-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: An undecided rotation of outfits (currently), Earrings

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

Spike: Sapient Dragon
Claws and Teeth (No Weapon Equipped) --- Mythril Armlet: Restore
Other: Natural Fire Magic, Hardened Scales

Tifa watched a the owlbear clear the hill and continue out of sight, the chimeric creature weaving about slightly in its stupor. With the increasingly familiar tingling of a new enemy skill still lingering in the back of her mind, she turned to the mog mounted pony with her materia aglow.

“You sure it won’t just turn around to find us when it breaks free?” the martial artist gave her a concerned frown, Pinkie smiled back brightly however.

“It may have taken a couple castings but that was a solid manipulate” Pinkie countered “He’ll still be wandering that way for a while and prolly not even know what direction we’re in when it wears off.”

“Yes, but now you know White Wind Darling! A very useful technique from what little I’ve seen of it” Rarity cut in prior to pursing her lips “Well, if you can drum up the mana to cover its cost that is… Still! More people able to heal the better, right?”

“Lucky we found one alone and on the way to the Fort. Hopefully we won’t need the skill once we’re there” Spike added. They had been closing in on their destination when the dragon caught the scent of the feathered beast and Pinkie excitedly declared they should track it to earn Tifa a new skill.

“Hopefully. Guess we’ll find out” Tifa shrugged and they started on their way again.

It had been about a week since they made it out of the caves, which took a few days to navigate on their own. After finding the light again, they first headed toward a small town their party’s pony member pointed out on the map to rest and restock. They didn’t stay more than a night though and spent the rest of the trip off the roads to avoid making it any easier for Shinra to track them down.

Once they were past the Divide they could risk more comfortable accommodations, but with them still being so close to Canterlot meant they were that much deeper in the search net. The brunette hoped the militia at the Fort wasn’t as abrasive as Rarity suggested; even if she was still stuck with her bedroll, it would be really nice to spend a night indoors again. She sighed however as she looked to the horizon and saw the sun beginning to set.

“We should probably start trying to find a spot for camp” Spike spoke up almost as soon as she had the thought, as if to confirm her dismay.

“You sure we can’t make there it tonight?” Tifa asked. They had been able to see the fort, if not its namesake bird, in the distance since the morning and they didn’t really seem that far if they kept moving. Rarity was the first to respond.

“We probably could actually, but it would be well after dark by the time we arrived and I doubt that would help our case very much” the former Turk clarified, making the brunette’s shoulders slump. She still wasn’t used to so many nights in a tent.

They soon found a decent spot among a small crop of trees, and started setting up under a fallen trunk leaning against one of the area’s more rocky outcroppings. It should hide them from sight for the most part.

“I wonder where the birdie’s been,” Pinkie pondered “With what I’ve heard, it should be so big we can't of missed it.”

“No, we certainly couldn’t have. It’s probably been out hunting” Rarity offered and started setting up the tent. With that settled, Spike took up watch while Tifa and Pinkie set off to gather wood; It had become her unspoken regular duty as her strength came the most in handy for breaking apart anything too big to use when there was nothing smaller. They quickly found a hollowed log that would last the night and headed back to find Rarity almost done with the tent already.

“Wowie, do you do that fast!” Pinkie marveled for not the first time. The unicorn had an exceptional efficiency at the task, as well as a knack for making sleeping on the ground a lot less… well, like sleeping on the ground.

“Where’d you learn how to do all this so fast? I wouldn’t think you camped that much as a Turk and you really don’t seem like the ‘rough’n it’ type” Tifa asked, then hastily added “No offense.”

Rarity let out a small chuckle.

“None taken dear. But no, and it’s for that very reason Why I learned all these little tricks; to insure that those times all that more bearable when it was required. And as for the speed? Well, fabrics’ fabric darlings, no matter how fashionable… or unfashionable.” she finished with a bright smile, before it was stifled by a wince. She instinctively reached up to her eye, bringing attention to a well hidden bruising that laid beneath the make-up.

“Sorry...” Tifa’s gaze fell.

“Darling Stop!” Rarity laughed in response “It’s really not that bad and is hardly the first black eye I’ve had; I was a Turk after all.”

After some considerable thought on her fight with Canyon Crusher, Tifa had decided she didn’t want to have to rely on another ‘episode’ to save her again. So shortly after the group left the Undercity she asked Rarity, being far more experienced, if she had any advice on how to shore up her abilities. She had surprised Tifa by offering to spar. Perhaps more unexpected was her asking Spike to help as well, so that Tifa could learn how to better fight non-humanoids.

So while the unicorn had more than once pointed out that real experience was better since it was, well Real, Tifa was at least feeling like she was learning. Particularly with how Rarity was far more range based and how fighting Spike was just plain different. And thanks some clever use of her barrier, the former Turk allowed them a means to fight without much risk of seriously hurting each other.

Seriously being the main word.

They’ve still ended with some scuffs and some sunburn level skin at the end of their few sessions. And unfortunately during their last spar, Tifa caught the well coiffed unicorn off balance and lost track of her strength; punching right through the protective castings and flooring the woman. While the healing spells fixed the worst of it, she was still left with a pretty good shiner that even her expert make-up work couldn’t completely cover.

“Besides,” Rarity continued “We all had had to politely ignore the leftovers of your fight with Canyon, so now it’s simply my turn I suppose. Think of it as a reminder that you’re getting better.”

The martial artist gained at least half a smile with that. However, whatever response she had was suddenly cut off by a massive gust of wind whipping through the camp as a shadow briefly blocked out the sky. A deep, screeching cry echoed back at them with its passing. As the girls recovered, Spike merely looked skyward with a mildly amused look.

“I guess we found our fort’s Condor” he continued to search the expanse above them.

“Wow-wee! That must be one big bird!” Pinkie exclaimed as she pulled herself back onto her Mog’s back.

“Yes well, I suppose we’ll see that for ourselves tomorrow.” Rarity added “But I suggest we get some rest for now, it’s still a bit of a walk from here.”

The pony and dragon agreed and moved to finish their earlier the preparations while also fixing the mess the gust caused. Tifa however stayed silent, shooting a worried glance in the direction of the avian’s call.

‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this…’

‘...’

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day came swiftly it and the party found themselves at the base of the fort’s hill by midday. They stood starting up the incline at the fortified structure… or the half fortified structure rather.

The base of the fort seemed to be carved out of a natural stone spire covered in vegetation and leaning somewhat cockeyed out of the top of the hill. The other half however, cradling its side until the two halves split near the top into a Y, was completely man-made. Nestled right in the nook of the split was a massive egg and its yet more massive parent. The eponymous condor of the fort was currently eating something they couldn’t see off the top of natural half of the fort.

“Well you were right Pinkie” Tifa gulped “That is one damn big bird…”

“I don’t remember saying damn” the crowned pinkness rubbed a hoof on her chin. She then shrugged and continued “Soooo... do we just walk up and knock?”

“I’m… not sure” the most well coiffed among them hesitated “I would have thought we’d run into a sentry or something by now.”

“We could try calling out” Spike proposed. Rarity and Tifa glanced at each other but before either could act, the mog mounted pony was shouting through her megaphone.

“IS ANYPONY THERE!? WE NEED A WAY ACROSS THE DIVIDE!”

“FIRE!” was all Tifa heard shouted back before her vision was filled with orange.

----------------------------

‘Ugh, what happened?’

‘You got knocked out by a pumpkin.’

‘Well that’s embarrass-HEY!’

‘What?’

‘You’re back!’

‘Oh, um… yeah’

‘What the hell?! Where have you been?! Was that you against Crusher?! Why can I only tell us ap-?!’

‘Woah! Easy now. I know there’s some question but there’s also some... obstacles’

‘Like what?!”

‘Well for one, it’s time to wake up Tiffy’

‘...Tiffy?’

‘I said-’

--------------------------------

“Come on Tif-Tif, wake up!” the world blurred back slowly, a pair of blue blobs floating within a white expanse dominating her vision. A flash of pink kept repeating until the image focused into a set of concerned, bright blue eyes blinking at her sideways from a square shadow “There she is!”

Pinkie beamed as she became clearer, allowing the prone brunette to see the pony was currently locked in some kind of pet carrier. As she sat up could also see they were no longer outside. What looked like natural caves to stretched to her left while structured wood and stone stood to her right, except everything had weird orange strings hanging every-

‘Oh, I’m covered in pumpkin guts’ she realized as she pulled a large clump from her hair, finding her hands were also bound in the process.

‘Better than the real kind, right?’

Well, at least her thoughts were finishing themselves again. Though she could barely hear them over the sound of an older man and woman yelling at each other among several people with guns. Glancing at the pair, then to her bound hands and then the rest of her restrained companions, she leaned over towards the dragon seated next to her.

“I’m guessing this isn’t good.”

“I say we send ‘em back tuh Shinra in body bags as a message!”

“Well AH say we feed ‘em to the bird and be done wit' it!”

“Her name’s Courtney!”

“Nope” Spike answered simply.

“We’re not with Shinra!” Tifa shouted, earning the butt of a rifle to the back of the head. Squinting as she tried to shake away the pain, she grumbled “...I’d really wish people would stop trying to knock me out.”

“Ah, so the big one’s awake” the stout male announced, ignoring the scowl of the woman he was fighting with “So what, you another Turk like this one?!”

Tifa looked over to a disgruntled Rarity currently leveling a flat look to their captor. She returned a small glance to the confused martial artist.

“Sorry Darling, seems they’re better informed than I expected” she said quietly. She redirected her attention back to the pair “I’m not a Turk anymore, I left Shinra’s service weeks ago.”

“Oh how con-vee-ne-ent” the buck toothed woman sauntered up, a mocking sarcasm dripping from her accented words “A couple weeks is jus’ enough time to prove tuh us you ain’t no spies ain’t it?!”

“We ain’t fall’n fer it missy” the male growled.

“We’re not spies!” Tifa cut in “They experimented on us! Why would we help a company that violated us!?”

“Why would they ‘speariment on ya?” the male sneered at them.

“Because they’re Shinra” Spike pointed out bluntly. Their captors narrowed their eyes at the dragon, then at the pink pony.

“They are kinda weird” the male leaned toward his counterpart and muttered not at all subtly “Never heard of a talk’n dragon, let alone any work’n fer Shinra.”

“And ah don’t even know what the little pink thing is…” the woman returned, earning a slight, disgruntled grimace from the pony “course they could have ‘em to throw us off their scheme...”

An exasperated sigh escaped the bound unicorn woman.

“We don't have a scheme. We're only trying to find a way across the Divide.”

“Yeah? What fer?”

“We’re looking to speak with AVALANCHE” the answer was immediately met with scoffs and raspberry blowing.

“Those amateurs?! Pah!” the male spat, nearly being cut off by the female next.

“Yeah, but even then we ain’t about to let ya cross now! They may be doin’ it for the wrong reasons but at least they’re against Shinra! Against you!”

Rarity looked like she was about to protest when the same screech from the previous night filled the fort.

“Oh well looky there, it wasn’t enough, if only someone had said so earlier” the male drooled out, his words once again saturated with sarcasm and earning a death glare from his counterpart “Go take care of the bird.”

“‘Her name’s Courtney!”

“An’ the more reliable of y’all,” he continued unfazed, looking to those clearly on his side of things “take ‘em to the cells.”

Tifa and Spike tensed, looking over the purple haired woman. She returned the slightest shake of her head before the militia forced them to their feet and marched them deeper into the constructed half of the fort. Tifa tried to keep in mind the turns and stairs but realized while very sturdy, it was all laid out pretty simply. When they wanted to escape, they just had to go down.

‘Where from there though…’ she thought to herself until a guard shoved her for lagging. It wasn't much longer until they were entering a thick bared cell with a single window to the outside, showing an exceptionally high and steep drop.

“Too bad none of us can fly” Spike commented.

“We may still be able to get through to them” Rarity countered, then lowered her voice to avoid the guard overhearing “And even if we can’t, starting a fight against an entire militia in their own fort isn’t one we can win.”

“Not with only the four of us at least. And I think they’d notice if I disappeared into the vents to find our gear here…” Pinkie finished as Tifa fiddled with the lock on the carrier “Can’t you just rip it off?”

“Oh… yeah.” The martial artist paused, wondering why she didn't just start with that. She clutched the grating and-

“HEY! Leave it!” one of the guards shouted, their rifles leveled at the brunette “That ain’t yours to break!”

“Sorry Pinks” Tifa offered as she slowly pulled her hand away before the door to the cell block opened, cutting off any further conversation. Tifa expected one of the leaders but instead found herself looking at another militia member, their loose fitting gear resting awkwardly on their slim, winged form. She snapped a salute off to the guards, hand knocking askew a thick pair of goggles over her balaclava.

“Reporting for guard duty! You can return to your posts!” an eager and rather young sounding voice emerged from beneath the mask.

“Our post is here, Muff” one countered with a flat look.

“You were told to bring them here, not stand guard” the woman cocked her head to the side “That’s my job!”

He looked like he was about to argue when another nudged him with an elbow.

“Just let her, it’s the only thing she’s good at” he whispered. The first let out an irritated grunt but waved the others out of the room all the same. He did pause and turn back however, with a finger pointing threateningly at Tifa “An’ don’t let ‘em break Carrot’s carrier!”

“Yes sir!” she chirped back, saluting again. She stood like that a moment longer after the door closed and then, after a quick glance to the prisoners, stealthily crept to the door. Still on her tippy toes, she pressed an ear to the door and waited with a finger raised toward them for silence. Confused looks passed between the group until the girl finally broke away.

“Okay! They’re gone” the woman announced in a hushed tone and scampered up to the bars… before tripping and landing flat on her face. She sprung back up no worse for wear though, giving a quick “IMOKAY! ...Sorry I couldn’t help earlier Agent Rarity, but it could’ve compromised my cover.”

The girl pulled off the goggles and cowl, showing a pair of bright golden eyes sparkling at the unicorn from under blonde locks. ...Or one of the pair was. The other was looking at the ceiling over Spike.

“OH!” Rarity exclaimed before covering her mouth and dropping her tone “I mean, not at all Darling. You were one of the initiates in Sunny and Sugarcoat’s group, yes? Miss… Hooves, was it?”

The brightness of girl’s smile could rival Pinkie’s, her headed nodding fervently with joy at the recognition.

“Initiate Derpy Hooves at your service ma’am!” she saluted again with proud determination “I may not have made the last cut but I assure you ma’am, I can still help you out of this jam. Through… why are you here in the first place ma’am? I wouldn’t think my recent reports would have caused someone to check the situation here at the fort, especially a Turk!”

“Oh, um no. I’m afraid we’re here… on a mission. We felt the fort may be our best means across the Divide” Rarity responded.

“Why not go to Junon? Or take a copter straight from the plates?” Derpy cocked an eyebrow, further exaggerating her quirk. Tifa learned to the two non-humanoids of the party,

“Is it just me or is she totally adorable?” she whispered.

“Like a kitten in a slipper” Spike quipped and earned a suppressed giggle from the plastic crate next to him.

“I’m afraid our mission is rather covert in its nature, dear. We have to appear as independent of the company as possible” Rarity twisted the facts with practiced ease.

“Is this about the AVALANCHE thing?” the former Turk grimaced at the girls question but continued.

“Uh, yes darling. It’s… complicated, and also quite classified I'm afraid” she quickly added.

“Not to worry ma’am, I’m well versed in keeping secrets. After all, I still haven’t been found out here” the pegasus gestured a zipper and lock motion over her lips “but if you do need a way across the Divide, I’m not sure the fort was the best choice. Big Dad McColt and his band may be darn good builders but they still haven’t gotten anything up and running that would make it across.”

“Nothing?” Rarity pushed.

“They have some motorboats and an old seaplane that doesn’t float” the wall-eyed woman frowned “But nothing I’d trust to make it across the Divide though.”

Four pairs of shoulders slumped at the news. Yet Rarity’s gaze darted about the floor, distant as her thoughts organized. She looked back up to the others and simply asked.

“I don’t suppose any of you know how to fly a plane?”

“Only if they’re made of paper” Pinkie chirped “Maybe we can convince the militia to lend us a pilot?”

“Yeeeeaahhh…” Derpy scratched the back of her head “I really don’t think they’re gonna listen. They tend to drag things out, even when they DO want to do something.”

“So we are going to have to escape” Tifa concluded. Derpy returned a lopsided smile and shrug.

“Yeah, but don’t worry; you won’t be the first I’ve helped with that. Though if you’re still planning on taking a vehicle… that’ll be harder.” the pegasus’s smile faltered a bit. Rarity brought a thoughtful hand up to her chin, eyes narrowing.

“Do you have a panic button Initiate Hooves?” the misaligned eyes shot wide.

“I, um yeah but-” the girl fumbled before the unicorn cut her off.

“Trigger it”

“Agent Rarity I’m only supposed to do that if they’re planning an imminent attack or something! If I call one when it’s not needed-”

“I’m afraid our mission is of the utmost priority. Besides,” Rarity gave a consoling smile “You can finally be yourself again.”

“I guess. It’s just...” she hesitated “There’s not a lot a great condors left, and Courtney is actually pretty sweet. And honestly I think Big Dad and Ma Hoofield seem happy to stay here yelling for quite a while yet. Do we really need to call that down yet?”

“I’m afraid so Darling. If it makes it any easier, it's an order: Call in the troops. I’ll take full responsibility.” it was Derpy’s turn to have her shoulders sag. She let her held breath go and relented.

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ll go send the signal and try to secure your gear” she returned, failing to hide the apprehension in her voice. She turned and hurried out the door, leaving them alone. Tifa wondered if she was really gone until a distant crash sounded beyond the door “IMOKAY!”

“We sure we can count on her?” Spike asked skeptically.

“She may not have made it through the program her first time around but it wasn’t for lack of competence. She’s deceptively competent actually, just a little too… open with information. She also tended to be over eager and sympathetic and was, frankly, rather scatterbrained” Rarity explained “But yes dear, I believe we can rely on her.”

“At least until she finds out you really aren't a Turk anymore...” Spike said with a shrug. A concerned hum came from the pet carrier.

“You think the bird will be okay?” Pinkie asked solemnly “You've called down a heck of a party on its nest.”

“One of the reasons Shinra hasn’t dealt with the fort yet is precisely because of the condor Miss Sith. So hopefully they’ll do what they can to avoid hurting it or its nest” the well coiffed woman tried to assuage her. She saw the crated pony‘s frown deepen and didn’t fail to notice her brunette companion also looking particularly unhappy as well, if her scowling at the floor was any indication “Tifa?”

“I’m guessing from how everyone’s talking the ‘panic button’ isn’t simply some emergency extraction but a full fledged assault, yeah?” the pugilist looked to her, receiving an affirmative nod “So basically we’re screwing the people we came to ask for help? And maybe an endangered species? And using that naive girl on top of it? All so we can keep going? Less than warm welcome or not Rare, we’ve barely even talked with them.”

“Yes I know it’s not exactly the most respectable thing dear, but unless you trust these extremists to come through for us...” the Turk left hanging, matching the martial artists gaze until the latter turned away “I’m sorry dear, sometimes that’s just how things are.”

Tifa didn’t like it, but understood and let it go.

‘Still feels shitty’

‘Because it is…’

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dimming light filtering through to window shined off the 10 of Spades as it bounced off the pet carrier, narrowly missing the indent for the handle.

“Hey, that sounded close!” the crate’s captive cheered before snaking her, what the group recently discovered, prehensile hair through the gate and taking her turn. Tifa had thought the position would put her at a massive disadvantage despite being technically closer. The pile of hearts in the nook proved she had thought wrong.

“So you’ve never had a limit break?” Spike asked, flicking the 2 of clubs in one of his also surprisingly dexterous claws.

“Nope” Tifa answered, watching the queen of diamonds land short and wrest a frustrated snap from the horned woman next to her “Gotta remember, I haven’t been here that long. I haven’t had much time to have been pushed that far… damn.”

“Close” Spike shot her a grin “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ve only done it once myself.”

“Ooooooooh!” Pinkie cooed “What does a dragon’s limit look like!? I bet it’s really scary!”

“I got bigger” the dragon answered simply.

“That’s it?”

“Thaaaat’s it” Spike repeated back.

“Oh, well that’s still pretty neat!” the pony earned some chuckles. It died down when a low drone distracted them. A drone that steady grew to the beat of distant helicopters. The guard that had eventually came to replace the absent Derpy stood at the sound when the cell block’s door burst open and a bolt of lightning propelled him into the opposite wall, knocking him unconscious before the caster even entered the room.

“They’re here” the wall-eyed pegasus delivered sharply, dropping a bag in front of the cell and moving to the fallen guard. She fished a ring of keys from his pockets and started trying keys until she was rewarded with a solid click “We’ve got ten levels to get down, but hopefully my soon to be former friends will be too busy with our coworkers outside.”

An explosion from below sent a slight vibration through their feet and triggered a loud shriek from above. Tifa jumped as a squishy softness landed on her shoulder. She gave the pony a surprised look, double taking between her and the carrier.

“Oh I picked the lock hours ago” Pinkie waved off until another, stronger tremor shook some dust down upon them “But let’s not be late to the party!”

Quickly re-equipping, the group followed the winged woman through the halls. As the hopeful Turk initiate said, most of the rebels hadn't even realized they were among them until they were already past. At least they didn’t until they had to pass the main cannons.

“Muffins?” Ma Hooffield gasped with a start as the group ran right into her squad.

“Sorry Ma” Derpy apologized before her heel connected with the elder earth pony’s jaw. The others were quick to react to their leader’s fall, leveling their weapons. They hesitated however when the party’s unicorn woman snatched the matron Hooffield from the floor, gunbarrel under her chin.

“Muffins you betrayed us to these Shinra scum!?” the hostage spat as she was dragged by the group circling around to the opposite end of the room.

“Actually Ma,” Derpy corrected as group rushed through the door behind Rarity “I worked for them all along… sorry. I’d suggest you not fight back, for Courtney’s sake.”

“Don’t you bring her into this-AH!” Hooffield cried as she was shoved back into the room and a chill crawled up her spine as she hit the ground. Spinning around the matron discovered the door completely frozen over in ice “MUFFINS!”

“This way!” the outed spy continued on, ignoring the rage filled scream with little more than a wince. A few more levels and the group nearly bowled the pegasus over as she abruptly stoped at the entrance to a notably large open cavern “Here we are…”

The whole area was swarming with militia, prepping and climbing into vehicles to counter the assault. A roaring buzz filled the hall as a seaplane jury-rigged into a fighter streaked past their doorway.

“Guess we’re grabbing a boat” Tifa muttered.

“They’re on the other side, we should move along the back wall” the wall-eyed woman responded and lead the party sprinting from vehicle to vehicle. Most of the militia seemed too preoccupied with their own tasks to notice them and with the watercraft of little use in this situation, they were alone by the time they reached the lineup of boats. At least they were until another, deep call sounded over all the noise.

“MUFFINS!” the rumbling boom of Big Daddy McColt echoed throughout the hanger. The Patron stood with his swollen jawed counterpart at the other end of the cavern “Get ‘Er!”

The rebels opened fire all around them, heedless of own equipment becoming collateral. The rapid pings and pops of incoming fire were quickly replaced by the constant chimes of magic, a line of barriers appearing between the party and the barrage.

“Tifa!” Rarity shouted from in front of a large pick before returning fire, face strained as small cracks already began to form in the shields “Hook something up!”

The brunette scrambled behind the closest boats looking for any without a new set of speed-holes. An explosion of green flame went off behind her, prompting her to snatch the trailer of the first smooth hull she spotted and drag it back over to the unicorn. One of the barriers shattered as she lined up the hitch, quickly replaced by a pillar of earth.

“Got it Tiffy!?” Pinkie called from her furry mount, more green fire and lighting flashing behind her.

“Just a sec!” She called back, pushing the connection down and securing it “Got it!”

“Then it’s time to go!” the unicorn shouted climbing into the driver’s seat as the others climbed into the bed “Pinkie give us a wall! Hooves, a Flash!”

The truck rumbled to life as several more pillars of earth shoot up behind it. Tifa couldn’t take in the sight for long when a ball of hollow plasma streaked above them, bursting into blinding light not a second later. By the time the spots faded, the brunette found herself looking into a night sky filled with circling helicopters. The condor’s screeches filled the air as it stooped over its nest, its wings draped protectively over the egg as it took quick snaps at any copter that strayed too close.

“Well…” She heard Derpy grumble while handing a panting Pinkie to the martial artist and drawing her sidearm “At least they’re keeping their aim low.”

The quartet in the trailer pitched back with the sudden screeching of tires. The small window slid open with the driver rounding at them, hand ablaze in sparking electricity.

“Sorry Darling” she gave solemnly before the shocked pegasus was ripped from the truck bed by the bolt. As soon as she hit the dirt the rest pitched foward as the former Turk put the pedal down again.

“Rares what the hell?!” Tifa shouted at the window.

“She’s a pegasus! They’re practically immune to lightning! She’ll be fine!”

“NOT MY POINT!”

“It was either now or later! This way she can’t tell them where we’ve gone!” she yelled back, attention forward as she weaved down the hill.

“SHIT!” metal dented as the brunettes fist pounded on the frame of the bed. Bursts of machine gun fire flared where they had left the Turk hopeful. Smaller pops of a pistol lead in the opposite direction, showing the pursuers were not only keeping her grounded but driving her into a corner. And with none of the copters even landed yet, she wouldn’t be getting support soon enough. The pugilist shared a glance with the drake and pony with her, their expressions mirroring her own loss for an answer.

‘SHIT!’ she repeated internally. Screwing over the rebels was one thing but that girl had only helped them. Even if she was with Shinra... ‘SHIT! SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT, SHIT… shit… shit.’

‘There you go...’

-------------------

“AGH!” the grey pegasus yelped as a round grazed her wing. She cursed herself internally for not tucking behind the cover properly. She returned a couple shots before retreating further, still reeling from her superior's sudden betrayal. Did she do something wrong? Sure Rarity said her mission was classified but she didn’t have to leave her HERE! And she really didn’t have to zap her!

The wall-eyed woman slid into a nook, already knowing she didn’t stand much chance of escaping if they wouldn’t let her fly. Chunks of her cover powdered the air, prompting her to return fire. The slide locked back with the last round and she fished for another mag, only to come up short.

“That’s not good…” she muttered, staring dejectedly at the empty weapon. With a hard swallow she charged her materia; her reserves didn’t have much left after that flash but she couldn’t close against these numbers. It was the only thing left. She closed her eyes and steadied herself, taking a deep breath…

And then immediately regretted it, gagging on an suddenly overwhelming stench on the wind.

“What?!” she exclaimed when a thunderous crash drew her attention to the fort and to the massive tidal wave of unspeakable ick slamming into its side “Oh.”

Then both eyes snapped into alignment, pupils shrinking to dots as the wave continued unimpeded.

“Oh poop…”

-------------------------------------

Tifa scowled in her sleep. She could feel a weight pressing down on her, accentuating a cold hardness on her back. She squirmed and cracked open an eye.

“Tiffy!” a loud pink blob floated in front of her again. After a few blinks the pony standing on her chest came into focus, framed by dark strands of hair and the back of the truck bed “You okay?”

“Did I get hit by another pumpkin?” the martial artist quipped, the scowl melting away. The pony giggled and hopped off, allowing the woman to sit up.

“No, you made your tsunami too big silly!”

“You passed out from the mana cost” Spike’s voice sounded from the bow of the boat “That’s actually kind of dangerous. So y’know, for future reference and all…”

Tifa nodded her understanding and took stock, noting that it was still night but the moon was notably higher in the sky. Looking around she found them parked in another lightly wooded area, the fort nowhere in sight. For all she knew they were back where they were the night before.

“I see we got away.”

“Yes dear, your putrid wave proved quite the effective distraction for our pursuers” the party’s former Turk answered from the lit up cabin, eyes scanning a large map before her “Though I’m not sure if I approve of the risk, considering it could have just as easily been summoned in front of us.”

“Yeah well, I didn’t really do it for us” Tifa’s tone shifted drastically, a subtle glare shot back through the small window. The driver sighed, looking back through the rearview for her response.

“Like I said before; if we didn’t get rid of her when we did, she could have told Shrina which direction we were going. It's bad enough that she'll be telling them we're looking for AVALANCHE.”

“So we just leave her to die?”

“Despite the impression she makes, Miss Hooves is competent enough to be in the Turk’s reserve. She would have been able to hold out until her support arrived” Rarity reasoned, already returning her attention to the map.

“We barely even talked to the rebels! We may not of had to take that risk!” Tifa countered.

“While I may admit to not be as weathered as the others, my decent tenure with the Turks taught me how things are out here, to see how those pieces were dropping. They weren’t going to help us.” the unicorn stated resolutely and scowled at the map “I did what I thought was best. Even if I was wrong, we can’t change the past. Besides, it all worked out in the end didn’t it?”

‘Not for the rebels.’

‘Or the bird.’

“Guess we’ll see…” Tifa grumbled. Another exhausted breath escaped Rarity, the horned woman taking another glance through the mirror before clicking off the light and finally turned to face them.

“I know that wasn’t the smoothest operation dears, but we’re alive and we managed to get away with not one but two vehicles. We at least somewhat accomplished our goal” she left hanging for a moment, seeing the others relent. Even Tifa looked to came around to a degree “So let’s get some rest and hope things get better from here.”

“I suppose that’s all we can do” Spike agreed and volunteered for first watch, explaining that he wasn’t as spent since his natural fire magic didn’t take as much out of him as actual matria use. It reminded Tifa that the drake was still stuck using their left over equipment, leaving him more limited than the rest of them. She made a mental note to keep an eye out for opportunities to properly equip the dragon.

‘If we make it that far at this rate…’

‘Tsuru, Tsuru, Tsuru, Tsuru-’

“Yeah, yeah I get it. Dilly Dally, Shilly Shally...” she muttered quietly to herself, brushing the hair out of her face and helping the others figure out how if they could set up the tent around the truck.

-----------------------------------

Mist sprayed the martial artist and the pony in her arms as the boat bounced harshly off another wave. They were a decent ways out from the mainland now and trying their luck at skirting the southern islands. So far they hadn’t run into any serious problems but Tifa couldn’t help clutch the pony tighter at the bump.

“I’m not gonna fall off again Tif!” the small quadraped smiled up at her. With the first bump they hit, they learned the pony was a little too light to hold herself down on her own.

“It’s not you I’m worried about!” the brunette returned over the engine and rushing water.

“It’ll hold Tif! Don’t worry! That stuff can repair alotta damage!” Pinkie assured her. They had somehow managed to escape the fort without a single bullet in the speedboat’s hull only for some random asshole riding a dinosaur to ambush them and bash a hole in it with his hammer.

‘This world’s weird...’

‘Still, he won’t be doing that again.’

True to the pony’s words, the tape they found in the boat’s storage was indeed still holding up when the last island was just disappearing from view behind them. Noticing this herself, Rarity eased up on the throttle, eventually cutting the engine altogether and letting them drift to a relative stop before hanging her head.

“Well, it was worth a shot I guess” she stood with a hand shielding her eyes, looking to the horizons “We’re already almost halfway out of fuel. Even if we had started with a full tank, we wouldn’t make it a quarter the way there before we ran dry. And that’s assuming we’re not attacked by whatever nasties live in these waters. And now with no landmarks to mark our passage… Sorry Darlings, but this is as far as we go.”

Tifa and Pinkie drooped in the seat. They knew it’d be a long shot, especially given the boat’s engine didn’t run on mako. Seems the Fort Condor rebels really did believe their own hype about it hurting the planet. Both the truck and boat ran off liquid fuel, which was a lot rarer these days. Not that it made much difference, even with a mako engine one didn’t cross an ocean with a speedboat.

“Hang on a second…” Spike placed a claw on Rarity’s hand as she moved to restart the engine “I smell smoke. I thought it may have been the exhaust but no, something was definitely burnt somewhere along our path.”

“What, like a fire?” Tifa asked, the dragon shaking his head as he propped himself on the boats lip, sniffing the air intently.

“No… it’s more acrid than that, like plastic or electronics...” he elaborated “and its tinged with processed mako. If I had to guess something broke down or crashed.”

“You can tell all that?” Tifa looked on impressed, if also a bit skeptical.

“Trust me, I’m a dragon. I know my smoke” he smirked “It could be something we can use… or it could be some islander's tractor caught on fire. Either way, couldn’t hurt to take a look now.”

“You sure it’s behind us?” Rarity asked, giving a worried glance to the fuel gauge. They had pretty much sailed right past the islands themselves earlier, given they had no intention of exploring them.

“I was able to catch of whiff of it despite the exhaust earlier, so I’m pretty sure.”

The former Turk gave a shrug and they started following the dragon’s nose. They found themselves on the beach one of the larger islands, a dense tree line standing not far in.

“Okay, now I can smell it” Tifa said as they entered the islands small forest. Those were definitely the fumes of melted plastic. Though while they could smell the smoke they had yet to see any, giving the impression that while something had definitely been burnt, if there was an actual fire it was probably out by now.

“There’s a clearing up ahead” Spike called over his shoulder from the front. Sure enough they found a thinning of the trees and a decent size patch open to the sky.

An air of tension descended on the group, as there in the middle stood a Shinra helicopter.

Rarity gave a few silent hand signals. A trio of nods were returned and the group spread out, cautiously circling the lone craft. Tifa noticed that one of the copter’s landing rails was bent, giving the decent sized craft a slight tilt. The rest of the craft however seemed to be fairly intact, if a bit roughed up. Both of the craft's side doors were open too, revealing an empty cabin.

“Come on Moggy; Hup-hup!” the groups smaller quadruped shot into the air, tossed high above by her robotic mount. Head darting around when hitting the apex, the pony fell back to Gaia and into the mogs waiting mitts “I don’t see anypony!”

“Yes, it would seem we’re alone for the moment” Rarity concurred, holstering her weapon and moving in on the craft “Well, let us see what we’re dealing with shall we?”

The group moved closer, the former Turk climbing into the cabin with Pinkie while Tifa and Spike lingered outside. The dragon began circling to the otherside as Tifa took in the supplies scattered about the ground, her brow furrowing. Some of it was strewn about randomly, like it was thrown out haphazardly. Yet the rest seemed more organized, stacked and gathered together. A quick glance inside showed the same thing.

“The transponder has been ripped out” Rarity’s voice called from inside “That would explain why it’s still here.”

“A lot of the electronics are burnt out, but it looks like somepony’s been trying to make repairs.” Pinkie added, crawling about atop the controls.

As the pair continued their inspection, something peculiar caught Tifa’s eye. She stepped away from the craft and towards the rear propeller.

“This thing’s pretty big though” Pinkie continued “You’d think it’d have at least enough crew to not have to leave it alone like this.”

Spike’s front claws landed in the cabin, the dragon propping himself up.

“I smell blood.” he delivered sharply “Blood and gunpowder.”

Tifa glanced back, worry twisting her expression before turning back to her discovery. It was some kind of storage container. Except it was shaped like a giant capsule, big enough that it would’ve taken up most of the cabin. The top lid had been ripped part way off its hinges.

“You think they were driven off?” Rarity queried.

“Or hijacked” Pinkie offered, hoof running against a series of holes along the cabin wall. Tifa meanwhile bent down and pushed aside the broken lid. She found nothing inside but immediately noticed the padded bottom.

And spatters of dried blood.

“Hijacked? As in while in the air? By who?”

*kr-CHK*

‘Aw shit’

Tifa slowly raised her head to find the barrel of a Shinra assault rifle and inch from her face, held like it was no heavier than a pistol.

“I think I found them” she brought her hands up carefully as she stood, looking beyond the gun and past the figure's billowing red cape and matted pink hair...

And straight into the crimson eyes of a very pissed off pegasus.

Author's Notes:

Yaaayy, new chapter. Promises of doing better and faster- blah blah blah...

I am trying to do better readers, and I am very sorry for the long waits. I'm gonna do my best to keep with it this time. I just hope you're willing to bear

Thanks to everyone that done that so far

But now, to stop being depressing, as always: Thanks for reading and have a good one