Chapter 58: Warning

"Wahoo! Sun cakes!"

Pinkie rushed forward to the cart and purchased ten little yellow pastries crafted in the shape of a cartoon sun and some how managed to eat every single one all at once.

"Maybe ya ought ta slow down 'fore ya get a tummy ache, darlin'." Applejack cautioned.

"Maybe you 'ought' to close that mouth and try one of these cakes!" Pinkie squeaked back jokingly. "Oooh! But if you closed your mouth, you wouldn't be able to eat!"

"Uh, sure..." The farmpony bought a couple for herself and snapped one up on the spot, "Cant' say Ah like lemon a whole lot, but these are pretty good."

"Pinkie!" Came a call from high above.

"Ooh, who's calling me? Wait, that sounds like Emmie!"

"Who's 'Emmie', is he a friend a Gummy's er somethin'?" Applejack asked quizzically.

"No silly," Pinkie giggled, "He's my coltfriend!"

"Ya mean Flash?"

"Of course, who else?"

Down form the sky, a dark charcoal colored pegasus flitted down and alighted on his hooves in front of the two mares. He quickly rushed forward and embraced the curly maned earth pony, planting a kiss right on her cheek.

"Ha ha, I didn't know you'd be here!" Pinkie squirmed with delight.

"Yep! Got here a few days ago. The boss had us working for a while, but I think I earned some time off today.

"Why, whadja do?"

"I single hoofedly took down a dastardly stallion who was going around and attacking beautiful young mares such as yourself." Flash said haughtily.

"Ah dunno, wouldn't somethin' like that have the guard on alert er somethin'? Ah didn't hear nothin' about this..." Applejack said skeptically.

"Oh, the guard did come over and help, but it was pretty much all me."

"He tackled a purse thief, that's about it." Came a voice from around the corner of a nearby tent.

"Dammit James, let me have my moment..."

Applejack chuckled, "Ah knew it."

James rounded the corner and joined the group, "It was still pretty impressive. He pretty much dive bombed the guy from the sky."

"Really? Emmie, think of what you could do if you applied that to pranking!" Pinkie enthusiastically suggested.

Flash began to blush at the use of his pet name.

"Emmie?" James quizzically raised an eyebrow.

"Ah know, right?" Applejack snickered.

"Ha ha ha, so funny. Can we just enjoy the day now?"

"Sure we can, Emmie." James teased.

"Say Emmie, one more time." The pegasus dared.

"Calm down Emmie, why you gettin' so riled up?"

"That's it!"

James took off at a run, laughing hysterically as Flash angrily chased after him. The pegasus chased after him down the lane between the stalls and down a side path, nearly knocking Rarity and Twilight over in the process.

"Well, that was just rude." Rarity remarked.

"Yeah, I wonder what that was all about."

"Probably just boys behaving like the ruffians they are."

"Probably." Twilight agreed.

"Hey Rare, Twi'!" Applejack called to get their attention.

The two unicorn mares trotted down the lane to meet their two friends, a moment of crossed amusement playing across their features as they briefly witnessed Pinkie inhale an entire bag of purchased candy.

"You know, you should really watch your intake sweetie, all that sugar could go right to your thighs." Rarity cautioned.

"Hmm... never been a problem before!" The hot pink mare resumed her snacking on more of the festival's specialty cakes.

"C'mon Rare, ya ought ta know now, Pinkie ain't exactly yer average pony."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. What do you think we ought to do now?"

"We should probably chase down the boys. No telling what they're up to now..." Twilight suggested.

"Yup."

"Mhm!"

*sigh* "Agreed."

=====================================================================

James was laid out on a bench in the main cabin of the Clipper. It was currently on it's way back to Ponyville, the Summer Sun Celebration having come to a close as the sun was setting. He now had a major stomach ache after making the poor decision to agree to an eating contest with Pinkie. The mass of sugary cakes he had ingested were wreaking havoc on his digestive system. Flash and Sparks had talked him into it, saying he could give her a run for her money. He had made the mistake of believing them, his hunger at the time didn't help either. The bouncy party mare had eaten nearly three times as much as he could manage and yet was somehow still jumping around as if she had only eaten a light snack. As James lay there, he thought to himself that he would never fully understand it. Just Pinkie being Pinkie.

Now, he just couldn't wait to get back home. Put up his equipment, take a nice shower, maybe go out for dinner with Dash. It had been almost over a week since he had seen or talked to her, he wondered how she was doing.

"How you doing there buddy?"

James half opened an eye lid, it was Sparks.

"Still feel like throwing up, no thanks to you two."

"Aww, cheer up boss, we're nearly home, just about fifteen minutes. Right Myst?"

The pilot's voice replied over the radios they all wore, "Yeah, just about." The aircraft was jarred, tremors running down it's length as if it had struck something. "A little heads up though, the ride's about to get a little bumpy. Looks like the weather team has a pretty big storm scheduled for tonight."

"Ugh, just great," James complained, "that's what I need, all the crap in my stomach getting bounced around, as if I don't already feel sick enough."

"Then ya shouldn't a tried ta eat as much as Pinkie sugarcube, always a bad idea."

"Thanks for the tip AJ, coulda used it-- coulda used it--" James felt a sensation begin to rise in his chest.

"Ya alright sugarcube? Ya don't look too hot."

"I'm gonna-- I'm gonna--"

James jumped to his feet and bolted to the hatch in the center of the deck for the winch. He quickly undid the latch and tossed the hatch open, letting a blast of air through the portal.

"James, Wait! Don't--"

"Blaaaghh!"

Flash winced as the human vomited into the opening, only instead of the mess falling out the hatch and into the open air, the wind picked it up an threw it right back into his face, bile and the sugary contents of his stomach spraying everywhere.

"EWWWW!" The girls cried in unison.

Rarity flew back to the other end of the compartment, ducking and dodging droplets of puke, straining to prevent a single bit of it from landing on her coat or mane.

"That's absolutely disgusting!" She yelled.

"She's right, you look pretty bad." Flash chuckled.

"Well, at least I feel better." James replied.

"What happened? Did you guys make a mess back there!?" Myst yelled over the radio.

"Yeah, our boss just spewed all over the cabin." Sparks told her.

"Sorry. I'll clean it up."

James got up and went to one of his bags, pulling out a towel and wiping his face and head clean before trying to get the smelly fluid from off his clothes.

"Here, let me help." Twilight offered.

The unicorn's horn began to glow with the same purple aura it usually did when she prepared to use magic. Almost effortlessly, she cast a spell to gather the puke in a big disgusting floating ball of vomit. With a flicker of bright light, the ball disappeared from the space it was occupying, leaving the interior sparkling clean.

"Thanks Twilight." James said gratefully, "What'd you do with the mess?"

"Nothing really, I just teleported it to the open air somewhere behind us."

"Good thing we're still over the forest." Sparks remarked.

"I don't suppose you could do that with my clothing, could you?" James asked, gesturing to his still messy garments.

"Sorry James, but I don't think I've learned the spell for washing clothing."

"Seems like one of the first ones I would have learned."

"Well, ponies don't generally wear clothing and the items I do wear, well, Spike usually washes them for me." The lavender librarian explained.

"Eh, it's ok. I got a clean set in my locker back at HQ and we're almost there."

"I'm terribly sorry to bring this up, but the weather outside is a little... wet. Would you mind dropping us off in town?" Rarity asked with a bat of her lashes and a seductive smile.

"Fine with me, but I'm not the one you gotta ask. It's Myst's ride."

"Green to go with me boss."

"Wait, Rarity doesn't have a radio, how'd you hear?"

"Left your mike on." Myst stated matter-of-factly.

"Crap." James reached back to the transmitter clipped to his belt to switch it to receive only.

"Still on."

"Whatever." The human said in defeat.

By the time they reached town, the rain was really coming down. Myst did her best to put down in a large enough area that was close to all the girls' places of residence, except Applejack's who would have to hoof it back to the farm. The farm mare said not to worry, as she didn't mind the rain and hopped off in town with the rest of her friends. James let Flash off with Pinkie, leaving just him, Sparks and Myst to return back to the HQ. Soon after taking off again, Myst was parking her aircraft close to the Fixers' HQ building so James could run inside and change.

As the engine spun down with a low whine, the human jumped down to the sodden ground and began quickly walking to the readyroom building. Sparks and Myst trotted after him, Sparks because he needed to get some equipment from his workshop, Myst because she could. They were all casually strolling together, happily chatting about the day's events. James abruptly stopped, staring at the ground in front of him. Sparks and Myst continued walking a few more feet before they noticed.

Sparks tuned to his friend, "What's up boss, something wrong?"

James pointed to the soaked ground near the entrance to the building, "Anything look wrong to you?"

Sparks followed his gaze to where he was pointing. In a smeared, water warped trail, fresh blood led up the wooden steps and into the building. Falling raindrops impacted the trail, splashing the life sustaining fluid all around the stoop. Both James and Sparks unhosltered their weapons and stealthily made their way up the steps and stacked up next to the door. On the other side of the frame, Myst appeared, her pistol also drawn, the firearm floating in front of her face, barrel down.

"Myst, what are you doing?" James questioned in a quiet tone.

"I'm helping." She shot back with a determined whisper.

"Honey, it could be dangerous in there, let us handle it." Sparks pleaded.

"Don't 'honey' me, you taught me how to use this weapon properly and defend myself, now I'm defending my home, got it?"

"Fine," James conceded, "but stay behind us and don't fire unless you're in immediate danger, understand?"

The pilot nodded in the affirmative.

"Good," the human pulled back the slide on his pistol, chambering a round. The two unicorns followed suit and did the same. "Alright, on three I'm gonna pop the door. I'll go left, Sparks you go right, Myst watch our backs."

James waited until they acknowledged his orders with a nod.

"Outstanding. Ok, one.. two.. three!"

James twisted the door handle and shoved the door in, swiftly barging in after it, weapon raised. To his rear, both unicorns followed and took up their positions. James crouched to a knee as Sparks hit the light switch and illuminated the room. They prepared to fire as the lights flickered on, but were baffled when there was nothing to shoot at. The room seemed empty, but a slick trail of bright red blood was highly visible on the wooden floor boards. It was already soaking into the deck, the liquid turning a dark color as the wood absorbed it.

James got back up and moved forward, following the gruesome path to the back of the room where the lockers were. His weapon was slightly lowered, but still at the ready should he need it. As he rounded the desks, he spotted a turquoise shaded lump on the floor next to an open locker door, medical supplies were spread all around it. James slowly advanced to the prone form and noticed it was a pegasus stallion, bloody and battered, apparently unconscious.

Sparks moved to his workshop and checked inside, weapon raised in front of him, "All clear."

"Oh my gosh, is he alright!?" Myst said in shock.

James knelt down and checked the injured pegasus. The pony was in bad shape. Ragged lacerations crisscrossed down his frame. His right ear was missing and a crossbow bolt stuck out from his left hind leg. His right wing was bent at an unnatural angle, clearly broken as if he had crash landed on it. James checked the pegasus' pulse and was relieved when a weak, but consistent throb was detected. Sparks rushed over and picked up the medical supplies, none of which had been used, and began ferverently applying aid to the wounded stallion.

"What do you think happened to him?" Myst asked with great concern.

"I'm not sure, but we need to get him to the hospital. After he wakes up we can--"

James was cut off when the turquoise pegasus suddenly began hacking and coughing violently. Blood laced mucus sprayed from his nostrils as he struggled to breathe.

"N-No... no h-hospital. Have to... h-have to... have to tell..." the pegasus choked out in a hoarse voice.

"It's alright buddy, you're safe, we're gonna get you some help. Just lay still and we'll get you out of here, ok?" James told the struggling pony.

"W-w-who..."

"I'm James. Sparks is treating your immediate wounds right now and Myst here will get you to the hospital, fast. Myst?"

"I got it." The misty gray unicorn galloped back out into the rain to start up the Clipper.

"James... James K-Kaughn? I have t-to tell..."

"Yes, that's right, how did you know?"

"H-h-h... H-Han. K-K-Ken...." the pegasus said weakly.

"Whatever he has to tell me can wait after we get you help, just hang in there."

"H-h-have to t-tell... Have to t-tell...."

"It's alright, we're going to the hospital now."

Sparks finished dressing the lacerations and the spot where the pegasus' ear was missing. The wing had been splinted, but the crossbow bolt he left untouched, the unicorn was afraid he might cause more damage if he tried to remove it. As it was, the leg wound wasn't bleeding all that much. With a luminescent blue glow, the engineer used his magic to lift their visitor and began transporting him to the airship waiting outside. James followed close behind, his messy clothes forgotten in the current crisis.

All the way to the airship, the pegasus kept whimpering softly, "Th-They're coming... Th-Th-They're c-c... c-c-coming..."