Chapter Fifteen:
Stage Three: Roleplaying
Rainbow Dash breathed in deeply, composing herself as best she could. Through the thickness of the ski mask she was wearing, she could barely make out the forms of her friends all standing sporadically around her, basically just looking nonchalant. Though they weren't going to be wearing the masks when they entered the bank, Twilight waned them to get used to the feeling of them. That meant wearing them as often as possible. Dash was currently hovering a few feet in the air, her saddle bag hung by her flank. Within it lay her Ak-47, at that moment unloaded, along with everypony else's weapon of choice. She had removed the C4 from her bag earlier that morning and placed off in one of the far corners of the warehouse, well out of their way.
Alright then, time to show these girls how The Dash intimidates! The pegasus thought to herself. In truth, she had been looking forward to this moment all of the night before; a chance for her to show off just what a natural she would be at this whole robbery thing. When she felt ready, the pegasus began to hover slowly in the general direction of a certain orange earth pony, a devious grin on her face. Applejack, whose current role along with Pinkie Pie's in this little improv session had been a bank security guard. Rainbow Dash could've gone up to either of them... and she chose Applejack. This development prompted a massive eyeroll from the earth pony.
"Oh, o'course she chooses to go after me," she groaned.
"Stay in character, AJ," Twilight said to her from across the room. The unicorn was currently playing the role of a humble customer alongside Fluttershy, who was practically trembling with nervousness. She knew eventually it would be her turn to play the robber, and that she was going to have to really show a side of herself that she never wanted to show again. Even if it was just pretend, it still bothered her greatly; that just wasn't the kind of pony she was.
Still, she had an animal back home who was counting on her to go through with this, and she couldn't let him down. Besides, Rainbow Dash had said she would give her a helping hoof if need be, so maybe in the end, she could go through with this. For now, she would just watch her fellow pegasus and see how she would take care of things. She felt slightly more comfortable having Rarity standing next to her, though the ivory unicorn seemed slightly perturbed by the fact that she didn't know whether she was supposed to be representing bank staff or customers; they had pretty much left it up to her.
Rainbow Dash had just managed to make her way up to Applejack. She had definitely looked unsteady as she hovered towards her, no doubt due to the mask covering her face. Twilight had insisted that she didn't need to wear the mask for this part since, as she had mentioned yesterday, they weren't going to be entering the bank wearing them. But Dash had made a good point of wanting to get used to the feeling of having one cover her face. It would serve as a good way to prepare themselves for when the actual robbery occurred. Twilight had to hand it to Rainbow Dash; she could be pretty intelligent when she wanted to be.
Dash hovered in front of her earth pony friend, trying to appear as casual as possible, or at least as casual as a pony with a black ski mask covering her face would possibly allow. Applejack had to fight the urge to make a crack about Dash making a wrong turn at Trottingham, and that the nearest mountain range was a couple hundred miles in the opposite direction.
Dash attempted to give some kind of nonchalant whistle, but the ski mask made it too difficult to get her lips pursed. Instead, she simply cracked her neck and continued to hover, feeling admittedly kinda foalish, like she had no idea what she was supposed to be doing. Luckily, Applejack seemed to be just as uncomfortable with the situation as Dash did. It made more sense for her to be on edge, though, considering she was just about to be on the receiving end of some "Dash Style" brutality.
"Power goes out in five..." Twilight said suddenly. Dash and AJ simultaneously tensed up. "Four... three... two... one... now!"
As quick as she could, Dash plunged her hooves into her saddlebag and wrapped them around the cold steel of her rifle.
"What sorcery is this!" Pinkie Pie cried out as she gazed upwards at what would soon be the burned out lights of the bank.
Rainbow Dash just about burst out laughing a Pinkie's random exclamation, causing her to fumble with her weapon a bit as she pulled it out.
Dammit, Pinkie, stop making me laugh! The pegasus thought to herself.
Finally pulling the weapon free, Dash, in one swift move, swiped the butt of it against Applejack's muzzle. Though she hadn't intended to actually hit the earth pony, it had been mildly satisfying to see her rival double over and clutch her face in pain.
"OW!" Applejack cried. "Consarnit, Dash, ya really hit me there!"
"Shut the fuck up, scumbag! Get down on the floor now!" Dash roared, aiming the rifle right at her friends head. "Put your hooves behind your head and keep 'em there!"
Applejack rolled her eyes. As much as she wanted to give her friend a little smack across the face, she had to remind herself that they were role-playing, and if she had been in a situation where a fully loaded weapon was being aimed right at her head, she would most definitely do whatever the gun-pony ordered her to do. She lowered herself to the floor and placed her hooves behind her head, as instructed.
Dash smirked at the image of her rival throwing herself on the floor in front of her, almost as if she was bowing to her awesomeness. Unfortunately, she could only enjoy it for a short while; she had others to focus on now. Turning her attention to the others, she saw that Fluttershy had already thrown herself onto the ground. She was trembling terribly. Small whimpers could be heard emanating from her. Dash chose to ignore the terrified pegasus and trained her weapon on the others.
"ALL OF YOU ON THE FUCKING GROUND NOW!" She roared, her voice slightly muffled, yet still discernible enough. "HOOVES OVER YOUR HEADS! NO SUDDEN MOVEMENTS!" The look her eyes was almost genuinely psychotic, and more than a little intimidating, even though nopony could see it through her mask.
Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all did as instructed. Pinkie was smiling quite excitedly, while Twilight and Rarity looked rather bored. Rainbow Dash backed up a bit, so she had all five mares in her view. She smiled proudly at her handiwork; this was gonna be a breeze.
"Staff and security, up against that wall!" She barked, pointing her rifle to the right at the nearby warehouse wall. "Everypony else, that wall!" She pointed her gun to the left wall. "MOVE!"
Twilight and Fluttershy slowly moved to the right while Applejack and Pinkie Pie moved to the left, Applejack still rubbing her sore muzzle and muttering profanities under her breath. Rarity, on the other hoof, remained on the ground, looking left and right, confusion etched on her face.
"Um..." she raised her hoof nervously. "I apologize, dears, but am I staff or customer? I seem to have forgotten."
Rainbow Dash just gave her a deadpanned expression, then aimed the rifle at her.
"Eheheheheheh!" She did her best machine gun impression, shaking the rifle violently as she did. "You're dead, Rare."
Rarity gave Dash an incredulous look.
"Now wait just one instant, Rainbow Dash!" She scolded. "Would you really resort to murder so quickly? Should you not give me a warning first?"
"Dash, I have to agree with Rarity here," Twilight came in, standing back up and stepping away from the wall. "If somepony gives you any-"
"Ehehehehehehe!" Dash repeated, this time aiming the rifle at Twilight. "Now you're dead, Twi. Man, I'm on a rampage!"
"Okay, time out!" Twilight said sternly, making the gesture with her hooves. "Dash, we don't want to kill anypony, remember?"
"Yeah, I know," Dash replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof awkwardly. "But if somepony acts up, what are we supposed to do?"
"Something significantly less barbaric then spraying them with bullets, I would say!" Rarity chided.
"She's right, Dash," Twilight said. "Look, there's a difference between the ponies we've 'taking care of' these past few days and the ponies that are going to be occupying that bank."
"Yeah, I know, Twi," Dash cut before the egghead could go into one of her long lectures. "I know these are innocent civilians we're dealing with, and none of them deserve to die. But... we're gonna have to keep them in line somehow. Chances are one of them might decide to play the hero and give us trouble."
"True..." Twilight pondered this for a moment. "Well, maybe a smack across the face would be sufficient. Perhaps a blow to the gut; that would definitely put keep somepony down."
"Will it be enough, though?" Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think so," Twilight answered, though she sounded a bit unsure, herself. "I mean, when ponies see their loved ones in jeopardy, they're not likely to do anything stupid." Twilight thought about it a little while longer. Truthfully, she knew that when in a life-threatening situation, ponies would always look for the smallest window of opportunity to turn things to their advantage. It was becoming disturbingly clear that more brutal methods may have to be turned to if things got too out of hoof.
"Maybe..." Twilight continued slowly. "If we really really had to... a bullet in a leg or two might prove to be a severe enough deterrent for would-be heroes."
"Oh my word, Twilight," Rarity moaned, placing a hoof to her forehead and rubbing it. "I can't believe we're talking about something like this so... casually."
"Yeah, yeah, I know it's weird. I think we've all come to terms with that by now," Twilight snapped, a bit irritably. "But we need to get rid of these feelings of hesitation and just get the job done. And like I said, we only need to resort to shooting out legs if we really have. As long as the ponies in that bank have at least half a brain, I don't think we'll have to resort to that."
With a sigh, Rarity lowered her head and nodded.
"Still feels weird, though, " she muttered under her breath.
"Alright then," Twilight continued, turning to the cyan pegasus. "Dash, I think you should try running this again. You did a pretty good job on your first run; you were quick, intimidating, and you moved well. But the whole random shooting thing really set you back some."
"Twi, I wasn't really gonna shoot anypony," Dash said with a roll of her eyes. "It's just... having this rifle has really brought out the badass in me! Man, I can't wait 'til we start practicing with these things!"
Twilight sighed in annoyance and shook her head.
"Dash, you do realize that if everything goes the way we want it to, we may not end up firing a single shot?"
"Uhhh, yeah, I knew that," Dash answered, failing to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"In fact," Twilight continued. "The only thing that I know for sure we'll be using is the C4 over there." She pointed a hoof at the pile of explosives in the corner of the warehouse.
"Uh, do we even no how ta handle that stuff properly ta begin with?" Applejack asked.
"I've read enough about that I think I should know what to do," Twilight answered confidently.
"And unless those first-person shooters I've played were bullshit, I should know how they work as well," Dash added.
Applejack just shrugged in acceptance; it was good enough for her. Along with the others, she returned to her original position, shooting Rainbow Dash a dirty look.
"If ya'll really hit me again, Ah'm buckin' ya through the Celestia damned wall," she muttered dangerously to her.
Dash just rolled her eyes. She knew that when the farm pony had her turn, she was gonna absolutely destroy her.
I'd love to see you try, Crapplejack.
"Just do what you did last time, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said to her as they got into position. "Only this time, leave out the shooting." She turned to her fellow unicorn. "And Rarity? We'll just say you're a... teller or something. Not that it really matters, it's not like we have do any actual acting. We just need Dash to have an idea of who we are so she knows which wall to send us to."
"Very well then," Rarity said primly. "As long as I don't have to be on the receiving end of one of dear Rainbow Dash's little violent blows."
"Yeah, about that Dash," Twilight said. "You don't need to really hit us. Just making the motion will do."
"Yeah, yeah, I gotcha," Dash grumbled. "You hear that, AJ? No hitting when it's your turn."
The farm pony gave her a darkly disturbing look, as if she honestly didn't care much for that new rule. Dash shivered a bit internally, but refused to let it show. She just smirked confidently (though it was impossible to see through her mask) and resumed her position.
This time, it could not have gone by more smoothly. Rainbow Dash had everypony under control in a matter of seconds. Her voice was booming and intense, like the voice of a truly hardened criminal. Nopony would dare try to stand up to her with how intimidating she looked and how serious she sounded when she said would blow the brains out of anypony who tried anything stupid. The pegasus was a born robber, plain and simple. When she was done, the others couldn't help but clop their hooves in admiration of their friend, Pinkie Pie whooping and hollering as well.
"Wooo! You rock, Dashie!" She cheered.
"Bravo, darling!" Rarity applauded elegantly.
Even Applejack seemed impressed by her rivals work, giving her an encouraging nod. She was going to have one hay of a time topping that.
Rainbow Dash took an almost graceful bow and set her weapon back in her saddlebag.
"Aw, this is gonna be fun!" She cried, pumping a hoof in the air. She then added quietly, "I should've done this years ago."
"Fantastic job, Dash," Twilight congratulated her friend. "I think you've got this down perfectly."
"What can I say? Perfection's kinda my thing," Dash bragged. Internally, she kicked herself a bit for that statement, remembering that not too long ago she had admitted to a distraught Scootaloo that she wasn't, in fact, perfect.
"Well then," Twilight continued. "Who wants to go next?"
"I do! I do! Me me me!" Pinkie Pie bounced up and down, raising a hoof in the air.
"Oh, this oughta be good!" Rainbow Dash laughed. "Pinkie's gonna be a beast at this!"
Pinkie Pie gave a very convincing animatistic growl, crouching low on all fours and snapping viciously at the others.
"Okay okay, Pinkie, let's see what you've got," Twilight interjected. "And... please try to keep the ear biting in check." She felt kinda stupid for throwing that comment in. Surely the mask would prevent that.
Pinkie giggled joyously and bounded into position. She placed her ski mask over her head and checked her bag to make sure everything she needed was in there. The sheer weight of the M60, along with her other "little surprise" nearly caused her to topple, but she barely managed to stay upright. It had a feeling it was going to be more difficult than she had thought it would at first; standing on her hind legs while carrying a heavy machine gun and having her breathing and vision obscured by a thick ski mask. She took a few moments to compose herself before starting, breathing deeply and getting in the proper mind-set.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had taken Pinkie's place as the other supposed security guard, still wearing her ski mask. Twilight cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion.
"Dash, you do realize that you don't need to wear the mask anymore, right?" She asked.
"I know," Dash answered matter of factly. "But I want to get used to the feeling of it. Like you wanted us to, remember? I might actually keep it on for the rest of the day... maybe even tomorrow."
"Um, well actually I was thinking that if things go smoothly enough today, we'll be ready to actually pull off the heist tomorrow," Twilight said with slight hesitation. She wasn't exactly sure if they were ready to proceed with things so quickly. She had originally thought they would need to take at least a week to prepare. But things had been progressing so much faster than what was originally envisioned, and if the others were anywhere near as good at intimidation and gun-play as Rainbow Dash was... there was no reason why tomorrow couldn't be the day...
"Tomorrow?" Rarity gaped. "Are quite sure we'll be ready? It seems to me we still have much to do."
"Not really," Twilight said. "We've got the blueprints, the weapons, the explosives, we're learning movement and intimidation at an impressive rate... tomorrow's looking pretty good."
Rarity exhaled sharply. Somehow, she felt she wasn't going to be quite as impressive as Rainbow Dash was when it came to keeping everypony in line.
"Ready, Pinkie?" Twilight asked the bounding pink pony.
"Yep yep!" Pinkie replied, her voice slightly muffled by the mask.
"Then show us what you've got," Twilight settled herself into position.
To Pinkie's credit, she actually managed to calm herself down quite a bit and appear to be nothing more than some unassuming customer as she slowly trotted aimlessly towards Applejack ("Oh fer Pete's sake! Ya'll have it in fer me 'r somethin'?"), the ski mask being the only oddity about her. Once again, Twilight gave the countdown to darkness.
"Power goes out in five... four... three... two... one... now!"
In one swift move, Pinkie Pie yanked her massive M60 out of her saddlebag and reared back onto her hind legs. She made to drive the front of it into Applejack, but stopped it mere millimeters before making contact. Applejack, grateful that the party pony had managed to show some restraint, made a faint "oof!" and fell to the ground in a heap. Pinkie Pie quickly flipped around to the others. She pointed her gun towards the ceiling and made an "ehehehe!" noise as she pretended to fire some warning shots.
"Alright, you fucky ducks! This is a robbery!" She pretended to fire a few more shots into the air. "Anypony who does anything stupid get a... a lead cupcake!" Pinkie internally praised herself for coming up with such a clever line. She had to make sure she remembered to use it during the actual robbery.
Twilight and the others seemed genuinely frightened by the very legitimate sounding psychotic rage in the normally happy pink pony's voice; she had very successfully disappeared into her role. As she forced them into their respective walls, Rainbow Dash was suddenly hit by a spark of inspiration; it was true that when in a life threatening situation, ponies wouldn't likely do anything stupid... unless they somehow spotted an opportunity to turn the tables. Dash realized that if she or any of her friends let their guard down, even for a second, a hostage would use it to his or her advantage and pull something. Dash knew this because... well, it was what she would do if she were in that situation.
Deciding that this would be a good time to test that theory out, the pegasus, while doing what Pinkie Pie demanded, kept her eyes open for any weakness the pink pony might show. Even through the distortion of her mask, she could see that Pinkie Pie definitely had her hooves full keeping her weapon trained on everypony. Of course, this wouldn't be as big an issue during the actual heist; all six of them would have their eyes on everything and everypony. But still, anything could happen; Twilight had made that clear very early on, and Dash wanted to illustrate that fact right there and then.
As luck would have it, a chance came when Fluttershy, who was still trembling wildly with fear, tripped and fell to the floor on her way to the wall. Pinkie Pie, still very much in character, rounded on the poor pegasus, screaming at her to get up and keep moving while firing even more invisible rounds into the air. It was almost too cruel to witness, but they knew they had to stay in character no matter what.
With Pinkie Pie's full attention on Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash made her move, flinging herself at the earth pony. Pinkie Pie had been successfully caught off guard, and with a surprised squeak, she collapsed to the floor. Rainbow Dash pinned her down with all her strength, not wanting to hold back one bit; she had to behave as accurately as she knew a hostage would in that situation.
"Wow, Dashie. I, um... don't think this was part of the plan!" Pinkie cried. She was attepting to use her rifle to push the pegasus off of her, but Dash was putting all her weight on the pink pony, pressing the rifle back into her. Being far stronger than her earth pony friend, it was virtually impossible for Pinkie to push her way out of this.
"Dash, what are you doing?" Twilight asked, though she didn't sound as shocked as Dash had thought she would've been.
"She took her attention off me," Dash answered, groaning as she struggled with Pinkie. "The second any of us make that mistake, they're gonna do something just like this. Even if it's for a second. We gotta... hrgh! We gotta be prepared for something like this." She leaned in closer to the party pony. "How'r ya gonna get outta this, Pinks?"
"I... I gragh!" Pinkie tried to push back as hard as she could, but to no avail. "Well, you girls would help me, right?"
"What? Do you really expect them to turn their backs to the other hostages and give them a chance to fight back?" Dash asked. "You gotta get outta this on your own, Pinks. Now c'mon! Fight back!"
Twilight watched the pair with a sense of renewed admiration for Rainbow Dash. She had told herself a few times that the hostages might try something if they had the chance to, yet she hadn't really gotten around bringing that particular problem up. Much to her embarrassment, the lavender unicorn had completely forgotten upon waking up that morning.
Seeing that Rainbow Dash had the incentive to bring this issue to light in her own way really showed how seriously the pegasus was taking this whole thing; it was nice to see that she wasn't the only one, because the way her friends acted sometimes, it almost felt as if they really didn't understand the severity of the situation.
The others (with the exception of Fluttershy, whose face was buried in her hooves again) watched intently to see how the situation would play out. Applejack didn't appear all that phased; she was strong enough to handle anypony, particularly Rainbow Dash; the pegasus was nowhere near as tough as she thought she was. Rarity, on the other hoof, seemed quite taken aback at this brutal display. She wasn't exactly much of a 'scrapper' so to speak. Though she did pride herself on having a rather effective right hook that came in handy for warding off drunken stallions who had taken a fancy to her at parties from time to time.
Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was currently staring up into the blank face of her assailant. That ski mask allowed her to project any face she wanted onto it... and right now, a very familiar and very unwelcome image had appeared on it; a face she had grown to fear after years of living under it's dread-filled glower, a ghostie she couldn't giggle away. And fact that she was currently in a position that she so often found herself in when she was living with that face... her reaction was all the more powerful.
In a series of swift, almost operatic movements, Pinkie Pie drove her rear leg into Dash's gut, eliciting a pained groan from the pegasus. In that moment of weakness, Dash eased up, and that was all it took for Pinkie to force the butt of her weapon right across that much hated face (No! No, I don't hate him! I just...).
The blow was strong enough to knock Rainbow Dash off her. Pinkie quickly rose to her rear hooves again and trained her weapon on the pegasus, who was now clutching her mouth. Her bottom lip had been split and was bleeding quite freely. Droplets of blood seeped through the black ski mask, staining it red. She practically felt Pinkie Pie bring her face right down next to her ear.
"Party's over, daddy," she whispered in a chilling tone.
Dash, still clutching her sore mouth, raised an eyebrow (which nopony could see) and turned to face her friend.
"What?" She sounded quite taken aback.
"Dashie," Pinkie replied quickly. "I... I said 'party's over, Dashie."
Even through their ski masks, Pinkie could see the skepticism in Dash's eyes; she had clearly heard her right the first time. Luckily, before any further unpleasantness could ensue, Twilight stepped in.
"Well done, Pinkie Pie! I think you mastered that situation beasutifully!"
"Ya really hit me hard, though," Dash muttered under her breath. She opted not to pull her mask off to tend to her wound. It would heal in time. she could tough it out.
Pinkie Pie pulled her own mask off, smiling as brightly as ever. It was as if she had completely forgotten what had just gone through her mind moments ago.
"Thanks, Twilight! I feel so ready for this!" She squealed with joy.
"Alright then," Twilight continued with a confident smile. Her friends were surprising her more and more at every turn. "Who wants to go next?"
As the day wore on, Twilight continued to watch with amazement as her friends transformed into ruthless, hardened criminals before her eyes. Applejack had been particularly impressive with her intimidation. The farm pony definitely had a way with words, and some of her threats had genuinely made Twilights stomach turn. Plus, she had managed to get a bit of revenge on Rainbow Dash. When the pegasus had refused to do as ordered ("Just to shake things up a bit!" Applejack had sent her flying into the appropriate wall, via a nice, swift buck with her hind legs.
Rainbow Dash was taking quite a beating that afternoon. But it didn't bother her in slightest; she could handle a little pain. Besides, she was the one who was pretty much bringing this violence upon herself with her unpredictable actions. It was just her way of keeping her friends on edge.
"Anything could happen..." They were reminded constantly.
Then came Rarity, who... was definitely something else. After complaining that the mask would ruin her already badly frazzled mane, everypony prepared themselves for impending annoyance at the ivory unicorn. But what was expected to be a laughably bad, turned out to be quite a show. While significantly more prim and refined compared to Dash and AJ, the fashionista proved to be quite intense in her insistence that eveypony do what she ordered them to do. She didn't even need to resort to the vulgar language the others had use to show what a loose cannon she could be if she was pushed enough. She made it sound as if the calm elegance in her voice belied a true psychopath. It was like a really elegant and well-mannered pony had just reared up onto her hind legs to show a bomb strapped to her chest. If anypony did anything stupid, the bomb would detonate, and they would all pay for one pony's mistake. Even if she didn't appear as threatening on the outside, there was that undeniable sense that one false move would be the "worst possible thing" a pony could do.
Twilight knew she, herself didn't need to have a turn. She would be busy with cutting the power while her friends were taking care of everything. When she got down to them from the roof, everything was expected to be under control. She already had a little speech planned for the hostages to keep them in line and assure them that they would be fine if they just played by their rules.
That left one pony left to show off her stuff... and the shy young pegasus looked just about ready to faint.
"I... I don't think I can do this..." she whimpered silently.
"You have to, Fluttershy," Twilight encouraged. "You've come this far; you can't stop now."
"B-but... but..." the poor thing sounded on the verge of tears.
"Twilight?" Rarity stepped in. "Perhaps we should just let her sit this out. She's clearly scared to death of this whole thing. Maybe she could just wait outside for us to get the job done and help us haul everything back when it's over?"
Fluttershy managed a small smile through her now tear-streaked face. It was nice to know she always had Rarity in her corner; the fashionista was always so protective of her.
"Rarity, no," Twilight sighed with a shake of her head. "We need everypony available to help us with this. We need her to help keep the crowd under control while one of you, along with myself, get the safe open. Having four of you watching our backs instead of three will really put me at ease."
"But, darling, we've all shown significant skill at intimidation," Rarity pleaded. "Don't you think that will be enough?"
"Rarity," Rainbow Dash now stepped up. She had decided to finally remove her mask; the dried up blood on it was starting to annoy her. Plus she felt comfortable enough with it. "You really need to stop babying her. If she really wants to save her bunny, she has to go through with this." She then turned to her fellow pegasus, giving her a slightly scathing look. "Or do you not care enough about Angel to save him?"
"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity scolded. Nopony insulted her friend like that!
"Well does she?" Dash shot back at her. "'Cause it sure doesn't look like it to me!"
Fluttershy stammered incoherently for a few moment, fresh tears staining her cheeks.
"I...I do care about my Angel Bunny," she sniffled. "I... I just..."
"You just what?" Dash pressed. "Can't step up when it really matters?"
"Now, Rainbow Dash, you know that ain't true," Applejack came in. "You've seen fer yerself that Fluttershy can definitely be strong in times o' need."
"Well, now seems like a pretty desperate time of need," Dash replied. "And she sure isn't acting strong."
"Well badgering and insulting her isn't going to make things any better!"
"I'm trying to toughen her up, for crying out loud! Somepony's gotta do it!"
"Well the way you're going about it is all wrong!"
"You have a better idea? 'Cause I'd love to hear it!"
"Would you just-"
"Um, I'll do it..."
The arguing stopped abruptly as the timed, squeaky voice of the shy pegasus drew their attention.
"I'll... give it a try," Fluttershy said in a voice just a above a whisper. "If... everypony really wants me to."
Twilight managed a small, comforting smile at the shy pegasus.
"Be strong, Fluttershy. We'll help you out. You're not alone in this."
"If you're sure, darling." Rarity frowned.
"You can do it, Flutters!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "Pinkie believes in you!"
"Prove me wrong, Shy. Prove me wrong," Dash said. She wasn't about to go easy on her friend, but it was for her own good.
"Okay then," Fluttershy cooed. "What should I do first."
"We'll get into position," Twilight told her. "Then I want you to put your mask on."
Fluttershy nodded. As the others returned to the positions they had taken earlier, she reached into her saddle bag and pulled her black ski mask out. She stretched it over her head, wincing as the fabric pulled on her mane.
Twilight watched as she prepared herself. The minute the pegasus had her mask on properly, she began to tremble and whimper slightly.
"You okay, Shy?" Twilight asked with concern.
"It's d-dark with t-this thing on m-my head," Fluttershy whimpered. "I-I'm sc-scared of the dark."
"It's just a mask, sweetheart," Rarity said soothingly. "The world around you is perfectly bright."
Fluttershy managed to calm herself a bit a Rarity's words, but the pegasus was still absolutely dreading the next few minutes, knowing full well that she would have to once again show the dark, violent, unpredictable side of herself that she so desperately never wanted to show again. And the fact that she would have to unleash it on the only ponies in Equestria she actually loved made her all the more terrified. She most definitely didn't want to resort to using her stare on them, which wouldn't have been possible anyway with the mask covering her eyes. she had been so ashamed of what she had previously used it for that she wasn't sure she ever wanted to use it again.
"We're ready when you are," Twilight said ominously.
Fluttershy gave a quick nod and steeled herself. She lifted off the ground and hovered in place. She then took one quick look into her bag; her silenced MP5 lay there, so sleek and shiny. It was almost... beautiful, in a morbid sense.
"Alright," Twilight announced. "Power goes out in five... four... three... two... one... Now!"
Fluttershy nearly stumbled through the air as she attempted to pull her weapon out, causing Rainbow Dash to shake her head; this wasn't gonna be pretty...
"Um, excuse me, everypony," Fluttershy announced quietly as she struggled to hole her weapon properly. "Um, would it be too much trouble for you all to go stand by the wall over there for a few minutes?" The others stared blankly at her. "Um, if you don't mind... that is..."
Twilight and her friends just stared at each other. As much as they felt sorry for Fluttershy, and as badly as they wanted to do what she asked, there was just no way they could be intimidated by her when she treated them as kindly as this. They remained standing where they were, and they could see that the she pegasus was beginning to panic.
"Um, uh..." she racked her mind desperately to think of something she could do to impress them. Then she remembered what Pinkie Pie had done by pretending to fire some shots into the air. Maybe that would work. She aimed her rifle upwards and made a rather unconvincing "bang bang" sound. Even though her rifle was silenced, she felt it would still have some kind of effect.
Twilight smiled a bit at that; it was definitely and improvement. She, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all made for their respective walls... but Rainbow Dash remained stationary, smirking nastily at Fluttershy.
"Um," Fluttershy mumbled as she hesitently approach her fellow pegasus. "You're, uh... not moving."
"Nope!" Dash stated bluntly. She wasn't letting her friend off that easily. This was all for her own good.
"Well... I, uh..." Fluttershy stuttered. She had actually been quite pleased with herself a moment ago when she got the others to move, but Rainbow Dash had really put a damper on her mood again. "I... really must insist..."
"Oh, well since ya put that way, um... nope!" Dash snarked.
"P-please?" Fluttershy whimpered, close to tears again.
"Say pretty please," Dash taunted.
"Pr-pretty please?"
"Say it again."
"Pretty please?"
"Beg me."
"W-what?"
"Get on your knees and beg me to go to the wall."
Fluttershy felt something erupting in the pit of her stomach. It was that feeling of frustration and rage that so rarely made its way out of her. When it did, though, it could get very ugly, and Fluttershy wasn't sure she was ready for it to come to that yet. Still, she felt she could afford to let a little of vent now.
"N-no!" She said in a slightly louder tone. "I... told you to go to the wall! Now, d-do as I say!"
Dash smile a bit. This was definitely an improvement... but it still wasn't enough. She had to push her friend further.
"Maybe I don't feel like it," she replied snarkily. She could barely make out the frustration beginning to dawn on Fluttershy's face through the mask.
"Well... I want you to!"
"Well I'm not gonna," Dash gave Fluttershy a light push with her forehoof. "What are you gonna do about it?"
"I... I..." Fluttershy stuttered for a moment, then sighed sadly. "I don't know..."
Dash groaned and leaned in closer to her friend.
"C'mon, Shy, kick my ass!" She whispered through gritted teeth. "Insult me! Show me who's boss! Call me a bad name! Anything!"
"Uh.. I, um," Fluttershy clearly wanted to unleash herself on the pegasus, but was just struggling with the proper way to do it.
"Hit me with the worst insult you can think of!" Dash encouraged. "What's the worst name you have for me?"
Fluttershy struggled for a few seconds more as she racked her brain for the worst words she could think of. She had heard plenty of the them being spouted over the past few days, a majority courtesy of the pegasus in front of her. Eventually, she sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
"Get up against the wall right now, you... you..." Fluttershy stammered. Dash leaned in closer, anxious to hear what her timid young friend was capable of. "You... doo doo head!" Dash's face fell. "Um, if you don't mind me calling you that."
"That's it, I give up," Dash announced throwing her hooves up in defeat. "You're hopeless."
"Now, Rainbow Dash, she's doing her best," Rarity came to the defense of her friend.
"No she's not!" Dash spat. "She's too afraid to do her best! If she's not going to toughen up and go through with this properly, then we would've been better off leaving her behind! Let her wallow her sadness with her stupid rabbit!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. "There's no call for that!"
"She's a fucking coward, Twi! No doubt about it!"
"D-don't call me that..." Fluttershy whimpered, a tinge of anger in her voice.
"Oh whatever!" Dash hissed at her. "What are gonna do about it? Huh? Cry on me?" She put her hooves up to her face and pretended to tremble in terror. "Oh no! Fluttershy called me a doo doo head! Whatever shall I do? I'm ever so terrified!"
"Sh-shut up!" Fluttershy said a little louder, her teeth clenched in rage.
"Make me, you wimp!" Dash hissed. She gave Fluttershy a violent push, sending her stumbling back. "Make me! MAKE ME!" She pushed her again and again, and Fluttershy just continued to take it, though the heavy breathing emanating from behind her mask indicated the rage that was building, though Dash couldn't seem to hear it.
"I am going to murder her!" Rarity said venomously as she glared at Rainbow Dash. "Nopony does that to my Fluttershy! I don't care what the situation is!"
"Just... let it play out for a second," Twilight said, though she sounded very uneasy.
Applejack was watching with a scathing frown on her face. She knew Rainbow Dash could be a real bitch at times, but this was more than she could bear. especially when sweet lil' Flutters was at the receiving end. Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was watching the two with rapt attention. She had somehow materialized a bag of popcorn from out of nowhere and was munching it vigorously.
"Wimp! Coward!" Dash just about had Fluttershy backed into a corner.
"N-No, I'm not a coward!" Fluttershy yelled back at her. It was the loudest her voice had sounded yet.
At that moment, Dash knew it was time for her to unleash her most devastating emotional blow. Shy was on the verge of cracking; it had to be now.
"Your rabbit's dead, Fluttershy," she said in a chillingly quiet voice. "He's gone forever. You failed him."
"NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The roar of rage Fluttershy gave could've shattered glass. She flung herself at Rainbow Dash, tackling her to the ground.
"Whoa!" Dash cried with a small laugh. "There ya go, Shy! That's how ya gah-!" She was cut off by Fluttershy pressing her forehoof down hard on her throat while holding the barrel of her weapon to her temple.
"I AM NOT A COWARD!" She roared as she strangled her friend. "ANGEL IS NOT DEAD!" She began bashing Dash's head into the floor. "DON'T-EVER-TALK-TO-ME-THAT-WAY-AGAIN!" She punctuated each word with a slamming of Dash's head.
"Shy, stop!" Dash attempted to cry out. "Time out! Time out!"
"NO!" Fluttershy screamed at her. She then proceeded to violently lift the pegasus from the floor. Holding her tightly, she flew to the nearest wall and slammed her friend into it. "I TOLD YOU TO GET UP AGAINST THE WALL!"
"Alright! Alright! You got me!" Dash cried. "I'll do what you say! I'll ARRGGH!"
At that moment, Fluttershy grabbed one of Dash's wings and twisted it at an awkward angle.
"I'M NOT SUCH A COWARD NOW, AM I? AM I?"
"Gah! Shy, that's my bad wing! It was just starting to feel better! ARRRGH, STOP PLEASE!" Dash cried out in pain, but Fluttershy paid it no heed as she continued to twist it further.
Finally, the others could watch this no longer. Twilight boldly charged up to the raging pegasus and attempted to pull her off.
"Shy, stop it!" She cried. "We're not playing around anymore! You're really hurting her!"
Fluttershy turned to glare at her friend. Through the mask, Twilight could see how wide her eyes were, how enraged they looked.
"I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD LEAVE THE WALL!" She pushed Twilight off her and held her weapon back up. "BACK AGAINST THE WALL NOW!"
"Fluttershy, stop this!" Applejack stepped in. "This ain't like you!"
"NO! THIS IS WHO I AM!" Fluttershy roared back at her. "I'M NOT A COWARD!"
"Dear!" Rarity came in. "It's us! It's your friends! You don't want to hurt us!"
"I... I..." Fluttershy began to tremble again, not out of rage... but fear. Through her mask, she could see the horrified looks her friends were giving her. Even Pinkie Pie look deeply stunned at her actions; her mane had drooped down to the floor the way it always did when she was depressed.
She then heard a pained groan from behind her. She turned to see that Rainbow Dash was laying splayed out on the floor, her teeth gritted tightly. She was badly bruised, and her wing was twitching violently.
She had done that... she had hurt her friend... her closest friend at that.
"Oh... oh my sweet Celestia!" She cried.
"Fluttershy..." Twilight attempted to calm her friend, but it was to no avail. The pegasus had dropped her weapon from her badly shaking hooves and bolted for the door, sobbing heavily. "Fluttershy, wait!" But it was too late; the door to the warehouse had already slammed behind her, leaving the four ponies standing there, looking dumbstruck.
"Aw, man!" Rainbow Dash groaned as she tried to stand. "I guess I... kinda had that coming."
"You monster," Rarity chided coldly, glaring daggers at her. "Why did you have to be so cruel?"
"Look, I was trying to get her to toughen up!" Dash replied harshly. "I honestly didn't think she'd have a reaction like that. I mean, I was hoping for something, but that was a little more than I expected!" She paused in thought for a moment. "Maybe I... was a little too harsh, though," she admitted sheepishly.
"Ya'll have got a lot ta 'poligize for when we find her!" Applejack snarled.
"If we find her," Dash muttered bitterly.
"C'mon, girls, we gotta go look for her!" Pinkie Pie announced as she bolted for the door.
The others quickly followed, Dash limping badly; she had taken quite a beating that day. Twilight's mind was abuzz with so many thoughts. In spite of the fact that she felt Dash had deserved what she had gotten to an extent, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of discomfort at Fluttershy's behavior. If that weapon had been loaded... If Fluttershy had truly been as enraged as she appeared...
Twilight suddenly felt very very uncomfortable about letting that pegasus anywhere near that bank.
Heh, I kinda took my sweet ass time with this chapter, didn't I? I apologize for that. Truth is I've been spending more time reading MLP fanfiction that I have writing it. I'm currently balls deep into Fallout Equestria. That fics pretty much my obsession now. I'm planning on getting to Past Sins at some point as well (which is now on fimfic).
Anyway, thanks again for reading and reviewing. I'll see ya next chapter!