Chapter 85 – The Plan of Attack
"She's comin along perfectly." Applejack said as she watched the small ship be put together. The hull and engine had been placed, the gunner room rebuilt and five of the six wings attached. "Think she'll fly?"
"More than likely." Writch said as she watched. The crew had worked so quickly that it didn't seem possible, they had built a racer from scratch in just over a few hours. "You're sure that the engine is running?" she asked.
Applejack turned to the ship, "Guess we'll see when we fire her up." she said, "How's them upgrades comin?"
"Well, we were able to strengthen the joints at least. Now Rainbow Dash can make near ninety-degree turns while in boost, but she'll have to time it, because of the drift." the large Treeopon said.
"Guess she'll have to practice after today." the earth pony said, "We'll just have to hope we stay in the race."
"Where is Rainbow Dash anyway?" Writch asked.
"Outside, wanted to make a grand re-entrance er somethin." Applejack said, entirely unamused.
Twilight, Tusks, and Sselekk as well as a small group of others stood outside of Mirikka's garage, the door wide open and the Sunik woman standing there glaring at them as she grinned with delight. Twilight used the opportunity to scan the garage, trying to find any sort of clue as to where Lady Kiane could be. "So." Mirikka finally said breaking the silence. "Did you Little Creatures come here to plead for mercy, or just to declare your forfeit?" she asked and looked to her claws with confidence. Sselekk growled at this, "Oh, don't give me that." she said to him, "You're just lucky I don't label you a traitor as well."
"We're not quitting." Twilight said, "We will be racing and you will lose."
The Sunik lady burst out laughing, a cocky high-pitched laugh that grated on the nerves of all who heard it, "Oh really?" Mirikka asked, "And what make you so sure Little Creature? No Racer, no Gunner…" and with her next words, she made sure to let the tone hurt, "No Pilot."
"That's what you think, Cheater!" a raspy voice said. The small crowd parted, revealing Rainbow Dash in perfect health. The shocked look on Mirikka's face caused Twilight to smile in a knowing and mischievous way.
"What?" Mirikka asked in shock, "How? You were supposed to be reduced to a stain on the track." Once again Sselekk growled and she took delight in noticing the tears that appeared, "Well, at least I was able to take out one of you." She watched as the pegasus' ears fell in sorrow, "Such a shame he had to be Sunik, it would have been much sweeter if he had been of a lesser race." she said with a sickening grin, "Though you couldn't really tell afterword. They had to bury what was left of that traitor in a pickle jar." she said, her voice rising in glee as she watched the group's mixed expressions turn to a sick disgust and even anger. Sselekk's growl was so loud that it startled most of the crowd, he began to lunge but was quickly held back by Twilight's magic as the Sunik woman laughed. Mirikka would have loved it more if that purple alicorn had flinched, or even shown some kind of reaction.
"I won't let you have your way." Twilight said, "You'll fail in the race, and justice will be served."
"What will you do without that special engine of yours?" Mirikka asked mockingly, "What will you do without a racer? Or a Gunner?"
"She has a gunner!" they all heard from Tusks' garage. He stood there, a of a limp in his right hind leg yet defiant, his anger radiating through his calm demeanor, Breeze once again made his way to join his pilot. "Right here!"
"You sure you're ok?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"More than ok." he said, "I'm #$%&ing peeved."
"Language!" the blue pegasus whispered.
"As for the racer, well, we've got a surprise in store." he said ignoring her a bit, "And just so you know, I'll be aiming at you." They all suddenly heard the call of the Egas once again, a howling echoing call that signaled that the race was about to start. "Good luck." he said darkly and limped back towards the garage.
Mirikka growled as the group retreated, 'These creatures somehow defied every attempt I've made to take them out of the tournament.' she thought to herself, 'And now they seem more determined than ever. How are they like this? How is such a lesser race so adamant?' she calmed, and turned, "It doesn't matter." she said out loud and again turned to her team as she entered her garage, "Get the snipers ready, set up along the track now that we know what it looks like, I want those stupid creatures six feet under by the end of this race!" She then turned to the metal wall, the one that hid Lady Kiane from the world, "And double security, I'm not going to lose but I don't need the Council breathing down my neck when I'm the victor." She then turned the corner, to look a very weakened Lady Kiane in the eyes, "You just had to poke your nose into my business, didn't you?" she asked, "Well, I have to admit, you've been a wonderful bartering chip for me." She then turned from her, "I guess even lesser races have their use."
Back in the garage, Twilight walked further in, making sure she was out of sight and closed her eyes before teleporting. In a flash, she appeared next to Twiggs as he sat on the roof of the garage that looked right into Mirikka's garage, "See anything useful?" she asked.
"I think so." he said, "Looks like a privacy wall to me. {snort} A metal one, that's gotta be where they're hiding her, though it looks too obvious. {snort} Have a look." With that, he handed her the binoculars he was using.
"She seems pretty convinced of her superiority." Twilight said in response and levitated the spy glasses to her eyes, taking her time to see what he was talking about, "It IS suspiciously placed, maybe a decoy?"
"She can't use her yard, she doesn't have one right now." he said.
"What about a room?" she asked.
"Could be, but checking all of them would get us {snort} caught for sure." he said, "Plus, Mirikka went behind that wall for {snort} a few seconds, moved around like she was taunting somepony!"
"That has to be Lady Kiane." Twilight said, "I just wish I could get a better idea of the area. Mirikka's garage just seems so…chaotic and…" she shivered at the next thought, "…unorganized."
"Method to the madness I suppose." he said, "Such a mess would make it {snort} hard for somepony to sneak in without tripping over something {snort} and alerting everypony."
"Can you get me in?" she asked.
He smiled, the scars on his lip stretching and contorting his smile to look as if it were a cracked pot or something similar, "Absolutely." he said and retrieved his binoculars from Twilight.
Rainbow Dash settled herself into the seat, she knew it was designed for her, but it just felt off. She had gotten so used to the Mk.2 that anything else seemed…different, "You ok in there?" she heard Breeze asked just as the windshield was fitted into place and bolted down.
"Yeah." she responded and fitted her wings into the new controls, a sleeker design that mimicked her own wing pattern. She then placed her back hooves on the buttons that started the engine. It roared to life, a combination of high-pitched hums, the low growl of her owl engine, and the sound of magic; a sound she recognized easily having heard it whenever Twilight or Rarity would use their magic. "New engine sounds good." she said.
Suddenly Pilit's face came up on her screen, "Coms are online, the engine's holding at…well below any heat threshold." she said, "Stability is great…This might work."
"Of course, it'll work." Rainbow said and gently pushed the throttle forward, causing the machine to lurch a bit. Blade flapped his wings quickly, catching the one remaining Hylop Mechanic before he could fall, then glared at Rainbow Dash, "Sorry." she said in embarrassment, "She's a little touchier than the Mk.2.
"Power output spiked as well, but everything remained stable." Pilit said, "I think…I think the Spell Burst Engine is actually more powerful than the B336!"
"Hope so, that means that Mirikka has no chance of winning." Rainbow said confidently, and even more gently than before, moved forward.
"Did you remember your snacks?" Pinkie asked.
"YOU were supposed to fill that!" Hulon said.
"Don't worry." Breeze said, "I got it."
"How you holding up?" Rainbow asked.
"Still don't know why you bothered hooking up a healing light to the rotating base." he said, aiming his comment towards his brother and Hulon, "I feel fine."
"A – You limped out the garage door. B – You're WAY too stubborn to let it heal properly." his brother said as the two of them returned the glare, "So, to combat your inability to let your leg heal, we brought the healing…to you."
"Still embarrassing." the unicorn said in a pout.
"No paint?" Syls asked as she appeared on the screen.
"No time." she admitted, "But just you wait, Rarity and the gang have got an awesome look in mind for after this race."
"Just hope you can keep her occupied long enough for us to secure everypony else." the Dryskian said.
"We'll do more than that." the pegasus said with confidence, "We'll win, and set a new standard for this race."
