Sword Mare Origins #1: Zero Endless

by ReifuTD

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Daring Do
Length: 5324

Zero Endless helps Daring Do retrieve the Chimera Cauldron from Fallout: Equestria's Great War Era Zebra forces deep from in a research lab.

First in a series of prequel stories to Sword Mare and is set in and around the Fallout: Equestrian universe.

Zero Endless former Equestrian liaison to the Giraffe resistance force. Is a POW held in a Zebra deep research lab. He must now help Daring Do and her team of black ops Pegasus, break into the lab steal an artifact known as the Chimera Cauldron. Soon things go wrong and they must fight their way through the lab at gunpoint.

Published 2014-04-08 13:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-04-08 13:50:03 UTC

Sword Mare Origins #1: Zero Endless

“Pop!”

The Zebra’s head explodes splattering green gore in the air. The Zebra next to him turns to the direction of the gun fire to have his head blown away.

Lt. Zero Endless gallops out into the clearing. He swiftly takes one of the combine rifles from the Zebra and checked the talisman. The bullets were spelled to catch whatever they hit on fire. This was starting to be standard for Zebra weapons and Zero didn’t like it.

He pulls a plastic stick from his saddle bag. He snaps a tosses it away from him. A moment later the stick burst into a billowing cloud. From up into the sky three figures pops out of a cloud and lands.

One of these figures was no other then Daring Do. Time had aged her but compared to the ministry mares she looked young. Some say she found a secret to eternal youth and wished she found it a few years earlier.

The other two were Pegasus as well. A predatory green and blue stallion with hemp leaf cutie mark. The other was a red mare with an ash colored mane with a fire balls cuitie mark. Streaks of yellow red and orange ran across her grey mane. She had a glowing red device on her foreleg.

“Prophet Bless and Fire Storm…”

“Lieutenant Zero Endless liaison to the giraffe resistance force sir,” Zero said to the Pegasus with a salute.”

“Where’s the Captain?” Daring Do asked.

“Dead sir,” Zero answered, “By rags I’m acting Captain.”

“Got to love the military promotional system,” Prophet Bless remarks.

“We should get going before more Zebra show up,” Fire Storm suggest.

“Yes, I know,” Zero tosses Prophet Bless a combine rifle and some ammo.

The winged ponies moved deeper into the woods.

“I hate not flying,” Fire Storm complained.

“I like stealth,” Prophet Bless chirped.

“What’s that thing on your foreleg?” Zero asked.

“This?” Fire Storm holds up the red device. “Firebuck, the Arcane Science and Wartime Tech branches been making a ton of prototypes of these things. That’s what I have a prototype. It’s suppose to allow me to use fire magic.”

“They sent you out in the battle field with a prototype!” Zero snaps, “I’ll never be dumb enough to get wrapped up in testing prototypes.”

“It’s paid more and you don’t get shot at daily,” Prophet Bless said coldly.

“True,” Zero shrugged.

They came upon a fence. They fallowed down it avoiding the spot lights of a few watch towers. Zero shows them a gap cut into the linked fence. He pulls the metal back.

“Come in ma’lady,” Zero remarks to Daring Do as she slip through.

Zero allowed the others to pass and he closed the gap behind them.

It didn’t take long for their hooves to reach asphalt. Around then were many buildings.

“Is this a base,” Prophet Bless remarks.

“Researched lab, they use slave labor,” Zero shows the other Pegasus a numbered tattoo under his wrist.

“Oh honey I’m sorry,” Daring Do gasped.

“It’s okay,” Zero smiled back, “As soon as I sent out the message I knew they send you.”

“Do those two know each other? Fire Storm asked.

“You don’t know?” Prophet said shocked.

“Know what?” Fire Storm answered.

“They-“

A nearby door open and everybody raises their weapons with a wave of cocking sounds. A small antlered creature emerged.

“Hold it!” Zero shouts.

“Ah!” The creature screamed.”

“Damn it Dike Van Dik Dik you're supposed to do that knock!” Zero shouts.

“Sorry, I got excited,” Dike Van answered. “Quickly come in.”

They found themselves in a storage room full of wood crates. It was for the most part abandoned. Next came a hallway. The group made some swift turns and entered a common room.

The room was loud and bustling. There were all kinds of sentient creatures. Even a large elephant. It took a minute for the room to notice the armed ponies and become dead quiet.

“We are here to kick ass and chew bubblegum! And we are all out of bubblegum.”

“Overhere!” A cloaked figure waves at the party from a door across the room.

“We should hurry befor we attract the guards,” Zero told them.

The party heads over to the door. The figure leads them to the bunking cells and ushers the party into one of the empty rooms.

Once the door was shut the figure removes her hood. The figure was female but she looked like a little pony sized Discord.

“They call me Eris off the legends of Discord’s mother,” The Chimera Pony explained. “The Zebra did this to me and I lost my memory because of that.”

“What kind of magic could do a thing like that?” Daring Do asked.

“They stuck me in something called the Chimera Cauldron,” Eris answered.

“I know the story,” Daring Do replied, “Eris was the mother of chaos, She was said to have gave birth to every living creature. But Eris was the only one that can bring new life in the world.

One day she became afraid that one of her offspring would rise up against her and began to consume her own young. The pieces of her mulled young came back into her belly. This formed Discord. Now Discord knew if he left his mother’s womb she would eat him and become part of the next offspring. He also knew that her power came from life and he must take that power away from her. He came up with a plan.

“Mother it’s me Discord, I will be your greatest creation, You can’t have me in private like the birth of those insignificant others. I must enter this world in the most glorious fashion.”

“But my son the gate is something my children can only see once,” Eris answered.

“Who says I have to pass through the gate?” Discord points out.

“What do you mean?” Eris asks.

“Simply take out your womb and let them see me come out of there.” Discord told her.

Eris thought about this and realized her unborn son was right. She reached into her belly and pulled out her womb. A big black orb with a lid on the bottom.

Eris held up her womb and demanded, “All my children come and watch my greatest son be born! Then I’ll eat him and I’ll eat you!”

The children of Eris did as commanded and gathered around their monstrous mother.

“Oh mother, you are holding me up too high,” Discord called out, “If I birth now I’ll fall. Please lower your womb to the ground.”

Eris saw the logic of this and did so. Then well all the animals watched, Discord popped his legs out of the black womb and ran off. Eris grabs for him but her claws were unable to grab hold of the round object.

All the animals, Eris’s children laughed at this as Discord got away. Out of embarrassment Eris lashed out at her own children killing many of them. This didn’t stop the laughing. The monster cries from frustration and flies off.

Discord once safe leaves the metal womb. He finds himself wondering what to do now. The mixed creature decided to test Eris’s womb. He turned the thing into a cauldron and made the stew of life. Then with the prick of his finger put a drop of blood in it.

Hundreds of Chimera spit forth causing much chaos and amusement to Discord.

So, he had Eris’s power to give life and warp the world, but what should he do with it?

Discord instantly rejected the idea of keeping the power for himself. Maybe just the world warping stuff. That seemed too balanced for his taste. He also rejected the idea of giving it to everyone for the same reason. Then he thought maybe giving it to everyone could work if he divided the power of life unevenly.

Discord thought of two archetypes that could be adapted to any creature. This was male and female. One oozes life the other had to put the ooze in their body for it to grow. Discord laughed at the thought and figured what these giving and taking organs would look like. With a snap of his finger he made it so. Then he thought this was too balance and changed some creatures like Parasprites to mix it up. Also at the very last second decided to give everything an anus because you can’t have enough sphincters.

Even that now the creatures of the world had male and female genitalia they still didn’t have the power to make life. They needed to take that power from Eris’s womb and designed the sex organs with empty orbs to hold the power of life.

To transferred the power Discord had a brew made with Eris’s womb. When finished. It looked like white slime and was sticky and stringy. He told all creatures to drink it. They did and it filled their bodies with the power of life.”

Daring Do finished her story. “Sorry if that story took too long.” She told the others.

“It’s okay,” Zero answered.

“So basically the Zebra have this Chimera Cauldron and they are trying to make things with it?” Prophet Bless points out.

“They already made a substance called taint and refining it to make mist bombs,” Eris nods her head.

“Well we got to stop them.” Daring Do said bravely. “Also that cauldron thing belongs in a museum.”

“Or destroyed,” Prophet Bless adds.

“Or to Arcane Magic,” Fire Storm points out.

“Just as good,” Prophet Bless smirks.

“As soon as we go deeper in the facility we are going to start running into more Zebra,” Zero told them.

They hear a door open up.

“We can’t risk being seen together right now,” Dike Dik Dik whispered as him and Eris puts their cloaks up.

“I have slave barding on the bed for you. Mean while we’ll help organize the prisoners.”

Dike and Eris walked out of the sell.

As the ponies got dress Zero noticed that Prophet Bless wasn’t changing.

“What’s the matter?” Zero asked, “Don’t just stand there we don’t have much time.”

“Oh, I will have a different role,” Prophet Bless smirks. The buck is consumed by green flame and a Zebra appeared before him.

“You’re a Changeling,” Zero said shocked.

“Regretfully yes,” Prophet Bless sighs.

A feminine whimper could be heard from the cell below.

“Shut it bitch and get on the bed!” A male voice answered fallowed by a loud slap.

Zero draws his pistol, “Prophet watches the door.”

“What are you going to do?” Daring Do asked in a stern tone.

“The thing down there is a Caribou, They are mare raping bastards working with the Zebra and I been wanting to put a bullet in his head forever.”

“Zero, it would risk the mission,” Fire Storm puts her hoof on the Pegasus.

“And if it was you?” Zero glares at her.

“I…” The mare stood there as Zero flew down.

“Get ready for the shit,” Daring Do told Fire Storm.

Fire Storm grits her teeth. “Killing an enemy on the battle field with a clear heart is one thing. But this, what he is going to do. That’s murder, you know that right?”

The Caribou was starting to mount the red Earth mare when the barrel of the gun press against the back of his head with a loud cocking sound. Before a word could escape his mouth, Zero fires making the Caribou’s head explode in green gore.

The mare screams as green splattered over her. Zero slaps her with his hoof to bring her back to reality.

“Solider!” Zero said in a commanding voice.

“S-Sir,” The mare slowly coming to terms with the swift change of events.

The buck hands the mare the pistol. “They will be coming soon, Shoot them or yourself. Either way would slow them down.

“Yes sir,” The mare nods her head.

Zero flies back to the others just as Prophet Bless pulls open the door.

“Okay you lot, Prophet Bless spoke in Zebra so when the Equine translate magic translated he took on an accent. “Walk a head of me and no funny business,” The Changeling pony said loud enough for anyone coming down the hall to hear.

And a group of Zebra just came running down the hall from around the corner.

“Zuet!” A Zebra shouted with his translation magic disable

“We morra meanta tatta boondocke no, (I was transferring these prisoners when the shots happened.)” Prophet Bless answered.

“Boondocke Boondocke, (On your way then,)” The Zebra answered.

The group walked down the hall as the armed Zebra entered her holding area. A moment later there was gun fire.

The party soon reached a hanger. The Elephant from the common room was now in this room. The Zebra had him pulling heavy air craft.

Daring got a little too close to a metal crate and it started squealing and shaking. The mare squints through the air holes to see fanged bat creatures.

“What the?” Daring Do remarks about the creatures.

“Bloodwings,” Zero told the mare, “Zebra use them to make wings for them selves. This batch is going to be dropped on Equestria.

“What are you doing there!” An armed Zebra demanded to Prophet Bless.

“Prisoners, work,” The Changeling said quickly.

“What was that again?” The Zebra glared at him.

Prophet Bless realized his mistake. Due to the translating spell the Zebra emitted. He heard Equestrian and replied in Equestrian.

Fire Storm’s hoof caught fire and she dashed forward striking the armed striped one. The impact didn’t just burn the Zebra it snapped his neck.

“I like that Flamebuck,” Zero remarks.

“Firebuck,” Fire Storm corrected.

“What ever,” Zero rolled his eyes.

Suddenly the alarms go off.

“Shit are we spotted,” Daring snaps.

“Or the prisoners are up rising,” Zero points out.

“I’d prefer both,” Prophet Bless adds, “We’d be shot at but it means more confusion all around.”

“I don’t,” Daring Do snaps.

Bullets flies over head.

“That’s our answer,” Zero shouts as everyone ducks.

The party took cover and return fire except Daring Do who had no gun. One Zebra was hit by a pistol bullet, Then hit by a flaming bullet catching him on fire. Then a Zebra near him exploded in flames.

“I like these flaming bullets,” Prophet Bless smirked.

“Wait until your companions get hit by them,” Zero said coldly between ammo bursts.

A Zebra with a scope fires and hits the lock on the Bloodwing crate with a bullet making a spark above Daring Do’s head. Zero and Prophet Bless swiftly shoots at him but he had ducked away. The door to the bloodwing crate drops down with a loud crash letting a half dozen snarling bat creatures loose.

Zero and Prophet Bless turned to look at the mass of living death coming at them. Zebra took advantage of their distraction and open fire on the two. The bullets whizzed past them. One even struck a bloodwing in it’s claw. The two ponies had to find new cover and quick.

A bloodwing lunges at Daring Do. Fire Storm intercepts with a flaming buck. Bullets rain down from the Zebra. Fire Storm with the pistol still in her muzzle fires back hitting one.

Daring Do pulls out her knife and stabs a bloodwing in the throat. Another tried to flank her but she spins around and slashes it on the snout. Daring Do could hear a loud rumble coming from the cage. She jumps out of the way as the largest by far bloodwing lashes out.

Fire Storm had to dodged the snapping creature ducking under it’s drooling jaws. The kept running forward making a straight line to Prophet Bless.

Prophet Bless fires a burst of flaming bullets at the bloodwing. Five rounds hits the thing in the skull. The creature shrieked claws out stretched ready to eviscerate Prophet Bless as its head glowed yellow with the flames in side. The Changeling pony braced himself for hurt when the bloodwing figured out it was dead. The thing drops at Prophet Bless’s feet.

As soon as he sighs relief a Zebra shot Prophet Bless in the back ankle with fire ammo. He screams as his leg caught fire. In the panic and pain the Changeling had wits enough to find cover. He had to dodge a bloodwing in it last throws of life as Fire Storm kills it.

“Okay?” Fire Storm asks.

Prophet Bless had dropped his pony form. He was cocooning his hind leg in green slime from his mouth. It quickly hardened and the Changeling tapped on it with his claws.

Zero flanks and shoots the pair of Zebra that hit Prophet Bless. The striped ones screamed and boiled in flames. As Zero watched, he heard Zebra voices shouting. The Pegasus moves forward muzzle ready to fire.

“Don’t shoot! They are holding me hostage!” A Elephant laying on the ground shouts. Zebra fire at Zero from behind the Elephant.

“Bastards!” Zero shouted backing off to the regroup with the others.

“Daring are you okay,” Prophet Bless asked the sweating bronze pony.

“I’m getting to old for this,” Daring Do sigh taking a swig of water.

“There some Zebra near the door that leads to the lab that the Chimera Cauldron is in,” Zero said as he regrouped. “They are blocking it with an Elephant.”

“If we deactivate the fire feature on our rifles we should hit the thing with minimal damage,” Prophet Bless suggests.

“That’s cold,” Fire Storm snaps.

“Elephant hide,” Prophet Bless shrugged. “And the Zebra here don’t have armor.”

They then heard the shouting of many Zebra voices.

“It sounds like their armored troops have arrived,” Daring Do announced still catching her breath.

“Still don’t change much,” Zero shook his head. “Zebra rags have the armored troops move forward as the unarmored stay back.

“Zero and I are the best shots,” Prophet told the group, “We will shut off the fire bullets and take the Elephant. Storm, You and Daring take the rifles of these dead Zebra and fire on the armored.”

The mare and the buck split. The bucks took the best position to fire at the Zebra hiding behind the Elephant. The mares found a flanking position on the armor troops.

Zero and Prophet Bless waited for the mares to exchange gunfire with the armor troopers. The exchange was brief. The mares fired first at three armored Zebra.

The two lead Zebra was hit by a group of ammo bursts. The middle one managed to fire before dying. The shock wave of one of these bullets could be felt on Fire Storm’s ear. The third Zebra was hit by a stray that got him in the foreleg. Before he could recover Daring put him down. All three bodies now burned.

The unarmored Zebra behind the Elephant braced them selves when they heard the gun fire. Prophet Bless targeted the Zebra holding a shot gun point blank to the massive creature’s temple.

Prophet Bless fires, he hits the Zebra in the shoulder. This caused the Zebra to fire and pepper the Elephant. The Elephant’s face was now with buckshot. But the new angle of fire only caused a flesh wound on him.

Now in pain and with one of his most vulnerable areas freed. The Elephant raises up with a loud trumpeting sound. The Zebra screamed and scrambled out of the way. This left them open to Zero and Prophet Blesses firing.

They killed one Zebra, another they hit and he collapsed to the ground allowing the Elephant to stomp him with a loud crunch.

When the commotion calmed down, Zero noticed that the Zebra who had the shot gun was still alive. He rushed over to him and put a gun on the striped one.

“It looks like this area is cleared for now,” Fire Storm points out.

“You two stay here and guard the hanger,” Zero points at Prophet Bless and Fire Storm. “We need our escape route secured. Daring and I will go ahead and steal the cauldron.”

“How are we going to get out with the thing?” Prophet Bless asked, “It’s a cauldron so I'm assuming it’s heavy.”

Zero looks at the Elephant, Then the large dead bloodwing and then the Zebra. He points at the Zebra. “You are going to make a wing talisman for us.”

Zero and Daring Do moved farther into the building. Zero Endless had just finished shooting some Zebra scientist hiding under some desks in some room, when he notice Daring Do was stomping her back leg.

“Daring Do are you okay?” Zero asked.

“Yeah, my pussy gone numb on the right side and took my leg down with it,” Daring Do told him, “I’m sure it’s just a stroke or heart attack.”

“Mother,” Zero said in a hushed tone.

“Please not now,” Daring Do shook her head. “It’s not my first heart attack. I’m a horse god damn it. It will be fine.”

They soon found the room with the Chimera Cauldron in it. It was as big as a buffalo. The thing was sealed in a decontamination room and a wall of glass and a door separated hit from Zero and Daring Do. The lid was expended over it with cables and red mist bubbled out.

“This button looks like the cable release,” Zero points out as he pressed down a red button with his hoof.

The lid clamors down. Mist still leaked from the edges. This noise caused a Zebra to jump out of hiding “Please stop!”

Zero knocked the Zebra out with the butt of his gun. He then turns to Daring Do. “We need to seal the lid.”

Zero opens the doors.

“What about the hazard suits,” Daring Do points out.

“We don’t have time,” Zero told her.

“Hey I don’t care, My loins obviously had their run,” Daring points out. “It’s yours that I’m worried about.”

Zero pushes through a second set of doors and red mist puffed in. Then he and Daring Do pulled down on the clamps of the lid locking the cauldron shut. Once locked the two ponies found harnesses and hooked themselves to it. With a great heave they start pulling the Chimera Cauldron across the floor.

When out in the hall Zero starts stomping his leg.

“What you have problems now too?” Daring Do smirked.

“Yeah, My balls went numb,” Zero replied.

“Pulling this thing is a job for Earth Ponies not Pegasus,” Daring replied.

“We just need to get this thing to the Elephant,” Zero tells Daring Do.

“Halt!” A Zebra soldier shouted.

“Book it!” Zero shouts as the two Pegasus ran around the corner.

The hallway around the corner had a steep incline and to the Pegasus shock this let the cauldron gain momentum. It soon snipped at their heels. The two Pegasus broke free from their harnesses and jumped onto the newly speeding metal object clinging to its side. The cauldron bounce off the walls as it ricocheted off the corner nearly crushing the two ponies. The Zebra were stunned at the sight at first but soon gave chase.

“Back in the hanger…”

“I'm done,” The injured Zebra puts the wing talisman onto the Elephants collar. The bloodwing’s large wings now out stretched from the Elephants back.

“Good,” Prophet Bless knocks out the Zebra with his gun.

“Should it be taking them this long?” Fire Storm asks.

“Who knows how long it should take?” Prophet Bless shrugs.

Just then a large metal object with two ponies riding it mash through the doors and crash into some crates.

“Daring? Why do all of your adventures have some kind of death ride?” Zero says as he stumbles out of the wreckage.”

“Not all of them,” Daring Do replied stumbling after the buck. “Did I ever tell you about the time I first met Twilight Sparkle?”

Zero got his wits about him. “Shit, hook that death trap up to the Elephant. We have company fallowing us!”

The ponies pulled the Chimera Cauldron out of the wreckage and was starting to hook it up to the Elephant when the Zebra burst into the room. Suppression fire from Prophet Bless had the Zebra ducking back into the hall for cover.

“Got it!” Zero shouted.

The Elephant nods his head and start to move toward the hanger exit and flap his wings. Zero, Daring Do and Storm Fire ran alongside the Elephant. Prophet Bless stayed back and kept on his suppression fire.

“Prophet!” Storm Fire shouts.

“I’ll catch up!” Prophet Bless spoke as he turn into his Changeling form to reload his last clip into his rifle with his magic horn.

The Elephant was starting to gain air as it reached the exit. As Prophet Bless emptied his clip he pulled out a grenade he took from a Zebra and tossed it. Once the Elephant and Pegasus had reached the outside they took off to the air. An explosion from behind them caused their hearts to jump. The ponies looked back to see smoke coming from the hanger. A moment later the Changeling gallops out of the hanger with bullets buzzing around him. Some the bullets pierced his shell splattering out green ooze. Despite his injuries the Changeling takes to the air and catches up to the Pegasus. He couldn’t stay in the air and had to collapse on the cauldron lid.

“Prophet?” Fire Storm approached the injured Changeling.

It replied with a hiss at her approach and then regained his pony form. “Leave me alone please. I’ll heal on my own in time.”

Zero look down at the base to see the mass of prisoners escaping out. He smiles as he watches them move into the woods.

A group of Zebra had stepped out of the hanger. One lifts his rifle at the escaping party.

“Don’t waste your ammo,” His commander pushed the rifle down with his hoof. Then whistled, “I seen a horse fly, And I seen pigs fly but I ain’t never seen an Elephant fly.”

“Zero Endless log…”

“We got the Chimera Cauldron across the Equestrian boarder…”

“I’m sure it’s being researched by our top men…”

A group of ponies seals up a crate and goes to move it in a warehouse of crates. Suddenly an explosion rocks the warehouse. Up in the base’s main office, Zero and Daring Do talk to Twilight Sparkle when they hear and feel the impact

“Shit, that’s not good,” Daring Do remarks.

A purple striped Zebra walks in through a hole in the wall of the warehouse. Ponies fire upon him but he out stretches leathery wings that blocks the bullets from harming him. A pony gets to close and with a swipe of his wing slices him in half. The sight of this stopped the ponies from firing as they watch their comrades entrails plop on the floor.

“I am Asrael!” The Zebra announced.

“Shit run!” Two Ponies turn to run away. In a flash Asrael dashes past them. A moment later one of each of the ponies forelimbs fall off. They fall inward toward Asrael. He flaps his wings downwards and the ponies heads drop to the floor.

Asrael walks over to a wall PA and pushed it on with his hoof. “Hello, This is Asrael. Hand over the Chimera Cauldron and I shall continue to make your deaths swift. If not, You will not die. I will mostly delimb you. I will remove the malehood of every stallion and puncture every mare’s womb.”

“Never Zebra scum!” A mare jumps out and fires at Asrael.

Asrael shields himself with his wing until the bullets ran out. With one swift motion of his wings cuts off the lower half of her front hooves. With another motion separates her hindlegs and when the mare hits the ground stabs her deep in the gut.

The mare laid on the ground screaming the magic coating on Asrael’s wings stopping her from bleeding out. Asrael throws his ears back and crushes the mare’s larynx with his hoof turning her screams into a quiet hiss.

The Zebra pushes the button on the PA. “I will also remove your ability to speak because I find your screams annoying.”

“Up in the office…”

“That's it we need to destroy that thing,” Zero remarks.

“Yeah I agree that cauldron, we got to get rid of that thing,” Daring replied.

“I’m going to evacuate,” Twilight told the Pegasus. “The only thing I think that can destroy that cauldron is the magic engine generator.”

“Magic engine generator?” Daring asked.

“It’s an experiment that we are doing on the other side of the base,” Twilight explained, “Put the cauldron in the testing tunnel. Overload the engine and vent the back fire. It well shoot a wave of magic that will ripped apart magic matter.”

“Thanks for the advice sir,” Zero replied as Twilight left the room.

“Zero and Daring Do swiftly over sees the moving of the Chimera Cauldron …

As the small group of ponies pulled the Chimera Cauldron into the testing area. Behind them from around the corner they saw the casted shadows of two ponies meet the shadow of a hood figure. The hooded shadow flickered and the pony shadows fell apart. Blood splattered on the wall and a foreleg slid across the floor into view.

“My balls!” A male voice shouts.

“My shaft!” Another cried.

“Faster faster!” Zero shouted in a panic.

They just opened the test chamber door, when Asrael met up with the group. He starts slicing through the military ponies. Zero jumped out of the way missing the Zebra’s fury. Daring Do had climbed on top of the cauldron to get away. She wasn’t so lucky. Daring’s hindlegs were cut off at the hawk. Then she lost her foreleg. The bronze colored mare stumbles into the testing chamber.

“What’s this?” Asrael spots the warning sign and smiles, “Ah, I see you were hoping to destroy this thing. I might as well oblige.” He kicks the cauldron into the testing chamber the door sliding shut.

The Zebra spots Zero stir and pins him down with his wing. “You I’m going to leave you untouched.”

“Please don’t my mother is in there,” Zero cried.

“Even better,” With his other wing Asrael presses the start button.

“Engine starting up,” A voice said over the speaker. “Warning engine output is unstable and is going to have to vent in T minus Ten seconds.”

Daring Do already forced herself to stand up on her haunch stumps and started unlocking the lid of the Chimera Cauldron. “9” The lid pops up with a hiss and a red mist leaks out. “8” Daring Do pushed the lid away. “7” It clamors to the floor. “6” Daring starts to climb inside. “5” She half way over the lip of the cauldron. “4” Daring Do falls into the misty void. “3” Daring hits the bottom. “2” She breathes in the mist and it penetrates into her very skin. “1” Black growths appears on Daring Do’s body. “0” She screams out in pain as her body changes.

A blast of energy shoots into the room. The blast hit the cauldron. For a moment it took the force then shattered with a power that shook the base. A rift opens up that implodes a and pops out windows. Everything in the control room started to be sucked in then it stopped.

The testing room was now empty and cracked in half. Asrael released Zero who was laying there crying. The Zebra starts to simply walk away.

“Six months later…”

Zero sits in a rocket about to blast off.

“One last time,” Applejack speak through the panel, “You all sure you want to test this thing. After what this engine did to her.”

“Blast me off Applejack,” Zero replied.

“As you say Captain.” Applejack replied back.