runs - and Dash hears him run too, causing the mare to sprint with reckless abandon outside the house. When she sees him, wings deployed, about to jump and fly off, Dash makes a desperate lunge forwards to prevent him from taking off.

Both of them come crashing down on the grass.

"Oh no ya don't, ya fukken bawbag!"
Dash is screaming at her opponent, throwing punches and slamming her fist into the back of the ling's head, while he is trying desperately to kick her off of his back and crawl away. The commotion prompts Flutters to finally move out of her spot and help her colleague out before it gets any messier.

"Don't move!" The doc screamed, muzzle pointed at the cloneling's face, who stops moving, but responds with a hiss! of defiance.
"I don't know who the hell you are," the 'ling starts, "but when command finds out about you, you're gonna be in a world of shit!"
Dash hisses in anger. "Shut yer face, ya stinkin' bug."
He hisses in response once more. "Stupid mare! Why can't you bend over and take it like the rest!?"
With a manic expression on her face, the cyan mare reaches for her spanner, and slams the living daylights out of the cloneling's skull with it, busting it and killing him on the spot as well. Then she hits him again, and again, each strike punctuated with an insult, each one further turning the 'ling's head into mush. "Wanker! Idiot! Piece o' shite! Who's gonna take it?! Take THAT! Keuw!"

Before she could deliver another hit, Flutters squeaks and stops Dash's arm. "Stop! Stop!!... He's dead! They're all dead! That's enough, please, Sun above... that's enough--... Oh, oh dear."
"Sorry, hen..." Dash calms down, noticing that Flutters doesn't look so good. "Hey, you alright?"
"No, I think I--"

The Doc had no time to speak another word. She ran a few feet away, doubling over and spitting out the contents of her stomach. The shock and the sheer violence Flutters experienced in the last few minutes had finally caught up to her, causing her to unceremoniously vomit in the back of the garden.
Even Dash feels the need to look away from that, despite kneeling inches away from a busted skull.

Flutters coughs and hacks, reaching for a tissue in one of her pockets and wiping her face. She looks pale.
"Oh, Sun above... I don't feel so good..."

The blue pegasus meets the yellow one, offering a reassuring hand. Flutters responds by giving Dash a tight hug, tears flowing out of her eyes.
"Cmon, hen," started Dash, sounding as calm as possible. "Don't cry yer eyes out like that, I'm gonna feel funny."
Through the bawling, Doc responds. "Sorry... I just... I didn't think it'd hit me like that... It's my first time--"
The mechanic mare squeezes her teammate. "Shh. It's okay. You did great. You saved me life, Flutters. If ya hadn't been there, this pissbag woulda gotten away. And you nailed two of the bastards. When Twilight hears about this she's gonna be amazed! The other girls will think yer a hero!"
The Doc lifts her eyes up. "You really think so?..."
Dash grins, with a confident tone in her voice. "Hey, ya officially got the first kills of this operation. You're a fukken hero, Flutters. Never woulda thought you'd be kickin' ass on day one!"
Finally, Flutters manages a half-smile. "I-- I suppose so..." The smile quickly drops. "But now we have a problem, don't we?"

Mech Dash's smile disapppears in turn. "Aye. Want me to break it to Big Purple?"
Flutters nods, and Dash pulls out the walkie.
"This is Mech Dash. Twi, uh... I got good news and I got bad news, over."
The squadleader responds. "Twilight here. Speak."
Dash looks around, eyes scanning the sky, hoping that reinforcements are not on the way. "Right, so... We found a way outta town that's unguarded. Problem is, a buncha bugs saw us flyin' above town, annnnd... We mayyyy be standin' next to five bodies? ...Over?"
The mechanic hears Twilight sigh in response. "...Are you two safe?"
"Far as I know," responds Dash, nodding, while pacing on the grass. "Don't see any enemies yet and no-one's hurt."
Twilight responds, a hint of sharpness in her voice. "If you have time, hide the bodies. Take the guns if you got the space. Hide yourselves, keep an eye out. Don't move a fucking ear. What's the address?"

Dash turns to Flutters. "Oi, hen, what's the street name?"
By now, the medic mare looks a little better, having spent a little while breathing as calmly as possible. "Uh... Grocery Road, south of ... frick, what was it... Juliet Street?"
Dash repeats it; thankfully, it seems Twilight has an idea of where this is. The squadleader speaks up. "That's past the retail park, right? We're on our way. Stay put, we just need to grab our stuff and Pinkie at the hotel, then we'll meet you there. If you see any clonelings, you hide. Do NOT turn this into a last stand, am I clear?"
Another nod-nod into the walkie from the rainbow-head. "Loud 'n' clear, boss."

Flutters turns to her fellow pegasus. "She sounds a little tense..."
But Dash, ever-confident, stretches her arms out. "Naw. Dinna fash. She'll understand. Now come on, let's go hide the bodies in the house then hide ourselves. Twilight said we're clear to loot 'em, too."
The medic shakes her head no, rather unenthused about the idea of messing with bodies. "If you don't mind... I'll, uh, I'll let you handle the bodies, I'll go explore the house instead."
In response, the mechanic flashes a grin. "Alright then. But just this once!"

Author's Note

Some action at last! In the next chapter, we will see how Twilight, AJ, and Rares fared while all of this was going on.

I didn't want to bog this chapter down with a long and highly-detailed list of equipment to keep the story moving, but I do keep a reference document handy containing a list of things they have in their possession.

Hopefully, it outlines the reason why the team needs to secure a vehicle and why they can't just start hoofing it.

If you feel like it would help you enjoy the story more to see that list of equipment, you can take a peek on this doc, which also contains Twilight's notes and plans.
Just remember that not everything that's listed here will necessarily see some use.