The shitstorm that was approaching.
The sun shined brightly over the bustling streets of Buckland, Trotting hooves created a low, deep rumble on the paved streets while ponies, yaks, griffons and all configuration of sentient creature filled the streets. It seemed the day would go about as regular routine as always, one could almost predict how the day would go, down to the children playing in the park. However, all of that quickly changed as the B.S.D, The Buckland Security Division, began to rush, fly and teleport around an unassuming bookstore...
30 Minutes Ago
With sunlight bathing over a plethora of well kept, lively flowers filling the bookstore with an array of gentle fragrances, Celestia's gentle, golden rays shined a warm light within the store through the windows.. The forest green walls that surrounded the main lobby worked to create a more relaxing, calm energy to the décor of the bookstore. Shelves upon shelves of books and magazines covered the walls and divided the center of the lobby into five clean, even sections. Upon entry of one of the five isles, a candle sat upon a dolly with the wick infused with a chemical to hint what lay within; Blue for horror or thriller, Pink for romance and erotica, Red for Action and/or Adventure, Green for Mystery or nonfiction and lastly yellow for short stories and children's books.
Connected to the back of the bookstore was the "Off-limits" area, which opened up to be both where they stored the surplus and very "Spicy and Unique" stories. But most importantly, was the hideout of the notorious syndicate 'Warflank'
A slightly overweight, plump earth pony was hard at work within the back of the store, refueling his very special saddle bag. His dirty blond mane, merely a few shades darker than his dark yellow coat, was tied up into a bun to keep it out of his shimmering, sapphire blue eyes. He was just in the finishing touches of loading all manner of munitions into the magical saddle bag , the first of a pair, when a sudden hum of wild vibrations broke his concentration. With a jump back and a wild "Crud!" that escaped his lips, the pony prepared for an explosion or feedback of some sort, since the magic that infused the bags was very much so unstable and experimental.
There was a low, steady drone mixed with the rapid, unsteady tickling of a duo pair of clocks that came from the bag. A n unsteady mixture of green and dark blue auras resonated from the bag, lifting it up shakily into the air. In a panic, the pony who was just working on the now alarming, vibrating ticking time bomb of an ammunition bag dashed up, leaped up and sprung off of what could only be assumed now to be the corpse of a train engine block, and shouted "Get down, ye spooky bitch!" before bringing his foreleg down and slapping the cloth bag onto the table it was previously on. With a rattling thud and a sound of teapots whistling and slowly losing steam, the auras around the ammo bag faded ever slowly and the item seemed to stabilize itself...at least for now.
Letting out a long, anxious sigh of relief, the pone who was originally working on restocking the satchel turned his focus to the grey stone, still vibrating and humming with magic. The stone in question held a very unassuming visage when it wasn't vibrating wildly. Though now, shaking and stirring with a familiar green aura, near yellowish-green runes ran across it's smooth, flat surface, resonating with magic. With a swipe of his hoof, the dark yellow stallion grasped the stone from the air and put the attached blue string that floated with the stone around his neck and let out a low, irritable groan. "This better be important. You almost made me-"
"The B.S.D are 15 minutes away from busting your walls in!" A panicked voice cut him off mid-complaint. Without getting a chance to ask the distorted, low droning voice spoke once more. "Roasty is in Trottingham working on a concert, Novella is over investigating on a possible warp point over at Applepalooza and Mako is in transit from Yak-Yakastan. Send Zero and Lilac home and get ready to have your asshole blown in, you're soloing a 'Level 4' Shitstorm. Good luck, Séance, You're gonna need it!"
With those abrupt and poignantly crass words of information, the stone's mixture of auras faded along with the greenish-yellow runes, returning the stone to it's original plain, smooth and abnormally silky form.
With a short series of blinks to gather his thoughts and process the rush of information the disembodied voice bombarded him with, Séance Blitz mumbled "Damn you and your network of information Ollie!" Rushing past the false wall and lifting the portrait of Twilight's Royal Coronation that lead to the storage room, Séance popped his head out of the door to look mainly at two ponies.
The first was a bleach white unicorn with crimson red accents along his short, messy mane. He had the same look in his eyes as a foal who got his hoof caught in the cookie jar after being told 'no' three times. Probably because he had a portable gaming console in his hooves, clearly playing a game when he was supposed to be working; stocking, organizing and fixing the shelves.
"Zero, you're fired. Come back tomorrow." Séance stated, a look on his face that mixed his minor frustration and questioning why he kept rehiring the pone spread across his face.
Zero shot his hooves in the air with an excited exclamation before putting the floating the console over into his saddle back and standing up, walking over to the rack and coating the bag in the same crimson aura the console was covered in a few moments ago. Slowly lifting the bag off of the hook on the wall, he wrapped the strap around the barrel of his frame and spoke with too much cheerfulness for someone who was just fired. "I'll get back to work on those books tomorrow, Séance!" With that, the bell over the front door rang and the unicorn spoke his fair wells to the purple mare before walking right out.
With a light sigh towards being so casually 'fired' again, Lilac turned her focus from the all too happy Zero's exit to her manager. She had only been working there for two years, on Zero's Six, but she had already gathered his next few words before he could speak them. "Let me just get my bags and help the last few creatures get their purchases verified, alright?" She asked with a cheerful, if not forced smile and air of positivity.
This was routine by now; Séance would pop up, ask herself and Zero to leave, round up the last few creatures in his store and close up shop only for some gas leak, electrical fire or some other 'disaster' to strike the building and cause the shop to close up for a month, give or take several weeks. Whatever caused him to go into these states of evacuation had her young, empathic mind curious that there was always more to Seance's dismissing everyone so suddenly.
Her mane sake coat, mane and magic was ruffled a bit by earth pony as she levitated her own saddle bag over to her back and made sure to clasp it around herself before taking care of the approaching customers who heard the bookstore was closing early. With a genuine, warm and assuring smile, Séance waved to lilac as he chuckled softly to her. "Thanks, Lilac. See you tomorrow!" He stated, which was confirmed with a quiet "Yeah, of course." From Lilac, though, even as those words left her mouth, she knew they were lies. Some tragedy would strike, the shop would be closed for a month and she'd be returning to work then.
She wanted to know why this kept happening, how he always knew what and when it would happen and why he kept it hidden from her all these years. Well, she wanted to add Zero into her group of 'being left in the dark,' but her feminine intuition said he really didn't care nearly as much as she did or already knew. With a resigned sigh, she focused on checking the patrons out and would be gone herself within 5-10 minutes.
10-15 minutes. That's how long Séance had to set up for the raid. Granted, Oliver always gave him a pretty substantial 10 minute grace period, but with how the assaults had been lately, he would need that grace period, especially now he was going into it solo. The stress was on and he would need to pull all the stops on this raid and possibly find a new base.
That was partially why he was alone now Roasty, Mako, Novella and Ollie where all busy looking for ideal locations to make their bases. They had the bits, hell, bits were never a problem for them. It was the golden rule for both heisters and realtor agents; Location, location, location. Hopefully, the others were striking gold, because the B.S.D had thrown him into shit rapids and he didn't pack a swimming suit.
Séance took a moment to recall the data Oliver relayed to him. "A Level 4 Shitstorm." That meant he would be dealing with Changling Clockers and their shapeshifting surprise attacks, Earth Pony "Dozers" with their near ton suit of armor, unicorn "Tazers" and their lightning binding spells, Pegasus "Shields" wielding their bullet proof, almost ten-foot-tall shield and every Tail, Rich and Furry they had to beat him down.
A weight like a stone sank to his stomach. They were no doubt sending hundreds if not thousands of guards after him. He even lacked the luxury of doubt, since they had yet to move their stash of Seventy-Seven-Million bits out from their vaults down stairs. Plus all of their equipment and belongings, that would be an all week job if they hurried. Looking upon the ammo bag, his high density, titanium mask designed as an Eastern red Tanuki, full Royal-guard-grade armor, his chain machine gun and his four tube rocket launcher, he steeled his nerves. He had to prepare himself for the shitstorm that was approaching.
Author's Note
I'm excited to continue this! Keep an eye out for my notes, cause I'll be posting each pone's load out here! Alright, Ramblers, let's get Rambling!
"At least it isn't at Ponyville this time?" The pale grey unicorn mumbled softly as he trotted by a rather adorable, light green Pegasus trotting by his side, a concerned frown on her face as the B.S.D worked diligently to keep the crowd away from the familiar bookstore.
"Goomy?" She started, her concerned gaze moving up to meet her partner's in search of some level of comfort.
"Yes, Midory?" He responded, noticing the concern in the Pegasus' voice and seeing her hoof slowly reach up to gently touch the black ank that hung around her neck, nervously fidgeting with it.
"Isn't that the bookstore Blaze works at this time of year?" Goombasa's eyes rose back to get a better look at the scene, though he already knew the answer and simply hoped with all of his heart the dark purple unicorn called off today.
The sea of creatures that subtly moved and swayed to get a better look at the shop was the only thing "Normal" to the Author pone. The wall of Earth and Pegasus ponies that blocked the mob's path was not as normal, however, nor were the B.S.D Changlings he spotted diving into sewers or transforming into smaller creatures and objects to sneak into the tight corridors and alleyways around the shop. The heavily armored Yaks and Griffons with massive shields that covered their front from the tip of their head to the floor was also a very unsettling sight. That mixed with the near army of B.S.D. creatures that were rushing forward to enter the bookstore only made the pair's concerns worsen.
"I-I'm sure she's fine-" Almost as if the universe itself took those very words as a personal insult, the sound of an explosion rang out from the back of the shop and the ponies began to scatter in fear while the B.S.D. rushed forward, the symphony of gunfire and spells rang out in a dazzling display of carnage.
"Lilac!" Both Goombasa and Midory exclaimed in parental worry, ready to rush in to save the adorkable art mare. However, a voice rang out, causing the both of them to suddenly stop mid-sprint and turn to see the source of the voice.
"Middi? Goomy? What are you two doing here?" Lilac asked, standing not but a few paces away when the gunfire began. With Midoria letting out a cheerful, almost teary eyed "There you are, Goombasa and her both rushed to wrap their forelegs around their friend in a tight embrace.
Though the tender moment couldn't last long, as a series of explosions and sound of a small war erupted from Behind the small store, Lilac's ears folding back against her head with concern. She feared for her friend and boss' well being.
~Meanwhile, in the back of the Buck and Buck Bookstore~
"I'm going to turn you all into a fashion line for chinchillas, you middle-eastern armadillo lickers!" Seance cried out, letting his chaotic psychosis cling to his heart and mind while the barrage of flashing gunfire unleashed a rain of bullets down upon the encroaching B.S.D. His mad cackle the only thing loud enough to be heard over the swarm of rubber. The B.S.D. Had a staggering amount of troops that took pot shot after wild gunfire upon him while he ducked behind downed shelves and moved around corners. A part of him cursed his poor luck, but as one of the B.S.D rookies cried out, it only filled the stallion's grinning thirst for carnage all the more.
"Of bucking course we'ed face off against the Mad Warlord!" Cried the rookie as fear and panic in her voice only helped in aiding Seance's plans of breaking their moral. He watched as a few of the scared and wounded fled from his hail of destruction. Even as the Shield Griffons tried to protect the Tazer Unicorns while they charged their spells, Seance simply lowered the Vulcan Mini cannon and pulled the quad-loaded missile launcher off of his back and aimed it towards the shield, hearing a faint "Oh Bu-" before the hiss of the backblast deafened his plea of mercy and colided directly against his shield, sending the group of B.S.D scattering away. However, no matter how terrafying, insane or down right destructive he seemed, there were always enough creatures with the courage to return fire.
Even though the Mad Warlord has such a thick and sturdy set of armor around his body, it only took so much damage before the armor was starting to weaken and a few of the rounds found purchase on his less vital areas. As the pain steadily grew to be too much, Seance began to steadily fall back, moving deeper and deeper into the back of the store, mumbling under his breath. "Divine Damnit, Ollie! Level 4 my bleeding flank, we're just missing Seargent Firebrand and we would be balls deep in Level 6!"
It seemed the universe was against everybody on that fateful day, because just as those words left Seance's mouth, he could hear a very familiar whistling sound catch his attention and force a cry of "Are you bucking kidding me!?" As the whistling grew in pitch and volume, the stallion left his cover and made a mad dash down a fleight of stairs, into the basement, grasping the experimental ammo bag on his retreat.
Stumbling at first, the Earth pony found his legs tangling up under him and forcing his legs to fail, throwing himself down the stairs. Curling up into a ball and tucking his head between his forelegs, Seance rolled down the sturdy wooden stairs and felt his body slam into the oak door. Just as he had managed to gather his thoughts, the whistle had reached it's crescendo and the sound of a massive, super heated explotion erupted out, breaking the windows from the sheer pressure. The fire licked at the frame, destroying the cheap coppies he had grabbed from dollar stores and found in yard sales and began to melt wires, tapes and, fortunetly, all evidence that could link the Warflanks to this location or any of their shadier deals.
With his fur singeing from the intesne heat, Seance opened the reinfored door and slid inside, leaving the rather unstable ammo bag behind as a 'gift' for anyone who wished to give chase. Rushing down the fleights of stairs, he counted down in his head the seconds it would take for the bag to explode and release all of it's pent up magical power and the stored ammunition in it. Blood ran down along his eyebrow and over his left eye, his lungs burned from the cracked ribs within his chest with each inhale and the sore twing of a twisted ankle slowed his speed. The B.S.D. had also managed to puncture through his armor a few times, leaving him bleeding and in bad shape. A part of his ego told him he could have taken them on if he had even ONE other member of Warflanks or if Firebrand hadn't shown up.
Sergeant Firebrand, A trained member of the Equestrian Royal guard, his Personality and fiery golden mane and tail were all wonderful hints to his name, not to mention his unhealthy love of Pyromancy and all things explosive and burning. Normally, a Military pony like him wouldn't even have bothered with the Criminal Syndicate, Warflanks. But, according to Oliver's information, Chancellor Neighsay, Flash Sentry, Black Gryphon, Spoiled Rich and a love-sucker Changling that went by the name of "Sithis" all worked together to force Firebrand to be reassigned in taking them down.
Neighsay, Flash, Gryphon, Rich and Sithis. Seance thought of their names as the seconds ticked by and he limped into one of the three massive iron vaults they had installed a few years back, grasping pre stuffed saddle bags from the corner full of bits and throwing them down a hole that was hidden in the far back within the Eastern Vault. Fortunately, they never expected the heist game to last as long as it did, what five years and some good friends can do to change your entire life. They all had agreed to set up a fail-safe for when and if they were gonna need to bail, to set up enough napalm, C4 charges and thermite to destroy everything and escape through the old, forgotten mining tunnels that conveniently ran right under them. This tunnel would lead them to an underground spring, which connected to a river half a mile away from Buckland.
With his armor and equipment off and shoving his mask into the last saddle bag, he tested the weight and grimaced. Out of Seventy-Seven Million bits they had collected, he would only be able to escape with two-hundred and thirty-seven-thousand, most of their hard work about to be reduced to slag. It was almost enough to make a heister cry. It was, however, enough to start over fresh, even expand!
Just as he finished throwing the last bags of bits down the hole, he dashed over to the far wall of the Northern Vault, began the self-destruct sequence, ran back into the Western Vault, climbed down the hole and began hauling the bags into the renovated minecart. Once the kart was full, he climbed back out of the hole and just about to leave behind another gift, when a magical surge ran through the vault, followed by several sounds of gunfire all being played out at once in stereo. The ground shook violently and caused the Equine to stumble a bit, activating the sequence on accident as a prismatic inferno erupted down from the stairs, cries of creatures who were not prepared for his impromptu trap ran free for all to hear.
He normally would have released a maniacal, taunting laugh upon hearing those screams, but the crack of his ankle as he landed down upon the ground prevented any jovial outcry. Letting out a muffled curse to the heavens, he tried to gather his bearings once again. Weakly pushing the mine cart full of bits forward, inch by grinding inch, the cart slowly gained momentum until it was rolling on it's own and gaining speed. Hopping in, the fugitive began counting down from a minute and forty-five seconds.
The minecart steadily grew faster and faster as it rolled down quickly. Seance held onto the edges for dear life, hoping the weight of the bags and his own fat flank would help keep the cart steady during it's rapid travel, the rumbling of the wheels against the railing caused his entire body to shake and the bags to rattle with a madding chime. As he travled and the wind whipped his mane back and forth in a wild flurry, the stallion couldn't help but worry about how much time was passing. Already, he was down to only sixty seconds. If he didn't se the end soon, he would be absolutely incinerated.
Fortunetly, a flash of light caught his attention and just in time. He could see the pond, first aid kits and scubba diving equipment they had put there in preperation. With renewed vigor and hope, Seance reached out to grasp at the breaks and began pulling on it with all of his might. A long, forceful grunt left his lips as the wheels let out an eir piercing screech, but the cart showed only minimal signs of slowing down. As he put his good hind leg to the rim of the cart and pushed off with it, something warm, slick and wet splashed across his cheek.
Reaching up to gently touch the liquid that assaulted his face, Seance looked down upon his hoof to notice the slight dark brown oil that had been used to oil and loosen up the carts' wheels. One of them must have recently oiled the cart and accidentally used too much!
In a panic, he leaped out of the cart, the little voice in the back of his head counting down from fourty seconds left. A crack resonated from his ankle and he let out a cry of pain, but the adrenalin kept moving him forward. Hearing the loud 'ting' of the cart being knocked off of it's railings, followed by the wood-snapping crashing failed to distract him as much as the echo of everything hitting the pond and sinking.
Thirty-five seconds, he crawled his way over to the medic bags, groaning in pain as he went through the routine Heart, a close associate and Warflank Medic, had taught him. Though he did have to admit that he skipped 'a few' steps, due to time.
Twenty seconds; with a spling on his ankle and the bone no longer protruding out, Seance limped over to put the scubba gear on. He prayed to every divine being that he had a pretty big delay between the explotion and his countdown. With everything on, he dove inside of the water, hissing as the liquid licked at his wound and began to swim to the bottom, only able to use three legs and doing his best to ignore the sheering pain.
Ten seconds; Grasping two of the saddle bags, he looked east and saw the submurged tunnel. With new hope in his heart, Seance swam as fast as he could with two heavy bags on him. He swam as quickly as he could, groaning as tears of pain began to pour from his eyes.
Five...Four...Three...Tw-
Either the divine beings he begged to ignored him for being an annoying little shit, where busy with cake or cheese or whatever gods eat, or they simply didn't hear him. It mattered very little, for a sudden surge of force knocked and rolled the escape artist about until he lost his equilibrium, a sense of vertigo now swarming in his mind. Dazed, he opened his eyes just in time to see a nail from the destroyed cart zip right to him and force him to react. Dodging to the left, he narrowly avoided getting his throat puncutred, only for his oxygen line to get the treatment instead and began using up all of his oxygen.
With no time to think, he began swimming as quickly as possible. That was when he felt the temprature rise and the water around him vibrate. Not wanting to look back, Seance didn't see the wall of rapid waves quickly approaching and slam into him, forcing the air out from his lungs as he could feel his rips near his spine crack, sending the stallion into a tumble through the water.
After cracking the back of his skull against a wall, breaking his foreleg to protect his face from getting slammed into another, Seance eventually found himself on his face. Punctures and tears decorated his frame, letting blood seep out. He could hear voices behind him, but they were all muffled and muted from the multiple concussions he had endured.
Feeling himself being rolled over, he could see four blurry figures standing over him. One of their horns lit up, revealing themselves as Neighsay. All Seance could think of was "How...How the..."
Before his world was consumed into a White Void.
Author's Note
So, you may have noticed near the end how messed up Seance got. That's because I actually roll dice to see if he can avoid getting his but stomped and, as you read, I rolled really poorly.
Hope you all enjoyed!
