Guardians Of Harmony: Adventures In Canterlot City

Late at night in Canterlot, Rainbow Dash was soaring through the skies of the great city. Her destination was Manga Tower, where she intended to bust a break-in.

"Sheesh," Rainbow said, looking at the hole in the wall. "Looks like the glass got seared, just like at Kibble Research Lab."

She entered the building and saw all the tech inside burned to a crisp. She walked to the end of the room and saw a man. Rainbow picked up a rock and threw it at him, grabbing his attention. She quickly took cover as the man turned around.

"Working late?" Rainbow asked.

"Midnight shift," the man replied. "Like you, Tornado."

The man fired a laser at Rainbow, who avoided it, then grabbed him and threw him out of the building. Rainbow landed on the building while the man recovered mid-air, a jetpack on his back.

"Well, you're full of surprises," Rainbow remarked, shocked.

"I'm Scorch," he said. "Get it? Because I bring the heat."

Just as he was about to fire, three magenta stars came out of nowhere, throwing his aim off. Twilight stood right next to Rainbow as a liquid-like substance dripped out of Scorch's blasters.

"Mm-mm-mm," Scorch said, looking at them and aiming. "You'll regret that one."

He glanced at his fuel gauge, which was empty. "Next time," he said as he flew away.

**At the Rainbooms Secret Lair**

"Thanks for having my back," Rainbow thanked Twilight.

"No problem. I guess that's our arsonist," Twilight responded.

"Yep," Rainbow confirmed. "What's his deal?"

"Not sure. Why is he targeting computers?" Twilight wondered. "But he has a jetpack and laser tech like nothing I've ever seen..."

She noticed her hairpin was burned. "Scorch, huh?" Twilight said coldly. "I'm calling it a night. Trevor and I have to meet up with Mayor Tomlin tomorrow."

**Later in the morning, at City Hall**

Twilight and Trevor were at City Hall, looking at a photo.

"Ha-ha," Tomlin spoke up. "Don't let the photograph fool you. I may be holding that, but Trevor's dad caught it."

"Dad always did subscribe to charity," Trevor mentioned. "Mayor Tomlin."

"Trevor, Twilight, it's been too long," Tomlin said, shaking their hands. "But unfortunately, I didn't call you two here for a social visit."

"Talon Labs business?" Trevor asked.

"I am not going to sugarcoat this," Tomlin pointed out. "As both of you know, the city's about to award the contract to rebuild and expand the children's daycare."

"Yeah, to Talon Labs," Twilight said.

"The council is leaning toward JackalCorp," Tomlin said.

"What?!" Both Twilight and Trevor gasped.

"Talon Labs and the foundation have supported the daycare from the beginning," Trevor explained. "My dad, Dean Candance, and Twilight's parents founded it."

"And when does JackalCorp do public service?" Twilight added. "They have a history of allegations, investigations, and resignations. Too many 'actions' for my taste."

"Guys," Tomlin spoke up. "The council isn't concerned with JackalCorp's reputation. They're leery of yours."

"How?" Trevor asked.

"Public image," Tomlin pointed out. "Let's just say it doesn't inspire much confidence. Look, your dad, Twilight's parents, and sister-in-law are close friends of mine. But, Trevor, you got the passion, but they see you as a..."

"A party boy," Trevor said. "Mayor Tomlin, let us make the case for the Talon Foundation. Give us a chance to convince them. Please."

"The voting for the contract starts tomorrow at 8 a.m. sharp," Tomlin said. "And wear a tie."

"We'll be here and at the top of our game," Trevor said.

**At Trevor's house**

"8 in the morning sounds bright and early," Rarity said, stunned. "Maybe it's the best idea to get a good night's rest."

"No, not until I have gathered enough ammo regarding JackalCorp's questionable business practices," Trevor said, gathering information. "This is the company that produced dangerous weapons to take you and the others down, yet they don't see the big picture. The daycare was Dad's cause, not to mention, Twilight's family had great memories. I need to be sure that both of us can sway the council's vote."

Then the alarm went off.

"Police alert," Trevor looked at it. "The security system of a law firm has been tripped."

"On the 64th floor," Rarity wondered.

"Scorch," Trevor said, then his phone buzzed.

"Message from Twilight," Trevor looked at it.

(I got word from Detective Spitfire that Scorch is at it again. Rainbow and I will handle it.)

**With Twilight and Rainbow**

"One thing's for sure," Twilight said, examining the window. "It's Scorch's work alright. But a law firm doesn't fit the profile."

"The only question now is, where is he?" Rainbow asked. A bright flash appeared, and Scorch was right in front of them.

"What do we have here," he said. "Two Rainbooms with wings."

"Time for you to flicker out," Twilight said, firing a blast of magic at him. Scorch dodged it, and she and Rainbow took to the skies, following him.

"Ready to play some chicken?" Scorch taunted.

Twilight threw a couple of bombs at him.

"Oh, no," he said as they went off. "Tear gas? I'll give you something to cry about."

He then fired lasers at them, which they quickly avoided.

"Horseapples!" Twilight remembered something. "I have to get up early for the meeting with the grand council. Can you handle this?"

"Sure, I have him flying in circles," Rainbow said as Twilight flew away.

"Alright, Scorch, where are you?" Rainbow called.

"Right above you," Scorch said, hovering over her. He fired a laser beam, sending her crashing into a building. "So long, slowpoke."

**Hours after the Meeting**

"So, how did it go?" Fluttershy asked.

"It went bad," Trevor sighed in defeat. "They already cast their vote."

"I already failed twice," Twilight felt guilty. "As a hero and myself. I tried to do everything and failed to accomplish anything."

"It's not your fault," Sunset reassured her. "You two are trying to take a position that means a lot to parents."

"And what happened to Rainbow?" Trevor asked. Rainbow came in, banged up.

"My word," Rarity gasped. "What happened?"

"Scorch," Rainbow said, clenching her fist as she sat down on the couch. "He pulled a fast one, and I ended up crashing into an abandoned building. Nothing left but my pride in pieces."

Just then, the news came on.

Police are investigating a string of arsons plaguing Canterlot. The latest is a law firm which has many of Canterlot's industrial clients. The firm has major bankruptcy cases.

"Well, it seems our fiery friend has been busy," Pinkie said, then gasped. "Wait a minute, those companies were arson victims too."

Pinkie looked up the most recent news. "Mercury Telecom declares bankruptcy after arson! That's it!"

"What's it?" Applejack asked.

"Think, everybody," Pinkie urged. "Who'd profit from these companies being out of business?"

"JackalCorp," Applejack replied. "That's who."

"Of course, now I get it," Twilight realized. "It was staring me in the face the entire time. Scorch doesn't commit arson. He commits corporate sabotage, and he's working for Henry Jackal."

"Makes sense," Rarity thought about it. "But why fund a child daycare?"

"Nothing like a little good PR to keep the nosy public distracted from dirty business," Sunset added.

"The only question now is how do we stop both of them," Fluttershy asked. Trevor and Tyler entered.

"We're going to fight with fire," Tyler said, showing them a couple of jetpacks. "These bad boys are going to even the playing field."

"And I think I have a way to draw out our pyromaniac friend," Trevor said confidently.

The news came on again.

Trevor and Tyler Sanders stepped into the spotlight again, this time with breaking news at Talon Labs, the newscaster for the Canterlot Weekly was speaking.

"Due to the board being concerned about our competition," Tyler said. "We can't go into full detail yet, but in the next few days, Talon Labs will unveil a prototype that makes us the premier tech company in Canterlot."

"In fact, it would set the tech world on fire," Trevor added.

Reporter: Any concerns about competition from JackalCorp?

"Let's just say I wouldn't want to be them right now," Trevor mentioned as Scorch watched the TV. The phone started to ring.

Scorch answered the phone. "Yeah, I'm watching it," he spoke to the person on the phone. "No problem. My usual rate. I understand. Like the others, Talon Labs will go down in flames."

...

It was nighttime in the city, and Scorch made it to Talon Labs. He blasted right at the wall, made a circle, and went inside, unaware that Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were quietly following him.

"Hello there," Rarity said as the three stepped into the light, standing face to face with the villain.

Scorch laughed a bit.

"I see you survived your early crack-up."

"Game's over, we know about JackalCorp," Rarity sternly said.

"What?" Scorch asked. "Is that like a rock band or somethin'?"

"For someone who gets his kicks scorching tech companies," Applejack sternly said. "I find it hard to believe you've never heard of them."

Scorch fired his flamethrower at them, but Rarity fired a small diamond shard at him, throwing his aim off.

"Give it up," Rainbow said. "Your goose is cooked."

"Says who?" Scorch said, then rocketed out of there. "No one touches me in the sky."

The girls pressed a button on their chests and activated their jetpacks.

"What?" Scorch was surprised.

"This time, we brought the heat," Rainbow said with a smirk.

In a brief moment, Rainbow and Applejack punched him, then got out of there. Scorch fired lasers at the three, but they all avoided them swiftly.

"Handles nice," he said. "But does it have horsepower?" He used the afterburner.

As they were chasing, a man saw them up in the air.

"I'm moving to Abyssinia," the man said.

The three Rainbooms pursued Scorch through the city. Applejack armed her rope and lassoed his legs, trying to pull him, which allowed Rarity to go from behind and ice his jetpack, causing him to fall onto the top of a building. Then Rainbow came to ground level.

"Last chance, Scorch. Stand down," Rainbow said.

He fired his lasers again, but they didn't work.

"Your tank's on empty," Rainbow pointed out. "It's just you and me."

Scorch ran towards her, hoping to land a hit, but Rainbow sidestepped and punched his ribs.

"No one touches me..." Scorch said, holding himself together.

"In the sky?" Rainbow asked, pointing up, then down. "Not anymore."

He yelled and ran right at her. Rainbow kicked him in the face, causing him to lose his balance. He regained it and threw multiple punches at her, but they proved futile due to her speed. Scorch lunged a kick at Rainbow, who caught his foot and spun it, causing him to fall to the ground.

"Face the facts," Rainbow said as Scorch saw all seven Rainbooms approaching, his mask starting to crack. "You've been burned."

Moments later, most of the CPD, along with Detective Spitfire, arrived at JackalCorp and saw Scorch all tied up and unmasked.

"JackalCorp employee of the month," Spitfire said, knowing the Rainbooms had handled it.

**At City Hall**

"Well, based on recent facts that have come to light," Tomlin said, reading the newspaper that JackalCorp was behind the arsons. "I suggest that the council recast their vote on the daycare as well as any contracts currently held by JackalCorp."

Most of the council had guilty faces, having voted for someone willing to eliminate the competition by sabotage.

"Trevor, your dad would be proud if he were here today," Tomlin said.

"Thank you, Mayor Tomlin," Trevor thanked him. "I like to think there's more to me than a good-looking tie."