“Sugercube!” Applejack yelled, careful to not use the filly’s name. She ducked as bullets slammed into the wall above her, spilling plaster over the mare. “This is insane!” Alarms blared around them, hiding the sounds of metal boots echoing through the corridor. “Yer insane!”

Idared was a few meters in front of her, sliding effortlessly under the unwieldy pegasus’ legs. As it turned, with less grace than a buffalo, Idared raised her shotgun. “Hah! This is the sanest thing I’ve done all week!” She fired, launching the unsuspecting pegasus into the air, where it crumpled at Applejack’s hooves, motionless.

Idared had been quick to assure her that shotgun shells, while painful, couldn’t kill a pegasus in armour. They could quite effectively disable them, however, by heavily damaging the internal systems of the suit if fired at close range. This meant Applejack had taken on the role of pack horse, the heavy bags of grenades no problem for a pony of her strength, while Idared used her unnaturally fast reflexes to clear a path through the skyscraper.

Still, it was insane. Applejack had assumed they’d be heading out with some degree of craftiness, but no. Idared had kicked the office door open, and fired point blank at the pegasus stationed outside. It hadn’t taken long for the alarm to be raised and pegasi to descend on them at every turn. Thankfully, firing a single shot weapon from their side meant the soldiers probably couldn’t hit a whale from less than a meter away. Idared explained they had better aim in the air, being able to angle their bodies however they desired. But, in the confines of the building, their ground position was no match for the gun wielding filly.

Applejack, however, was not having such a good time. The shotgun was impossible to use. Apparently they were the preferred weapon of earth ponies due to their scattering shot, meaning the awkward aim her kind had to rely on wasn’t so much of an issue. That was, of course, if the earth pony in question could even shoot in the right direction. Applejack had discovered firing with one foreleg was next to impossible, with her aim more likely to hit the ceiling or herself than the pegasus she was faced with. Rearing back on her back legs and aiming with both her forelegs was a much better option, if she hadn’t been carrying an entire bag of grenades. Why did they even need them? So, in her limited position, Applejack had left the job of combat to Idared, as she kept pace behind, being as useful as a potato in space.

“D’ya even know where we’re goin’?” This was the third time this question had been asked. The reply, without fail, was always:

“Something’ll come up. Trust me.” Idared slung the shotgun back over herself, her ears perked. “On the other hand, I think we’re alone for the moment.”

“Always look on the bright side, huh?” Idared began cantering down the corridor, without a care in the world. Applejack kept pace behind her. She held on to the naive hope that Idared knew where they were going, because the farmer sure didn’t. A single floor of the building was a lot bigger than Applejack had expected it to be, and lacked the elegance and openness of the glass lobby. The corridors were a sterile white, with little to no character. The rooms they poked their heads into were much of the same. White walls with no decoration, desks that looked unused, windows that showed the magnificent view of the adjacent building’s bleak walls. All empty, which Applejack found surreal. Idared, naturally, took it in her stride.

“I ain’t kiddin’ though.” Applejack continued, determined to not let the filly wave away her concerns. “We can’t go traipsin’ through this place and hope we bump into the weapon. A map ain’t gonna just pop outta nowhere.”

Idared had stopped at the end of the corridor, distracted by a notice on the wall. “Uh, AJ.” As Applejack neared, she gained a better view over the filly’s shoulder. A sign on the wall read ‘Directions’. Idared raised a hoof, tapping the sign. “What was that you were just saying?”

“This…” Applejack struggled to find an excuse, and failed. “This… this is jus’ lucky, okay?” Ignoring her partner’s gleeful victory smile, Applejack moved closer to find a simple button under the sign. “Hold up. This ain’t no directions.”

Idared raised a hoof. “Well, I assume we press button, get directions. It isn’t rocket science.”

“Woah, woah.” Applejack grabbed her hoof inches before it made contact. “Let’s not jump into this. What if this button lets them guards know where we are? What if it’s rigged to blow up? What i-”

“Less thinking!” Idared yanked her hoof away. “More acting!” And slammed it into the button. How in Equestria could anypony think she was the brains of this outfit? Applejack inadvertently tensed up, fully expecting the worst to befall them. When nothing happened, she let out a sigh of relief.

“Welcome to the Misaki Corporation help system. How may I aid you?”

The sound Applejack made was somewhat similar to an upset cat. The voice came out of nowhere, just behind her ears. She leapt forward, tried to swing her shotgun into firing position, failed as the strap caught her forehoof, and crashed into the wall headfirst. The feeling of shock was quickly replaced by a horrible throbbing pain in her skull.

“You okay there, AJ?” Idared was standing over her, as cool as a cupcake. “Have a nice trip?”

“What?” Applejack scrambled to her hooves, and turned to face the pony that stood behind them. “What?” She was smiling warmly, her coat a shining light blue, matching the dazzlingly light purple mane. She had snuck up on the two without the slightest of noise. Her eyes were bright blue, but seemed to emit their own source of light. Applejack blinked, but couldn’t stop herself from thinking the pony was flickering slightly. “What?”

“Oh, right.” Idared stepped towards the newcomer, and suck her front hoof straight through the pony’s face. “You’ve never seen a hologram before, have you?”

Idared’s words meant nothing to her. But she was hardly concerned about that. The vision before her was taking up the majority of her thoughts. Idared’s hoof was completely cut off where it met the other pony’s face. She didn’t seem too bothered with having her head impaled upon the filly’s limb. “What the heck is she!?”

“As your companion correctly stated, the avatar you see before you is a hologram.” She spoke with such a refined voice, making sure every syllable could be clearly heard. It was almost how one would talk to a foal. “However, I myself am an artificial intelligence, programmed to aid in any problems or queries you may have about Misaki Corporation.”

Applejack responded with a high pitched squeak, the back of her foreleg coming up to rub the insanity from her eyes. Idared, having lowered her hoof, took control of the situation. “Yes. We’re, uh, looking for where Lightening Storm is kept. The prototype weapon your company’s making?”

“Yes. I recognise the product you have requested.” The… thing smiled warmly. “It is located on the eighth floor, in room eight three nine. Advanced security pass is required.”

“Yup, we’ve got one of them.” Idared patted her shotgun. “And this is the seventh floor, right?”

“That is correct. Elevators are located at the end of the corridor to my left.” She indicated with her hoof, which passed straight through Applejack’s ear. While she felt nothing, she still jumped back in revulsion. “Warning, currently the security alarm has been activated, so the elevator is out of commission. Stairs are located beside the elevator for your convenience. You are required to evacuate the building, as per the terms in you contract.”

“Yeah, we’ll, uh, get on that. Is there anything else that happens when that alarm goes off?”

“There is. Government security has been called, and will be here in less than ten minutes.”

Idared’s eyes widened. “Balls.”

“Sports products, including balls, are located on-” Idared tapped the button again, and the ghost pony disappeared into thin air. Applejack didn’t know whether to be relived, or further horrified.

“That’s enough outta you” Idared turned to Applejack, clapping her hooves. “Okay, Equestria to Applejack, we gotta get moving. Now!”

“Right, right.” Applejack blinked away her confusion. “And that thing-”

“I’ll explain later.” Idared began a gallop, heading in the direction the pony had indicated. “But right now… well, right now we’re in trouble. I didn’t really think they’d react so quickly.”

“The prince of the zebras is here!” Applejack kept pace with her partner. She could go a lot faster, but didn’t want to leave her best source of survival behind. “How’d ya not think they’d be prepared!? There’re gonna be on higher alert than a cow on milkin’ day!”

“That was a comparison I definitely understood, AJ.” Idared snarkily returned, her casual attitude having dissolved. “Just calm down, alright? We’ll be fine. We just gotta pick up the pace a tad.”

As they approached the end of the corridor, Applejack spied the stairs. “Right. Pick up the pace.” Panic instincts kicking in, she surged forward, giving the door a shoulder barge. “Nothin’ to get worked up ‘bout.” She began taking the stairs two at a time.

“Yeah, you- you find the room.” Idared, despite her abundant energy, was falling behind.

Applejack, meanwhile, had reached the stop of the stairs. Bursting through the door, she was met with another identical corridor, not a single pony in sight. A simple green sign was nailed to the wall, indicating room numbers. No further information. What was with this building and its lack of informative signs and abundance of ghost ponies? Yes, a single ghost pony was an abundance. Granny Smith had warmed her of ghost ponies, but Applejack had just assumed it was one her imaginative stories, like talking apples or the doctor that stole her bones.

Rooms 801 to 850 were located to the left, and Applejack wasted no time charging down the corridor. “Ya never got ‘round to tellin’ me the escape plan, Idared. I assume ya have one.” Calmly strolling out with the weapon in their saddlebag was probably not an option. “Idared?” She spun around, assuming the filly was only a few strides behind her. She wasn’t.

Applejack slowed to a stop, realising for the first time she had been shouting down a corridor in a building she wasn’t supposed to be in, with her only defence missing. Keeping her movements silent, despite the rising panic, she trotted back to the stairwell. Easing her head through the door, she looked down. No Idared.

“Hey,” she whispered, as loud as she dared. “Sugercube?” Had the filly gone down instead of up? No, she wasn’t a complete moron. Applejack withdrew, giving the corridor another look over. She was starting to feel like a foal who had lost their parents. Should she just carry on? Idared will probably turn up at room 839 eventually, having taken a longer route. And if Applejack met any pegasi, she’d just throw her saddlebag at them, and run. A foolproof plan.

Okay, no it wasn’t, but she didn’t have much to work with, considering the situation. She resumed her search again, flicking her head back now and again to check she wasn’t being followed, welcome or otherwise.  With her luck, she half expected the guards to choose this moment to stumble upon her. Thoughts of what they might do to her were not helping her nerves. The only things keeping her from a full blown panic attack were her naturally high courage and levelheadedness. Pragmatically, she reminded herself that freaking out wouldn’t do much to help her situation.

It didn’t take too long to find room 839. It was at the end of the corridor, much like any of the other doors she had passed. It would have taken her ages to discover this by chance alone. Applejack found it unlocked as she silently eased it open, revealing a room quite unlike any of the others she had checked inside. For starters it was dimly lit, the window blinds closed. The desks that were dotted around the room looked more like individual lab stations than office desks, and the various cupboards labelled with various chemical or mechanical names Applejack didn’t recognise seemed to fit the theme. A secure looking cabinet stood at the far end of the room, its doors slightly ajar. Figuring that would contain the weapon they were after, she stepped into the room, and made her way between the first couple of desks.

It was only then she remembered the ghost hologram thing’s words. Didn’t she need some kind of security pass? The door had been unlocked. She glanced back in confusion.

Behind her, doing a very good job of being silent, was Thorough Check. Two pegasi flanked either side of him. He blinked in surprise at Applejack’s sudden head turn. “Uh.” His horn glowed slightly.

Applejack was just as stunned. When had they come in? She opened her mouth to politely ask, just as Thorough Check’s spell washed over her. Her muscles instantly relaxed, and she collapsed to the floor.

Now that just wasn’t fair.

~~~~~~~~

Thorough Check had Applejack in a chair, her hooves tied behind her back. Behind him sat the saddlebag, her shotgun and her knife. “Raiding Misaki Corporation? I’ve seen some stupid things in my time, but this tops it.” The two guards stood silent, watching the exchange take place. The room was still barely lit by the sunlight peeking through the blinds. It was starting to feel like an interrogation. “And using a member of the zebra royal family to achieve it? I hope you know how much you’ve bucked up.” He must have noticed the look of surprise in Applejack’s eyes. “Oh come on. You thought that getup was going to disguise you?” His horn glowed again, and Applejack felt her mask pull away from her head. “There. A proper look at your mud pony face. And what a surprise, I’m correct.”

Applejack, in her compromising position, still had the pride to take offence. “I ain’t no mud pony, ya bone headed nut!” Her ears flared, and the small device given to her on her first day took that moment to dislodge itself, dropping to the floor. Seeing a chance, she awkwardly bent her back leg, and pushed the device’s single button. If it was to be used against the guards, this seemed like a perfectly applicable situation.

In the few moments of absolutely nothing happening, Thorough Check drew close to her, and slammed the back of his hoof over her muzzle. “Such a filthy mouth, running off your pathetic insults.” The hoof swung back, connecting once again, and snapping her head in the other direction. She could feel the slow trickle of warm liquid spilling from her nose. With a glow of telekinesis, Thorough Check yanked her hair back. “There were two of you.” He was uncomfortably close now. His breath smelt of daisy sandwiches. “Where’s the filly?”

“She left,” Applejack lied, badly. But any chance she had to convince them Idared didn’t need to be searched for was a chance she could escape. Her trump card had completely failed, so there wasn’t much choice available.

“Bullshit.” A punch connecting with her solar plexus launched her head forward, gasping for breath. “The only one that left these floors was the zebra. Speaking of-” He stepped away from the wheezing mare, and tapped his earpiece with a hoof. “Sir, it’s Thorough Check. Your suspicions were correct. The intruders were working with the prince.” Lowering his leg, he smirked at Applejack. “Well, I hope you’re happy. You’ve successfully started another war.”

“’S yer fault.” Applejack managed through the pain. “You an’ yer sick system.”

“Oh shut up.” Thorough Check swung an uppercut, connecting with Applejack’s slouched head. This time the blood flowed freely, splattering over her coat. As Thorough Check’s hoof dropped, it landed squarely on Applejack’s useless device, smashing it. “You mud ponies have no idea. It’s pathetic.” He sighed, and turned on the guards. “She’s no more use. Her face alone is proof enough. You can kill her.”

A number of regrets danced through Applejack’s mind as she clenched her eyes shut. Obvious ones, such as not noticing what was clearly a trap, or deciding she could carry on without Idared, as well as not so obvious ones, like her hare-brained decision to lend her aid to Rainbow Dash. What could she have done, besides clumsily wander into situations like this? She was a farmer, not a fighter. She’s arrived in a world where even a filly Apple Bloom’s age had more combat experience than her. When death is seconds from whisking you away, you begin to realise how mindlessly stupid the last few life decisions you made really were.

But a few seconds past, and Applejack still felt very much alive. That is, her muzzle was still radiating pain, and she couldn’t sense any bullet holes in her, not that she had any idea what they’d feel like. Opening her eyes, she was faced with the frozen scene of Thorough Check smiling grimly, and the motionless pegasi.

It seemed the unicorn also had the same thoughts as Applejack. This execution thing was taking far too long. “Well? Shoot her then!” Silence. “Are you goons even listening?” Again, not a sound or movement was made. Thorough Check walked over to one, and gave it a forceful shove. In a perfectly timed comical fashion, the pegasus tottered on two legs for a moment, still completely frozen, then dropped to his side, hitting the floor with a heavy clunk.

Thorough Check, speechless for a second, got back on his earpiece. “Sir! My backup has encountered some… technical difficulties. Could I get some replacement guards here?” He paused to wait for a response that never came. “Sir? Sir? Can you hear me? Sir?”

Applejack, though trying to contain it, let out a quiet derisive snort of laughter. That proved to be a mistake. Thorough Check whirled on her, his expression crackling with anger. “You! I don’t know what you did, but it’s not going to help. I don’t have legal right to do this, but I just don’t give a buck.” He drew his gun, hovering it close to Applejack, and jabbing it into her head with each emphasised word. “No bucking mud pony takes me for a fool!”

“I do!” a voice cried out from above. Applejack glanced up to see its source. A section of the ceiling had been removed, and hanging in the gap was Idared, the cockiest grin stretched over her face. Thorough Check turned to look, his gun levitating slightly off target. Whatever he had intended to do, it was too late. Idared launched herself down; landing hoof first on the stallion’s back, resulting in a horrible cracking sound. Her shotgun was ready, its muzzle pressed against the unicorn’s horn. As strong as those things were, at point blank range the result was inevitable. With the roar of the shot, the bone shattered, spraying chips of horn over the room. Applejack winced as Thorough Check screamed in pain, his legs buckling. Applejack didn’t know much about unicorn horns, but she knew that the destruction of one was the single most painful thing a pony could experience.

Idared casually hopped off the writhing pony. “Nice thinking, AJ.” She circled the chair and began untying the older mare. “Disabling all electronics? Sneaky.”

Applejack glanced at the ruined device by her chair. “Yeah, I reckon it were.” With her forehooves free, she made an effort to stop her bleeding nose. Idared went to collect her discarded mask. “Where’d ya been all this time?”

“In the vents. It was obvious this was going to be a trap. I just needed you as bait.” She made her way over to Thorough Check. “Good job with that, too.”

Applejack grumbled a response into her blood-stained hoof. “What’re we gonne do with ‘im then?” It felt slightly wrong ignoring the crying stallion in the room.

“Question time!” Idared playfully declared. She whisked out her knife, and pressed it against Thorough Check’s exposed neck before Applejack had time to object. “First question. Where’s this prototype of yours being kept?”

“Twelfth floor,” he gasped through the pain. “Storage department.”

Applejack, having managed to stop the bleeding, added in her wisdom. “He’s lyin’.” She didn’t approve of this violent interrogation, but she may as well point out where it was going wrong.

“Good eye,” Idared complemented. Then, like a switch, her attitude changed. “Don’t bucking lie to me, unicorn.” A few drops of blood appeared under her blade. “I will bucking kill you right now. I bucking swear it!”

“Okay! Okay!” His tearstained face took a much more truthful edge. Applejack was good at picking up on these things. “Fortieth floor. You won’t miss it.”

Idared turned to Applejack for a response. The mare nodded. “Yeah, pretty sure he’s bein’ honest.” Idared smiled, and withdrew the knife.

Only to thrust it violently back, slicing straight through the unicorn’s throat with ease. His neck exploded with blood, and it didn’t take long for Thorough Check to slump over, dead.

“IDARED!” Applejack screamed, the contents of her stomach threatening to evacuate. “HE TOLD THE TRUTH! WHY KILL HIM!?”

Idared flinched at Applejack’s tone. “Geez. Calm down. He saw your face, right? If he gets out alive, they’ll know you did it, they’ll know I did it, and they’ll know Barentu helped us. The Resistance’s plans would be over.”

“Oh Celesita, oh Luna.” Applejack backed away from the mess in front of her, shaking slightly. “You killed him. You actually killed him.” She stamped her hoof, trying to calm herself. “We’re the good ponies! Yer not supposed to just kill ‘em!”

Idared just fixed her with a cool stare, ignoring the blood pooling around her hooves. “Applejack. I’m not arguing about this. You’re being immature.”

That shut her up. A filly of Idared’s age telling her she was being immature. As she tried to find a counter argument, Idared was already steeping towards the first guard. “Fine!” Her tone was a lot more venomous than she intended. “I- Do what ya have to, but I’m- I ain’t having no part in this.”

“Fine!” Idared shot back, her frustration showing. “Just stand over there then, with your hooves in your ears, and your eyes shut. You’ll thank me when you’re waking up tomorrow.” Without waiting, she held the knife under the Pegasus’ helmet and began fiddling it. Not wanting to give in to the filly’s mockery, Applejack kept her eyes open. Eventually Idared seemed to find the position she had been looking for, and the blade slid in with ease. In the silence that followed, a barely audible screaming could be heard, heavily muffled. Then, after a few seconds, silence.

Applejack, unable to take it, made for her weapons. “I’ll be outside!” She grabbed her shotgun and knife, purposefully leaving the saddlebags. If Idared wanted them, she could take them. “Just hurry up, y’hear.” Without waiting for a response, she exited the room, and shut the door behind her.

Now alone, she let out the breath she had been holding. She was still shaking. That time in The Mile had been bad, but at least then it hadn’t been a friend she trusted doing the deed. Seeing Idared ending those ponies lives was… disturbing. The lack of remorse she had, the ease at which she did the job, the logical reasoning she had behind doing it.

But that was another problem. The reasoning was completely logical. Applejack had just been uncomfortable about what they needed to do, and lashed out at Idared by arguing against it. If her identity was released it would cause a problem for everypony. She owed it to Rainbow to, frankly, not buck up. Without Idared there, she would have ruined it all just because she shied away from killing another pony.

She facehoofed, grumbling quietly. She was actually justifying murder to herself. The future was horrible!

It was another few moments before Idared quietly left the room, saddlebags on her back, and came to stand by Applejack. The filly broke the awkward silence that threatened them. “It’s done.”

“Look,” Applejack was quick to speak. “I’m sorry. I was actin’ kinda stupid back there.”

“No, no.” Idared stopped her from continuing. “I shouldn’t have expected you to accept it. Glen told me you’re from a place untouched by violence, and I- well, I’ve forgotten what it’s like to see that kind of thing for the first time.” A wave of sympathy welled up in Applejack. “Apathy’s just been my way of dealing with all this shit. That or, y’know,” she looked away guiltily, “enjoying it.”

“Hey, don’t worry. We’re both sorry, ‘kay?” She affectionately ruffled Idared’s hair. “Tension was just a little high. Now c’mon. We got a weapon to steal.”

Idared half smiled. “Heh, yeah.” The two of them began the march back to the stairs. “Gotta climb a mountain before that though.”

“Tha’s right,” Applejack mused, feeling the tension slipping away. “Fortieth floor.” She didn’t even realise buildings could go that high. The scary this was that Sweet Apple Banking Corporation had been nearly twice the height of this building. “That’d be near the top, right?”

“Yup. The top floor was something like forty three, or something. I have no idea why they’d have the weapon up there though. Maybe they-” Idared trailed off, the two of them having reached the stairs. “Oh hey, look. The elevator’s working again.”

Applejack looked up at the electronic number over the elevator doors. As she stared, it changed from four to five. “Oh yeah, how ‘bout that. Didn’t the ghost say it won’t work while them alarms are goin’ off?” The background ringing was quiet enough that Applejack had started to phase it out. The elevator reached floor six.

“Hologram, AJ. It was a-” Idared sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Ghost.” Floor seven. “I suppose once it gets here, we can just catch it up. Unless…” Her eyebrows screwed up, a sudden concern on her mind.

Applejack had come to the same conclusion. There was only one reason why the elevator would now be working, and only one kind of pony that would be on board. The number changed from seven to eight.

“Bucking!” Idared smashed through the door to the stairwell. “RUN!” Applejack didn’t waste any time following. Behind her the elevator doors could be heard opening, and the chatter of armoured pegasi. A few flights down, more voices could be heard, and the slamming of metal hooves on metal stairs.

“Escape plan?” Applejack gasped, taking three steps at a time.

“One thing at a time!” Idared returned, doing a pretty good job of keeping up.

~~~~~~~~

If earth ponies had one advantage, it was stamina. Sure, pegasi had the speed, but they needed a lot more than just that to sprint forty flights of stairs. Those bulky metal suits probably didn’t help either. By the time they reached their destination, Applejack and Idared were out of breath, but still moving rapidly, despite their consistent speed. The filly, with her shorter legs, had really pushed herself to keep astride of Applejack. The older mare had taken back the saddlebag, which had upgraded from being useless to actually causing inconvenience. The sound of soldiers had faded away, until the only sound was the ponies’ laboured breathing.

“Floor… forty,” Idared managed, her front legs buckling. Applejack let herself collapse against the wall, sweat pouring down her face. “Let’s… give it a moment.”

“No…” Applejack heaved herself back up, every muscle complaining. “No time.” She helped the unsteady filly back to her hooves.

“If I… If I see that freaking prince again… pow, right in the kisser.”

“Oh really?” Applejack tapped the stairwell door. “You were all kindsa excited when we got started.” She swung it open, expecting another blank corridor.

What she didn’t except, however, was the surprised faces of Okane Mochi and Professor Diode, the amused face of Barentu, and the emotionless faces of about half a dozen soldiers. The entire floor was one room, three times the height of the other floors, and surrounded by entirely glass walls, giving spectacular views of the city. Mochi sat with Barentu at a circular desk, Diode a few paces away, levitating Lightening Storm, the solders dotted around the room. Everything was lavishly decorated, from the ornately designed furniture, to the priceless statues and canvases dotted around. A huge fish tank stood a little to Applejack’s left, while to her right was a minibar, an equally shocked bartender hovering a cocktail shaker.

Time seemed to pause for a second. Not a single pony moved. Then Idared acted, swinging her shotgun round with unnatural ease into her waiting hooves. She raised the muzzle in the rough direction of Barentu and Mochi.

“NO PONY BUCKING MOVE, OR I BLOW THEIR BUCKING BRAINS OUT!”

Oh sweet Celestia in Canterlot.

“You heard her!” Barentu screamed in response. “I’m not losing my life to some damn pony!” His acting, Applejack had to admit, was good.

Mochi nodded in agreement, raising his hooves. “W- we don’t want any trouble.” He glared around at the pegasi. “Stand down! T- turn around or something! Don’t give them a- any excuse!”

The pegasi hesitated, glancing at each other. Now that Applejack knew a little more about their suits, she wondered what they must have been saying to each other with their internal communicators. Eventually, in a single motion, the barrels of their guns folded back on themselves.

“Take Barentu. Be threatening. Improvise,” Idared hissed at Applejack, urging the other pony forward. The cowpony nodded, terrified. Walking what felt like a mile to the desk, she shakily swung her shotgun over her back. May as well copy the professional. Using Barentu’s body to stable herself, she aimed the weapon at the zebra’s head, careful to not drop the saddlebags.

“So,” Barentu whispered. “Plan going well?”

“What does it look like? The hell’s the weapon doin’ up here?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I think the old guy was planning on using it for negotiation. Never got to that part. As soon as we got up here, the alarms went off. “

“He didn’t think of escapin’?”

“He seemed pretty calm, until you two charming girls burst in. Said security would take care of it.”

In between this subdued conversation, Idared had been slowly making her way to Mochi, her gun never leaving his head. The way she was able to walk on two legs, and keep the gun perfectly straight with the other two, was uncanny. Mochi himself was once again looking close to a heart attack. Today was not his day. “Wh- what do you want? Money? We have money.  I can get y-”

“The weapon,” Idared interrupted. “Give us that, we’ll go peacefully.”

Mochi turned his almost vibrating head to Diode, who was now surveying the scene with the look of mild curiosity. “You heard her, Professor. Th- the weapon.”

“Sir, really?” Surprisingly, she actually sounded insulted. “Are we really going to lose the weapon over a couple of masked earth ponies?”

“Diode, I swear!” Mochi’s voice was an almost comically girlish squeal. “If I die because of your- your crush on that damn machine, I will haunt you until your last Celestia damned breath!” Applejack knew it! Ghost ponies!

Diode sighed and rolled her eyes. You had to admire her nerves next to her hyperventilating boss, and the psychopathic Idared. Floating the weapon over, she secured it to Idared. “Some of us have a little pride in our work, sir.” With the helmet over her mask, the filly looked absolutely ridiculous. They hadn’t made it with her body size in mind.

It was that moment Applejack noticed the movement outside. Swarms of black dots flittered around outside the skyscraper. “Hey, uh… partner. We ain’t alone.” She indicated the window as Idared looked over.

“D- don’t worry about them,” Mochi reassured her, for his own self-preservation. “They wouldn’t dare fire upon my company. Not with me in the crossfi-” He was cut off as the window behind him exploded inwards, bullets flying through the air.

Everypony inside ducked instinctively. This didn’t help Diode, who caught a shot straight through her rear leg. The roaring wind drowned out her cursing; the paper that had been sitting on the table began blowing around the room, hampering visibility. Mochi turned to the opening in the window, screaming in frustration. “Are you insane!? Prince Barentu is here! I’m here! Hold your fire!” The wind, however, rendered his words useless. The soldiers fired another volley, missing everypony present by a fair distance.

Idared suddenly caught Applejack’s attention, poking her in the side. She had crawled over from her position. The table was turning out to be quite a useful barricade. “We’re getting out of here, AJ. You okay on your own, Barentu?”

“I’ll be fine,” he murmured. Or at lease Applejack thought he said that. It was fairly hard to hear over the cacophony of sound in the room, now entirely exposed to the elements. The sloshing sound of water nearby betrayed the unfortunate fate of the fish tank. His next few words were completely lost to Applejack. Idared, however, seemed to have no problem, and nodded in agreement.

“Gonna need a little…” Her head dove into the saddlebag still weighing down Applejack’s back, and returned with a couple of the larger grenades in her mouth. “Hmmrg.”

Barentu was moving towards the stairs, still keeping the table between himself and the window. Diode seemed to have the same idea, while trying to nurse her bleeding leg. The bartender was nowhere to be seen. Mochi, the enormous moron, was still near the window, curled up in a ball. “Idared,” Applejack shouted over the noise. “Don’t tell me yer thinkin’ of-”

Idared wasted no time in nodding. She bit down on the grenades, which clicked inwards. As soon as she released them, they began flashing. The dropped too her hooves. “We’re blowing ourselves up.”

“What!?”

“All part of the plan.” Idared made a beeline for the window, now in sight of the pegasi outside.

“Yer plans are so, so, stupid.” Applejack began following her, feeling horribly exposed. Thankfully, with all the paper in the air, and the sun reflecting off the remaining pieces of glass, the soldiers’ aim seemed to come down to complete guesses.

“You’re not dead yet. My plans combine luck, madness and pure, undiluted brilliance into the masterpieces you get to work with.” She glanced back. Applejack dared the second to follow her gaze. Barentu had made it to the stairs, now helping Diode to walk. The grenades were still merrily flashing. “The brilliance comes in my timing.” Her insane grin was back, the one that looked half surprised at her own good fortune. “On my mark, jump. Follow my direction, and put some force in it.”

“Jump? Jump where?” Applejack had an awful suspicion; she just hoped the filly wasn’t that stupid.

“Where do you think, AJ? Outside!” Before Applejack could reply, a high pitched whine screeched from behind her, originating from the grenades. “There’s our mark! JUMP!”

Following her word, Idared leapt thorough the gap in the glass, straight out the window of the fortieth floor. Applejack paused, her brain torn. If she jumped, she would surely die. If she stayed behind, she would die. The only lead she had was to trust the filly. The filly that went in with no plan, made up everything on the spot, and had just thrown herself from the top floor of a skyscraper. This was the stupidest and most terrifying decision she had ever experienced in her life. But the answer, unfortunately, was obvious.

Taking a running start, Applejack jumped.

The saddlebags, the damn saddlebags, were still attached to her back. In the first few seconds, they managed to spin her around, forcing her to face the tower. Now at least she wouldn’t see the ground coming to kill her. Instead she had front row seats to the explosion that ripped the roof of Misaki Corporation clean off. The pegasi, in the corners of her eyes, were thrown backwards by the force of the massive fireball. Never would Applejack have guessed those grenades, no bigger than Applejack’s hoof, would contain such power. Concrete was flung in all directions, one piece looking horribly like the body of a certain unicorn. It was almost beautiful, in a disturbing way. The explosion also ripped apart a large chunk of the two floors below which, Applejack desperately prayed, were empty. Barentu had hopefully been given enough time to successfully escape the blast. The pegasi were having an awful time trying to stop themselves from spinning out of control. Just as Applejack had just finished taking in the horrifically stunning act of terrorism she had helped achieve, she hit the ground.

Three thoughts came to her in rapid succession. One: that was pretty fast, considering how high they had been. Two: hitting the ground, while incredibly painful, wasn’t as bad as she had imagined. Three: how in Equestria are these thoughts occurring if she was dead?

Then, with a flailing of her limbs, she realised she wasn’t dead. The resistance of water stopped her legs from waving as violently as she intended. An actual solid ground met her back with surprising force, dispelling the last of her momentum with a second bolt of pain. Using it as support, she propelled herself up, breaking the surface of the pool she found herself in.

“Holy alicorn horns!” Idared brought her back to her senses with a screech, the water draining from her ears. “I can’t believe that actually worked!”

Applejack, gasping for breath, looked around for some sign of answer to this madness. In front of her stood Misaki Corporation, its roof missing, smoke and dust were enveloping it like a cloud, metal girders protruding from it in various awkward angles. This scene of disaster was only about ten floors above her current location. The pegasi, having regained their composure, were frenziedly converging on the wreckage.

Applejack seemed to be bobbing in a swimming pool, completely empty of ponies. Its surface was covered by a thin layer of dust, and various concrete slabs were slowly making their way through the water to the bottom. The same water that had, presumably, prevented her death. It didn’t stop her back feeling like a train had hit her, however. “Wh- where are we!?”

“A pool, I guess,” was Idared’s obvious reply. She was bobbing in the water next to Applejack. “They haven’t spotted us. It actually worked!” She began to swim her way to the edge.

“We ain’t out yet. Not till we’re outta this buildin’,” With her fight or flight instincts leaving her, Applejack felt the rush of the past hour or so catch up to her, her depleted energy leaving her paddling with all her remaining might.

“No problem,” Idared cackled. “Just wait till Glen hears about this. He won’t believe it.” She looked like the cat that had not just eaten the canary, but the entire aviary.

~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe it.” Applejack stood in front of Glenlivet smelling, once again, of sewers. They were in The Resistance’s meeting hall, a small collection of ponies surrounding them with various expressions of shock and amusement. “I can’t believe how mindlessly, destructively, painfully STUPID you are!”

Idared had the decency of trying to look sorry. The act wasn’t fooling Applejack, and it certainly wasn’t working on Glen. He was pacing rapidly, his anger erupting. “You stormed through the place with no more disguise than a bodysuit, you were caught on just about every camera they probably own, you managed to get the CEO killed, and to top it all off, you blew up the building!”

“Uh,” Idared dared to open her mouth. “It was only t-”

“Blew up!” Glen whirled on her, eyes ablaze. “Blew! Up!”

Idared made the wise decision of keeping silent.

“With Applejack as well! She’s just joined us, and you nearly kill her at least a dozen times!” He resumed the pacing. “Firefly would have your head if you managed to get her killed!”

Idared took his second of silence to try again. “But Barentu gave us-”

“Don’t go pinning this on him, lass! He gave you the tools to come up with a decent plan. Heck, a hundred decent plans.” He stopped pacing, sat down on his hunches, and massaged his temples. “For once, for once, just use your brain.”

A voice perked up from the corner of the room. “To be honest, it wasn’t the best of situations.” Barentu was sitting nearby, being fussed over by Aspen. His entire tail was missing, cuts ran down his right side, and his coat was fairly singed. In Applejack’s honest opinion, it had been entirely his fault. “I’d go so far as to commend Idared on her… unique ideas.”

Barentu had arrived shortly after them. He had sworn that he had been perfectly fine to the unicorn authorities once they had brought him out safely. He insisted, after the swarms of reporters had been satisfied, that he’d like to be given some privacy to calm his nerves with a drink. According to him, the building had been completely evacuated by the time the grenades had gone off, so the only casualty had been Okane Mochi. The building the two girls had found them in had been a gym. One of Nova Equestria’s largest gyms, complete with its own open air pool on the roof of the thirty two floored building. This too, due to the nature of the incident, had been evacuated. Getting out had been surprisingly easy, especially when Idared took Applejack to the basement of the building, and ‘created’ a handy entrance to the sewers with one of the smaller grenades thankfully spared from getting too waterlogged.

“Please,” Glen continued. “Don’t cover for her. She nearly got you killed, after all. With her fancy little escape, the sewers will probably be searched extensively, so no using them for a while. I can’t bloody wait till the newspapers come out tomorrow.”

“Hasn’t the televised news released anything yet?” Barentu queried.

“Not yet,” Glen informed the zebra. “That’s all government operated, and it takes them about half a day to work out how to paint themselves in the best of lights.” He fixed Idared with another death glare. “You’d better be happy Commander Firefly isn’t here right now. Otherwise you’d be in all sorts of hot wa-”

“Ahem.” A light cough interrupted Glen. Rainbow herself had just stepped from the stairs into the room. Based on the reactions of the ponies, this wasn’t something that happened often. Most took a worried step back. A few bowed awkwardly, then straightened themselves then they realised no pony else was following. One pony, in true Fluttershy fashion, squeaked in fear, and hid behind her hair. Even Idared straightened up, a look of pure terror passing over her featured.

Stepping forward, her working eye scanning the ponies, Rainbow spoke. “I’m not angry. Idared did what she had to do.” It seemed ‘the boss’ had been eavesdropping. Idared visibly relaxed. “There were better ways of dealing with it, sure. But, yeah, she did her best.” It was strange, seeing this commanding, formal Rainbow Dash mixed in with a few habits the old RD that Applejack knew would have done. “Applejack, how did you find it?”

“I ain’t leavin’ this base for a month. That’s how I found it.” She was brutally honest to her friend. “Y’all have more courage than I could ever imagine.”

Rainbow laughed quietly, taking Applejack’s statement as a joke, which it sure as Luna wasn’t. The city was a deathtrap, especially when you were part of this motley crew. The issue of what they had even done, the killing Idared had performed, was being pushed to the back of her mind. The one thing she knew for sure is where she’d be spending the next few days. In the firing range. If she was forced out on her flank again, she’d at least be a little more prepared.

“Whelp,” Barentu got to his hooves, waving away Aspen. “I’ll be heading off now.” He patted his considerably larger saddlebag. “Got to get this baby opened up and checked out.” Idared had completely destroyed the thing by submerging it in water. That was not a problem though, according to Barentu. “Firefly, give me about a week, and I’ll be back to you with news from my father.” He saluted. “Hopefully the next time we meet will be in battle.”

Rainbow returned the salute. “I wouldn’t be too eager, your majesty.” She smiled warmly. “But thank you, once again.” Barentu grinned, shook his head in response, and made for the door.

“Commander,” Glen began. “I’m so sorry ab-”

“Glenlivet, don’t give me that.” Rainbow hit him lightly over the head. “It went well. We’ll work over the complications. And buck the news. What happened happened.” She turned to Idared. “As for you, Idared. Good work. You did what you had to do.” At that, the filly looked ecstatically pleased. Not her cocky, manic, playful happy. At was the look a filly would give if their mother had praised their latest schoolwork.

“And AJ,” Rainbow turned to her friend, who was now swaying slightly on the spot. “You did more than I could ever have hoped. Plus, you’re still alive.” Applejack shrugged, not understanding a word. Her vision was getting a little fuzzy. “Now, for the love of Celestia, get some rest.”

That, she understood. Nodding enthusiastically, she dropped to her stomach. The tavern’s floor, in all its sticky, dirty splendour, was looking like the best bed Applejack could have asked for.