Trouble in Neo Neighpon

Chapters

Framed
Infiltration
Confrontation
Exploration
Showdown
Ending

Framed

Dark clouds endlessly covered the skies of a tall city of dark teal and red structures. Heavy downpours of rain painted the streets with moisture as the sounds of the drops were drowned out by the roars of levitating monorails and the hoofsteps and chatter from the crowds of ponies. Colorful neon signs abundantly hung around all the buildings, walls and staircases that led underground.

Hologram screens of various sizes freely floated throughout the streets. Each screen depicted a mug shot of a lavender unicorn mare’s head with purple eyes and a straight-curled sapphire mane with a pink stripe that ran down its middle. She had a deep frown on her face as a red ‘警告’ lined up along the bottom of the images.

Amidst the chaos of the crowd, a dark brown-cloaked pony hid within the alleyways behind a green dumpster. Its eyes scanned the immediate area, the cloaked figure ducked its head away from sight as a levitating machine with two red lights on the top of its head passed by. The cloaked figure extended its right front hoof out of its sleeve and brought it up to the hoodie. As the hoodie was pulled back by the hoof, a unicorn mare with a head similar to the one displayed on the holograms was revealed. She slowly closed her eyes.

Earlier

A lavender unicorn mare had her haunches on a blue office chair within a dark room made entirely of rusted metal. Her left hoof was blue, mechanical and heavily wired. It lit up with different holographic screens that levitated on the top. In front of her sat a large computer monitor that provided the only light in the room. The image on her flank resembled a six-pointed star in a hot pink color. With her right hoof, she moved the various screens to the left as she scrolled through them. During that time, a series of hard knocks banged against the door.

“Open.” She flatly stated as her head turned away from the series of screens in front of her. The knob turned and the door became ajar. Behind it was a white alicorn with an ethereal mane and tail in the colors of an aurora. Similarly, her hooves were also enhanced with mechanically. Her hooves unlike Twilight Sparkle's, had wires that connected to her chest through a apparatus. .

“Twilight Sparkle…” She said in a slightly broken tone. Twilight Sparkle’s ears drooped over as she looked into the sorrowful eyes of her visitor.

“What's wrong Commander Celestia?” Twilight Sparkle questioned in a confused tone. Celestia gently shut her eyes and pointed her eyes down the floor.

“As you have heard, the Equestrian Police Federation were on the hunt of a criminal that had been forcibly stealing biotech from various ponies on the streets, killing them in the process. In addition, some of these ponies have gone missing.” She said. “We…” She stuttered out. Her eyes opened and stoically looked towards the visibly distraught Twilight Sparkle in front of her. “We traced the source of all the stolen technology to you Twilight Sparkle.” A shrill gasp escaped from Twilight Sparkle’s mouth.

“That can’t be right! I was in here all this time in my stay in the Neighpon University for Technological Advancement. There’s no possible way that I could have killed those ponies on the streets.” She reasoned. Celestia shook her head despondently.

“I do not like this news as much as you do. You were working on a program that would have allowed for a clean source of limitless energy to be used to fuel our modern world. You would have saved the unfortunate souls that would eventually be consumed by their biotech. I looked out for you as if you were my daughter. You would have finally brought this rusted time into a golden age!” She said as her somber tone gradually rose with each word. Twilight Sparkle had her mouth agape in a frown.

“I had not hoped that it would have never reached this point, unfortunately I have no choice…” As these words escaped Celestia’s mouth, she stomped her right hind hoof hard on the ground. A hologram of a sparkling moon within a stylized sun materialized in front of the apparatus on her chest. “Twilight Sparkle, you are hearby under arrest on multiple counts of aggravated assault, robbery, murder and abduction. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you.” Two ponies in navy blue armored suits and helmets ran into the room on the whim of her words. Both ponies held up their right hooves, which revealed silver piping on their bottoms, and pointed them towards Twilight Sparkle.

“I’m telling you Commander, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Twilight Sparkle shouted in confusion. Tears began to flow down her face. Celestia, still feeling that acute shock of pain and disbelief, glanced away.

“I’m doing this… for your own good Twilight. Please… just let us take you in. I will try to make this as quick and painless as possible…” She hesitanted. Twilight Sparkle's head was marked by red lasers pointers by the officers' silver hooves. She rolled out of the marks, extended her left hoof outwards and, with her right hoof, quickly tapped various buttons on it.

“I’m sorry Commander, but I have to resist arrest.” Celestia and the two police officers suddenly became wreathed in blue electricity as these words passed out of Twilight Sparkle's mouth. The three law enforcers clenched their mouths and craned their heads and necks downward. Their bodies erratically shook, held in the grip of their own technology. A few seconds later, their bodies dropped to the ground, passed out. Twilight Sparkle ran out through the open door.

She ran down the industrial-style hallways where various officers crept out from hidden corners and held their hooves out towards Twilight Sparkle. The corridors were sprayed with red lasers from the officers’ hooves. Twilight Sparkle jumped and rolled her way through the barrages of lasers. She clung onto the walls and imputed various commands on her hoof. Suddenly, the officers that opened fire screamed when the blue electricity shot out from their suits. They were dominoes that dropped to the ground.

“Good thing that I have skills in biotech hacking. It makes encounters so much easier.” She said to herself with a guilty grin. As she ran through the corridors, her eyes came upon a window. As she looked behind her, she noticed a crowd of officers running down the corridor. A quick inspection of all sides revealed that they had also rushed down each corridor.

“Stop right where you are scum!” One of the officers shouted. As she looked out the window, her heart skipped a beat. Her nerves and muscles felt restricted by the sight of the ground five-stories below. Her teeth chattered rapidly and all felt like darkness...

"No! I can't let this end here, I won't!" She screamed in her thoughts. Courage filled her very soul as she clenched her teeth and jumped out of the window.

"Stop!!!" One of the officers shouted as she jumped. The officers rushed over and looked out of the window. Much to their displeasure, no sight of Twilight Sparkle was anywhere. With hawk-like eyes, the officers carefully scanned the ground below. Underneath the windowsill, Twilight Sparkle tightly sidled against the wall as the officers looked around. Her knees on her hind legs and her hooves gradually turned to jelly as the officers looked below. "The perpetrator has escaped!" One of them shouted. The entire force dispersed from the immediate area and left. Twilight Sparkle sighed with a despondent frown.

Now

Twilight Sparkle looked at the active city of Neo Neighpon from behind the dumpster; countless ponies were physically connected to various technological apparatus on various parts of their bodies. They unintentionally bumped into others, which was usually followed up with angry screams of accusations from both sides. Behind the colors and bright flashes of the neon signs was a dead world with streaks of gray and brown.

“Why would Commander Celestia charge me with a crime I didn’t commit?” Twilight Sparkle questioned out loud. "There must be something I missed. Now that the coast is safe, I should check my own biotechnical status for any sort of conclusions." She pulled out her mechanically augmented left hoof. With a series of taps from her right front hoof on some key buttons, she pulled up a series of light blue hologram screens with encrypted writing on them. Examining, her eyes widened at the sight of an odd code in her programing.

"Wait a moment... last time I checked, this coding wasn't here." She said, physically tapping the hologram. At the moment her hoof touched the hologram, her body suddenly felt a burning sensation that intensified. She squeaked in pain as illicit coding filled her system. “A… virus? That… can’t be.” She uttered out in pain. She quickly imputed commands into her mechanized hoof. Her eyes quickly closed and she suddenly fell onto the ground.

Her eyes opened moments afterwards. She slowly lifted herself off the wet ground and stood tall. She shook the excess rain and dirt from her mane. “It looks as if I’ve been hacked myself. No wonder Commander Celestia and the Equestrian Police Federation accused me of a crime; whatever this virus was, it contained data of various high-profile crimes and set off a traceable signal.” At the thought of this explanation, her eyes and mouth formed a scowl. “I’ve been framed! Whoever the real criminal infected me so that he or she can continue his illegal activities.”

At this very moment, a bot that hovered by detected her. It wailed its sirens as its red lights suddenly flashed. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened. A flood of bots materialized from out of nowhere and surrounded her. Twilight Sparkle hopped over the dumpster and dashed into the streets. The pedestrians eyed her and screamed. They ran into nearby buildings as quickly as possible. Metal carriages that hid along the alcoves of the streets flashed their red and blue lights. They hovered above the streets and chased after her. Their sirens wailed loudly.

“Looks like I have no choice then.” Twilight Sparkle thought to herself as she was endlessly pursued by the police. She closed her eyes as she ran. Her teeth were clenched and her eyes were closed as tightly as possible. From the tip of the horn, lavender sparks illuminated from the tip after a few second. Those sparks then enshrouded the horn in light. Twilight Sparkle exhaustively grinned. She disappeared from the streets in a lavender light. All of the police and bots that chased her suddenly stopped. Behind the waves of police, Celestia slowly walked towards the scorched ground.

“Officers, I want you to trace that magical signature back to its source. That’s an order!” She shouted. The officers that walked out of the cars saluted before they left. Celestia looked back on the scorch marks and scooped a hoof-full of ashy water. “What kind of game are you playing here Twilight?” She asked to herself.

Twilight Sparkle re-appeared just outside Neo Neighpon’s boundaries. Her hooves met the wet slosh of mud as she landed on the ground. The wasteland surrounding the city looked dark, cold and unpleasant. Her ears perked up at the sound of a shrill roar. She looked to her left and saw a red-rusted building that was slanted to the right with broken windows. She strongly nodded as she ran towards the building.

A purple teenaged dragon with a green jaw and underbelly slept sat-down on a brown couch with a red magazine on his face. His wide arm span scaled towards both sides of the couch. His chest was built strongly while his claws looked sharp enough to rend through metal. His most peculiar feature, however, were metallic apparatuses connected to his knees and elbows. They were connected with wires that ran down to his claws and toes.

The room he was in was deathly silent save for the sound of rain outside and his snores. On the steel door, a powerful series of knocks broke the silence of the room. The dragon fumbled about as the magazine stuck to his face. As he removed the magazine, he looked towards the door. He narrowed his eyes and stood up. With a slumped-over back, he walked over to it.

“Whoever it is, nobody’s home!” He shouted.

“Spike, it’s me!” Twilight Sparkle cried out. Spike’s eyes widened as he grasped the wheel on the door with both of his claws and turned it clockwise. With a deep sound, the door’s lock became undone and it became slightly ajar. Spike peered his head out into the crack.

“Twilight? What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be locked up in that prison?” Spike asked. Twilight Sparkle smacked her forehead with her hoof.

“First of all Spike, it’s not a prison. It’s the Neighpon University for Technological Advancement.” She said in an aggravated voice. “Second of all, if you haven’t been keeping up with the news, I’m a fugitive that is wanted for multiple felonies of murder, theft and abduction. I can’t exactly go back to Neighpon.” At these words, Spike’s jaw dropped.

“Well what are you doing here then?! I can’t assist a criminal! I’m not exactly on the best terms with the Equestrian Police Federation!” Spike fearfully voiced out.

“Spike, I’m not a criminal! I was just framed for another pony's crimes.” Twilight Sparkle reasoned back. Spike eyed her intenely before he exhaled a sigh of relief as his panic slipped away.

“Thank goodness! For a moment there, I actually thought that you did intentionally kill ponies.” He said with a smile. The door fully opened as Twilight Sparkle walked into the room. “Make yourself at home Twilight. I know it isn’t much, but it’s hard to come by stuff when you live out in the outskirts of Neo Neighpon.” He said. “So, out with it Twilight; what do you need me for?” He asked.

“You are one of the best hackers I know. I can’t go to anypony else because of obvious reasons, so I need you to trace back a virus I was infected with.” Twilight Sparkle requested. Spike glanced over towards her hoof and then back to her eyes. He locked his claws together and cracked them. He dashed over to a metal back chair and a vanilla computer module. He pressed a red button on it. The module’s screen lit up in an electric blue.

“So, this virus you were infected with," Spike trailed off. "Would you mind giving me details?”

“I explored a bit of my coding and discovered it in my central system. I managed to reboot myself, so the malware left my system. I still have the original coding stored if that helps. I think this was how the criminal framed me.” Twilight Sparkle explained. Spike looked towards her as he imputed the commands into the keyboard.

“Alright, give me your hoof Twilight. My biotech skills should be able to safely transfer the virus for scanning.” He said as he lifted one of his sharp claws. Twilight Sparkle shyly lifted her hoof towards Spike, which he grasped with his free set of claws. “Fair warning Twilight; this is going to hurt.” He said as he plunged his claw into an input slot on her mechanized hoof. As she felt a stabbing pain enter her hoof, she shut her eyes and clenched her teeth. “It’s over Twilight.” Spike said dully. Twilight Sparkle opened her eyes.

“That wasn’t so bad. Didn’t even feel a thing.” Twilight Sparkle stated with a sheepish giggle. Spike scoffed skeptically and flipped his right hand. He took his talon and drove it into an input slot on the computer. Green 0s and 1s flooded out of his claw and went into the computer. Various screens opened up on the computer along with several green bars that filled up completely. Spike removed his claw from the system and then imputed various commands on the keyboard.

“Get through this encrypted mess, reroute the points back to origins…” He said as he worked on his computer. A few beeps were heard and Spike grinned. “I got good news and bad news for you Twilight. Which do you want to hear first?” He said as he smugly blew his claw that transferred the data.

“Give me the bad news first. I’m prepared to hear what I am given.” Twilight Sparkle stated.

“The bad news is that you need to risk your life just to reach this criminal. The good news is that I successfully traced the criminal’s hideout and found out who she is.” Spike stated.

“Then who is it?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Spike clicked away the excess screens and brought up a mug shot of a vermillion unicorn mare with a red and orange-striped mane. Her right red mechanized eye, natural ice-blue left eye and her wicked grin brought a shiver down Twilight Sparkle’s nerves.

“Meet Sunset Shimmer, leader of the Sunset Suicide Squad a.k.a. the biggest crime syndicate in the Equestrian Underworld.” Spike nonchalantly stated. “She’s the one that sent a virus to you and had you framed.” Twilight Sparkle jaws dropped as a gasp escaped her mouth.

She asked, shock building in her tone. "But how did somepony like that infect my biotech system? I don't even know her!"

“There’s one thing you must know about the Sunset Suicide Squad Twilight; they may be a criminal organization, but they hold more of the world under their control than you think.” Spike stated. “That even includes that prison you live at.”

“But… why me? I never did anything to ask for this…” Twilight Sparkle dejectedly asked as her ears drooped down. Spike shrugged his shoulders and kept a stoic expression in his eyes.

“Dunno… but she has eyes everywhere in that place. If she sees something she doesn’t like, then she will take action against her offenders.” He replied. “Unfortunately, her power even extends into the police force. As far as they’re concerned, you’re the source of the virus.” Twilight Sparkle gulped as the news passed her ears.

“So if I want to bring her to justice, then I have to infiltrate her hideout?”

“Yep.” Spike replied. “If you are going there, then I think you need to stalk a member of the Sunset Suicide Squad. The hideout is hidden to the point where commoners wouldn't be able to find it if they tried. Members of the gang are characterized with black and orange robes.” Twilight Sparkle raised an eye in curiosity.

“How did you exactly know that but not know of my criminal status?” She asked suspiciously.

“I used to be a part of that gang. I got tired and left, but not before dealing a blow to them that Shimmer won’t forget in a long time. As for the criminal status thing, I only look up underground news. I could care less about what’s on the mouths of the public.” Spike stated with a wave of his right claws. “I’d be more concerned with how you’ll handle yourself when you leave. This world… it’s miserable.”

“This world can't be all that bad, right?” She asked with a confused tone. "This is our world, so we have to care for it even if it is miserable like you say." Spike's eyes narrowed slightly.

“This world used to be better than it was, but everything changed when all this biotechnical implantation became mandatory” Spike replied. "Now, it's either made ponies powerless or had given ponies the power to commit evil deeds. We became bound to an idea that would have supposedly enriched our lives. In this world, the bad guys win while the good guys pay the price." Twilight Sparkle's mouth contorted into a crestfallen frown as she ruminated upon these words.

"Unfortunately, you are right. I never thought I would have had to resist arrest. It was a spur of the moment, but what else was I supposed to do? I know I'm innocent, so I just can't let them take me away when the real criminals evade punishment. Why is this society so..." A frown enveloped on Spike's face as her words slowly drowned themselves out.

"Please Twilight, don't cry. I swear, you'll be able to get through this. Just, keep your chin up and smile through the whole way. No matter what happens, never lose strength. Whatever you feel, know that there are others who feel the same way you do." Spike stated. "You are one of the strongest ponies I know. I don't think I would have been able to sit in that prison for five years." As she allowed these words to soak up in her mind, Twilight Sparkle's tears slowed down to a stop. A small smile cracked on her face.

"I told you Spike, it's not a prison. It's a university." She said with a bit of laughter in her voice.

"And I told you that they're both the same thing. You stay in one room for most of your time awake, you only get a recess for an hour, you get visitors and you can only leave after you complete the years you spend in there." Spike explained. "If you can get through that, then you shouldn't falter when the going gets tough. The tough should get going." At these words, Twilight Sparkle opened her front legs and embraced Spike with a warm hug. Spike looked around before he returned the hug.

"Thank you Spike, thank you for sticking by my side when I thought everything was lost." Twilight Sparkle stated. "So, is there anything I need to know about this hideout?"

“There are two things-“As Spike said this, he went over to the desk that his module sat on. He opened a drawer and pulled out a black chip. He placed the chip inside of Twilight Sparkle’s left hoof. “First of all, members of the Sunset Suicide Squad ride monorails when they go to their hideout. Just hide out around a monorail and looked for black and orange-robed ponies.”

“That’s nice to know Spike, but what’s this chip for?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I hear that Shimmer’s found something incredible. While you are there, you should probably collect evidence on the project. That chip I gave you enabled your hoof to take pictures and save them on a cloud where I can analyze them. Then, I’ll send the evidence into the Equestrian Police Federation server.” Spike enthusiastically stated.

“I see. Then, we can finally eliminate the Sunset Suicide Squad once and for all! You’re a genius Spike!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed.

“It’s nothing. By the way, you should probably go into Neo Neighpon right now. Those gang members won’t wait around forever.” Spike said.

“You’re probably right on that. I should probably go now.” Twilight Sparkle enthusiastically stated as she ran towards the door. As she was about to walk outside of it, she stopped for a moment and looked back. “And, thank you. Thank you for staying on my side when everypony else gave up on me.” She then dashed out of the door. Spike glanced down towards the nodes on his elbows. He sighed.

“All these advancements have caused so much pain to everyone. I’m sorry for what you have to go through Twi…” Softly, he said to himself.

Author's Note

I do hope that I did this right. Please leave any of your inputs in the comments section. They are all appreciated.

Infiltration

Twilight Sparkle stood carefully underneath the metal stairwell next to a monorail station. Her body was covered in a cloak. She stood there patiently as her sharp eyes tracked the various ponies that walked up and down the set of stairs. After hours of fruitless waiting had passed, a quadruped figure cloaked in an orange and black robe walked down the stairs. As soon as the figure made it down the stairs, it bounced down the sidewalk. Twilight Sparkle silently stalked the figure.

Both the figure and Twilight Sparkle walked down the streets of Neo Neighpon. Other than an unusually stoic walk cycle, the both of them did very little to garner the attention of the other pedestrians. Twilight Sparkle looked towards the sky to her left and right. Her eyes picked up on various elements on the street; her eyes drifted off towards fleeing holograms that stated phrases such as ‘Tomorrow’s technology is just tomorrow. Invest in High-Performance Biotech Implants today!’ and ‘Equestrian Police Federation; now and forever’.

“These signs are awfully blatant on the ideas they convey. Then again, it’s not surprising considering where we are.” She thought to herself. As she followed the robed figure, her eyes came upon a body of an earth pony stallion that lied on the sidewalk. Though his coat was pale, she saw that it was indeed a periwinkle-colored coat. The stallion’s mouth was open widely, which gave a good glimpse of the mechanical implants within his jaw. His eyes were bloodshot and his oral region looked particularly swollen. The pedestrians ignored the corpse on the ground as they walked around it. Twilight Sparkle’s bottom lip quivered in disgust.

“How could ponies be so apathetic about a dead body lying on a major sidewalk? …His last moments were probably struggling for air as his implants slowly killed him. I’m willing to bet nopony bothered to help him either…” She thought to herself.

The two ponies walked for what seemed to be an eternity underneath the sloshing rain. Rather than the sidewalk, they both walked between alleyways that were literal labyrinths. At the slightest sound of a crash, Twilight Sparkle shifted her head towards the source. Her mouth became agape as she witnessed an earth pony stallion, a pegasus stallion and a unicorn stallion beating on a defenseless earth pony mare. Bile rose up her throat with each scream of pain from the mare.

“Why is nopony helping her? Where’s the EPF-wait, scratch that, I’m a wanted criminal. I don’t want the EPF around me.” Her eyes twitched back and forth between the figure in front of her and the mare being physically beaten, her heart rate accelerated when each leg launched into the mare’s body and her nerves screamed in anxiety from the screams of help. Her mane frizzled each time a spatter of blood hit the ground. By the time the beating stopped, the mare stopped screaming. Twilight Sparkle visibly winced as the stallions forcibly ripped the cybernetic implants off of the corpse's body.

Despite the series of propaganda, corruption and brutality on the streets, she maintained a stoic expression. The dark clouds and the neon flashes of the city transitioned into dark caverns and brown rivers. Her eyes watered immensely and her nose wrinkled at the odor of fecal matter displaced itself. She shook her head and shrugged off her malcontent feelings.

It passed an extra hour since she followed the strange figure through the city. The figure never looked back, as if its destination was its very lifeline. As it reached a dead end in the sewers, it looked to its left and detected a barred pipe where brown water fed the stream. The pipe looked large enough to fit even a pony with a very large build. The figure jumped into the air and kicked the gate off of the pipe. The sound of metal bending against pressure echoed loudly throughout the sewers.

Twilight Sparkle quickly hid behind the corner that led to the turn towards the dead end. As she witnessed the figure turn its cloaked head around, the figure gracefully hopped into the pipe and began to crawl inside of it. Twilight Sparkle’s face quickly became green as the scent of untreated water quickly filled her nostrils. As soon as the figure disappeared, she ran back towards the dead end and observed the pipe.

“I literally have to crawl through fecal matter?” Twilight Sparkle skeptically questioned. A disgusted groan escaped her mouth as her stomach suddenly knotted up. “The lengths I have to go through to clear my name…” She stated in disgust as she took a deep breath and hopped into the pipe. As soon as the thick water touched her underside and legs, her lower throat filled up with vomit. Nonetheless, she continued down the sewer as if her life was on the line.

Spike sat on his couch with a magazine in both of his claws, a box of tissues on a cushion to his right and a bashful grin on his face. On the magazine was an image of a pink-coated unicorn mare with a florescent blue mane with a mechanical torso. She was positioned on her side with her eyes partially closed. Her right front hoof was positioned dangerously close to her nethers. On the top were words that presented ‘Playcolt’ in bold lettering. As Spike’s attention was enraptured in the magazine, a series of knocks pounded on the door.

“Gah!” He squeaked out as his claws shuffled the magazine in the air. He shoved it inside a crack between cushions and he threw the box of tissues behind the couch. “Can’t a guy get some privacy around here?” He grumbled lowly as he approached the door. When he opened the door, a robotic hoof thrust itself through the crack. Spike’s eyes widened as he jolted back. The hoof pushed the door back, which revealed Celestia.

“Spike, we need to talk.” Spike gulped loudly and nervously twiddled with his claws as Celestia entered into his abode. Celestia planted her haunches on Spike’s couch and flashed a stare that drilled into his eyes.

“Look, I can explain whatever happened today.”

“Spike, I’m not mad with you. I just wanted to talk.” Celestia stated calmly as she lied her body down across the couch. “I’ve tracked a magic signature from a pony the two of us are very well-acquainted with to the wasteland around this area.” As she said this, she extended her front legs outward and stretched her body. She turned towards Spike and flashed a sly smile. Spike’s cheeks reddened massively as he watched Celestia stretch her body in unimaginable ways on his own couch.

“…Are you done doing that?” He sheepishly asked. Celestia glanced towards him and winked innocently at him.

“Of course, since the magic signature was around your home,-”She said in an ignorantly cheerful tone as she sensually rubbed her legs from their tops down to their nether regions. “-I was hoping you would know something about her whereabouts.” She looked towards Spike, whose face was not only cherry red, but his wings unfolded fully erect. He shook his head and relaxed his wings with his claws.

“So what is in it for me if I know where she is? My information isn’t exactly cheap.” Spike condescendingly replied. Celestia slowly rose up from the couch and playfully strutted towards him. She placed her right front hoof on his nose.

“Let me remind you that I’m the commander and you are the bad boy here. When I come over here, I expect answers to be handed over to me. Otherwise, I’ll have to go for some… disciplinary action.” She stated in a highly sultry and domineering tone. “So, are you going to play nice and tell me, or am I going to have to deal out some punishment?” Spike scratched the bottom of his chin nervously.

“Ehehe, I don’t want to be punished…” He stuttered out. Celestia walked towards his right and stomped the ground with her right front hoof. From the apparatus on her chest, a black cord materialized and levitated towards her left front hoof. She grasped it, then leaned her head next to Spike’s glossy ear and smiled.

“If you don’t want to be punished, you better tell me everything you know about her current plans. Otherwise, you and I will have a date with Sting here.” She whispered as her tongue hung out of her mouth. Spike’s entire body shivered as these words hit his eardrum.

“Okay! I’ll tell! Just please stop. You’re making me feel uncomfortable.” He shouted. Celestia returned her head back and smiled. Spike took a deep breath. “Twilight Sparkle is currently infiltrating the Sunset Suicide Squad. She wants to clear her name as well as investigate some interesting stuff Sunset Shimmer found.” At these words, Celestia’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. After a few seconds have passed, she shook her head and regained her cool. She walked towards the door with a rock-solid expression on her face.

“Thank you for your cooperation Spike. It looks like I didn’t need to do anything drastic to get information out of you.” She stated strongly. She looked back towards Spike and flashed a promiscuous smile. “Also, you really should find a better hiding spot for your pornography. Between the cushions isn’t really the greatest place to store it, especially when you have visitors sitting on them.” She teased as she walked out of the room and closed the door. Spike stood there for a few seconds with a stiff body.

“...I need a cold shower…” He stuttered to himself as he uncomfortably waddled into another room.

Fresh air struck the nose of the muddy Twilight Sparkle. Waterfalls of garbage and other sources of filth splashed onto her mane and coat. She crawled faster as soon as her eyes traced bright lights at the end of the tunnel.

Her head peered out of the tunnel and saw a large complex before her eyes. With her eyes, she picked up the robed figure, who was in front of a door with a series of cybernetic locks on it. The figure disrobed itself and revealed a white-coated pegasus mare with a mint-green mane and cyan eyes. Unlike her biological left wing, her right wing was made entirely of metal and biotechnical augmentation. She placed her eye in front of an apparatus and placed her right front hoof inside of a slot. She twisted her hoof inside, where the apparatus unveiled a plate of light that scanned down her eye.

“Welcome Blurred Horizon.” A mechanical voice echoed from the door. The sounds of clicks and movement from internal mechanisms behind the door boomed loudly. The mare pushed open the door slightly and slipped through the crack. The door closed, followed by a series of clicks and connections.

Twilight Sparkle hopped out of the pipe and down towards the ground. She stealthily moved around the area and hid behind blue container units. Her eyes scanned the entire area. Her jaw dropped when she noticed one peculiar feature about the area; outside of the laser-barred gate at the front and the door, there were no security surveillance systems. There were no cameras and there weren’t any guards around either.

“Something fishy is up with this, and I don’t like it.” She said with a skeptical stare directed towards the cyber lock on the building door. Out of curiosity, she dropped her cloak onto the ground and ran towards the door. As soon as her eyes and the scanner met each other’s line of vision, she examined it. She held out her left hoof and pressed a series of buttons on it. A holographic screen flashed itself above it. She placed that hoof in the slot near the door. As data loaded into hoof, a remarkably simple code appeared within the screen.

“Now this really is unusual. Simple code, next to no security, it’s as if they’re practically inviting me in…” She cautiously mused to herself. She tapped several buttons on her hoof and cracked the code. The mechanisms behind the door motioned before the door’s lock was undone.

Pushing the door slowly, her heart raced in her chest. As the light revealed itself through the crack, Twilight Sparkle held her breath. When the door opened, a bright hallway was revealed. She tilted her head around all angles of the hall.

“No cameras in here either.” She softly said to herself. Butterflies filled her stomach as she moved her hoof into the hallway for her first step. As her entire body went past the door, the door shut itself. Twilight Sparkle whipped back and saw no way to open the door from the back. An annoyed frown curled on her face. “Whatever greeting this is, I can’t say that it is anything but warm…” She stated as she looked down the hall. She stood tall against the menacing chill of her reception.

Author's Note

Well then... that was an awkward scene there...

Confrontation

Twilight Sparkle walked down the hallway with steeled nerves. As she was halfway across, several black turrets appeared from all sides of the walls. She arched her body, ready to evade any sort of fire. Much to her surprise, sparkling mist fired out of the turrets. Twilight Sparkle curiously looked at the mist as it hit her body. She looked at her right hoof and saw all of the filth from the sewer drop to the ground.

“Sanitization process complete. Please proceed.” A robotic voice within the hallway announced. Twilight Sparkle raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"...Okay?" She said confused before smiling and glancing down at her front hooves. “Well, at least I’m free from that disgusting filth.” The nozzles retracted back into the walls while Twilight Sparkle soldiered down the hallway. As she approached the blue door at the end of the hallway, the door automatically lifted itself.

Beyond, there was a giant factory with luminous lines on the black conveyor belts and metallic arms that sparked blue electricity at their ends. The products that were pumped out of the machines on the conveyor belts were strange apparatuses and other forms of machinery. In this room, various ponies lurked the floors and the steel-grated stairs and platforms. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes drifted towards a folding gate from near her doorway. After the gate lifted itself, two anti-gravitational trucks painted in jet-black drove inside of the area into a giant empty space.

“What is going on here?” Two cloaked figures dropped down from the open seats and approached the cargo trailer behind. As the doors to the trailer opened, Twilight Sparkle gasped in horror at what she witnessed; several ponies were bound and gagged by duct tape. Each of the ponies fruitlessly squirmed as their eyes widened fearfully. Their voices were muffled, but their screams can be heard through the tape.

“Shut up!” One of the cloaked figures shouted as it pulled back its right sleeve and revealed an electric pitchfork for a hoof. Electricity surged at the ends of it before the figure jabbed at one of the screaming ponies. The struck pony squealed loudly before he slumped over onto the ground. The remaining conscious ponies bound in the truck fearfully looked into their oppressors.

“Now, if you all don’t want to suffer a twelve-hundred watt shock, I suggest you all remain quiet and cooperate with us.” The other robed figure stated. The ponies who lurked the floor of the factory walked over to the truck. One by one, the bounded ponies were lifted off and were carried through a white door towards a distant wall opposite from where Twilight Sparkle was. As the ponies were lifted out of the area, the factory floor was seemingly empty.

With the entire room analyzed with her sharp eyes, Twilight Sparkle nodded to herself and ran across the floor. Just as she got towards the center of the room, a feminine voice rung from above her.

“And where do you think you’re going?” She stopped in her tracks as soon as the words hit her ears. A white pegasus mare dropped from the ceiling in front of her.

“Get out of my way. I don’t have time to deal with somepony such as yourself.” Twilight Sparkle angrily stated. The mare chuckled to herself.

“Such anger, such decisiveness! I was correct in letting you follow me through the city.” She replied enthusiastically. Twilight Sparkle looked at her with a murderous expression and circled her towards her right.

“Blurred Horizon I presume?” She cautiously asked. Blurred Horizon had a condescending smile on her face as she walked in the pattern as the pony before her had done.

“And you must be the ever-so prodigious Twilight Sparkle. For somepony of your age, you have such mastery over your own technological prowess and developmental skills. We’ve been expecting you for a long time.” She stated.

“It felt way too easy. I wondered why walking into this complex was easier than hacking into a foal’s toy.” Twilight Sparkle strongly stated with a stoic expression. Blurred Horizon’s grin doubled in size and hostility.

“Did you like the little trip we went on? It was quite the eye-opener, was it not?” She asked in a devious tone.

“It wasn’t surprising, but it shouldn’t exist on the streets. The technology we were given in this age was not meant to be used for abuse or criminal acts.” Twilight Sparkle replied. Blurred Horizon laughed harder and with more insanity.

“You are such an innocent-minded filly Twilight. Who do you think brought this technology into existence in the first place?” She asked. “Look all around you; doesn’t this place seem a bit complex for a simple gang-run factory?” Twilight Sparkle cautiously scanned the machines that pumped out machinery. Then, she looked into Blurred Horizon’s eyes.

“Now that you mention it… this factory does seem a bit advanced. What exactly is being made here?” She asked with a mix of curiosity and anger dripping from her voice.

“Everything!” As Blurred Horizon shouted this, her mechanical wing became cloaked in blue electricity. The tip of the wing pointed itself towards Twilight Sparkle’s direction. The electricity cloud around it focused itself around the tip before a powerful laser fired towards its target.

Twilight Sparkle rolled to the right and dashed towards Blurred Horizon. She jumped into the air and swung her right hind leg horizontally. Blurred Horizon quickly lifted her left front hoof and blocked the strike. With the force pushing against her leg, Twilight Sparkle jumped backwards and landed a fair distance away. She quickly held out her left hoof. Right before her right hoof touched a button, a bolt of lightning shot at the space between her hoof and her gauntlet. The lightning struck her chest and caused her to wince.

“Do you think I would really let you hack my biotech implants? You would have better luck trying to clear your name.” Blurred Horizon teased. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes burned with anger as she leaped towards Blurred Horizon with her right front hoof cocked. She launched her hoof towards Blurred Horizon’s face, who simply smiled and lifted her left front hoof. Both hooves collided with each other and Twilight Sparkle fell onto the ground with her hind legs.

“So it really was your gang that framed me!” She shouted loudly. “Why did you do it???” She asked. Blurred Horizon gave a sly grin as she stood up on her hind legs. She bent her legs and extended her left hind leg past Twilight Sparkle.

“Because then I wouldn’t be able to do this!” On the announcement, she swept her leg towards Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle jumped into the air and somersaulted above Blurred Horizon. With her left hind leg, she kicked Blurred Horizon’s left flank. The blow launched Blurred Horizon halfway across the area and planted her face upon the ground simultaneously. Twilight Sparkle landed on all four of her hooves and turned around.

“Had enough yet?” She stated. As Blurred Horizon got up from the ground, she moved her left front hoof across her lower lip. A few drops of blood were smeared onto her hoof. She smiled and turned around.

“That was a nice move you did there. As much as you don’t want to admit it, you have a killer instinct inside of you. Do you see this?” She stated as she held her hoof out. “You caused me to shed blood on purpose. If you did that without so much as a bat of an eye, then you will very easily shrug off murder like it was nothing.” Twilight Sparkle’s face scrunched into disgust and lifted her right front hoof back.

“I’m not a killer like you are. I don’t take lives just for power or for thrills.” She preached as she held out her left hoof once more. Blurred Horizons smiled and bent her knees down. She moved like a phantasm as she dashed towards Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes have widened in surprise.

In the next moment, she felt a strange force grasp her left hoof and lifted it. As her eyes looked upwards, she saw a bipedal Blurred Horizon that grasped her hoof. With a sadistic smile, Blurred Horizon crushed Twilight Sparkle’s mechanical hoof with a crushing grip. Twilight Sparkle shrieked loudly as pain wracked her body.

“What’s the matter Twilight, can’t handle a little pressure on your implants?” Blurred Horizon cruelly asked as the electricity from her wing sparked. The electricity traveled down into her back and up through her hoof. As the moment it struck her hoof, the pain Twilight Sparkle felt transfigured into searing agony. With the sounds of her screams, Blurred Horizon’s teeth were clenched out of enjoyment as her grip began to bend the metal of Twilight Sparkle’s hoof.

“Stop this at once!” Twilight Sparkle managed to shout through the paralyzing pain as she kicked Blurred Horizon’s face with her right hind leg. The blow of the strike knocked the wind out of Blurred Horizon’s lungs and caused her to drop Twilight Sparkle. As she backed some distance away from her, she dropped onto her front hooves. Her white cheek now had visible bruising underneath it. She tapped it slightly with the reaction of her nerves there screaming loudly.

“You’ll pay for that!” She shouted. Just as she crouched, however, she felt a dull pain on her mechanical wing. As she looked back towards it, the pain sharpened with a thousand needles suddenly that plunged through her flesh. As she looked forward, she saw that Twilight Sparkle had her left front hoof held out with several holographic screens of code above it.

“I couldn’t risk something like that again, so as soon as you dropped me, I went to work on hacking your implants. You’ll be shorted out soon.” Twilight Sparkle announced with a confident smile on her face. As she looked upon Blurred Horizon’s face, the smile began to descend into a shocked maw; Blurred Horizon’s mouth was open with a frightening grin.

“Do you think something as easy as ‘shorting out’ can stop somepony like me?!” Blurred Horizon shouted. She staggered towards Twilight Sparkle and walked up to her face. With her mechanical wing, she stabbed into Twilight Sparkle’s mechanical hoof and twisted it. Blue 0s and 1s uploaded from her wing into the hoof. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened from the strike as she tried to move her hoof away. Blurred Horizon moved her snout next to her ear.

“I just uploaded a virus that will cause your implants to go haywire and slowly kill your body from the inside. Reboots don’t work on it and only my death shall rid the virus from your system.” She stated with glee. “I’ve forced you into the rules of nature; it’s either you kill or be killed!” In that moment, Twilight Sparkle winced as she felt a feeling of strong compression overtake her organs. She looked into Blurred Horizon’s crazed expression and looked in her hoof. She kicked Blurred Horizon onto the ground on her back. The wing that pierced her hoof was dislodged.

Twilight Sparkle shoved her chest inside with her right front hoof. Her heart’s beats quickened to the point where she can hear them inside of her head. She loomed over Blurred Horizon with a face clenched in pain.

“The circle of life Twilight… It’s either kill or be killed. No matter what changes are made, that rule will never be changed. It is the reason for the very existence of your hoof and my wing there.” Blurred Horizon stated. “Kill me or die!”

Twilight Sparkle faltered as her right hoof was extended. Ultimately, she moved her right front hoof over Blurred Horizon’s mechanical wing. Her blood chilled as she tightened her grip around the wing. She turned her head back, shut her eyes and cleanly tore the wing out of her body. Various wires covered in blood and other bodily materials appeared on the other side of the wing. Blurred Horizon’s mouth and eyes shot open as the trauma stopped her breathing. Her hoof went limp as a smile of genuine happiness appeared on her face. Twilight Sparkle looked back at the corpse with a crestfallen expression on her face.

“I… took a life to save my own… Was there really no other way?” She somberly stated as she glanced upon her right front hoof. Spatters of foreign blood were present on it. She tilted her head towards the door across the factory floor. “I hope I never have to take another life again…” She softly said to herself.

Spike stood within the sidewalk of Neo Neighpon in a brown trench coat. His eyes glanced at all of the pedestrians that walked along the streets. As his eyes scanned the area, he picked up on the sight of a gray-coated unicorn stallion with yellow eyes. His horn was made of metal down to the center. His pink mane and tail looked frizzled and worn out as he ran towards various ponies on the street. Spike’s ears stood up as the stallion began to speak to a red-coated unicorn mare with a blue mane in front of him.

“Please sir, you have to help me. I-I don’t have enough energy to sate my implants! Please, offer me some of your energy so that this won’t kill me!” The stallion desperately pleaded.

“I’m sorry sir, but none of us have free energy to throw around. You should have thought about that when you paid for whatever you paid for.” The mare stated.

“You don’t understand, I had to pay for my son’s hospital bills! They charged an exorbitant rate that I barely kept up with! I had to pay with my auxiliary energy so that he wouldn’t die! Please, help me!” The stallion explained.

“Sir, no is no. If you beg one more time, I’m going to report you to the EPF.” The mare replied with an irritated tone. The stallion’s eyes widened as she walked away.

“Please, give me some of your energy!” The stallion shouted loudly. A nearby officer glanced over to the stallion, who grasped the hind leg of the mare he spoke with. The mare held her right front hoof up and glanced back at the stallion who grasped her leg. The officer ran over to the mare’s side.

“Is this stallion bothering you ma’am?” He asked in a strict tone.

“Yes officer. This stallion won’t leave me alone because he wants my energy.” She stated with a strict tone. The officer’s helmeted face looked down to the stallion on the ground.

“Sir, you realize that you are disturbing the peace around here, do you not?” He asked plainly.

“Please officer, give me some of your energy. Anything! I feel my implants already taking over my body out of hunger, please!” He pleaded.

“Sir, I’m afraid we have to take you off the streets. Can’t you see these people are busy trying to avoid your situation?” The officer said with disdain in his voice. The stallion aimed his horn towards the officer. The tip of his horn levitated off and charged with an electric current.

“Sorry, but I need that energy bad! You can’t take me awa-“As the stallion said this, the officer lifted his right front hoof and aimed it towards his face. A plasma bullet shot out of it and struck the stallion underneath his chin. The stallion fell onto the ground, knocked out. Spike, who observed the actions unfold before his eyes, shook his head.

“It seems like the situations haven’t changed much since I was last on these streets.” He said to himself.

“That’s one of the things that will never change it seems.” Celestia said as she approached Spike from behind. Spike sharply turned around with a wide-eyed expression.

“Are you going to tease me again, are you Celestia?” He said slightly defensively.

“Don’t be so hasty Spike. I did what I had to do.” Celestia replied. Spike took a deep breath and returned to his previous position.

“So, aren’t you supposed to be going after Twilight?” Spike asked. Celestia shook her head.

“The EPF is waiting outside of the complex as we speak. As you know, the Sunset Suicide Squad is the leading manufacturer of these implants you and I have. That also means they are the main suppliers of the energy we are given. If we do anything that would even slow them down, then all these ponies’ lives would worsen than how they are now.” Spike chuckled underneath his breath.

“That’s a fact I almost forgot. This entire city runs on all these biotech implants we are given. Those same implants are also what cause the world to be in such a bad shape. Ironic how life works, doesn’t it?” Spike asked with a sad smile. “I mean, I just saw one of your officers stun a stallion who desperately needed energy to go back home alive to his family. It doesn’t get any more messed up than that.” At the sound of these words, a crestfallen frown appeared on Celestia’s face.

“Even if I’m the commander, I don’t make the rules that the EPF holds in high regard. I only initialize the rules to be carried out. That authority belongs to the Supreme Cabinet, and it’s as crooked as you can imagine.” She stated. Spike shrugged his shoulders and scoffed.

“It’s all about the money it seems. They make rules that big businesses and such like and their pockets are lined up with gold and energy for years to come.” He mused out. Celestia smirked towards Spike’s direction.

“You seem to be well-knowledgeable in the ways society works. Why did you leave the Sunset Suicide Squad anyways? From what I know, you are a big shot in the gang and would have easily made it to the admin promotion if you wanted to.” She asked.

“I grew tired of everything. I grew tired of stepping over the lives of innocent ponies. I grew tired of corruption. All I wanted to do was to just live my life secluded from the rest of everypony else’s. So, I left and left Shimmer bound to life support just to make my point.” Spike explained with a fond smile. “Life can’t be that easy, especially since it was the first time I met Twilight.” Celestia chuckled at Spike’s words.

“I remember. Twilight explained to me about how she met a strange character and quickly befriended him. Then, I got a call about a disturbance that involved you afterwards.”

“You remembered correctly Celestia. If I had anything to say about Twilight, I’d have to say that she’s innocent. She’s innocent in mind and heart.” As Spike said this, he frowned. “A pony like her shouldn’t be in a world like this. She was better off being in a more natural world filled with sunshines and rainbows, not one wrapped in steel and desolation.” He turned his face towards Celestia’s face. “Do you honestly believe she was behind those crimes?” He asked.

“Truthfully, I do not. I know how Twilight is. She’s the kind of pony who would always the interests of others before her own interests. But, the Supreme Cabinet prioritized her arrest above all else. As somepony who took Twilight in from the slums, it hurts me to just to be one of the ponies who has to bring her to justice.” Celestia stated with a sad tone.

“And that’s why you aren’t present at the compound right now. You don’t want to face her tearful face when she is dragged out by the officers. For a commander, you can be quite pathetic.” Spike teased. Celestia stared daggers into his eyes.

“I still am a commander Spike. I could arrest you and easily make it look like you are guilty of the charges I will give you.” She threatened.

“Geez Celestia, take a chill pill. I was just joking. I know that if pomp comes to circumstance, you toughen up.” Spike stated. Celestia smiled at the words of Spike.

“I know that you know that Spike. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have committed any sort of crimes after you got out of the gang.” As she said this, the apparatus on her chest flickered red seven times. “It looks like I have to go now. I need to check up on the situation of the complex. You know, it was nice talking like this again with you.” She stated.

“Likewise. I hope we can do it again?” Spike asked. Celestia gave a simple nod before a yellow light enshrouded her horn. With a brilliant flash, Celestia disappeared from the area. Spike looked down upon his wrist at the black watch underneath. “It seems like it is almost time for me to play an important role in the story.” He stated as he began to walk down the street.

Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the door where the ponies were taken into. Her hooves still wobbled from the confrontation with Blurred Horizons. Her breathing cycled at an irregular rate. Nonetheless, she stood strong as she faced the hoof.

“There are ponies beyond this door. I can’t afford to let myself fall weak because of what happened, otherwise many more innocent lives would end up perishing. If Sunset Shimmer did find something amazing, then it must not lead to any good.” She thought to herself. She stepped into the door space, ready for what lies beyond.

Author's Note

The third chapter and stuff is already happening. Also, Why u all stop with the comments?!

Exploration

As soon as Twilight Sparkle stepped through the open door, her eyes came upon a brightly-lit hallway. The door behind her slammed shut. She softly walked down the corridor and craned her head around the corner. At that moment, she saw two robed figures walking down from a staircase. She gasped as she walked backwards towards the door. The door failed to open. She scanned left and right in a hurried panic. There was no obvious way of escape. She looked upwards and saw an open duct in the ceiling.

“Suspicious, but I have no other choice.” She whispered to herself. She charged towards the right wall and jumped towards it. Her hooves ran up on the white wall. With the momentum from the jump, she immediately kicked the wall and bounced off towards the duct in the ceiling. Her front hooves grasped the metal within the duct. With several grunts and upper body strength, Twilight Sparkle successfully lifted herself into it. She turned around and observed the two figures from the gap in the duct. When the two of them stood at the doorway, the figure on the left turned towards the figure to the right.

“So, now that we got our hosts taken care of, what would our next plan of operation be?” It asked.

“I’m going to have to refill on my energy. I’ve used my biotech skills for days on end. It’s the least I can do for myself.” The other robed figure stated. A bead of sweat dropped from Twilight Sparkle’s face down to the floor below. It splashed onto the ground with what was a roaring ocean within her head. On instinct, Twilight Sparkle silently crawled down the duct.

Beads of sweat dripped from her body as she crawled down the duct. The metal felt hot to the touch as the warm air beat against Twilight Sparkle’s face. With each inch traveled in distance, her speed slowed down to a slug’s pace. In what was a ray of light within the dark corridor, a grate of light appeared ahead on the ground. Twilight Sparkle smiled as she quickly crawled to the area.

In that moment, electric horns blared throughout the entire factory. Her eyes widened in realization of the noise. Wasting no time, she crawled down the duct at light speed. She stomped on the grate below her with her right hind leg, knocked it off its hinges and fell through the gap.

Twilight Sparkle landed on all four of her hooves. As her eyes peered the room, she noticed a blue-coated unicorn mare with a pale blue mane and tail who squirmed underneath three straps that tied her down to a gurney. Her screams were capped by the duct tape over her mouth and her mechanically-augmented left portion of her chest was connected to a sharp needle. Orange light traveled up the catheter the needle was connected to. Twilight Sparkle ran to the mare’s side and swiftly pulled the needle out with her right hoof. She then pulled the duct tape that covered the mare’s mouth.

“Ma’am, are you alright?” She asked. The mare, who lied still, inhaled a rapid series of deep breaths.

“I’m alright now thanks to you.” She shouted with a loss of breath. Twilight Sparkle undid the straps of her gurney with her hooves. The mare slowly hoisted herself upwards with her front hooves and support. She stopped for a moment as her ears stood up. “What’s that noise?”

“I believe I may have set off an alarm. You should try to leave this place while it is in chaos right now. Don’t look back and don’t hesitate to be discreet!” Twilight Sparkle directed. The mare nodded with a smile.

“Thank you for saving my live Miss. It’s not any day when somepony just saves your life.” She ran towards the door way and swerved left. Twilight Sparkle stood there for a moment with a bright smile on her face. She dashed down towards the doorway and took the right.

She rushed down the hallway with breakneck speed. The Flashing lights that danced within the darkness distorted the path downwards. In the chaos of everything, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes picked up upon series of doors embedded into the walls. Out of curiosity, she stopped in her tracks and walked towards the door. The door lifted itself upwards. Twilight Sparkle blinked. Then, she shrugged her shoulders.

"I have the strangest feeling that I'm walking into another trap."

Unlike the rest of the building, this room was eerily quiet. No lights flashed anywhere, which left the entire area completely dark. The door dropped with a loud dud. Twilight Sparkle jolted forward. As she walked forward, her breaths deepened and her legs trembled greatly. A foreboding chill tightened around her spine the further she traveled into the room. After a few meters traveled, her nose bumped against a round object on the wall. A loud sound whirred in the room. Twilight Sparkle smiled as the dark atmosphere became illuminated with light.

“Perfect, now I can see what is in thi-“She turned around and stopped in her words; within the room was a giant machine with a purple-veined worm sticking out on top of it. It had no eyes, unmeasurable amounts of teeth that can gnash the toughest known substances to dust all wrapped within pale blue skin. Attached to the machine were multitudes of catheters attached to various pony corpses on gurneys.

“What is this… thing?!” Twilight Sparkle shouted out. Her hooves trembled as the corpses on the gurneys slowly shriveled as orange energy leaked into the machine. With slight hesitation, she lifted her left front hoof towards the worm-like being. With her right hoof, she pressed a combination of buttons on her hoof. Several hologram screens came up. Just as she was about to touch her screen, the door to the room opened up. Three earth pony stallions of various shades of yellow burst through the doorway with their eyes throwing daggers towards Twilight Sparkle.

“That’s her! She’s the one that killed Blurred Horizon!” The central-most stallion shouted. Twilight Sparkle’s hooves dropped as she jolted her head back in shock.

“What’s she doing in here!?” The stallion to the right shouted.

“I don’t know, but she’s been large trouble. Get her!” The stallion to the left ordered. Twilight Sparkle slid her holographic screens above her gauntlet to the right and imputed several key commands on her hoof. All three stallions stopped in their tracks and shouted with pain echoing in their voices. After several seconds, all three of them slumped onto the ground.

Twilight Sparkle exhaled a sigh of relief as she looked back towards the monstrous worm. From its mouth erupted a monstrous sound that shook the entire foundation of the room. Twilight Sparkle cringed and covered her ears with her hooves from the sheer force of the roar. Within the mouth of the worm, a spark of electricity channeled within. A virulent stream released itself and homed in on the pony before it. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes widened as she rolled out of the way of the attack. The lightning struck the ground and electrified the air around.

“Whatever this thing is, it’s definitely evil. I got to find a way to exterminate it, but how?” Her eyes drifted over to the control panel on the machine that hosted the creature. It has an active screen complete with what appeared to be a complete biological display of the creature. The cogs within Twilight Sparkle’s brain turned rapidly at the sight of the clue.

The creature shot another wave of electricity that zoomed in towards her. Twilight Sparkle jumped off of her right hind leg to the left and narrowly dodged a large portion of the strike. A tingling sensation crept up her leg. Then, her entire vision filled with static. She squealed as the electricity stopped all feelings in her nerves. The monstrous worm began to charge the electricity in its mouth once more.

Twilight Sparkle slumped over with a hopeless frown painted on her face. It was at that moment when another thought sparked inside of her head. Fighting against the paralysis, she slowly stood on all four legs. She shut her eyes as hard as possible. Strain was visible on her face as light contorted around her horn. As the worm fired the electricity in its maw, the electricity redirected itself into Twilight Sparkle’s horn and absorbed it. Twilight Sparkle’s eyes narrowed underneath intense pressure.

“Got to… not let it… go past my horn…” She stuttered out as the electrical energy fought against her own magical energies for dominance over her body. With a single loud roar, she conducted all of the electricity absorbed into the tip of her horn and discharged it within a single beam. The beam struck the creature with a loud boom. Twilight Sparkle took in several exhausted breaths as the creature roared out in pain.

She limped over to the machine as quickly as possible and placed her left hoof on the screen. A hologram came up above her hoof that detailed extensive coding. She tapped a series of buttons on it. After several seconds have passed, the screens from both her gauntlet and on the machine suddenly deactivated. The worm creature that roared slumped over lifelessly. Twilight Sparkle wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

“That was… too close… for comfort.” She said between gasps. “Still, what’s a thing like this doing here? This is probably what Spike was talking about.” She lifted her left hoof above to her face and pressed a single button on it. She scrolled through the series of screens that appeared until an icon with a camera appeared. Tapping the screen, Twilight Sparkle’s eyes suddenly flashed in a digitalized green. Within her vision were numbers and different settings, as if her eyes were a camera. She set her sights onto the worm. “How do I take a picture?” Suddenly, a green bar appeared in her vision along with a percentile number. As the number reached ‘100’ and the bar filled up, her eyes filled with a flash of pure white.

She stumbled backwards in surprise. Her vision filled with black spots that softened over the seconds. As her vision was restored completely, an image of the worm appeared as a hologram screen before her face. She placed her hoof onto the screen and physically moved it into her left hoof.

“That’s a weird feature Spike gave me. It works, but for Pete’s sake that nearly blinded me.” She grated out, walking out of the room.

The gate outside the complex was swarmed with various officers, bot and other forms of security. Celestia stood directly in front of the gate with her eyes focused on the building. She stood there, ready to move at any moment. After minutes upon minutes of waiting, her eyes led towards a blue unicorn mare who ran panicked outside of the building.

“Mares and stallions, on your guard!” Celestia shouted as the mare ran over towards the gate. The mare breathed heavily as her mouth gleefully smiled at the sight before her.

“You came! You came! Thank goodness you came!” She happily shouted behind the gate.

“What seems to be the problem Miss?” Celestia asked.

“I was hooked up to some kind of strange machine through some tubes and other things. I couldn’t move nor scream as I had my energy sapped right out of me. I was scared… I thought I was going to die on that table.” The mare’s eyes immediately filled with tears. Celestia eyed her with a confused look.

“With something like being bound and gagged, how did you manage to get out of your predicament?”

“A kind unicorn mare came from the ceiling and saved me. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t make it out of here!” At the joyful words of the mare, a hopeful smile etched onto her face. Thrusting her right front hoof into the fence, Celestia broke a bar on the gate. She bent the surrounding bars around it until a sizeable gap was formed. The mare hopped through the gap as quickly as possible.

“My officers will escort you home Miss. You’ve had a rough evening.” At these words, the mare rushed towards the backseat of the nearest metal carriage. A group of three officers from the squadron followed the mare to the carriage. The carriage lifted itself up and drove off into the distance. Celestia eyed back towards her officers with a stern look on her face. “It seems that the matter at hand has become complicated. I’m going to have to go inside to see if there are any more hostages. I want each of you to remain here and keep a vigilant eye out for the criminal. Is that clear?!”

“Yes ma’am!” All the officers shouted in unison. Celestia nodded and went through the bars. As she progressed through the door, she heard a familiar voice call out towards her.

“It’s dangerous to go alone. You might need me.” She turned her head to her left and saw Spike, whose trench coat was covered in several types of filth. Spike shook himself free of the grasp of the dirt that clung onto him.

“I didn’t expect to see you here Spike.” Celestia stated with a mix of joy and annoyance. Spike eyed the watch on his wrist.

“The place is under high alert, one heartbeat had completely fallen off the map and Twilight’s heartbeat became dangerously unstable at certain times.” He walked towards Celestia with a large grin on his face. “If she barely made it through so far, how would you fare?”

“Very well I would imagine. After all, I’m definitely more powerful than she is.” Celestia responded with an assured voice.

“Is that why you allowed yourself to be stunned through Twilight’s expert hacking skills?”

“Shut up.” She shot down. “But, I suppose you are right. If I had one with your skills and experience by my side, I would feel more secure when going through some place such as this.” Spike walked over towards the cyber-lock. He thrust his claws through the retinal scanner. Green 0s and 1s uploaded from his claws into the scanner. Several clicks and other noises behind the door mobilized. After a few seconds, the door cracked open.

“Ladies first.” Spike smugly stated. Celestia rolled her eyes and walked through the door. Spike slowly followed behind her.

“Please don’t die on us before we reach you, Twilight.”

Twilight Sparkle limped down the main corridor. Her right hind leg was all but with motion and looked as if it can fall off of her body at any time. Her mane had several char marks and her left eye was black and swollen. She weakly lifted her left hoof to her right hoof and tapped on buttons from there. Five images of limp worm-like creatures flew to her face along with more images of screens that detailed concise wording.

“What is up with this place? I barely beat my way through several more security guards and encountered five more of those disgusting worms. On top of that, I haven’t seen any more of the hostages in this building. Could they all have had their energy drained that quickly?”

As she continued down the hallway, a stairwell that led deep underground eventually came in her line of sights. “Regardless of what happened, this looks like the last area in the facility. This must be where Sunset Shimmer resides.” A pained smile curled on her face. “It’s time to confront my offender.”

Author's Note

The second to last major chapter of the fic. What horrors lie before Twilight? Will Celestia and Spike reach her in time?

Showdown

Twilight Sparkle walked down the seemingly endless stairwell. She was completely enshrouded in darkness. Finally, what appeared to be a light shone itself across the horizon of the steps. Twilight Sparkle mustered as much strength as she could and sprinted down the stairs.

Beyond the light was a world foreign to her eyes; rather than the neon lights and cybernetic lines she grew up with, brown gears and crystalline pods took their place along the walls. Though the area was large, only a catwalk that led to a circular platform existed as the only flooring. The space beyond the floor was pure darkness. The platform itself was as wide as the building she called home.

“I’ve been expecting you for some time Twilight Sparkle.” A voice echoed through the area. Twilight Sparkle focused her vision forward. In the center of the platform was what resembled the form of a pony, heavily augmented of machinery upon machinery. The only certain way to tell that it was a pony was that the left half of the face was fleshed out in a vermillion coat and an ice blue eye. The machinery looked as if it rendered its host immobile. Twilight Sparkle cautiously approached the center where the being was.

“…Is that you Sunset Shimmer?” She asked in a mix of horror and curiosity. Sunset Shimmer revealed an unnerving smile with both the biological half and the mechanical half of her face.

“The one and only! Do you like what you see here?” Her voice was half biological, but half mechanical.

“To be blunt, no I don’t. You look like some kind of mechanical abomination that needs to be put out of its misery.” Twilight Sparkle sharply chided. Sunset Shimmer stared daggers towards her.

“You better watch what you are saying, Twilight Sparkle! You only made it here in once piece because I wanted you to come here. Give me one more witty remark like that and I’ll have you dead on the spot!”

Twilight Sparkle scoffed.

“Why was it that you went through all the lengths of framing me for one of your crimes? Why do you even want me here?” Sunset Shimmer smiled once more.

“Because Twilight, you are the best student that the NUTA has to offer. You’ve cracked and hacked your way through firewalls that master hackers would even dream to go for. You have such a tasty talent for keeping a monopoly on technology. Instead, you waste your talent with making a program that would make limitless energy possible?”

“That’s right. You may not realize it, but all this technology we are implanted with cost me the lives of my parents. I lost my parents and childhood because their cybernetics ate them from the inside out. I wanted to make sure that this fate wouldn’t happen to any other ponies, so it is not a waste of talent.” Twilight Sparkle reasoned. Sunset Shimmer shook her head in disappointment.

“Silly, naïve Twilight Sparkle… you can’t build up a successful society like now without the cost of lives to found it upon. Those that died deserve to die because they were weak. This is Survival of the Fittest at its finest. Without that, we’d only be letting weaklings into our society, which will eventually devastate it. With everything I have put you through Twilight, you have proven yourself to have what it takes to do everything for survival.”

“What do you mean by that? I’m not some sick freak like you are, Sunset!” Twilight Sparkle retorted.

“Oh, are you not? Well tell me how you didn’t crawl through those waterfalls of feces, how you killed Blurred Horizons, or how you didn’t even stop to help that mare that was being beaten. The truth is that as long as you have a goal in your mind, you’ll stoop to even the lowest of levels just to complete them. In that way, you and I are alike.” Sunset Shimmer reasoned. “For those reasons, I’ll cut you a deal Twilight.”

“What deal do you have in mind, Sunset? The one where you will turn yourself in to justice and stop all this mess? I know what you’ve been doing. You’ve found bioweapons that will undoubtedly give you control over all of Neighpon. You’ve been kidnapping ponies and were harvesting their energy to fuel those disgusting aliens. The only problem in your plan was framing me in the first place!” Twilight Sparkle shouted out. Sunset Shimmer unearthed a hollow, malicious tone of laughter in her voice.

“You act as if I didn’t do so already. Who do you think was the one who made all those implants that are used in everyday life?” As these words seeped into Twilight Sparkle’s mind, her eyes widened in realization and a shocked gasp escaped her mouth.

“You mean… these implants on everypony, all this technological advancement and current society was because of you?”

“Now you’re getting it. You should have seen how life was like before I discovered cybernetics a long time ago; ponies were getting weak and sick, nopony had enough power to get work done quickly on time and we stagnated as a society. It was through careful research as well as the discovery of a meteor with alien metals that I was able to mold today’s society.” Sunset Shimmer revealed.

“Now things aren’t adding up here, Sunset. Just how did you do all of this and remain unknown in society? I’m pretty sure that ponies aren’t daft enough to not notice a meteor landing nearby.” Twilight Sparkle questioned.

“That’s where the Neighpon University for Technological Advancement comes in. All I did was just throw the money and the supplies as an anonymous patron. They built that school and popularized the implants. Now, life has gotten better for everypony in Neo Neighpon. The strong survive and the weak die off.” Sunset Shimmer proudly stated. “Now, it’s time to get back to the topic at hand. You are in trouble with the law and I’m friends with the law. If you join my side as my protégé Twilight, I’ll be sure to wipe your criminal record and you can enjoy your life serving for the greater good.”

Twilight Sparkle looked directly into the eye of Sunset Shimmer. It flashed with ominous honesty. She looked around as an imaginary lump set its place inside her throat. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and unveiled the angry whites of her eyes.

“I’ll never join up with somepony as twisted as you are, Sunset. I don’t care if you’re the military dictator of the entire planet, your version of a Utopia is sick. Society shouldn’t be where ponies fend for themselves, it should be where each individual life matters and we work together to achieve a common goal.”

“While I do like how you have ideals, I’m afraid that they can never happen. For a society like that to exist, everypony must be able to pull their weight. In your society, ponies that can’t, live off of ponies that do their share. This is why I hated those ideals and you clearly rejected my proposal. So, I guess the only thing left for you to do is to die!” At these words, the entire area shook with a large rumble.

Spike and Celestia walked down a long hallway in the complex. During that time, the entire area heavily shook. The two of them braced their bodies and hugged the walls.

“That can’t be a good sign.” Spike said with a concerned tone.

“We have to hurry. For all we know, Twilight could be getting mauled.” The moment these words passed Celestia’s mouth, a feminine voice echoed from above.

“Why should you be concerned with her when you have your own lives to worry about right now?” From the ceiling above, two robed figures dropped onto the ground and flicked off their hoods. Under the cloaks was an aqua-coated unicorn stallion with lilac eyes and a twist-style yellow mane and tail. To his left was a rose-coated pegasus mare with red eyes and a curled purple mane and tail.

“You know, that Twilight has caused a mess of things around here. Since you’re looking for her, you’re looking for trouble.” He replied. The stallion’s entire right hoof was a white prong with electricity bursting at the end. The mare’s hind legs looked as if they were turbines in bendable leg form. Spike glared at the two ponies before him.

“Well if it isn’t White Sound and his partner in crime Rose Thorn. I hear the industry’s been booming. Mind filling me in on what had happened?”

Rose Thorn maliciously giggled.

“Well if it isn’t Spike the Deserter! Sunset Shimmer has made you on the top of her hit list after you practically forced her onto life support. How’s life at the outskirts doing for you?” White Noise glanced over towards Celestia, whose stare bore into the center of his eyes.

“Fancy meeting you here princess! Remember me?” Celestia scoffed.

“The only thing I remember were those shocks you gave to your victims you vampire. The two of you have never been captured despite your staggering criminal records. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this since forever.” White Noise laughed as he held his prong hoof to his face. At the end, the prong sparked with life.

“They don’t call me White Noise for nothing. Let my sounds bring you into a deep sleep that you will never wake out of.”

“So it looks like it is a classic 2v2? Fine by me, I’ve never doing dirty work by myself anyways.” Rose Thorn stated with a bored expression. Her turbine legs suddenly covered themselves with sharp spikes.

The apparatus on Celestia’s chest projected a hologram of a blue beam sword shaped like a rapier. The beam rapier materialized and levitated itself towards her hoof.

With a growl, Spike held out his claws. The implants within them flashed for a brief second before they grew six times their sizes.

“Life or death, I am prepared for any outcome. I just hope you are prepared for death.” He stated. All four combatants dashed towards each other.

The walls within the depths of the complex shook so hard that some of the pods on the walls fell down into the dark abyss. Twilight Sparkle backed slightly and looked around the entire area with her mouth opened in fear. Sunset Shimmer smiled at the despair of the pony in front of her.

“Your fear amuses me Twilight Sparkle. How can somepony who has proven herself to be as tough as nails be so scared of a little rumble?” She stated while the floor she was on lowered itself into the abyss. “Maybe you aren’t as tough as your actions say you are. That means you don’t belong in my Utopia!”

In that instant, a mechanical spider about a fourth the size of the room jumped from the abyss below onto the platform. It was coated in green-caramel-colored armor and had several whirring gears, glass pods and a black mass of machinery on its back that resembled Sunset Shimmer. It had no eyes but its fangs looked sharp enough to cut through a single hair within the wind. Its legs were lined up with light blue arrows that transitioned upwards to its joints.

“A Mechanized Assault Spider Unit MKIII? Are you mad, Sunset Shimmer?!” Twilight Sparkle shouted.

“So you know your military technology as well! The instructors have taught you well. As for your question, this does not make me mad. This may seem like overkill, but with my current physical circumstances, I cannot resort to other methods of eliminating you.” From the walls within the area, giant arms made from scrap metal descended down towards Twilight Sparkle. “Invoking mechanical arms to make you easy prey for me does make me mad however.”

The mechanical spider opened its gaping maw and revealed a set of eighteen holes. From each of the holes, red missiles surfaced and launched into the air. They homed in onto Twilight Sparkle and flew towards her. The mechanical arms within the room dove towards the mare on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle’s teeth were clenched and her ears stood up in surprise. She ran across the room, sweating as the volley of missiles and arms pecked at her. One missile flew faster than the others and sped towards her direction. She looked back with her mouth agape. Sunset Shimmer smiled as the missile was a foot away from contact. Twilight Sparkle’s mouth turned from being open to a cocky grin.

“Looks like you forgot one thing about how these heat-seeking missiles work Sunset.” She stated as she jumped into the air with a backflip and landed on the missile behind her. Several screens came up on her left hoof. After seconds of extensive sliding and button combinations, the red missile had its color changed into a dark sapphire color. Both Twilight Sparkle and the missile flew up to the ceiling towards the cluster unit of the mechanical arms.

“What are you trying to do, Twilight Sparkle? Can’t you see that you will be captured by my arms?” Sunset Shimmer questioned assuredly but with a hint of disbelief. As soon as the hijacked missile was in a close enough range, Twilight Sparkle grinned and let go, dropping down into the volley of missiles. She galloped down each individual missile, jumping from one to the other.

The hijacked missile collided into the arms with a fiery explosion. The rest of the missiles homed in onto the explosion and generated massive explosions that broke off all the arms on the room from the connecting joint. Sunset Shimmer screamed heavily in pain and the mechanical spider strongly shook. Twilight Sparkle landed on the ground on all fours, avoiding any sort of damage on her.

“Your mistake was underestimating my knowledge on the weaponry of your spider. Heat-seeking missiles may be effective, but the explosive warhead lies at the tip of the missile while their sheer size means that somepony with decent athleticism is able to jump onto it. I merely hacked into the targeting system and aimed it towards the arms above. Not only did I remove one of your major weapons, but from the look of things, that seemed like it hurt you badly.” Sunset Shimmer seethed with anger as her mechanical body sparked.

“You’ll pay for that, Twilight Sparkle! Mark my words!”

Rose Thorn launched her right hind leg towards Celestia’s direction, who barely parried the blow and thrust forward. Jumping into the air, she flipped and threw her left hind leg downwards. Celestia jumped back a few frames before the collision. A giant crater emerged from the impact of her leg.

White Noise rotated his prong hoof around clockwise and created a ring of electricity around it. With a single thrust of the prong, the ring blasted towards Spike’s direction. Spike slashed the ring of electricity with his claws and broke it in half. White Noise smiled.

“Well, I’m glad that your skills have not atrophied Spike. It would have been boring if they had.”

“Just because I became reclusive doesn’t mean that I neglect training my body and mind.” Spike dashed forwards with his right set of claws motioning in a stabbing position. The tip of White Noise’s prong sparked with electricity. White Noise dashed towards Spike with his prong aiming towards his center. Spike shifted towards his left and swung his right leg towards White Noise.

“You’re going to have to do better than that Spike.” White Noise stated haughtily, shifting the direction of the prong towards Spike’s knee. Upon the prong striking his joint, Spike’s eyes lit up in burning pain. Thousands of yelps were trying to escape his throat. “Didn’t like that, did you? Implants, powerful in their own right, tend to be vulnerable and vital to the body. Just a good strike there would put somepony in a coma.”

“You… forgot one thing…” Spike grunted through his pain. The struck apparatus on his knee changed into a red color. Turing into a slightly darker color, his leg felt completely limp. “I can individually turn off my limbs and turn them into insulators.” Opening his palm, he then slashed White Noise’s prong, chipping off the electrical tip. Clenching his teeth, White Noise’s eyes jolted open in pain.

“White Noise!” Rose Thorn shouted in concern while she was kicking Celestia. A rapier passed just by her head.

“You’ll have to worry about your own life before you can worry about your partner’s.” Celestia stated in a serious tone. Rose Thorn curled her eyebrows and jumped into the air, roundhouse kicking Celestia across her face.

White Noise looked at the sparking nub at what used to be his prong. He looked up towards Spike, who had a confident smile on his face. His right leg was awkwardly arched, but he still stood perfectly on his left leg.

“It looks like it is game over for you. I just disarmed you.” White Noise looked up towards Spike, a sadistic grin forming on his face.

“Just because you got rid of my prongs doesn’t mean that you ‘disarmed’ me. No, all you did was just open the gates into a true hell.” Suddenly, the nub of the prong sparked intensely. He aimed the nub towards Spike. From within it, a stream of electricity fired out towards its aimed direction. With no time to react, the electricity struck Spike in the chest, knocking him back into a wall.

Celestia looked back within a split second, distracted by the sudden noise. As she turned her head forward, her jaw met the force of a thousand rampaging rhinos. The spiked edge of Rose Thorn’s leg chucked Celestia into the air. Squatting, Rose Thorn jumped an impressive distance into the air. Above Celestia’s head level, she vertically swung her leg onto Celestia’s head. Celestia’s jaw dropped from the impact and her eyes jolted open, falling down towards the ground at breakneck speed.

“So, what was that about worrying about your own life before worrying about the lives of others?” Rose Thorn jeered. Celestia grunted lowly with her teeth clenching in pain. She slowly moved her head upwards.

Pulling himself out of the wall, Spike’s sight slowly cleared up. White Noise dashed towards him with his busted prong. With quick reflexes, Spike grasped the broken wall and sprung off of it, causing White Noise to miss him. He landed on his feet and turned around.

“How are you still in a condition to fight when I practically clawed off your hoof?” White Noise condescendingly closed his eyes and shrugged.

“I guess that I can’t keep it a secret no more. This isn’t really an implant. Rather, it’s an artificial limb that takes the place of my severed right front leg. Technology can be an amazing thing.” Spike narrowed his eyes, his sight burrowing into his opponent’s eyes.

“Cool stuff. It’s a shame that I’ll just have to tear off your other front leg then!” He shouted, leaping into the air on his good leg and aiming his left claw down towards White Noise’s left shoulder. White Noise smirked and pulled out his sparking prong and aimed it towards Spike’s left elbow. With a powerful surge, another stream of electricity shot out and hit its target. Spike’s eyes widened the moment that the burning pain struck his elbow. His entire left arm darkened and the apparatus on it turned a red color. He landed on his left foot and his right knee.

“Fufufu Spike, that’s two limbs out of commission for now. I’ll make it four for four next.” With a gleeful smile, White Noise’s horn became enshrouded in a soft white light. In that moment, he vanished from plain sight.

"Where did he..." As these words passed through his mind, he suddenly felt a powerful swing strike his jaw. "Invisibility... that's clever." In that moment, the color of Spike’s eyes changed from an emerald color to a stylized red color. Through his sight, the entire room was slightly yellow with heat. Then, he detected a sudden surge of dark orange to light red heading towards his way. As the energy mass neared him, he jumped over it and, with his left leg, kicked it back. He smiled victoriously until a chilling voice whispered right next to his right ear.

“That’s a nice trick I did there, wasn’t it?” Immediately, he jolted back and slashed towards that direction.

“Where are you, White Noise?!” He shouted loudly. In that moment, the appearance of White Noise had suddenly phased into existence behind him.

“I’m over here.” He stated, taking his prong and sticking it into Spike’s right elbow. Spike had no time to scream as he felt his legs being tugged at. He suddenly fell onto the ground with a large thud. As he attempted to lift his left leg, a sensation of burning needles poked into his left knee. He sealed his throat as hard as possible, preventing any screams from leaving.

His remaining limbs have darkened and his last apparatuses turned red. White Noise hopped onto his chest with his sparking hoof aimed towards Spike’s face. “It appears that this is the end of our confrontation. Though, I’m generous enough to let my former friend speak his final words before I send him off towards a deep sleep. Choose your next words wisely.”

Spike looked around the hall. His eyes witnessed Celestia barely keeping up with Rose Thorn’s speed, parrying many blows with her rapier and having her chest and legs struck by other blows. He looked up towards the face of White Noise. A sudden burst of laughter emerged from his chest.

“You know what, White Noise? You may think that you have won against me, but I believe that you have just lost this skirmish.” White Noise narrowed his eyes.

“What is this loss you speak of? If I am correct, then you can’t move your limbs, I’m far away enough from your head to avoid any sorts of headbutts and bites, and my associate is keeping your partner busy. If anything, I have the most advantageous position over you. You can’t move and you can’t attack me.” At these words, Spike grinned.

“That’s what you would like to think now, would it? Didn’t you forget exactly what I am?”

“You are a dragon, but what does this have to do wi-“Just as these words passed through his mouth, White Noise’s eyes widened. It was then when he saw fire building up within the depths of Spike’s mouth. He moved his legs, but his hooves were practically glued onto Spike’s chest. “What kind of trickery is this?!” He shouted.

“Electro-magnetism app. Never leave home without it.” Spike’s words were engulfed within the fires of his mouth. The pressure built up rapidly until he couldn’t hold it in anymore. Opening his maw, a stream of fire let loose from his mouth. Cloaked in biting flames, White Noise started screaming to the top of his lung. His hooves detached from Spike’s body and he ran around the hallway, rolling around the floor as quickly and often as he could.

“IT BURNS! PLEASE, STOP THE BURNS!” He shouted loudly. With each passing second, his flesh slowly burned away. Eventually, the shock of pain proved itself to be too great for him. The flames eating away what remained, the figure that was White Noise slumped over and burned into cinders.

Rose Thorn, who looked towards the body, had her mouth and eyes widened as large as possible. In her lack of focus, she felt a pointed object pierce through her cheek and into her mouth. She glanced over to a badly beaten and bruised Celestia, whose eyes contained an indignant stare directed towards her. Rose Thorn’s eyes were dull and listless.

“Go ahead, cut me and end my life. All this fighting is meaningless if I can’t do it without my friend.” At these words, Celestia smiled and pulled back her blade as swiftly as possible. Rose Thorn suddenly fired up with a molten expression on her face. She kicked Celestia across her face with her spiked right hind leg and knocked her into the wall. Getting out of the wall, Celestia’s eyes drifted towards her attacker.

“I thought you surrendered…”

“I thought you were going to give me a dignified end. It looks like we can’t have things our own way, now does it?” Rose Thorn shouted, stomping Celestia’s body on the ground with her right hind leg. “Get. Up. And. Kill. Me. Now!” The stomping stopped after ten seconds, but it felt as if it went for ten minutes straight for Celestia. Celestia breathed heavily as she got up, looking towards Rose Thorn’s face, whose eyes were shut and mouth was curled into a somber frown.

“Rose Thorn… do you really want to die?” She asked.

“You don’t know how much I’ve been through, Commander Celestia. I used to be a successful model and had everything I could have possibly wanted. But… eventually, everypony lost interest in me because cybernetic hind legs were out. They all wanted cybernetic chests, which was something that my body would always reject. I was fired from my work and had no other place to go but into the criminal underworld to make ends meet. It felt… empty.” Rose Thorn revealed.

“But… why do you continue with your criminal actions if you felt empty?”

“Because… I met him.” She stated as she pointed towards the smoldering ash that was White Noise. “Unlike others, he saw my internal beauty. He didn’t look at me lustfully like how your friend was doing right now.”

“I resent that!” Spike interrupted. “I was… uhh… merely looking out for Celestia.”

“Yeah, right.” Rose Thorn snidely replied. “White Noise appreciated my mind, my personality and my killer instinct. He gave me a reason to live. Now that he’s gone before I could be gone, I don’t see why I should continue living. Ponies will treat me like how I was treated in the modelling industry; just another pretty face before I start being crap in their eyes. I could kill those ponies, but what is the point of doing that?” Celestia looked into the eyes of Rose Thorn, who looked as if she was holding back tears.

“She’s a criminal and speaks as if she was a killing machine, but her eyes tell a different story. She’s just as equine as anypony else underneath that stoic exterior. Must I really kill her…?” She closed her eyes and exhaled a sigh. She opened them somberly. “If you wish to die Rose Thorn, then I shall not hesitate to bring that upon you.” Walking up to Rose Thorn, Celestia held out her rapier. Her hoof shook rapidly as she aimed it directly towards her face. She shut her eyes and thrust her blade into Rose Thorn’s skull.

“Thank you… Celestia. Thank you for liberating me from this world of suffering.” Rose Thorn flatly stated with a smile curling on her face. Her stance began to weaken. Celestia pulled her rapier out of Rose Thorn’s head. Rose Thorn slumped over onto the ground, next to the ashes that are White Noise. Celestia solemnly walked towards Spike, who lied down on his back.

“Are you going to be able to get up, Spike?”

“Just… give me a minute. These apparatuses will soon bring life into my limbs. In the meantime, you got to go to Twilight. Who knows what kind of trouble she is in right now?” With a nod, Celestia sprinted down the hallway. Spike lied down on the ground, next to White Noise’s ashes and Rose Thorn’s body. A frown appeared on his face.

With a jolt of electricity passing through her, a smile cracked on Sunset Shimmer’s face.

“It seems as if two more of my people met their demise. It’s no doubt your favorite duo, Celestia and Spike.”

“Then why are you smiling about it? Shouldn’t you be sad that two ponies under you had just perished?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“If they died, then they were weak. They were weak and sniveling fools who could not handle their opponents. Why should I care if they die? If I were you, I’d be more concerned with the pony before you right now.”

With these words passing through Sunset Shimmer’s mouth, the mechanical spider lifted the fangs covering a portion of its mouth and directed them towards Twilight Sparkle. Showers of sparks rained from the tips as an electrical beam shot towards Twilight Sparkle’s direction. Twilight Sparkle jumped over and across the beam before another one fired from a different tip. She yelped as the beam struck her square in the chest.

Before her eyes was a conflagration of static and various errors signs in a red color. An unintelligible noise escaped from her mouth.

“What was that? Mechanized Assault Spiders don’t have dual electrical lasers, and they shouldn’t be capable of having those kinds of upgrades.” The mechanical spider opened up its maw beyond the missile silo. Within it was a silver meteor that was large in size and sparkled in eternal light.

“This meteor is home to incredible power; not only did it form the implants such as the one on your hoof, but it is also organic in the sense that it continuously grows. With the power that emanates from it, I was able to upgrade this particular Assault Spider beyond an MKIII model. Now, I’m afraid it is time for you to die, Twilight Sparkle!” Energy warped around the fangs of the spider.

Twilight Sparkle shut her eyes as tightly as possible and waited for the grip of death to catch her. It passed a few seconds, but she felt nothing. When her eyes opened, she gasped in shock; before her face, Celestia held out her rapier and absorbed the energy directed towards her.

“Celestia!” Twilight Sparkle screamed out joyfully. The concentrated energy within the rapier fired towards the mechanical spider. The fangs of the mechanical titan were blasted off by the beam.

“Do not thank me yet, Twilight. I’m glad that I made it just in time to save you from Sunset Shimmer.” She stated. The mechanical spider metal whirred with tortured noises.

“Celestia… How long has it been since we last met face to face?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“Long enough to not know that you were working behind the government’s back when the EPF after we cut a deal with you all.”

“Wait a second, what deal?” Twilight Sparkle questioned. Celestia sighed with a heavy tone. Sunset Shimmer cackled loudly.

“It was the deal where, as long as I provide all of my information to the EPF, my ponies get away scot-free with their crimes involving biotech. It was quite a prosperous deal for the both of us, wasn’t it?”

“Except that you clearly hid research from the EPF surrounding the mystery of the implant technology. Plus, that mare who successfully got out of the complex was held hostage to your cruel machinations. That was not a part of the deal and you have crossed the line.” Celestia vehemently opposed.

“You know Celestia, you may have power within the EPF, but the council’s not going to believe you. What you are suggesting means taking out one of their biggest patrons just to fulfill your own virtues. In fact, I can make it look like you were defending a criminal while I was taking care of her on my own. Neo Neighpon’s ponies would look at me as a mysterious savior who took out not one, but two criminals.” Sunset Shimmer’s words slowly seeped into Twilight Sparkle’s psyche until realization struck her in the form of a neurological impulse.

“I don’t care if I am branded as a criminal for becoming a renegade; you hurt innocent ponies and blamed it on my beloved Twilight! You will not get away for these actions.” She stood in awe and bated breath as Celestia stood up for her. Courage filled up within her soul and life sparked within her eyes.

“I don’t care if I am branded as a criminal. If Celestia can be strong enough to accept that fate, then so can I.” The words that came from Twilight Sparkle’s mouth sparked a mechanically monstrous laughter from Sunset Shimmer.

“You act as if the two of you will get out of here alive! It’s so funny that it is pitiful! Just give up and lose hope. You two will die here!” She shouted, rearing back one of the sharp legs of her mech. Just as she jabbed forward, another surge of electricity wreathed around her. She winced and screamed in pain. From the stairs, Spike ran down onto the battlefield with all feeling back in his limbs.

“I hope I’m not late for the party.” He stated as he joined up with the group. Through her pain, Sunset Shimmer looked down upon Spike with a gnarling smile.

“It’s so good to see you again Spike. You know, I’ve enjoyed the parting gift that you gave me long ago.”

“You mean that computer virus that attacked your biological systems? I’m surprised you are still alive after that. It was my greatest creation… and my biggest downfall.” Spike stated with a voice pregnant with regret.

“At first, I cursed your name out for the first few days as my biological body slowly disintegrated away from it. However, thanks to you, I was able to gain this form you see here, allowing me to take my position as a literal goddess of technology. All it took was eighty-six percent of my physical body decaying away.”

“So is that why you look so disgusting, Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight Sparkle snidely remarked.

“I may look disgusting to you Twilight Sparkle, but that’s because you are more biological than you are a machine like Spike and Celestia. Clearly, you three have not resigned to the urges of your biotech. Now, kneel before a true mechanized goddess!” Sunset Shimmer responded haughtily.

“Kneel before this instead.” Spike stated as he pulled out a blue hand cannon with a sharp spike protruding out of the hole. The spike blasted out of the gun and aimed directly towards Sunset Shimmer’s fleshy cheek. With red 0s and 1s pumping into her, Sunset Shimmer screamed at the top of her voice. “That is a special virus that amplifies the effects of other viruses currently in your system. I designed it just in case this day would come.”

“You… you disgusting biological-loving creature! I was supposed to have led this world into a glorious age of technology! I’ll… I’ll kill all of you ponies one daaaaayyyyyy!!!!!” She screamed as her remaining flesh disintegrated into bone before it disappeared as well. Her mechanical body slumped over and the mechanical spider shut down.

“It’s… it’s over…” Twilight Sparkle worded out in awe.

“It’s far from over Twi. In fact, we may have worsened the current situation at hand.” Spike stated. “Sunset Shimmer wasn’t kidding when she said that the economy of the world depended on her. With her out of the picture, the entire world is going to be facing an economic crisis. This world is going to develop into a hell, and the three of us are going to be blamed for it.”

“There’s no other choice but to run away. Unfortunately, our implants are easily traceable by the EPF. There’s no way we can run forever.” Celestia said in a lower tone.

“Then we’ll just have to get rid of our implants, now won’t we?” Spike rhetorically questioned.

“Wait, you can do that?! But… removing implants would kill the host. Biotech implants are too deeply rooted into our physical system for safe removal.” Twilight Sparkle stated. Spike confidently walked over to the maws of the mechanical spider. His claws extended and with a powerful swipe, the mouth of the spider broke open. Within it was the meteor.

“If this meteor is what brought implants into our world, then maybe I can find out how it removes ours… The only thing I don’t know is how I move such a large meteor out of here.” Twilight Sparkle looked at the mechanical spider; despite a few scratches and buffers, it was intact for the most part. She proceeded to smack her forehead with her hoof.

“You know, just because nopony is piloting this thing anymore doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work Spike. Let’s just use that to take the meteor and leave this place before the police begin to suspect murder.” Spike looked up towards the cockpit of the spider and narrowed his eyes.

“That doesn’t sound like a half-bad idea, Twilight. Let’s go with that.” He stated with a hesitant tone of voice. Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Spike clambered up the legs of the spider. Celestia placed her right hoof on a door on the top of the head, causing it to open.

Blue lights within flickered to life. At the moment red eyes flashed upon the mechanical spider’s face, a blue screen within the cockpit illuminated. Celestia gulped while Twilight Sparkle and Spike hopped into the cockpit. Twilight Sparkle turned her head back and noticed that Celestia stopped.

“Commander Celestia, aren’t you coming in?” Her hooves trembling, Celestia eyed the entire room.

“I’m coming, but…”

“I know how it feels to do this Commander. You have essentially betrayed the entire city and EPF just to assist me. If this recent adventure taught me anything, it is that once I start going down the point of no return, there’s no going back. I just have to keep going and see where it leads me. Now you just have to do the same.” At the mention of Twilight Sparkle’s words, a small grin appeared on Celestia’s face before she walked inside of the cockpit.

“You certainly have grown from this conflict. You not only proved that you had the skills to survive, but you also taught me something new.” The doors to the cockpit shut tightly. The mechanical spider whirred loudly before it stood up. With a powerful leap, the mechanical spider breached through the ceiling and began to claw its way through.

Author's Note

The last chapter before the exciting ending! Let us see what happens in the epilogue, together. Also, I'd like to give a round of thanks to the Shin Megami Tensei series for some philosophy within this chapter.

Ending

An entire squadron of officers waited outside of the gates of the complex. A dead silence filled the air, as if anything can and will happen. After a few minutes, the entire ground rumbled underneath the officers. The concrete behind the gate opened up, paving way for a mechanical spider clawing its way to the surface. The officers beyond the gate rushed towards the spider and cocked their hooves.

“Stop! In the name of the EPF!” One of the officers shouted. Within the cockpit, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Spike looked at the screen. The three glanced at each other with shaken expressions.

“My officers are skilled at giving chase and never letting up. It’s best that we incapacitate them.” Celestia suggested.

“Are you sure you want to do that, Celestia? Your officers are something like children for you.” Spike asked in a low tone.

“As much as I would hate to say it, it must be done. I’ve made the choice of sticking with you two and I will not let hesitation stop me.” With these words, Celestia pushed a red button on a dashboard. Plates on the spider’s legs revealed various round slots. Then a volley of white missiles fired from the legs and aimed towards the officers.

“Get out of the way! Those missiles are heading towards us!” One of the officers screeched in a high tone. The squadron of officers dispersed from the immediate area. The mechanical spider hopped into the air and onto a high platform, where it scurried away from the scene.

Beyond the outskirts of town, the forgotten desolate plain that stretched far in the distance drowned in muck and water. Ruins, perhaps of some long-lived empire, was over-filled with dirty water as the rain flooded every little crevice and hole that didn't already rust or fall apart.

Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Spike took cover from the constant rainfall underneath the mechanical spider. Various lines of wires ran from the maws of the spider down towards the biotech implants of the three fugitives. Spike and Twilight Sparkle imputed various commands on a virtual keyboard and Celestia vigilantly eyed the horizon. All three of them were muddy and covered in rain and sweat. After several minutes of work on the keyboard, a confident smile appeared on Twilight Sparkle’s face. Celestia turned her head back as the sounds of water splattering underneath Twilight Sparkle’s hooves hit her ears.

“Did you find out how to remove our implants?” Celestia asked.

“It took a while, but we did it. Spike and I managed to find a gap where our implanted technology and our biology do not touch. All we need to do is accentuate an energy impulse from the meteor into that space. If all goes well, then our biological bodies would be separated from our cybernetic bodies.” Twilight Sparkle replied with an enthusiastic smile. Spike turned towards Celestia and gleefully pointed towards Twilight Sparkle.

“I knew that she was smart, but not this smart. I know that we both did it together, but she still managed to bypass several different firewalls in our system to reach that link, found a way to reroute the energy from the meteor and develop a program to allow for this miracle to happen mainly by herself. I wouldn’t have been able to do all that by myself.”

“Twilight is always full of surprises. She always managed to surprise me with whatever new skill she came up with. She made me proud with all of her achievements.” Celestia commented. Twilight Sparkle held her right front hoof on her face and shushed Celestia and Spike.

“We are about to enter a delicate process. I advise that we move as minimally as possible while this is happening.” She suggested. From the wires in the meteor, yellow energy sparked into all the wires and ran down to the implants.

Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Spike all became imbued in a glowing light. After a few seconds, the wiring within their bodies and on their implants began to loosen. Wires slowly undid themselves and metal plating plied off of their bodies. After a minute had passed, any and all forms of the implant dropped onto the ground. Twilight Sparkle lifted her left hoof and moved it around. With her right hoof, she touched her left hoof. The soft feeling of her fur and flesh overloaded her senses. Tears welled up within her eyes.

“I’m free…” She glanced over towards Spike and Celestia, who rotated their limbs around. Smiles filled their faces.

“It looks as if that really did work. We no longer need to worry about being tracked down.” Spike stated.

“My only problem with the entire situation is this; where do we go next? Being out in the wastelands is very dangerous, especially without our implants and we can’t return to Neo Neighpon or virtually any city in the world. The EPF is already alerted to our assault and the Supreme Cabinet will know that we are the direct cause of Sunset Shimmer’s death.” In an uptight tone, Celestia asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess we just roam the world until we can find a place where we can call home. We still have access to the Mechanized Assault Spider and its power source, so we don’t need to worry about shelter. Surely, we have to find some place sooner or later.” Both Spike and Celestia glanced down towards Twilight Sparkle, who fully broke down in tears.

“It seems like this was a rough turn of events for all of us. We should probably rest for now and travel later.” With an elated sigh, Celestia finished.

A large room was dark with a single ray of light illuminating the center of the room. A round arrangement of eight dark thrones lined up around the light with pony-shaped shadows sitting in each one.

“This is most unpleasant. We lost the signal of the three fugitives that killed Sunset Shimmer.” A deep voice resonated from one of the thrones.

“Though we could not ignore the fact that the commander of our forces went AWOL and assisted in criminal activity, we mustn’t forget that we are left without a supplier for the world’s leader in biotech implants. In addition, we lost the meteor that granted us the ability to make said implants.” Another figure stated with a less deep, but still threatening voice. Another voice chuckled at these words.

“Those are minor setbacks. We can always promote one of our captains to the position of Commander and place a puppet into the supplier’s complex. Plus, Sunset Shimmer generously donated her own research and body, which would allow us to recreate the metals required to create biotech implants.”

“Though it will take a while before we finally get everything running again, nothing of value was ultimately lost.” Another voice echoed through the darkness.

“Still, we do have to retrieve the meteor back at all costs. Who knows what will happen if it remains with those three?” A fifth voice asked.

“They can’t believe that they can run or hide forever. Sooner or later, we will capture them and subject them to the ultimate punishment.” A strong voice shouted as the sound of a hoof pounding metal rung through the room.

“And I am confident that we will be able to catch them. They may have erased their signals, but we can determine all of the safe havens of the world.” A feminine voice spoke out. “What are your opinions, Alpha?” An imposing figure positioned on a throne loomed his sight over all the other thrones.

“We wait until they let their guard down. From there, we strike them and eliminate them. We don’t need to judge them in courts when we can judge them ourselves.” A dark silence filled the room after the deepest voice spoke.

Seven months later

A pristine set of golden green plains came into view of the eyes of a mechanical spider. The solar rays struck the land with an eternal glow and the sun was cast high into the sky without a cloud in sight. Green palm trees that carried abundant crops of fruit were sprinkled throughout the land. From the cockpit of the spider, Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and Spike emerged. Every single one of them had large smiles and shaky legs.

“This place is… beautiful!” Twilight Sparkle stated. “After such a long time of hopeless searching for habitable lands, I never thought I would find some place uncorrupted by devastation.”

“It truly is a beautiful sight. Areas like this were only encountered in the stories I’ve read.” Celestia vocalized with awe dripping in her tone. Spike inhaled deeply and expanded his wings out to their maximum length.

“I can finally stretch my wings out!” Afterwards, boisterous laughter echoed from his lungs. “This place is awesome! All the food we can eat and all the rest we can have!” Before he took a step forward, Twilight Sparkle jumped off of the mechanical spider and ran off into the plains, giggling with a smile. With her horn flashing in a lavender color, fruits from the trees levitated towards her.

“I can now devote my attention to what is important in life!” Twilight Sparkle gleefully shouted. Celestia, who was looking at Twilight Sparkle, flashed a motherly smile. She looked towards Spike with a grin.

“I have never seen Twilight Sparkle so happy in her life before. I have to thank you, Spike.” Spike looked towards Celestia with a grin on his face.

“You know, I couldn’t have done it alone. Twilight Sparkle gave me the hope to change my own destiny. If it weren’t for her, I still would’ve just been sitting in my dank home clopping to Playcolt.” A sly smile appeared on Celestia’s face as she narrowed her eyes promiscuously.

“I never noticed this before Spike, but you’re actually pretty cute in the sunlight.” She said in a playful tone. Spike’s cheeks blushed slightly in response.

“Thanks… I guess that’s all what I have to say.” Celestia edged closely next to Spike with a widening smile.

“Oh really? That can’t be all you have to say. After all, didn’t I give you a massive wing boner seven months ago from my actions?” She neared her face within the range of Spike’s right ear. Spike shuddered. “Strong, handsome, smart and a good naughty boy. Coupled with me, we should be able to make some especially strong Kirin to build a new society upon.” A spurt of blood suddenly erupted from Spike’s nose.

“…You just aren’t teasing me again aren’t you, Celestia?”

“Now why would I tease you when I truly do mean it this time? We have all these lands to just the three of us. We need future generations to preserve this land and make sure it wouldn’t fall under the corruption of biotech implants and devastation. If Twilight agrees to repopulation as well, then we have all we need to build a new society upon.” As these words passed her mouth, she swished her ethereal tail towards Spike’s face and tickled his nose with it.

“So… when do we start repopulating the land?” He eagerly stated with a semi-conscious grin.

“How about now?” Celestia asked, moving her lips over to Spike’s lips. She forced her tongue through Spike’s mouth and embraced him. Spike's eyes closed from their wide-eye state the moment Celestia's lips met his. He embraced Celestia back and returned the kiss, his tongue wrestling with Celestia's for dominance.

Twilight Sparkle, whose focus was on the colorful fruits hovering before her, was blissfully unaware of the rough noises of lovemaking behind her.

“This is what life should be like. We will treat this land right and not make the same mistakes that others have done. I know that we will have new adventures and we may even see the wrath of the EPF one day, but this is what a Utopia should be. I will do my best to help take care of this land.”

As these words passed through her lips, an orange mango she levitated suddenly splattered itself onto her face, forcing her to drop control of the fruits around her. She was covered in light orange juices. She pulled her tongue out and licked the juices around her face, relishing in the sweet flavor of the fruit. For the first time in a long time, she laughed.

Author's Note

For those of you who stuck around to the end, I thank you for bearing with me. This may not be perfect for a story, but I could not have made this story better without my editor and without you people for sticking around.