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Artist's comment:
Two Tone yawned and arched her back as she stretched her arms above her head in Royal Equestria Security Forces (RESF) dreamscape. She was leaning against a small, nondescript, white box van. It was just before 9am and she was at the designated meeting area, and she really hoped that Empty Bottle brought the shit or the bits today.
The rendezvous location was a secluded road next to a dreary channel located just outside of Ft. Trotterdale. The 2 lane road hadn't seen a road crew in probably 50 years, and it was now more a collection of asphalt scabs, cracks, and potholes. Adding to the ambience was the rotting piling sticking out of the water from what once had been a pier. The air reeked of that type biology common to wetlands.
The place use to be popular with fisherman but since the war the channel had been blocked to boat traffic due to unexploded munitions in it. The Crown had repeatedly assured the residents of Ft. Trotterdale that EOD crews would deal with it eventually, but their services were currently in high demand throughout the kingdom. Also in the grand scheme of things Ft. Trotterdale had escaped the war with only minimal damage. Other parts of Equestria were in far worse shape.
Sun and moon Empty. You better not screw this one up. Thought the zebra as she yawned again. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep last night, and her current schedule appeared to guarantee further sleep deprivation. But they were running out of time and things had to get done.
Two Tone's inner monologue was interrupted by the sound of an approaching vehicle. Soon a knackered, red SUV came rattling down the cratered road. It came to a stop about 30ft from the van, and then its engine shutoff. It coughed and dieseled for a second before finally going silent. The driver side door opened up and Empty Bottle stepped out. The turquoise blue earth pony stallion looked even more disheveled than usual. He looked around nervously before walking toward the zebra. For her part Two Tone had stepped away from the van. When they got about 15ft away from each other she raised her left hand signaling she wanted Empty to stop. She looked at the stallion who's face was still swollen from their encounter yesterday.
>3495165
"You got the stuff?" The zebra said in a very loud voice.
The stallion swallowed and nodded his head. "Yeah! Yeah! I got da stuff! Yep! Just as I promised! I, I got it in the back of my ride. Let me git it fer ya!" He turned around and walked to back to it. Two Tone remained where she was but her right hand had slowly pushed her leather jacket aside and it was now resting on her holstered .45 pistol.
A few seconds later Empty Bottle returned with a silvery medical labeled cool bag. He held the bag out in front of himself.
"See! See! I did what ya asked me ta do! I didn't fucking screw ya!" He proclaimed loudly.
Two Tone pointed at the ground. "Set it down there!" She once again said it with a loud voice. Empty nervously did as instructed. Then without taking her gaze off the stallion she yelled. "Okay! Check it out!" Suddenly the rolling door on the back of the van flew open and 2 burly looking unicorn stallions in overalls and work vests followed by a much slimmer looking but similarly dressed one. They jumped out and came forward. Empty pointed at the newcomers and then at the zebra.
"Hey! Hey! Wutz dis shit! Who r' these fucks!"
Two Tone crossed her arms. "Well Empty it's simple. You've already tried to dick me over twice, and I am no medical alchemist. So I wouldn't know if the stuff you brought me was the real thing or some fucking crap. Sssooo. At the suggestion of my client they have graciously sent a few of their staff to come out and confirm that this is the right stuff."
>3311688
One of the burly unicorns picked up the cool bag and brought it over to the slimmer one who had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He took the cooler bag and set it on the ground then he unslung the duffle and opened it up as he sat down. Quickly he donned a pair of lab gloves and placed an inhibitor ring on his own horn as he started pulling out various small pieces of field lab equipment. As this happened Empty Bottle grew more and more distressed.
"Hey! Wut da fuck r' ya doin? Dat stuff needs ta stay cold!"
The slimmer unicorn stared over the frames of his wire rim glasses and gave the earth pony a cold smile. "Oh yes! You are quite right. SPB-2 needs to be kept chilled. But the test I am running will only take a moment, and as a precaution I've got cold packs in my bag to chill my equipment. That will eliminate the chances of thermal deterioration."
With quick, precise movements the unicorn carefully opened up one of the small, frosty vials of reddish liquid and he then pipetted a small amount into an equally chilled test tube. He set the test tube into holder. As he changed pipette tips he provided a running commentary as if he was giving a lecture.
"Now. Synthetic Phoenix Blood Type 2 is very sensitive to mana contamination. Fortunately medical cool bags are shielded against it. However it means I cannot use any of my mana until the test is concluded." He pointed at the horn ring. "Thus the ring. Strictly as a precaution you understand."
Over the next 30 seconds the unicorn pipetted another chilled fluid into the test tube. He then stoppered the tube and gave it a quick shake. Returning the tube to the holder the stallion removed a mechanical stopwatch from a vest pocket and started it. After a minute he stopped it and removed the inhibitor ring from his horn. Once again he resumed his field lecture.
"Alright! The chemical and alchemical reactions will have completed. Now I may use my magic!" He closed eyes and his horn glowed. As it did a cool green aura surrounded the tube. This continued for a few seconds and then faded away. He opened his eyes and glared at the tube. Quickly he pull out a strip of pH paper and removed the stopper from the tube. He immersed one end of the strip into the tube and then removed and examined it. His scowl grew by the second. Finally looked at Empty who was now visibly shaking. Slowly the unicorn stood up as he removed the test tube from the holder. He then addressed the earth pony.
"Synthetic Phoenix Blood Type-2 is a potent, very expensive, multi-use substance that is very difficult to manufacture. It has numerous medical applications including in regenerating damaged dental work." With his eyes still locked on the earth pony he turned the test tube upside down and dumped the contents on the asphalt.
"This stuff is dog piss. It would be poisonous if injected into a patient. Sir! This is not what we paid for!"
Empty Bottle looked at everypony with a look of terror in his eyes. Then his right hand dove into a pocket of his trousers. At this abrupt movement the 2 burly unicorn unloaded a volley of energy bolts that hurled the earth pony against his vehicle. Then he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Two Tone shook her head.
"Empty. That was your last mistake."
The 2 unicorns stepped toward the unconscious stallion. With practiced efficiency the zip-tied his ankles and wrists. Then they blindfolded and gagged him. With that accomplished they searched him. They found a snubnose revolver, his wallet, cellphone, and car keys. Picking up his limp body they carried it to the the van where they nonchalantly threw it in the back. Then closed and locked it. After that they spent a few minutes searching Empty's vehicle. In the back they found a hastily packed suitcase, in it was an envelope stuffed with money. Two Tone shook her head.
"Yep that's the envelope and bits I gave him! That fucking piece of shit was planning to give me this crap and then bail out of town!" She handed back the money to one of the unicorns "We still don't have the shit we need, but at least we got the money back. Send my apologies to her Majesty about this. "
One of the burly unicorn suddenly morphed into a warrior changeling. "It is good that you acknowledge your mistake, but that does not change the matter that we're still lacking the SPB-2. The filly in question still needs it if there's to be any meaningful improvement in her quality of life. So we're back to square one." The warrior handed the envelope back to the zebra. "The clock is still running. This was one of the tasks her majesty gave you. What do you plan to do about it? Her procedure was scheduled for tomorrow at 14:20."
Two Tone paced around in a circle silently for a minute before speaking. "Okay. Let her majesty know I'll be heading up to Pegasus Point. I have another option. It'll be more expensive but I'll eat cost. Consider it part of my apology to her majesty. I'll be back in the morning."
The changeling squinted at the mare. "Pegasus Point. Can you get there and back in time?"
The zebra nodded her head. "I'll take my car so I can have a cooler with me for the stuff. I won't be sleeping until I get back."
The changeling then morphed into Empty Bottle. "Well we've got things to do." He started to walking to Empty's SUV then he paused and looked back Two Tone. "Good luck." He said.
The zebra silently nodded her head and started walking back toward the box van. Behind it her bike was parked. The disguised changeling drove away in the SUV while the other two changelings/unicorns got into the van and then left with Empty Bottle in the back. Two Tone shook her head and then started her bike, donned her helmet and departed as well.
Two Tone yawned and arched her back as she stretched her arms above her head in Royal Equestria Security Forces (RESF) dreamscape. She was leaning against a small, nondescript, white box van. It was just before 9am and she was at the designated meeting area, and she really hoped that Empty Bottle brought the shit or the bits today.
The rendezvous location was a secluded road next to a dreary channel located just outside of Ft. Trotterdale. The 2 lane road hadn't seen a road crew in probably 50 years, and it was now more a collection of asphalt scabs, cracks, and potholes. Adding to the ambience was the rotting piling sticking out of the water from what once had been a pier. The air reeked of that type biology common to wetlands.
The place use to be popular with fisherman but since the war the channel had been blocked to boat traffic due to unexploded munitions in it. The Crown had repeatedly assured the residents of Ft. Trotterdale that EOD crews would deal with it eventually, but their services were currently in high demand throughout the kingdom. Also in the grand scheme of things Ft. Trotterdale had escaped the war with only minimal damage. Other parts of Equestria were in far worse shape.
Sun and moon Empty. You better not screw this one up. Thought the zebra as she yawned again. She'd only gotten a few hours of sleep last night, and her current schedule appeared to guarantee further sleep deprivation. But they were running out of time and things had to get done.
Two Tone's inner monologue was interrupted by the sound of an approaching vehicle. Soon a knackered, red SUV came rattling down the cratered road. It came to a stop about 30ft from the van, and then its engine shutoff. It coughed and dieseled for a second before finally going silent. The driver side door opened up and Empty Bottle stepped out. The turquoise blue earth pony stallion looked even more disheveled than usual. He looked around nervously before walking toward the zebra. For her part Two Tone had stepped away from the van. When they got about 15ft away from each other she raised her left hand signaling she wanted Empty to stop. She looked at the stallion who's face was still swollen from their encounter yesterday.
>3495165
"You got the stuff?" The zebra said in a very loud voice.
The stallion swallowed and nodded his head. "Yeah! Yeah! I got da stuff! Yep! Just as I promised! I, I got it in the back of my ride. Let me git it fer ya!" He turned around and walked to back to it. Two Tone remained where she was but her right hand had slowly pushed her leather jacket aside and it was now resting on her holstered .45 pistol.
A few seconds later Empty Bottle returned with a silvery medical labeled cool bag. He held the bag out in front of himself.
"See! See! I did what ya asked me ta do! I didn't fucking screw ya!" He proclaimed loudly.
Two Tone pointed at the ground. "Set it down there!" She once again said it with a loud voice. Empty nervously did as instructed. Then without taking her gaze off the stallion she yelled. "Okay! Check it out!" Suddenly the rolling door on the back of the van flew open and 2 burly looking unicorn stallions in overalls and work vests followed by a much slimmer looking but similarly dressed one. They jumped out and came forward. Empty pointed at the newcomers and then at the zebra.
"Hey! Hey! Wutz dis shit! Who r' these fucks!"
Two Tone crossed her arms. "Well Empty it's simple. You've already tried to dick me over twice, and I am no medical alchemist. So I wouldn't know if the stuff you brought me was the real thing or some fucking crap. Sssooo. At the suggestion of my client they have graciously sent a few of their staff to come out and confirm that this is the right stuff."
>3311688
One of the burly unicorns picked up the cool bag and brought it over to the slimmer one who had a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. He took the cooler bag and set it on the ground then he unslung the duffle and opened it up as he sat down. Quickly he donned a pair of lab gloves and placed an inhibitor ring on his own horn as he started pulling out various small pieces of field lab equipment. As this happened Empty Bottle grew more and more distressed.
"Hey! Wut da fuck r' ya doin? Dat stuff needs ta stay cold!"
The slimmer unicorn stared over the frames of his wire rim glasses and gave the earth pony a cold smile. "Oh yes! You are quite right. SPB-2 needs to be kept chilled. But the test I am running will only take a moment, and as a precaution I've got cold packs in my bag to chill my equipment. That will eliminate the chances of thermal deterioration."
With quick, precise movements the unicorn carefully opened up one of the small, frosty vials of reddish liquid and he then pipetted a small amount into an equally chilled test tube. He set the test tube into holder. As he changed pipette tips he provided a running commentary as if he was giving a lecture.
"Now. Synthetic Phoenix Blood Type 2 is very sensitive to mana contamination. Fortunately medical cool bags are shielded against it. However it means I cannot use any of my mana until the test is concluded." He pointed at the horn ring. "Thus the ring. Strictly as a precaution you understand."
Over the next 30 seconds the unicorn pipetted another chilled fluid into the test tube. He then stoppered the tube and gave it a quick shake. Returning the tube to the holder the stallion removed a mechanical stopwatch from a vest pocket and started it. After a minute he stopped it and removed the inhibitor ring from his horn. Once again he resumed his field lecture.
"Alright! The chemical and alchemical reactions will have completed. Now I may use my magic!" He closed eyes and his horn glowed. As it did a cool green aura surrounded the tube. This continued for a few seconds and then faded away. He opened his eyes and glared at the tube. Quickly he pull out a strip of pH paper and removed the stopper from the tube. He immersed one end of the strip into the tube and then removed and examined it. His scowl grew by the second. Finally looked at Empty who was now visibly shaking. Slowly the unicorn stood up as he removed the test tube from the holder. He then addressed the earth pony.
"Synthetic Phoenix Blood Type-2 is a potent, very expensive, multi-use substance that is very difficult to manufacture. It has numerous medical applications including in regenerating damaged dental work." With his eyes still locked on the earth pony he turned the test tube upside down and dumped the contents on the asphalt.
"This stuff is dog piss. It would be poisonous if injected into a patient. Sir! This is not what we paid for!"
Empty Bottle looked at everypony with a look of terror in his eyes. Then his right hand dove into a pocket of his trousers. At this abrupt movement the 2 burly unicorn unloaded a volley of energy bolts that hurled the earth pony against his vehicle. Then he collapsed in a heap on the ground. Two Tone shook her head.
"Empty. That was your last mistake."
The 2 unicorns stepped toward the unconscious stallion. With practiced efficiency the zip-tied his ankles and wrists. Then they blindfolded and gagged him. With that accomplished they searched him. They found a snubnose revolver, his wallet, cellphone, and car keys. Picking up his limp body they carried it to the the van where they nonchalantly threw it in the back. Then closed and locked it. After that they spent a few minutes searching Empty's vehicle. In the back they found a hastily packed suitcase, in it was an envelope stuffed with money. Two Tone shook her head.
"Yep that's the envelope and bits I gave him! That fucking piece of shit was planning to give me this crap and then bail out of town!" She handed back the money to one of the unicorns "We still don't have the shit we need, but at least we got the money back. Send my apologies to her Majesty about this. "
One of the burly unicorn suddenly morphed into a warrior changeling. "It is good that you acknowledge your mistake, but that does not change the matter that we're still lacking the SPB-2. The filly in question still needs it if there's to be any meaningful improvement in her quality of life. So we're back to square one." The warrior handed the envelope back to the zebra. "The clock is still running. This was one of the tasks her majesty gave you. What do you plan to do about it? Her procedure was scheduled for tomorrow at 14:20."
Two Tone paced around in a circle silently for a minute before speaking. "Okay. Let her majesty know I'll be heading up to Pegasus Point. I have another option. It'll be more expensive but I'll eat cost. Consider it part of my apology to her majesty. I'll be back in the morning."
The changeling squinted at the mare. "Pegasus Point. Can you get there and back in time?"
The zebra nodded her head. "I'll take my car so I can have a cooler with me for the stuff. I won't be sleeping until I get back."
The changeling then morphed into Empty Bottle. "Well we've got things to do." He started to walking to Empty's SUV then he paused and looked back Two Tone. "Good luck." He said.
The zebra silently nodded her head and started walking back toward the box van. Behind it her bike was parked. The disguised changeling drove away in the SUV while the other two changelings/unicorns got into the van and then left with Empty Bottle in the back. Two Tone shook her head and then started her bike, donned her helmet and departed as well.
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