Last Ditch

Chapter Thirteen: Last-Ditch Method

****

Several elderly stallions sat at a rural filling station, rocking back and forth simultaneously in their chairs. They talked about the rise and fall of gas prices, interesting ponies they met, and politics, until one of them heard a distant rumbling.

"Whaddy'a hear, Henry?" one asked.

"I hear something huge comin'," he replied simply, "Don't know what it is.

After a few minutes, a huge cloud of dust was visable coming down the highway. Red lights were strobing through the storm, frightening the stallions.

"Holy god," one remarked, as he distinguished the whoop of police sirens, "Everypony get inside, they're gonna-"

By the time he had warned them, it was too late. The station was sucked into a hurricane of dust, salt and dirt as hundreds of cruisers raced passed, sirens blaring. After they past, the gas station lay in ruins, windows shattered, the leaderboard felled, and everypony dazed and confused.

"Where do you think they're goin'?" one of the ponies asked.

"The heck if I know, Henry."

Spike was in the lead, racing along the eerily empty highway. He didn't know where Fleetwood was, but always assumed he was ahead, just in case. Twilight had fallen asleep, and he felt alone on the long stretch of blacktop, until a single police motorcycle came into view.

"You gotta be kidding me!" he thought as it came alongside him, "One lousy Harley?"

"Attention, Motorist!" The cop hollered through a bullhorn, saying the exact thing the Monaco had, "Pull your vehicle to the side of the road!"

He stomped on the gas again, and began to pull away from the Harley, when he saw, at an upcoming intersection, a taxi cab and 10 police cruisers lined up, ready to spring as he passed.

When he saw them, it was too late. Spike roared past, and the cruisers and oddly-placed taxi followed.

****

"Alright Trixie," Checker instructed, "You said you were gonna help me out with this, so I'll give you half the money Fleet promised."

"Trixie is beginning to like this partnership!" She laughed

"Okay, here's the plan," he continued, handing her a shotgun, "You try and shoot out his tires, while i'll try and get you close enough to do so. Just remember, shoot the tires, NOTHING ELSE, or else we'll be going to prison!"

"Got it!"

Checker and Trixie had begun to lose ground to the cops, when finally, they spotted an opening in the clump of cars. They took it, and before they knew it, they were alonside Spike's Volvo.

Trixie fired a shot, but it bounced off the hubcab and came through the cab's windshield, ricocheting around inside, until exiting through a window.

"What're you trying to do, kill us?!" Checker was obviously rattled at the stray round, and decided maybe it wasn't as good of an idea as he thought at first to shoot Spike off the road. He decided to play it safe, and follow at a distance.

Meanwhile, Flegel and the Monaco, who's driver was really named Cobalt, were closing in on Spike quickly.

"We got 'em now, guy!" Flegel giggled excitedly, "Here's my plan: We'll get in between him, and ram him!"

"Sounds okay with me!"

The two mopar cruisers sandwiched the Volvo between them, and we're about to pounce, when Spike noticed this, and sped up, leaving the two cops to slam into each other. They lost control, and began to slide all over the road, before breaking away. Flegel ran into another roadside ditch, but Cobalt wasn't as lucky. He rolled, shattering the barlights atop the roof, and finally landed right-side-up, his radiator steaming.

Flegel ran to the Monaco to find Cobalt bruised, but in great condition for the ordeal. He hoisted his friend up, and carried him to the road while the remaining nine cruisers raced pass, sirens whooping.

After a minute or so, an even more impressive swarm of coppers drove by, when a strangely-painted Ford Galaxie pulled over to assist them. A stallion wearing a Canterlot Police badge jumped out, and helped the two into the car.

"So," he asked curiously, the car already picking up speed, "What happened to that pony over there? He looks like he's been through a tumble dryer!"

"Oh," Cobalt moaned, rubbing his head, "I think I've got a concussion!"

"Naw, you're alright," Flegel reassured him, "Hold it together long enough for us to catch that dragon!"

The sound of Cobalt's crash had woken Twilight, who was dozing, map over her head, when it occured.

"Huh? What was that?" she slurred, shooting up, "Spike, did we win?"

"It's alright, Twi," Spike chuckled, ruffling her mane, "The noise you heard was only a police car rolling over!"

"SWEET CELESTIA!"

Fleetwood was back in the lead, but he didn't know how close Spike really was. He decided to take advantage of the lead, and stop for gas.

He had just put the pump nozzle in the tank, when he noticed a familiar Volvo race into the gas station, and hastily fill up.

"Mel," he whispered, gesturing to Spike's car, "Go over there and loosen some of the bolts on the rim!"

While Spike and Twilight trotted inside to pay for the gas, Mel sneaked over to the hotted up wagon with his trusty power wrench. He quickly loosened all the lugnuts on the rear right tire, and raced back over to the LeSabre, not even bothering to use the doors as he jumped through the open convertible top, and landed next to his boss, who was eyeing the wrong they had done smugly.

"It's been done," Mel reported, "Let's get outta here!"

Fleetwood started the car, and the Lesabre lurched away from the service island, taking the pump with it, and onto the road. The pump popped out as the concept drifted onto the road, shaking the nozzle free of the tank. Both ponies gaped in awe as they saw thousands of police cars swarm the small station they had just left. There was a long silence as they drove through the desert, until Fleetwood spoke up, summing up both ponies' feelings at the extroadinary sight:

"Spike's doomed," he said solemnly.

Twilight saw the cruisers just in time and warned Spike, and they left before the police arrived.Soonthe Volvo was catching up, Spike and Twilight unawhere of the danger that lay ahead.

They were just entering the mountains when Fleetwood came into view. The two cars raced through the beautiful valley regions, and onto a high pass that lead to Canterlot, where Spike decided to try and pass his rival.

As soon as Fleetwood glanced casually into his rear-view mirror, something snapped.

"I don't know how he got here," he growled, "BUT I WANT HIM GONE!" He then turned to Mel, and shook him until he was dizzy. "SHOULDN'T HIS WHEEL HAVE COME OFF BY NOW?!"

"I have no idea, man!" Mel wimpered back, "I'm awfully emberassed at the delay!"

"Well, then," Fleetwood chuckled insanely, "We'll just have to knock it off ourselves!"

As Spike began to come alongside, Fleetwood's plan began to unfold. As the two raced along the cliff, side-by-side, the Lesabre suddenly veered into the inside lane; Spike's lane! With a heavy shove, it knocked the wagon into roadside ditch, it's rear right tire bouncing off the cliff. Fleetwood cheered as he raced away, leaving Spike and Twilight to die.