Author's Note

Hey everyone! Sorry that I have been absent and quiet for a long while. Job searching and my sleeping hours are messing up my writing routine. Plus I can get distracted sometimes.

I would like to thank my friend, Israel Yabuki, for helping me get this chapter out of the way. I'll try my best to update my other stories, but be mindful that I'll be working at a slow pace.

Have a good day (or night, cause it was night when I published this chapter.)

A Clean Getaway (Almost)

As if they’re day couldn’t get any worse, but now it has gotten far worse. An hour ago, they were ambushed and targeted by mysterious gunmen, then having been beaten near-to-death by a Darth Vader/Winter Soldier character. And now, they were wanted fugitives.

So… it was obviously a bad day for them. Honestly, that’s the lesser way of saying that.

"Fuck, how the hell are we supposed to fix this mess? The moment we set foot out into the city, they'll be gunning for us!" Ember said in frustration.

"And what's worse is that they're coming after this bio-weapon we accidentally switched and then kill us right where we stand. How are we gonna get outta this mess?" Thorax asked.

“Well, we can rule out going to the authorities, 'cause they’ll just put us behind bars rather than help us.” Silver exclaimed while sighing at their situation. “What we need to do is get out of the city and find a place to lay low until we can think of a plan.”

“Where, Silver?” Aurora asked her mate.

“Anywhere we can blend in and don't have any surveillance cameras.” Silver stated.

“Good luck with that, pal. Every street and building in the city has surveillance cameras,” Dark stated. “We won’t even make it out of the city without being spotted.”

"If only there was a way to disable the cameras or find a way around the city, then we'd have a shot at finding salvation somewhere in the countryside." Thorax said.

"Too bad we can't just fly out of here, we'd stand out." Ember said.

"I doubt you could carry all of us, even with your added strength as a dragon." Dark said.

“And while I could assist, however; i’m bound by rules to not show myself to humans, besides you all.” Aurora added.

“Well, if we can’t fly and we can’t drive or sneak around alleys in the city…” Silver said while trying to think of a solution. As well as everyone else.

And then, out of nowhere, Ember had a lightbulb go off in her head as an idea came to her.

“Wait! I got it! In one of my father’s safehouses, he has a stache vault containing, not only money, but also fake passports, i.d’s, and etc. Plus there’s rooms of various clothing that could serve as disguises. I know where it is, and I know the secret way to get there. If we get there, we can use all of that to sneak ourselves onto any transport and get ourselves out of the city!” Ember proposed.

The three young men and dragon goddess stared at her with wide-eyed expressions on their faces.

“That’s… Not a bad idea.” Silver commented.

“No kidding.” Dark added.

“Well, it sounds like a good place to recuperate ourselves.” Aurora proclaimed.

“That’s brilliant, Ember.” Thorax complimented her, which had Ember slightly blushing.

“Y-Yeah, whatever.” Ember responded while trying not to lose her cool.

“Well, Trixie’s in!” The group of five hear a voice speaking behind them, which has them on edge.

But when they turned around, they dropped their defenses when they saw that the voice belonged to none other than Trixie Lulamoon. And standing next to her was Starlight Glimmer. And the two girls looked exhausted, like they had been running around the city for a while.

“Trixie?!” Both Ember and Thorax spoke in bewilderment.

“Starlight?!” Silver and Dark spoke as well.

“H-Hey… *heavy breathing*... We found you… oh boy.” Starlight proclaimed while feeling terribly tired.

"And… I take it you two are friends of theirs?" Aurora asked the two.

“They’re more like acquaintances, but good acquaintances.” Silver answered for the two.

“For miss magician here, not really.” Ember said otherwise.

“What are you two doing here?” Dark asked the two girls.

While the two were catching their breaths, they still complied to answer.

“We came here… *heavy breathing*... To help you guys.” Starlight replied.

“Trixie was hesitant… but she agreed nonetheless.” Trixie added.

“Aw, that’s nice of you guys.” Thorax responded with a grateful tone.

"You do realize that by helping us, you're putting your freedoms and lives on the line. There's bounty hunters out there who want our heads on a platter and if we go to the police, we'll be thrown in prison. Are you sure you wanna help us?" Ember asked.

“Hey… I don’t live here… So really, I don’t care.” Starlight honestly pointed out.

"Then, what about where you really live? Wherever your home really is? You won't be able to return home if you wind up dead here," Dark pointed out.

“DO YOU WANT OUR HELP OR NOT!!!!!!!!” Trixie shouted at them in annoyance.

“OK! OK! Just calm down!” Silver responded quickly. "We were just making sure because your lives are just as important."

“Well either way, we’re tagging along with you.” Starlight said without hesitation.

“I mean… We could use all the help we can get.” Thorax suggested to the other four.

“He is right. And allies are in short supply these days.” Aurora agreed with the young geek.

Silence filled the air as Dark, Silver and Ember did some thinking and it didn’t take very long as the three submitted and allowed the two girls to assist them.

Silver then lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine… you’re both in.” He said.

Both Trixie and Starlight slightly cheered in victory before they calmed themselves down due to the serious atmosphere that surrounded the group.

“You won’t regret this!” Starlight proclaimed.

“Oh, I feel like I will.” Silver responded with a dull tone.

“So, Ember, how do we get to the safehouse without being spotted?” Thorax asked the tsundere girl.

“Well, to put it bluntly, we have to go through the sewers.” Ember spoke with squeamish honesty.

“Say what?!” Trixie was the first to respond, hysterically.

"Hey, I never said the safest way to the safehouse was the cleanest way. Sometimes, you gotta tackle hardships head-on. Besides, there’s a trapdoor underneath the safehouse that connects to the sewers. So… for your sake, I hope you don't have sensitive noses." Ember warned.

“Well, it ain’t the first time Silver and I have traveled through the sewers.” Dark commented.

“Wait, you actually travel through the sewers? Why?” Thorax asked.

“When you’re being chased by Johnny Law and SWAT; you tend to use whatever escape route you can find.” Dark answered. “Though the only thing you have to worry about down there are rats and alligators.”

“Rats and alligators?!” Trixie exclaimed in hysteria and fright.

“Yeah, I'd rather take my chances with the terrorists.” Thorax spoke.

"Oh, so you'd rather have them turn you into swiss cheese and cut your head off and mount it on a wall?" Dark asked casually.

Thorax stares at him with wide eyes filled with frozen terror. “Has anyone told you that you are seriously twisted?”

"Why yes, thank you." Dark said, looking smug and relaxed.

Then Thorax felt himself being pulled from behind and soon he finds himself being embraced by Ember.

“Don’t worry, buddy. I’ll keep you safe down there.” Ember said with comforting words. ‘And I’ll roast any of those gators who dare to try and bite you… wait? Why did I think that?’ Her mental thoughts confused her for a bit.

With Ember’s words, Thorax gives in and agrees with the plan.

“Well, before we argue this further,” Silver’s voice called to the group as they all turned to him and saw him kneeling down next to a sewer manhole in the ground and tapped on it. “This should lead us down into the sewer. Dark, care to do the honors?” He said as he stood up and backed away.

"With pleasure," Dark said before he cracked his knuckles. He grabs the manhole cover and lifts it up off the ground, holding it over his head. "Who's going first?" he asked.

Before anyone volunteered, Silver leaped into the hole and into the sewers he went. Everyone above ground waited silently before they heard his voice calling.

“Alright, it's safe, come down. One at a time.” Silver spoke from the darkness of the sewers.

With that, Aurora was the seconds to follow after her mate, and thanks to her human disguise, she didn’t have to worry about there being little room for her down in the sewers. Following her was Ember. Then later, a reluctant Thorax. And then soon after, Starlight and Trixie; with the latter being hesitant and squeamish.

Then finally, Dark was the last to enter, placing down the manhole lid and then climbing down with them, before he dragged the manhole cover back into its earlier position, so that no one could suspect anything.

"Alright, we made it underground, now where do we go from here?" Starlight asked.

“Just follow me, I can take us there.” Ember said as she walked ahead of them.

“And how do you know?” Trixie asked with skepticism.

“My father had constantly shown me maps and blueprints of the entire city, so I can memorize every route to every safehouse and vault he owned in Canterlot. And that includes the sewers. I just never expected that I would use one of those routes.” Ember replied.

“Well, you never know until the situation calls for it.” Aurora commented.

“Remind me to thank your dad if we survive this.” Thorax proclaimed.

"I'll be sure to let him know. Now, stay close. It can be easy to get lost in this place." Ember instructed. Soon, she led the group through the tunnels, being careful not to go too fast or too slow. The sewers had the most vile smell, but she stole her nerves and kept marching onwards.

And then… "AAH-choo!!!" Dark sneezed loudly, startling everyone. "Ooh, 'scuse me."

"Keep those nostrils of yours under control, you fool!" Aurora scolded.

'Well, excuse me, Ms. Big-Titty Dragon Goddess. Jeez, her head's like her ass. It was just a sneeze, she needs to loosen up,' Dark thought to himself.

“I heard that! I can read minds, you know!” Aurora responded back, ticked off by his first comment.

“Ugh, this is like dealing with her and Israel, all over again.” Silver whispered to himself.

Standing next to him and hearing that, Thorax then asked: “Who’s Israel?”

“You don’t know who that is? He’s one of my brother’s pals and he’s pretty much dating two of the girls that are friends with your pal… uh… what was his name again?” Silver asked the geek.

“Spike,” Thorax answered.

“Yeah, him. So how come you know very little about him?” Silver questioned him.

“Oh, well, sure Spike’s my best friend. But… I’m not that close to the Rainbooms… or those four guys they’re with. I mean, they’re a good group and they don’t mind me being friends with Spike.” Thorax explained.

Silver looks at him with curiosity and confusion. “So… Why aren’t you friends with them?” He asked.

“The truth is… I don’t feel like I fit in with them. Or at least… I don’t feel like they're… the right friend group for me.” Thorax said.

As the young geek continued to walk forward while Silver halted. The ronin looks at the kid with a puzzled look, with more questions on his mind than answers. But he shooks them away as he starts walking again.

It took about an hour, or two, wandering the sewer tunnels. With some of the group growing tired and growing nauseous of the smells of the place they were in. But finally they arrived at what looks to be a rust-covered iron passage hatch door.

“Here we are!” Ember said as she stood by the door. “Behind this door is the ladder that leads up into the safe house.”

“Please tell Trixie that it has showers!” Trixie whined.

“Yes, bitch, it has showers. It's a safehouse after all!” Ember replied as she tried to turn the valve to open the door. But due to how rusted the door was, the valve proved difficult to trun.

“Good, cause I think we can all use a bath.” Starlight spoke for all of them.

'Who knew Ember's pops was this clever and cunning. Gotta give the man credit,' Dark thought to himself. 'Also, ooh, big blue goddess booty, HAH! I crack myself up.' he thought to himself.

“If you weren’t my mate’s companion, I will delete you from existence!” Aurora growled, starting to grow tired of this young man’s ‘insults’, at least that's what she thinks they are.

“Uh, Ember… Is everything alright?” Thorax asked his tomboy friend, who was struggling to get the door open.

Ember tried to pull on the door valve with all her might; however, forgetting that she had supernatural dragon strength, she tore the iron valve off the door. And with that, her rage boiled to its point as she growled and then slammed her fist onto the iron door.

And to everyone’s surprise, except Aurora, the iron door was punched off its hinges and fell flat on the floor with a loud, echoing thud. The others, minus ze blue dragon goddess, had their eyes shrunken in awe, some had their jaws dropped to the ground and their skins looked pale from how scary Ember's strength was.

Ember then turns around, so everyone could see her rage-filled draconic eyes and see her breathing heavily like a deranged psychopath. Then she calms herself down and her draconic eyes shift back to normal.

“So… Anyone wanna go first?” She asked.

'Uh… Big Blue Booba Goddess first?' Dark thought to himself with a troll face.

Finally having had enough, Aurora then placed her hand on top of Dark’s head and then she used her lightning powers to give him a jolt of electricity; comparable to a taser… three tasers.

"...I asked for that," Dark uttered with a goofy smile after his shock treatment and slumped down.

The place that Ember took them to, revealed to be a condominium. and the safe house she spoke off was a condo on the 6th floor. They took the stairwell to avoid the elevator, since elevators have secret cameras. But they also hid their faces in case there were cameras in the stairwells.

And after their brief journey, they all finally made it to the condo that served as one of Ember’s father’s safehouses. As they entered, Thorax waddled over to one of the couches in the living room and flopped onto it.

“Finally,” Thorax groaned in exhaustion.

"I thought we'd never make it," Trixie added, just as exhausted.

"Hehe… tweeting birds," Dark said, in a daze before slumping back down on the floor, then twitching from the shock treatment.

"How long will we be staying here before we escape town?" Starlight asked.

“We’ll rest here for a few hours, and then we’ll plan our next move.” Silver said to her before he turned towards Ember. “You said your father keeps a hidden stash of fake passports and ids right? Where is it?” He asked.

“Follow me.” She said as she walked towards the master bedroom of the condo, with Silver, and soon Thorax, following behind her.

As they entered the room, Ember walked over to a large portrait painting on the wall next to a large flat-screen TV. Then she carefully took it off the wall, and behind it was a 2 cu. Ft steel safe installed in the wall.

Ember then typed in the code on the digital keypad on the safe, given to her by her father way back, and opened the safe.

Inside the safe were what looked to be 100 stacks of $10,000 in $100 dollar bills on the top shelf in the safe, which was estimated around $1,000,000. And on the bottom shelf were stacks of passports. There were a few other accessories inside the safe, but they weren’t important for the moment.

Silver gave a whistle while his eyes were wide by what he was seeing. Thorax also was wide-eyed but he stood in silence.

“Ok… That’ll do. But where are the fake ids that you promised?” Silver asked.

“Look, the ids have to be made first if we want them to be legit. Just let me contact my dad first and he’ll have his people forge us some fake ids and then…” Ember tries to explain but Silver interrupts her.

“But we can’t do that, all phone calls in the city will be monitored. If you contact your father, those terrorists will find our hideout.” He stated.

“Um… Maybe… I can be of assistance?” Thorax spoke sheepishly while raising his hand. As both Silver and Ember stare at him in confusion. “Does this place have a computer or laptop by chance?” he asked.

After a few minutes of finding a laptop and everyone gathering up in the living room, plus Dark Renegade waking up from his shocked state, Thorax had revealed something about himself that he neglected to mention.

“You’re a HACKER?!” Ember said in surprise.

“Sorry that I never told you, Ember. It was something I wasn’t proud of.” Thorax said as he logs into his personal software system as he begins hacking into the cell towers and satellites in the Canterlot City area.

“How come you never told us you were a hacker?” Silver asked.

“Like I said, I wasn’t proud of it. Plus if anyone in CHS knew, especially the teachers, I would be expelled! NOW LET ME FOCUS!” Thorax shouted at everyone as continued typing on the laptop.

“Just how good are you?” Dark asked with curiosity, while he was still groggliy from being electrocuted a few moments ago.

“Spike dared me to hack into the Pentagon once.” Thorax answered sheepishly, which had everyone stunned for a few seconds. “It was the easiest $20 I ever made.”

"Kid… *cough* …what the hell made you wanna start hacking?" Dark asked, regaining consciousness.

“That is my business, not yours.” Thorax exclaimed while keeping his focus on the computer and typing in command codes and uploads. After a few seconds, Thorax then lets out a quiet cheer. “EUREKA! Done it!” He said.

“Done… what?” Starlight asked, who has no experience with this world’s ‘technology’.

“I hacked into the mainframe and firewalls of the cell communication towers outside the city and into the mainframe of the satellites in orbit. And I found the terrorists' algorithm inside them, monitoring every single communication line in, not just Canterlot, but the whole country. But what they failed to take notice, is that there are tiny gaps in their system. I’ll upload a virus through one of those gaps, which will shutdown their firewall and interfere with whatever CPU or software they’re using. Which should allow us time to make one phone call in our local area before they get their systems back online.” Thorax explains.

“And how long will that opening be?” Ember asked.

“Ehhhh… about less than 2 minutes.” Thorax stated.

"So then, who are we going to contact once we get the firewalls down?" Trixie asked.

“I’ll call my dad and ask him to get his people to make us some fake I.D.s” Ember proposed as she grabbed out her cellphone, ready to make the call.

“Sounds about right.” Silver commented.

“Wait, don’t we need to have to send pictures of our faces to them so they can make those fake ids?” Starlight asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about that. My dad has men all over the city, getting information and blackmail, and taking pics on everyone in this town. So we’re good at that.” Ember spoke like it's a normal thing with her family.

Trixie and Starlight stare at her in disbelief.

"I know those looks, getting all shocked because she said that stuff like it's normal. Well, she's part of a crime family, this is like a normal Tuesday for her." Dark explained.

“Alright, I’m in the system.” Thorax said as he finally hacked into the satellite system and cell towers. His index finger now hovering above the ‘enter’ key as he looks at the others. “Ok, once I press ‘enter’, the virus will be sent across every satellite and cell device in the city, which will make the terrorists blind for 2 minutes. So… be quick with the call.” he informs them, more specifically Ember.

Ember nodded in response as she readied her phone to call her father. Everyone stood in silence, awaiting for Thorax to initiate the plan.

So with that, Thorax pressed ‘enter’, and the virus was delivered.

At the same time, in the secret headquarters of the same terrorist organization that is hunting our heroes, the tech people stationed there were monitoring their computers and touch screens, searching for any trace for their targets.

When all of a sudden, their screens began to static and glitch. Leaving them all confused about what was going on, before they soon realized that they were being hacked.

Ember took this chance to speed dial her dad and waited for him to pick up. Luckily he picked up on the 2nd dial tone.

"Hello? Ember?" Torch asked from the other line.

"I'm here dad!" Ember said.

"Ember, what's going on? You're all over the news! Where are you right now?" Torch asked, sounding worried.

"I'm at the safehouse on the other side of town. Listen, I don't have much time before their comms come back up. Get here as fast as you can and bring along some fake I.Ds. We need to get out of the city and fast." Ember urged.

"Hmmm… alright. I'll help in any way I can. Just tell me how many of you there are and I'll do everything I can on my end." Torch said.

"There's me, Thorax, Dark and Silver, Trixie and Starlight and finally my teacher, Aurora. That makes 7 of us." Ember listed.

"Got it. I'll have them ready; however, I can’t be seen where you're at. Because my face is just as recognizable as you by the police and news outlets. Therefore, I’ll send Scarface to deliver them.” Torch responded

"Thanks, dad. I know I can count on you." Ember proclaimed.

“Anything for my little girl…. Just be safe, ok.” Torch replied, with a concerned tone in his voice.

"I will… And dad? When we get outta this mess… I… I wanna give you a hug," she utters the last part quietly so no one can hear her except for Torch.

"I look forward to it… Love you.” Torch spoke softly, just before the call ended.

After that, Ember stood silent for a moment while everyone stared at her in the room.

“Thorax, how much time was that?” Silver asked the young geek.

“Well, fortunately, we had about 30 seconds left on the countdown.” Thorax stated, which gave them all relief that they didn’t make the call long enough for the terrorists to counter Thorax’s computer virus.

But what they all were unaware of was that after her call with her father ended, Ember was hiding her teary eyes from them, not wanting to look vulnerable in front of them; well except Thorax, since she trusts him the most. She quickly wipes away the tears and turns to face the others with a calm expression on her face.

“So… what now?” Starlight asked.

“Now… we wait.” Ember answered.

They all stood in silence for a while, until Thorax decided to speak first.

“So… Anyone wanna watch a movie?” He suggested.

Meanwhile, at the terrorists headquarters, Scourge stormed into the command center after hearing what had happened. His entrance frightened all the tech people and hackers in the room as he marched towards the center of the room.

“HOW DID SOMEONE HACKED INTO OUR SYSTEM!?!?” He roared angrily.

The head of the tech team fearfully walked beside the pissed off cyber assassin as he explained everything.

“We were just as surprised as you, sir. We were able to detect the virus that, astondingly, tore into 10 of our firewalls and overheated our internal and external hardware. Fortunately, the event only happened for 2 minutes…GAK!” The teck officer spoke before his throat was gripped tightly by Scourge’s hand and his whole body was lifted off the ground.

“2 minutes is still TOO LONG!!! ESPECIALLY when it's someone who wants to blind us for a critical moment.” Scourge stated, aggressively.

Then one of the hackers in the room fearfully spoke up to add more to the conversation.

“W-Well sir, our software program that was monitoring all cell communication in the city, did shut down for a brief moment when the virus infected our systems.” She explained.

Scourge stood in silence, still choking the tech officer in his hand, and while no one could see his face behind his helmet; they could all feel the deadly and rageful aura that he emitted.

*CRACK!!!*

With such ease, Scourge snapped the neck of the tech officer and dropped his corpse onto the floor. A sound that brought a tense atmosphere into the command center.

And the terrorist leader didn’t take long to say what his thoughts were at this time.

“It's them. They did this… and they must have contacted someone for aid. Find out who they were talking to at the moment of the viral attack. And find out WHO caused it!” Scourge demanded as he turned around and left the room, leaving them all to their tasks.

Back at the safehouse, there's a silence in the atmosphere as everyone is waiting anxiously for help to arrive. Most of the group can't shake off the fear of being killed by these heartless terrorist soldiers, others are more concerned for their families.

'Thank god my bro's not here,' Dark thought to himself, clenching his fists, his breathing becoming somewhat shaky, but silent.

'Mom, dad, Bristle, Inferno… please be safe out there,' Silver thought to himself. Aurora could feel her mate's distress and quickly came to his side and comforted him with a warm hug, holding him in her arms. Then his thoughts shifted to Derpy and Dinky. ‘And please, God… make sure they’re safe too.’

‘I’ll be alright, Dad… Just be safe when I get back home, ok.’ Ember mentally spoke in her mind. Then she felt someone sit next to her, she looked and saw it was Thorax.

The young geek didn’t say anything and he looked a bit on edge about the whole situation, but nevertheless, he sat beside her, wanting to give her some comfort; despite feeling uneasy. But Ember felt grateful for what he’s doing, and then she wrapped her arm around his neck and pulled him closer; which made him slightly flustered.

Though slightly embarrassed, Thorax felt his body stop trembling a little bit and turned to Ember with a small smile. She looks to her favorite geek boy with a smile of her very own, showing him that she's there for him just as much as he's there for her. Aurora can definitely see that her student and that boy make a wonderful pair and gazed at them proudly.

And she wasn’t the only one thinking that, even Starlight and Trixie can’t help but be awed by how cute the two looked together. Trixie wished she and her ‘Prince Charming’ were like that.

Then, breaking the long silence, they heard the doorbell ring, which had them all on edge. With Ember and Aurora transforming into their dragon forms, with Silver brandishing his katana and Dark pulling out his brass knuckles, Starlight powering up her magic and Trixie prepping her smoke bombs, and Thorax grabbing a nearby lamp.

The gang waited anxiously, but were prepared to fight. Ember then checks through the peephole to see who it was.

“Oh shit!” She whispered loudly before shifting back into her human form. “It's Scarface, my father’s right hand man.” She informed the others.

As soon as they heard that, Dark and Silver all immediately put away their weapons, Aurora quickly changed into her human disguise, Starlight turned off her magic and Trixie put away her smoke bombs.

“Well… That’s a relief.” Thorax said while he placed the lamp back onto the table where he grabbed it.

Ember opens the door and lets him in. "Scarface, you made it. Please, come on in.” she said as she stepped aside to let him inside the condo before closing the door. Then she goes on to introduce him to the others. “Everyone, this is Scarface. Don’t let the scars scare ya, he’s chill.”

"H-Hi, sir." Thorax waved nervously.

"Oh, uh.. hi there," Trixie added with a nervous chuckle.

"Nice to meet you," Starlight said with a straight face.

"Hey there, man," Dark said, slightly nodding, unfazed by his looks.

“Yeah, we met before.” Silver commented, while also unfazed by Scarface’s well… scars

"Hello!” Aurora spoke with an enthusiastic tone.

Scarface nodded, then turned to Ember once more. Then he pulled a large envelope from underneath his coat and handed it over to her. While he is mute, Ember knows instantly what was in the envelope.

“These are the fake i.d.s?” Ember asked him, to which he replied with a nod. Then she gives him a big hug in gratitude. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

As soon as Ember reeled back, Scarface gestured with his hands that there was something else he needed to give her. He reaches into his coat and he pulls out another envelope and hands it to her.

“Uh, what’s in this?” Ember asked, which Scarface gestured to her to look inside it. And so she opens up the envelope and looks into it to see what was inside. Her expression changed from confusion and curiosity to surprise and shock, as she pulled out the contents within the envelope for everyone to see.

They were tickets. But not just any tickets. They were CRUISE tickets!

And she wasn’t the only one stunned by this reveal.

“Are those…?” Thorax asked but couldn’t say more.

Ember simply nodded, still in shock.

"Uh, can someone tell me what's going on here?" Starlight asked, confused.

“Those, my dear Starlight… are cruise tickets!!!” Trixie cheered louder than a banshee.

“No way.” Silver commented, not believing what he’s seeing.

“Why are you not believing? Your family’s rich, you must’ve been on many cruises.” Trixie responded.

“Yeah… back when I was a wanted vigilante… I never once went on a family cruise. Or even a family trip on a private jet.” Silver explained.

"True, we were too busy purging the world of the scum that roamed our streets," Dark said.

“You two… need a hobby.” Starlight bluntly commented.

'Hey, excuuuuuuuuse me, princess,' Dark thought, rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, we’re still searching for one.” Silver responded to her comment.

Back with Ember, she was utterly speechless by this discovery. There were seven tickets for all seven of them. And on the tickets, it read that the date of departure for the cruise was tomorrow morning.

“But… But… How did…” Ember tried to ask Scarface about the tickets but she was still speechless.

Then Scarface pulls out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and opens it up to show it to her. And it read: “Thought that you and your companions would need a relaxing getaway while running from the authorities. Be safe and have fun. Love. Dad.

"Thank you, dad," Ember said. "And thank you too, Scarface. But what are you going to do now with the city being a war zone right now?" she asked.

Scarface put a hand on her shoulder and patted her gently, reassuring Ember that he'll be alright out there. After all, this isn't his first rodeo, so he can survive just fine out there.

Ember let out a sigh. "Alright, I trust you, Scarface. Stay safe out there and good luck." she said.

Scarface nodded and gave Ember a pat on the head before leaving the safety of the safehouse. He got back in his car and drove off to a secluded place to hide out and lay low.

After Scarface left, Ember then hands out each of everyone’s tickets.

"So, how do we get to this cruise ship? Is it far or is it close by?" Dark asked.

“Not far, according to the ticket, the cruise is currently docked at the docks in the Canterlot harbor. And it leaves tomorrow morning at 10AM. Which means we have to be there before it leaves.” Silver informs his partner.

“And with the fake i.d.s, plus disguises; we should be able to sneak about the cruise undetected before the assholes notice we’re gone.” Ember proclaimed.

"Then for the time being we should rest up." Thorax said. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled and he blushed. "Oh boy. I guess all this running around and trying to stay alive has gotten me a little hungry."

"Hmm… Trixie's feeling famished, too. Do you have any peanut butter crackers?" Trixie asked.

"I could go for a pizza." Starlight added.

"Meat. Lots and lots of meat." Dark said, rubbing his belly.

“Same here.” Aurora said in agreement, because… well, she’s a dragon goddess.

'Ah, a dragon goddess with exquisite taste. Mad respect,' Dark thought.

"Anything edible will do," Silver said.

“But we can’t order take-out or go out to eat! We got terrorist spies all over the city trying to find us! We’re gonna starve!” Thorax panicked.

"Calm down, Thorax. We got plenty of food here, you just have to know where to look." Ember gets up from her spot and heads over to a spot in the safehouse and pressed on the wall. Suddenly, a hidden door opens up and inside that hidden door… There sits a row of all kinds of refrigerated foods, nice and fresh. "See?"

“Whoa!” Everyone said in unison.

“What? You think my father doesn’t keep his safe houses fully stocked.” Ember said with a cocky smile.

“Ember… you’re awesome!” Thorax blurted out before hugging Ember tightly for a few seconds and then went to grab something to eat.

The tsundere gal is left stunned and blushing red like a cherry.

'D'awww, blushie-blushie,' Dark thought teasingly.

“D’awwwwwww,” Aurora, Starlight, and Trixie cooed at the sight of that.

Silver simply gave a smug.

“Sh-SHUT UP!!!” Ember responds in stutter as she turns her back to them, to save herself from the embarrassment.

Everyone chuckled at her flustered response.

"Now for the million dollar question… who's gonna cook?" Starlight asked.d.

Thorax then returns to the group with chips and a soda in hand. “Yeah, who’s gonna cook?” He asked as well.

And in their moment of silence, the girls and the geek quietly turn towards Dark and Silver. Who both stare at them with confused faces.

“Why’s everyone looking at us?” Silver asked his partner.

"Probably because we're the only ones with the proper cooking skills." Dark said. "Well, no time like the present."

Silver sighs in defeat. “Alright… where’s the kitchen?” He asked.

| Several Minutes Later. |

"Bon appetit," Both guys said in unison.

Everyone sat at the table as Dark and Silver had presented their meals to them after having cooked them. They cooked up a buffet which made everyone drool at the sight of it.

There was a triple pepperoni pizza, roasted chicken, seasoned to perfection, freshly made potato salad, some garlic bread, biscuits and even cooked salmon.

"Hope you guys worked up a big appetite, because when we cook big, We. Cook. BIG!" Dark said proudly.

“It looks so yummy… Am I in Heaven?” Thorax said while having teary eyes.

“Nope, cause me and Dark are here with you,” Silver exclaimed. “However, the food is real. So everyone, eat up. Cause we’re gonna need the energy for tomorrow morning.” Silver said as he and Dark sat down at the table with the rest as they began feasting.

“Mmmmm! So good!” Thorax proclaimed after he took a bite from the roasted chicken.

“It's like a tsunami wave of flavors is entering my mouth,” Ember commented once she tasted the triple-pepperoni pizza.

Aurora couldn’t comment or talk about how good the meal was. Why do you ask? Well it's because she had transformed into her true dragon goddess form and she had the WHOLE cooked salmon that Dark and Silver cooked, in her mouth!

"Eat up all you want, miss. There's plenty o' fish to go around." Dark said before tearing off some roast chicken with his teeth.

“Dis… really… gud…!” Aurora muttered with her mouth full.

“Glad you like it, honey.” Silver replied.

“Trixie will never forget this delicious juicy taste ever again!” Trixie proclaimed after tasting the roast chicken.

“This potato salad is unlike anything I ever tasted! Even the biscuits have such a delicious flavor.” Starlight spoke as she was enjoying her meal.

"Why, thank you, Starlight. I take great pride in making sure everything's cooked to perfection. You can thank my mom for teaching me how to cook." Silver said.

'God bless his mother and her angelic cooking,' Dark thought, munching on one of the biscuits.

"Mmm and this triple pepperoni pizza is amazing." Ember said with a slight mouthful.

As they all dined, in that moment, they were allowed to have a moment of peace and relaxation. To put their worries and fears to the side for once.

After having eaten up their fill, the group decided to rest up early for tonight, so that they’ll wake up early in the morning. There were about a few bedrooms in the condo, so it was decided that they would have to sleep in each room. Silver and Aurora slept in one room, Starlight and Trixie had no problem sharing a room, Dark was cool with having a room to himself. However, the two that were most flustered and shy to share a room were Thorax and Ember.

A few hours into the night one of the group members decided to get a drink of water. Thorax had a dry throat, also he needed a moment to ease his thoughts, since he was sharing a room with a girl. A pretty girl no less.

So, he grabs a cup from the kitchen and fills it up with cold water in the sink. He even puts in a couple of ice cubes in it to make it even colder. As he comes back, sipping from his cup, he notices Dark is about to slip off his bed since he's slumped down on it so sloppy.

He sighs and puts his cup down on one of the nightstands and goes to help Dark. He moves him slightly, but then pauses when he hears a low grumble. He gasps and looks down to his stomach as the rumbling gets louder, almost like a roar until…

*Buuurp*

Right in his face, Thorax is hit with the nastiest stench and gags at the smell. He fans the area around him, gasping and coughing. He's lucky it came from the attic and not the… ‘basement’. Otherwise, he'd be one dead nerd.

Quickly, he ran the hell out of the living room and back to the room that he was sharing with Ember, not caring that his water was spilling in the hallway. Once inside the room, he slams the door and he takes a moment to try and breath in as much clean air as he could.

You would do the same if you were him.

"Hey, who the hell's slamming the--" Ember groaned, waking up and then saw Thorax. "Thorax, what the hell are you doing? It's the middle of the night."

“Sorry. I was just getting a cup of wa-AAAAAH!?!?!” Thorax was gonna answer her until he let out a surprised scream.

The reason for his reaction was that when Ember sat up in the bed, Thorax saw that she was wearing a black lace lingerie. But he remembered that he never saw her wearing that when they both hesitantly got into bed, or at least before he shut his eyes and went to dreamland.

Soon Ember realizes that Thorax saw what she was wearing and quickly covers herself under the bed covers.

“Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha! What are you wearing?! You weren’t wearing that hours ago!” Thorax whispered while panicking.

"Well, don't blame me, I didn't bring any pajamas with me, so these were the only comfortable clothes to sleep in!" Ember whispered loudly while covering herself, blushing rose red.

"O-Oh, I, um… well… I… I didn't know," Thorax replied, trying to avoid eye contact while sipping his water nervously.

“I-It’s f-fine…. Just… g-get in bed… and go back to sleep.” Ember said while stuttering and blushing red. Feeling incredibly embarrassed at the thought of the two sleeping in the same bed.

And she wasn’t the only one. Thorax looked at her clueless and flustered. “Y-You mean… in bed… with you… wearing that?” He asked while mumbling.

“NOW!” Ember responded sternly while her entire face turned redder than… well any red object or thing in the world.

Thorax got so startled, he stopped questioning it and just did as he was told. He came up to Ember, got in bed and covered himself up in the blankets next to her… with his back facing her. Thorax's heart was racing a million miles an hour. Sleeping next to Ember… while she's dressed like that… in the middle of the night. If his own mom or her dad ever saw this… he'd be dead either way.

Ember also had her back facing him, her heartbeat beating so fast that it could give the Flash a run for his money. She couldn’t believe the situation she’s in. Wearing revealing and lewd clothing in bed next to the person she cared for as a friend. If her father found out about this, she would be grounded for life until she was gray and old; and feared what he might do to Thorax.

After a few awkward minutes, the two laid silent in bed before they soon fell asleep.

|The next morning. 6AM.|

The sun rose in the sky above the whole city, as Silver Scorpion opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling of the guest bedroom. And waking up to the same routine that awaits him every morning; his 8ft tall nude dragon goddess girlfriend, cuddling and snuggling against his body.

Just like she always does. He soon begins to wonder how the others are doing this morning. Silver then taps Aurora lightly on the side of her head, trying to wake her up.

"Psst. Hey. Wake up, sleepy head," Silver whispered.

"Mmmmm, come on, 5 more minutes, I wanna snuggle," Aurora whined, snuggling Silver even more and looking so adorable doing so.

Silver lets out a defeated sigh while caressing Aurora’s hair. “Ok. Five more minutes.” He gives in to her request.

In another room, Starlight was sleeping peacefully on the bed that she and Trixie were sharing. But soon she yelps as she feels herself pushed off the bed, which wakes her up instantly.

Groaning in pain, she stands up and looks towards the culprit on the bed, Trixie. Apparently, Trixie has a habit of hogging the bed. Starlight had to struggle to keep Trixie on her side so that she could sleep peacefully last night.

"I swear, you need to learn to share," Starlight groaned, glaring tiredly at Trixie.

“Trixie… demands… peanut butter… crackers.” Trixie spoke in third-person while she was still asleep.

'Jeez, even in her sleep, she's still hungry.' Starlight thought. Suddenly, without warning, everyone is woken up to the sound of a familiar noise coming from Dark's room.

“What the heck was that?!” Starlight exclaimed.

Meanwhile, in Ember's and Thorax room, both parties had woken up to the sound of Dark's disgusting burp and Ember was fanning her hand in front of her face.

"Ugh… that son of a bitch better say excuse me," Ember said all cranky. As she prepared to get up, she noticed something was wrapped around her midsection. She looks and notices an arm. She turns around and sees it's Thorax's arm. It appears that while in his sleep, he must've wrapped his arm around her and snuggled up against her.

Ember was slightly embarrassed, but then decided to play around with him and snuggled herself up to Thorax, grinning at this adorable little sleeping geek. And just to make it more fun, she puts her arm around him as well. before shifting into her dragon form.

“Mmmmm… so warm.” Thorax muttered as he snuggled deeper against Ember’s body. Despite her scaly skin, she was still soft, especially her enlarged ‘assets’, but what made Thorax snuggle against her more was because her body was warm; due to her dragon biology.

His comment made Ember blush even more but also made her awed by how cute he was being. But sadly, all good things come to an end as this adorable, sleepy geek opens his eyes and finds himself wedged between something soft.

"Hmm… where'd these fluffy pillows come from?" he asked, muffled and tired, feeling the… "pillows" as he put it. Just then, he heard a soft, faint moan and he looked up. There, his relaxed expression becomes pale when he sees Ember, grinning down at him with her amber eyes.

"Enjoying your little paradise down there, you frisky little man?" Ember asked teasingly.

"YIPE!!!" Thorax exclaimed, jumping out of bed, blushing more crimson than the reddest rubies. "S-S-So sorry, Ember, I… I… I didn't know I was c-c-cc-cudd… c-c-c-cuddling with you!" he said, sweating buckets.

Ember chuckles before she softly grabs him with her strong claws and pulls him close against her body.

“Don’t sweat it, dude. Besides, I'm starting to like this ‘cuddling’. I really do.” She commented while hugging him close.

With Thorax being stunned and even more flustered, and having her massive bosom pressing against his head and upper chest, didn’t help calm his nerves. But the warmth that her body emitted did calm him a little.

Although, that would have gotten her to feel embarrassed and let him go instantly, but her thoughts and instincts tell her to hold him close and not let him go.

Then suddenly, the door into their bedroom opened and walking in was Starlight Glimmer, who was rubbing the crust out of her eyes since she had a rough wake up.

“Hey guys, sorry to disturb you, but did you guys hear…” Starlight was gonna ask if they heard Dark’s burp but she pauses when she sees Ember as a tall anthropomorphic version of her counterpart in Equestria, cuddling with Thorax on their bed.

The three parties stared at each other in awkward silence for about a minute before Starlight quietly stepped out of the room while closing the door behind her.

After all was said and done, the group soon got themselves ready and left the safety of the safehouse within an hour. Now, they had to make haste for their cruise ship. And with everyone moving on foot, they run the risk of being recognized. True, they've got disguises on, but there's still a remote chance of the enemies noticing them.

Luckily, there were plenty of nooks and crannies for them to hide in from the enemy patrols. However, what they didn't know was that there were some undercover spies tailing them from a far enough distance to not be spotted.. They were sitting in a black sedan car watching the group as they were walking away from the condominium.

“Is that them?” Spy #1 asked his partner.

“Yeah, that’s them. Report to the command, tell them we found…” Before spy #2 could give his partner instructions.

Out of nowhere, Scarface appeared beside the window where terrorist #2 was sitting and punched right through the window, surprising the two greatly.

He then opens the car door and then drags one of the spies out of the car before tossing him harshly against the wall of a building they parked next to.

Soon the terrorist’s partner exits the car to confront Scarface. The terrorist threw the first punch, but Scarface dodged and struck him in the throat, causing him to stagger. Then Scarface locks his arms around his neck and in one shift motion, he snaps the terrorist’s neck.

After killing the first one, Scarface then turns his focus to the second terrorist on the ground who was slowly recovering from the mafia gangster throwing him into a wall.

Scarface fastly approaches him, before lifting him up on his feet, he then takes out a knife from his pocket and stabs the terrorist in the gut.

The terrorist spy tried to scream, but Scarface covers his mouth and nose with his hand, as the mafia enforcer stares at him, directly in the eye. Never wavering his gaze until he slowly watches the life drained from his victim’s eyes.

And with that, Scarface then lifts the dead terrorist spy onto his shoulders, holding him up, before he walks over to the second dead terrorist and grabs him by his arm. Then he proceeds to drag the two bodies out of view and into a nearby alleyway where Scarface had been waiting the whole time.

Meanwhile, the group eventually came across the Canterlot port area. Upon arriving, they spotted their cruise ship and for most of the gang, they were shocked.

In size, one would describe the ship as big as the Symphony of the Seas.

"Sweet mother of all magic, that's HUGE!" Trixie exclaimed.

"That's what she said," Dark uttered, trying not to laugh.

Thorax, on the other hand, let out a short chuckle but instantly quieted down when everyone turned towards him. “Sorry.” he squealed.

“Whoa… I never saw a ship this big in my whole life.” Starlight commented.

"If only Trixie's prince were here with me. The cruise would be so much more romantic," Trixie sighed dreamily, picturing herself and Heat Blitz cruising the seas and undergoing many fun-filled activities before they get freaky in the most luxurious of beds.

Ember gagged at Trixie’s lovey-dovey fantasy. 'Sissy stuff,' she thought.

“I never thought my first experience on a cruise ship would involve being on the run from terrorists.” Thorax spoke in awe.

“You said it, kid.” Silver responded to the geek.

"Those fuckfaces will get what's coming to them eventually." Dark said with a deep, vengeful tone in his voice. "But for now let's get the hell outta here."

“Ok, but before we head to the gate, here.” Ember spoke as she handed everyone the fake I.D.s that Scarface handed to them yesterday. “We’ll show up to the gate individually, that way we’ll look less suspicious than going in all together. On these i.d.s are your fake alias, memorize them and hand them to the person at the security checkpoint, along with your ticket. And whatever you do, act casual.”

Everyone nodded in agreement to her instructions.

“Alright. I’ll go in first. Thorax, you follow behind me. Magician girl and new girl will follow after, then Aurora. Samurai Jack and Psycho will be last.” Ember instructed.

Everyone agreed and made their way to the gate in the exact order as she instructed. First, Ember went first.

"I'm Valkyrie Scorch." Ember introduced, showing the man her I.D. He checked it and ran it through his computer and… she was good to go. He let her through and now it was time for Thorax to go next.

"Hi, my name's Keen Yanmechs." Thorax said, showing his I.D. The cycle repeats… and he's cleared to enter. He passes through, now Trixie is up next.

"Morning, I'm Twinkle Toes," Trixie said, showing her I.D. Like the others, she's cleared and is allowed in. Next, Starlight.

"I'm Angel Light," Starlight said. Her I.D is checked and she's allowed in. Next up, Aurora.

"I am Azure Radiance, nice to meet you," she said in a sophisticated manner. Her I.D is checked out and she's allowed on board. Now for Silver.

"Jack Spector.” Silver introduced himself. His I.D is checked and then he's allowed on board the ship. Finally… It was Dark's turn.

"Crash Barox is the name," Dark said, showing his I.D. However… when they ran his I.D through the computer… he heard the monitor buzzing and the man saw the screen blinking red and saying "Detain."

The man then grabs his walkie-talkie attached to his coat. "Uh… security, we got a situation at the gate."

"Excuse me?" Dark asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Suddenly, multiple guards came out, all pointing their guns telling him to freeze. Dark's been up this particular creek before and he's not even fazed by it.

"Really now? Everyone checks out but not me?" he asked.

Meanwhile, after everyone (minus Dark) regrouped on the cruise ship and headed for their individual cabins. They all soon took notice that Dark wasn’t with them.

“Uh, are we missing someone?” Thorax asked them all.

“Nope.” Ember responded without question.

“Yes we are, where’s Dark?” Starlight asked in response.

"Dark who?" Ember asked, feigning ignorance.

“Ember… What did you do?” Silver asked her with suspicion.

“Nothing… Well maybe I sort of… sabotaged his card.” Ember answered.

“You WHAT?!” Silver replied loudly.

“Why did you do that, Ember?” Starlight asked out of disbelief.

“Hey, he was dead weight. Besides, all he ever did was run his mouth like the disrespectful prick he is. Also I feel like including a psychopath like him in our group is a recipe for disaster." Ember said.

"Ember, Dark is many things, but dead weight is not one of them. For one thing--" before Silver could list his partner's talents, the gang heard what sounded like screams of agony coming from off the ship.

And seconds later, they could see way back in the long hallways of the cabin deckDark Renegade was walking casually up to them, greeting some of the other passengers.

“Hey. How are you doing? Love that shirt, my guy. You have a beautiful hat, ma’am.” he greeted the passengers.

Then he spots the group up ahead and he soon regroups with them all.

"Well… What do we have here? So, which number is my cabin room? F1… F2…" he pauses and gets up in Ember's face with a cocky smile. "F… U."

Ember stares at him with a disappointed face.

“How did you get past security?” Thorax spoke out of curiosity.

"Oh, I just put most of them to sleep. Don't worry, they're still alive. Anyways, I had a "chat" with the computer guy and… he was more lenient to let me in, unlike some sneaky little brat whom I will not name. Well, I'm gonna chillax. Toodles, kiddos." and Dark walks off. But not before flipping off Ember as he does so.

Ember was sending glares at the back of his head just as Silver stood next to her and looked towards her.

“One thing you learned the hard way… Dark’s not THAT easy to get rid of. Believe me I know.” Silver informs her before walking off.

Soon Starlight, Trixie, and Aurora walk ahead as well. With the only one standing beside Ember, was Thorax.

"Uh, Ember? Do you… need some time alone, or…" Thorax asked, concerned.

Ember didn’t answer him for a moment before she shook her head as a response.

“... Would you like to go see the top deck? I always wanted to see their pool area.” Thorax suggested.

Ember lets out a sigh before she finally speaks to him. “Sure… why not.”

“Yay!” Thorax cheered.