-Party Load Out and Materia-

Tifa: Human (Displaced)
Armored Knuckle- Fire, Ice, Gravity ---- Shinra Beta (Bangle) - Time + Added Effect
Other: Enemy Skill+Mime (Absorbed), Rude’s Sunglasses

Rarity: Unicorn
Silken Dream- Restore, Esuna, Ice ---- Shinra Beta (Bangle)- Barrier, Lightning
Other: Enchanted, Reinforced (and Perfectly tailored) Suit, Earrings

Pinkie: Pony?
Sparkly Megaphone- Lightning, Earth, Fire --- Carbon Bangle- Transform, Manipulate
Other: Red Cape, "Moggy"

The pair sat there trying to process the small pink thing smiling at them. Tifa knew what it was, but didn’t understand how it could be what it was in this world. Rarity on the other hand, simply had no clue.

“Um… hello?” the tiny pink equine looked quizzically up at them, only somewhat breaking through the initial shock. Tifa opened her mouth but failed as her face fell back to bewilderment. Rarity however did manage a response.

“Uh, hello there little… cat thing?” sort of a response at least. For her part the little quadruped just giggled.

“I’m not a cat silly, I’m Pinkie Sith!” she announced proudly.

“Pinkie… Sith” Rarity repeated slowly while Tifa finally found her voice.

“You’re a pony” she stated plainly.

“Pony? Darling that is not in any way a pony, I’m a pony” the very human looking woman with a horn declared.

“No no, she’s right!” Pinkie bounced excitedly on the tips of her hooves and learned in close with a look of wonder “No one else has ever known that!”

“A small horse is also called a pony” Tifa turned back to tell the Turk who continued to look back and forth between them incredulously.

“...Horse?” she asked after a beat.

“Yeah horses, like…” the martial artist faltered, they didn’t have horses here. A few monsters were vaguely horse shaped but those were definitely not horses. Everything was chocobos as she understood it, but she could have sworn there was somethin- “Odin! Er, Orin’s mount rather. But y’know, with fewer legs.”

Rarity still looked unconvinced. She supposed the were some vague similarities what with the hooves and muzzle, but this was no Sleipnir.

“If you say so,” Rarity shrugged “More importantly though, why are you here?”

“OH! Right, I forgot,” Pinkie giggled again into her hoof. She then straightened to stand tough and proudly declare “I’m here to rescue you!”

“You’re here to rescue us? Tifa repeated flatly.

“Yep! ‘Cause if you think what the professor’s done to you so far was bad, then Ho Boy you don’t wanna know what she put in her notes that she hasn’t ordered for yet!” the caped quadruped explained, and then started listing things anyway “Pain tolerance testing, forced breeding, vivisection, personal Mako extraction-”

“MAKO EXTRACTION!?” the unicorn paled, sputtering as she tried to process “But that’s- it’s- NO! She wouldn’t even dream of it! The president would never allow it!”

“The president’s not here,” Tifa pointed out “Also what’s Mako extraction and how could it be worse than everything else she listed?”

“You know how Mako not only flows through the planet but also every living thing?” Rarity asked to receive a confused nod from the pugilist, one that slowly morphed to reflect the horror that began to dawn on her “Exactly darling, it’s akin to ripping out one’s soul essentially.”

“I say we go with the pink pony in the cape!” Tifa voted anxiously.

“GREAT!” said pony chirped “Oh! But I have one condition, you also need to help my another friend of mine escape too.”

The two bipeds looked to each other and shared a shrug.

“If we're already on our way out, I guess it couldn’t couldn’t hurt to have some more help” Tifa reasoned.

“Okie-dokie then!” Pinkie beamed “I’ll go get the door, though I’m afraid I can’t help with the guards from inside the vents.”

“How many are there?” the displaced asked.

“Two at the end of the hall. Everypony else was shooed off the floor by the professor.” a tiny beep from her crown spurred the pony back into action “Oh, gotta get going before the bypass fails. Try to be ready!”

With that she leapt back into the vents, several clangs and bumps heard as she rushed back up and overhead. Tifa quickly moved to the door, hands flexing.

“Tifa dear, I know you technically don't need weapons but without our bangles and materia those rifles will chew through us before we take two steps” the Turk pointed out, only for the brunette to turn and wink at her. Before she could inquire further however a soft chime issued from the door and the woman had already leapt into the hallway.

“Hey!” Rarity heard a guard shout at the captive now inhaling deeply through her nose.

‘What in the world is she-’ the purple haired woman’s thought broke as a torrent of flame erupted from martial artist’s mouth, slamming into the guards and driving them to the back wall. As soon as the stream of fire cut out Tifa was sprinting down the hall with Rarity peeking her head out just in time to see one guard receive a fist to his helmeted temple followed by a roundhouse to the other’s jaw. The singed guards crumpled to the ground as the Turk approached her ally, who was now coughing up small puffs of smoke.

“Ugh, that’ll cause some reflux…” Tifa grumbled, rubbing at her chest before seeing her bemused companion “What? Did you forget the whole reason you guys picked me up in the first place?”

“Why yes, I suppose I did” the unicorn answered with a chuckle “Well, it seems we’ll have to make do with their equipment for now.”

“NOPE!” the pair jumped as a voice squeaked from above, a small vent hiding a dark silhouette directly overhead “Meet me ‘round the corner!”

The pair followed the thumping in the ductwork cautiously but soon saw that the mare was right, the floor seemed abandoned other than the two unconscious guards. Tifa would have been more concerned about them y’know, dying of head trauma or something, but apparently that wasn’t really much of a concern in this world. Evidently the people here were simply made of tougher stuff and were able to bounce back better, which she learned rather quickly given her inherited proclivities. No, what she was the concerned about was what she saw waiting for them around the corner.

In no unsimple terms, it was a large deformed moogle.

“Is that the robotic mog from the Hearth’s Warming party?” Rarity asked rhetorically “I thought the R&D department dismantled it afterwards. They only built as a joke afterall.”

Another clang issued from above as their pink savior dropped with a vent cover and landed on her plot. Shaking away the cobwebs, she stood and made her way over.

“He got lost thanks to some confusing paperwork, didn’t you Moggy?” Pinkie explained, giving the white furred robot an affectionate pat as she passed the group. The mog just gave a deep pitched hum and reached its large mit into its even wider mouth, pulling out a small wrapped bundle before offering it to Rarity. Gingerly taking the thankfully dry package, the Turk opened it to find all of her confiscated gear. Another package was subsequently handed to Tifa, followed then by a pair of tiny, bite sized cupcakes for the two of them.

“Uh, thanks” the brunette offered as they took the tiny confections. The mog seemed indifferent and moved to join its master now typing away at a console near of a large chamber for observing specimens. How the pony was typing with its marshmallow-esq hooves escaped her but even within the few moments since they met, Tifa was already learning to not question how the mare operated. Instead she found herself distracted by the glowing window of a large, reinforced dome opposite the viewing platform. She slowly ambled her way over despite something telling her to not look inside.

‘Don’t look inside’

She leaned in.

‘Seriously, you don’t want to look inside’

She already was looking inside.

...

There was nothing inside.

‘...huh, never mind then’

“Ah shoot!” the pony’s frustration drew the brunettes attention away from the empty chamber “They still haven’t pushed through the transfer… Okay, change of plans! We need to get down to Specimen Holding.”

“Miss Sith, that’s twelve floors down! Past a security checkpoint and doors we don’t have ID cards for!” Rarity protested “And why is your friend in Specimen Holding?”

“Because he’s- urg, it’s too complicated to explain. It’ll make sense when we get there!” the pink mare was becoming flustered “Look, you can take the main stairs to the the floor above the security checkpoint, and from the vents I can trip an alert to draw them away while you bypass the checkpoint with the emergency scaffolding. From there you can get back on the main stairway-”

“The emergency scaffolding?” the Turk interrupted “You mean that glorified plywood hanging off the side of the building?!”

“Well, it’s either that or stay up here and throw the security troopers a welcome party” Pinkie smiled nervously at them.

The unicorn looked like she was about to lose it when she caught and regathered herself. With a sharp huff she examined the pony before turning to the brunette, who gave a tired shrug in return.

“It’s not like we have much of a choice” Tifa pointed out.

“That’s the spirit! I’ll meet you down there!” Pinkie cheered with an oblivious smile “Come on Moggy, back in your safe space!”

“Saaafe” the mog groaned slowly as he dissipated into glowing particles that were absorbed by a red materia set in Pinkie’s crown. A moment later the mare was gone again, disappeared into another maze of ducts. The left behind pair shared a sigh and made their way to the stairwell.

Like before the stair cases were separated by the different floors, creating a moment of tension everytime they had to expose themselves while swinging around to the next decent. They had made it less than halfway to their goal when flashing red lights went off all around them.

“All security personnel, prisoners have escaped the holding cells on the 67th floor. Converge and secure. All other personnel will follow protocol 617. Repeat: All security-”

“Seems our ‘pony’ friend triggered that alert a bit prematurely” the Turk griped before they heard rapid footsteps echoing from both above and below “Quickly, through here.”

Rarity led the pugilist into a floor dedicated to the most oddly arranged offices and cubicles Tifa had come across. The pair scanned for anywhere they could hide from the closing security forces when a stroke of luck found them.

“PSST! Agent Rarity!” a loud whisper hissed from an anxious unicorn woman peeking out from a door to their right. She frantically waved them over, stepping aside as they rushed inside not a moment too soon. Several troopers burst into the room in a sweeping formation not a moment later. The treasurer issued a frightened "EEP!” as one of the trooper’s rifles landed on her still peeking from the door.

“Miss Sparkle! My apologies!” the infantryman immediately dropped his aim “You should stay in your office for now ma’am, a pair of prisoners have escaped the science team’s holding cells.”

“Oh um well, I haven’t seen anyone this floor. Not that I’ve been keeping watch or waiting or anything like that. But I didn’t see them, certainly not in my office at least, so you, you know um, don’t have to come in to check or anything” Rarity and Tifa both face palmed from behind the door at the other unicorn’s rambling.

“That’s uh, that’s okay Miss Sparkle. We’ll just do a quick sweep and leave a guard by the stairwell. If you… do see anything you can report it to him” the trooper trailed off, his tone suggesting he was almost afraid of upsetting the woman.

‘Wait, that seriously worked?' the brunette thought ‘Oh my god. Is she literally so awkward that all that blathering actually seemed normal for her?!’

‘Oh that poor girl... think she has any idea?’

The dejected look the purple woman wore as she closed the door suggested that she did.

“Thank you Twilight dear, I always knew you were one of the good ones” the Turk offered quietly, a hand on the girl's arm.

“Oh well, you uh… you’ve always been real nice to me and with how I still owe Miss Lockhart here for saving me and all, I figured anything I could do to help…” she trailed of, then perked up “Oh, I know!”

She scurried off to a filing cabinet, finding whatever she was looking for in an instant and then moved to her computer. While the treasurer was furiously typing away Tifa took in the office as Rarity listened at the door. Unsurprisingly, everything proved to be meticulously organized. Even the few framed photos that were scattered about the room looked to be at precisely placed angles, one in particular catching the martial artist’s eye. A tall white unicorn with blue hair stood with a smiling Twilight, there was something very familiar about him but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Okay” Twilight spoke up and scampered back over, holding a pair of plastic cards “Here, I managed manage to pool your accounts into a another anonymous account that should elude the typical freezing process. Especially since I’ll probably be the one they have do it anyway. Sorry I couldn’t keep the funds separate, but on such short notice it-”

“This is wonderful dear, more than we could have hoped for” Rarity caught the fellow unicorn off guard with a hug, saving her from another apologetic rant “This will be an enormous help.”

“Yeah besides, I really didn’t have much in there anyway” Tifa added in consolation “Now we’ve just got to get down to Specimen Holding somehow and then out of the actual building and your effort won’t go to waste.”

“Specimen Holding? Oh! I think I can help with that too!” Twilight exclaimed as she broke away from Rarity. She stepped over to Tifa and dragged her to stand rather close to her well coiffed companion, adjusting their positions with gentle nudges as she seemed to be measuring the ground between them. When she finally appeared satisfied she gave them nervous smile “Okay, hold still. I haven’t really done this to other people much.”

Twilight stepped back and scrunched her face, eyes closed tight in concentration as her horn flared with a bright purple aura.

“Wait, haven’t done what to other-” and suddenly the whole room erupted in light and Tifa felt her stomach do flips as the world spun out from under her. Then as abruptly as it left them, everything snapped back in sharp relief and sent the pair flailing as they tried to blink away the spots floating around them.

“Oh my, a little more warning would have been nice Twilight” Rarity huffed out, trying to clear her head with a shake. Tifa pushed herself off some kind of metal gating when something violently crashed against it, snarling and snapping. Jumping back with a yelp the brunette now saw a feral, tentacle backed guard hound locked in what she now realized was a cage. Blushing, she straightened and brushed herself off before seeing Rarity trying to suppress a smile “Don’t worry Darling, I won’t tell a soul.”

A clamor of shifting hooves drew their focus as they saw a pink poof of hair proceed its owner when she poked around a stack of crates.

“Oh wow, that was quick. Well great! Let’s do this thing!” Pinkie spouted happily and forged a path through the cages and creatures. Weaving through the maze of animal prisons ranging from the simple cage to wholly recreated habitats, Tifa spotted a few iconic adversaries but there was an absence of a different kind that she couldn’t help but notice.

“Shouldn’t there be like handlers here or something?” She asked. She wasn’t complaining for the lack of obstacles but it struck her as strange they’d only seen guards so far.

“It’s the night shift dear. Didn’t you notice how dark it was outside Twilight’s window, or how no one else was in the offices with her?” Rarity quarried, a concerned look shot at the human.

“I guess I didn’t…” the brunette muttered back, another blush creeping up.

“I wouldn’t fret about it, it’s been quite the long day after all” the Turk consoled her before nearly tripping over the pint-sized mare that suddenly stopped in front of her.

“This is it!” Pinkie announced as they found themselves in front of a large metal box that was notably isolated from the rest against the back wall. It had no view ports or cage meshing but instead was a near solid cube with a series of air holes along the top and bottom. A faded ID number of ‘S-91k3’ printed in on its front the only other defining feature.

Tifa noticed a hastily painted yellow outline surrounding the crate as Pinkie trotted over casually, oblivious to the large ‘FIRE HAZARD’ warnings bordering all around it. Only after that discovery did she see that several of those air holes were bordered with dark scorch marks.

“Pinkie…” Rarity started warily as the pony hopped up to cling to the a panel next to the container “When you said transfer I thought you meant an employee stuck working in this department. Just what kind of ‘friend’ of yours is this.”

“Why would an employee need rescuing silly? Well, I guess you could say he technically works with the people who work here, does that count?” the mare mused still messing with the panel “and as for what kind, you can see for yourself!”

“Pinkie wait!” the unicorn tried but a pink hoof had already pushed the button, triggering the whole front of the cage to pop off and hit the ground with a deafening clang. The two escapees started inching away, the Turk’s hand hovering just above her weapon as the shadow within began to stir and stand. Stepping next into the floor’s dim light was another quadruped, but another little pony it most certainly was not.

What stalked out was roughly the shape and size of a lion or some other big cat, though other than the claws and sharp teeth most of the similarities ended there. It was covered in dark purple, armor-like scales save for its underbelly which shone with much smoother, pale green scales more like those of a snake. A ridge of rounded spines in a more saturated shade of the same color ran from the top of its head to nearly the tip of its thick tail that ended in what seemed to be an actual flame burning bright green.

‘Holy shit it’s a fucking dragon.’ was the first thought that resembled anything coherent in the brunettes head. For its part, the reptilian fire breather merely studied the pair passively before looking down to the pink pony grinning broadly up at him.

“Friends of yours?”

“It can talk!?” Rarity exclaimed.

“Yes… I can talk” the dragon affirmed flatly in a deep but still somewhat young voice, its gaze returning down to the pony again “So?”

“Yuh-huh!” Pinkie confirmed his earlier question. The fire-breather gave a small hum and continued his earlier study, particularly the hand still on the unicorns holstered weapon.

“If that’s right then I assure you that won’t be necessary, not for me at least.”

“OH! Yes, yes of course excuse me. It’s just, well you…” The Turk fumbled until reaching some semblance of control “You can talk.”

“Yes, that's been established” the reptile quipped, a small smirk appearing on his lips. Rarity once again corrected herself before elaborating.

“I’m sorry, but I was under the assumption that all sapient dragons had gone extinct.”

“Well there's at least one left as far I know, so not yet they're not” the dragon shrugged.

“Not to interrupt” Tifa interjected “But we’re still escaping right?”

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie chuckled “Okay then! Now we just have to head down to the Fiftieth floor to reach the fire escape stairs.”

“Cutting it a little close there between the SOLDIER floor and their director’s but I suppose that does seem the best course. ...Ugh, all those stairs though” Rarity sighed before giving Tifa a less than eager look “Hope you’re ready to work up a sweat darling.”

The brunette didn’t look any more enthused, even without the memory of the game it didn’t take a genius to figure out that fifty flights of stairs didn’t make for a fun time. Thankfully it seemed like the elevator would actually be safer to get them down to the determined floor at least. Since it wasn’t a vital area, Rarity said security wouldn’t be pinged to question the looping feed Pinkie apparently set up.

“This is the break room floor you took me to right?” the buxom fighter asked.

“The very same, it hasn't been two weeks but it seems so long ago now doesn’t it?”

The doors chimed and they piled out. Pinkie finagled with the panel and managed to activate the emergency stop; it wouldn’t hold up any longer than a call to maintenance or security to flip a switch but it would still buy those extra few seconds. The unicorn woman also sealed the door with a quick flash of her Ice materia.

Satisfied they started their way across the floor when a glowing clock rune suddenly appeared under their feet, spinning rapidly before abruptly stopping. None of them had a chance to to even budge before they no longer had the ability to, save for the groups only human.

“Here everypony is rushing to the cells when the most obvious way out is right below them” a cool feminine voice echoed as a side door opened between them and their goal. A tannish woman stepped out wearing the dark red uniform of a 2nd class SOLDIER, the telltale glow of mako infusion clear in her eyes. Placing a pneumatic gauntlet on her hip and flipping her long, dark grey hair out of her face, she smirked at the brunette in front of the Stopped escapees “But then again, maybe they just remembered I was here and knew they wouldn’t be needed.”

Tifa immediately recognized the elite as Canyon Crusher, the same one who watched over Twilight so vigilantly during the AVALANCHE attack and who she later found out was one of the 3rd classes she faced in the simulation. Evidently, she’d gotten a promotion since that template.

Swallowing audibly, Tifa slowly raised her fists and fell into her usual stance.

“Oh you’re kidding, right?” the SOLDIER practically laughed “What? You think because you sort of beat up a couple old 3rd class simulations and held off Rina and Rude when they were deliberately trying not to hurt you that you’re hot shit now?! Do yourself a favor love, and just give up.”

The human risked an uneasy glance back to her frozen allies, it was true she didn’t think she could win on her own but if she could just break Canyon’s concentration or keep her busy until the Stop effect wore off then they could probably take her all together. She could at least do that, right? Steeling herself, Tifa took a deep breath and charged the woman before dropping into a slide against the SOLDIER’s exposed feet.

The elite stepped forward into a wide stance at the last moment, absorbing the strike and stopping it so solidly that Tifa’s momentum actually snapped her almost back up right. A metal covered hand snatched the her suspenders and yanked her the rest of the way, straight into the other gauntleted fist slamming against her face. Hitting the ground, Tifa quickly scrambled backward as the earth pony woman brought a hand up to a chortle.

“Oh wow, I knew you looked a bit sloppy in the test recordings but now I just kind of feel bad” Tifa stood scowling, hands raised again. The SOLDIER barely gave her a moment before retaliating with a charge of her own and a fist reared back. Tifa braced to block high, absorbing the strike and preparing a counter. Or rather she was until the fellow pugilist continued forward, shoving into the brunette while sweeping her leg, the other pneumatic glove catching her in the stomach on the way down. Tifa shouldered back and arced her fist around only for it to be deftly caught, the stressed grunt of the SOLDIER a cold consolation indeed. Tifa kept pressing the punch to try to unbalance her opponent with little success “Now don’t get me wrong girly, you’ve got the strength alright… But you have no idea how or when to use it!”

Crusher spun out of the to hold to guide Tifa’s own strength past her and smash a backhand into the back of her head, accelerating the brunette’s face first trip to the ground.

‘Shit, I didn’t think I’d do this badly’

‘Just got to try and hang on…’

“And while I’ve never seen a style quite like yours…” Tifa pushed off the ground into a sweeping kick that her opponent easily jumped over and returned a knee to her face for the trouble “you broadcast so much you might as well call your attacks through a damn mega phone. Looks like the little pink thing has one you can use.”

The earthie casually circled her with her arms loosely crossed as Tifa struggled back up to her feet. As soon as she had a semblance of balance she swiped her arm up with a rapid retreat, sending a wave of flame rushing at the mako infused fighter. The SOLDIER burst straight through without so much as a blink to descend upon her again, lecturing her while emphasizing each point with another strike.

“This isn’t some bar fight to break up!”

A backhand snapped her head to the side.

“Real fighters aren’t stumbling drunks!”

A kick slammed into her ribs.

“You have no idea how to read your opponent!”

A head butt crashed against her already bleeding nose.

“You only use your materia as an afterthought!”

A painful current from the SOLDIER’s fingertips coursed through her.

“And you can’t even keep your damn arms up!”

A one-two followed by a quick three and four found her just before her suspenders were in her opponents grasp again, their other arm primed over a shoulder.

“Or in other words: You’re Green."

The SOLDIER’s clenched her fist in preparation... only to see the girl’s head loll back, eyes closed with pain. Crusher realized her grasp was one of the only things keeping the buxom novice vertical. The arm dropped and the clearly disappointed elite just lazily pushed the brunette away, watching her fight frantically to just stay on her feet. She sighed as the stumbling finally stopped and began to give way to gravity.

So it’s understandable that Canyon’s blinked in disbelief when a leg to shot out, saving the girl from the floor.

“So the newbie's got some grit huh?” the super soldier droned out, already growing bored of the distraction. She put the hand back on her hip as the woman began to take a deep, ragged breath, arms and head still hand limp towards the floor “It’s admirable, really. Color me impressed by that if nothing else but, believe it or not, I really don’t want to keep hurting you. So please, just stay dow-”

The word caught in her throat at the uncertain sight of the girl releasing the breath.

‘Did she just… shimmer?’ The SOLDIER tried to process the brief flash of what looked like countless, very faintly glowing cracks sweep over the woman’s form. It was missing the telltale aura of subtle colored flames of a limit, so she knew it couldn’t be that. The bloodied martial artist abruptly stopped trembling and lifted her back foot slightly, her head still down. The elite leaned forward to curiously study the movement.

Until the foot shattered the tile beneath it and the girl was suddenly a foot from the mako infused woman’s face.

“HOLY FUC-!” A red glove smashed into the 2nd class’s face, the first solid hit from the brunette since they started managing to drive her back a good couple feet. Barely catching the next punch, the SOLDIER tried to turn the attack again. She balked when her target twisted in turn and swung back before she could, the strike knocking the wind out of her as a fist drove into her gut. Still taking advantage of the hunched response though, Canyon snapped up and caught Tifa’s chin with the back of her head.

“Where from the stream did all this come from?!” Crusher demanded, blocking and deflecting against the now relentless assault against her. A pair of simultaneous tackles slammed the pair’s shoulders together, their hands becoming locked as mirrored counters cancelled each other out. The moment finally allowed Canyon the chance to see her opponents face as her head came up to meet hers.

And all she found was a silent, hard stare that gave even her pause. Gone was the panicked fear of a novice; this was the steel gaze of a veteran.

“What in the goddamn?” she muttered before Tifa jumped away, her grip still locked in the elite’s and dragging her off balance. The SOLDIER caught sight of the brunette shifting into a low stance but couldn’t react before the heel of a palm struck her chin, followed by two more. She only then regained her footing and shielded her face the next blow.

“I’M A SECOND CLASS SOLDIER! I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY A ROOKIE!” Canyon roared, dumping her mana into a single overcharged shock and detonating it between them. Both were thrown back but the SOLDIER’s unnatural resistance let her power through and launch at her stunned opponent. She halved the distance when a snap echoed through the room and she was hit with the sensation of gliding through molasses.

Her eye’s flew wide as Tifa’s face snapped up with a scowl and she realized her error. The bloodied and beaten woman stepped forward and reared back an arm. Canyon’s pupils nearly vanished when a flaming aura surged over the the buxom martial artist before dissipating an instant later, leaving her fist with a subtle glow.

‘THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE! HOW COULD A GREEN HORN LIKE HER-’ and then it hit her. It hit her like a frag grenade strapped to the front of a double decker bus and exploding point blank in her face. The wall next to the fire door cratered as a body crashed into it, flaking away into large chunks as it slowly slid out. Now it was the elite’s turn to fight gravity, catching herself for just moment to stare uncomprehendingly at the other martial artist.

“What the fuuu...” she slurred out and crumpled unconscious to the floor.

A satisfied hum chirped from the smirking Tifa as she stretched her arms out behind her. Aching her back into it and thrusting certain assets slightly more skyward, she sung a very familiar victory tune under her breath as she took the in moment.

She collapsed not a second later when another shimmer washed over her, legs splaying to either side as her knees and tail bone met the tile. A quick arm shot out to catch the rest of her while the other hand flew up to grip her head. She swayed uneasily as the room refused stay still until a gentle hand landed on her shoulder to steady her, a cure spell soon washing away some of the pain and dizziness.

“Easy now darling, we’ve got you.” Rarity cooed softly and repeated the casting. The victorious brawler shook away the last of the effects before lifting her head, marveling at the scene around her. Her gaze whipped around between the fallen SOLDIER and her freed companions. Wide, searching red eyes finally landing on the Turk’s.

“What happened?” the trio flinched back in surprise. They all traded a worried glance with one another before turning back to the human.

“We were about to ask you the same question.”

Tifa arched an eyebrow and opened her mouth to respond when a metal grinding noise demand their attention. Several bangs and muffled grunts sounded from the still frozen over elevator

“Perhaps later then!” Rarity relented. Spurred back into their escape, the four of them barrelled past the prone super soldier and into the stairwell. Another chill fell over the group as this door was encased in a thick layer of ice as well.

“We’ll not make it more than a few floors before they’re through that, any ideas?” the sapient dragon queried.

“We JUMP!” the pink pony announced with a smile. She leapt onto the exhausted Tifa’s shoulder before hanging down to her bangle and popping out one of the materia “Don’t worry Tif-Tif! I’ll cast this one!”

The bipedal pair moved to argue when they heard the guards breach the elevator. With some unhappy hums and grunts they hopped up on the railing, the narrow opening of the spiral not even enough for them to see the bottom. Accomplishing an uneasy balance on the bar they took a deep breath.

“OKAY! ON THREE!” Pinkie yelled

“ONE!”

“TWO!” The pink mare shoved them as she jumped herself.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO THREE!?” the purple haired unicorn screeched they plummeted toward the ground.

“HAVEN’T YOU EVER GONE SKYDIVING?!” the pony cried, giggling all the way down in contrast to the women’s screaming. A magical hum barely sounded over them as a dark aura enveloped the quartet, gradually slowing their decent and letting go with just a half story to go.

The dragon landed solidly with the pink mare bouncing onto his back. The other two hit the ground a bit less gracefully.

“I vote we never do that again” Tifa groaned as they rose on violently shaking legs.

“Party poopers” Pinkie teased. The focus was reacquired when the Turk cleared her throat.

“Don’t let your guard down, we’re not quite out of this yet ladies. And gentle… drake” the well coiffed woman added “Come on, I can lead us the rest of the way.”

Several back alleys and a harrowing climb down a loosely supported cable later, the group found themselves sprinting down a train tunnel to their next destination. They’d gotten lucky with the train schedule so far, not only were there only a few that ran this late but it seemed the company shut them down to impede their escape. Too bad they had no intention of riding any.

They just hit a fork in the tunnel when a gout of red and black flame erupted before them.

“Heya Priss” a familiar voice spoke from an alcove set in the side of the tunnel “See that Rude? Told you she’d bring ‘em through here.”

The tall Turk stepped out from the opposite side to Rina, moving to block their way forward with his partner. Rarity stalked forward with a fierce look.

“Move.” she demanded with a deadly serious tone. Rina just slumped her shoulders with a dramatic sigh.

“All you had to do was stay put. The president would have returned and-”

“And how long until she left again and we were once again at that madwoman’s mercy, or until one of the other division heads decided to see how much ‘use' we could be?” the unicorn spat back “No, for her to have even tolerated this kind of corruption is damning enough alone. I won’t sit around waiting for this to happen again or follow a woman who could have allowed it to happen in the first place. The ends no longer justify the means. Now move.”

“We can’t let you get her Rare.” the red head side stepped to stay in her path.

“You will not keep me from my sis-”

“DO YOU REALLY WANT HER INVOLVED IN THIS PRISS?!” Rina snapped back, dropping the easy-going act and stopping Rarity in her tracks “She’s a kid, she shouldn’t have to live as a fugitive just because you lost your faith in the company. Besides, the boss already picked her up.”

“WHAT?!” the pale woman screamed, stomping forward.

“She’s a close contact that needs to be monitored until the search is called off. She’ll stay in Turk custody until deemed appropriate.”

Rarity faltered at that, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at the pair.

“Turk custody?” she asked warily. Rina shot back a confident smirk.

“Well you escaped a high security holding area.”

“It’s a security matter now” Rude finished calmly. The unicorn stepped back, gaze down as her mind raced.

“We’ll take care of her Rares, she's already with Lyra. She likes her right? We’ll probably even be able to send her back to your parents when things calm down” Rina finished when Tifa finally spoke up.

“And what about us?” the casual Turk met her wary gaze with with a steady one of her own. It shifted to her now former coworker and finally to share a long stare with her partner. She finally just threw her arms up in a shrug, the bald operative raising a pair of fingers to his ear bud in response.

“This is Rude, still no sign of the targets… acknowledged, maintaining position for now. Out.”

“...Well go.” Rina finally said to the hesitating fugitives, gesturing to the other tunnel. Still watching the pair closely, the group skirted past and ran down the tunnel.

“PRISS!” the called echoed out behind them, the horned woman turning to see Rina looking over her shoulder at her seriously “We can’t do this again. Next time…”

Rarity nodded solemnly at the implied warning before turning back and continuing with the others, hoping this was still the right decision.

Faint beams of light filtered down through exposed and broken rafters as Tifa worked to remove a heavy, makeshift grating from a large manhole. Pinkie and the dragon they’d come to know simply as ‘Spike’ kept watch on the nave of the abandoned church while Rarity dug through a summoned foot locker. The fist fighter finally broke the obstruction free to expose a rough hewn, rocky tunnel; a covert entrance used by the Turks to get into the subterranean caves beneath the plates.

‘Guess I’m going to see the Undercity after all, huh?’

‘...’

“Ms. Lockhart” Tifa jumped as Spike’s soft call brought her back to the moment “I believe she’s here.”

Tifa turned to see the very welcome sight of a pink woman with bright green hair and a shotgun on her back stepping somewhat gingerly past the odd pair. As soon as her eyes found the martial artist her face lit up and she quickly ran straight to her, shifting the heavy bag draped across her chest before landing on the brunette with a hug.

“Hey Zest” Tifa returned the embrace with a tired but very genuine smile “Sorry to drag you out here.”

“Hey no worries,” Zest tried to wave off despite the distressed uncertainty behind her expression “Always good to remind myself I picked the right sector, Five being the shithole it is… But here, special delivery.”

Lemon unslung the very familiar looking duffle from her shoulder, grunting slightly as she handed it over to the now criminal. Tifa accepted the weight but immediately dropped it at the sight of a smaller travel bag that was hidden by the larger luggage.

“No!” Tifa shot a deadly seriously look at the music lover as she snatch the base of the bag’s strap.

“Lock’ I’m not just gonna-”

“NO!” Tifa repeated louder, her gaze growing almost angry as she cut the girl off.

“But Tif’ even without my parents I still have contacts and money! I can help!”

“I won’t allow you to just throw everything away for me! Especially when your parents have enough clout to keep you out of trouble!” Tifa finished, letting go of the strap and standing her ground against the girl’s protests. Rarity meanwhile, having dismissed the trunk back to the red materia on her wrist, shot a raised eyebrow at the girl who returned a shrug.

“Citris is my mom” Zest explained simply. It took a moment but a wave of comprehension washed across the former Turk’s face.

“Ah, yes. I suppose trying to prosecute the child of one of their own best lawyers would give even the board some pause. Particularly when you’ve done nothing wrong.”

“That they know about at least” Lemon added, gesturing around to the situation they were in. Her shoulders slumped and her gaze fell as she turned back to her friend “I just… I don’t think I could stand knowing all I did for you was drop off a bug out bag...”

“Zest all you’ve done for me these past six months is more than I could have ever hoped for. I…” Tifa struggled as the sentiment caught in her throat.

‘I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough.’ Just fucking say it and make a connection damnit!’

‘...’

“We should get going, even with my former cohorts dragging their feet the rest of the company will think of this way out eventually” Rarity interjected after the awkward moment stretched on a bit too long. Tifa gave a dejected nod, pretty much hating herself at that point. She lingered a few seconds longer as the others filed down the hole, giving her first and best friend in this world another quick hug.

“Thanks Zest. Don’t worry, just stay safe and I’ll do the same.” she let go and quickly rushed down after the others, dragging the grate back over to cover their escape.

The music lover meanwhile stood there staring at the hole for a good while longer, silent until a few drops of moisture streaked gently down her cheeks.

“...You better.”

Author's Notes:

So fun fact, this story was almost about a Yuffie displaced instead of a Tifa one. I rather like both characters (which is kind of funny because I used to Hate Yuffie) but after a decent bit of deliberation I came to the conclusion that Tifa just had more story and development potential than Yuffie.

That and I already had a displaced story with more lighthearted tone (comparatively). One that also starred a character that's a goofy and kind of obnoxious ninja just like Yuffie. Speaking of which I'm already a few pages into Equestria Gear's next chapter so for those of your that read that as well, know that you won't have to wait long

But for now, as always: Thanks for reading and Have a good one!

P.S.- Oh and for those confused by the chapter title, holding L1 and R1 is how you flee a battle in FF7. Figured it was appropriate