Fallout Equestria: Duty

Fallout Equestria: Duty

Chapter 34

Experiments

“I just don't understand it!”

~O~Firestorm~O~

        “So... what you are saying is, that you recovered part of a pre-war experiment that was using Arcano Technology to create soulless copies of Ponies?” I asked as a red-brown Unicorn mare with a crude cybernetic left eye guided Golden Sunshine and me through the facility. The Celestia clone had retreated to somewhere else, after leading us to one of her creators. There were dozen upon dozens of Unicorns working here, and I was surprised at how well these Ponies had been able to rebuild this place. From what Frostmane had told me, Celestia and Luna themselves had unleashed their wrath here. For all means, there shouldn't have been one stone left on another.

        “Yes. Our leader, Sharp Edge, was sent to retrieve it. She came to the Everfree to collect some plant samples on her way back, and found our little society of outcasts. Seeing what was hidden in the depth of this ruin, she decided not to return to the Society and is now working for the greater good. We are helping her, because she teaches us what our families never could. Magic.” the mare, who went by the name of Amber Light, said over her shoulder.

It was all very hard to comprehend. These Ponies were cloning the Princesses from the genetic material that was left in this place? But... what good were these clones without the originals souls? So far, I had seen about five Celestias and four Lunas. All of them were either being experimented on, or carrying out easy tasks. None of them looked deformed, like Frostmane had said however.

        “What do you plan to do with these clones?” Golden Sunshine piped up from beside me, her voice taking on a sharp tone that I was not used to hear from her. Amber had obviously noticed this as well and stopped to face us.

        “You must understand that the wasteland can not go on like this. During the times in which we were ruled by the Princesses, Equestria was a peaceful place. What we are trying to do, is create a perfect copy of both. After that, we just have to figure out a way to recall their souls from beyond the veil of death. It is certainly possible to do so, and we had limited successes already. Some of these clones have rudimentary memory of pre-war times, indicating that we were able to call back at least part of them. Once the process is perfected, we can bring back Celestia and Luna, and Equestria will enter a new age.” Amber explained, gesturing towards several of the energy cages that lined the corridor we were walking through.

I stepped closer to one of them, spotting a Celestia clone who looked down at me with disgust in her eyes and a frown on her face. Her horn glowed a sinister green, before it discharged and her magic started to thrash at the forcefield imprisoning her. Surprised, I jumped back a step and collided with Golden Sunshine. My friend looked grim, squinting her eyes at the other Alicorn.

        “This is not Celestia.” my friend said coolly as she stepped closer to the cage. The other white mare put more and more strength into her attempts to break free, but Golden Sunshine didn't seem to be interested in that. Instead, her horn was suddenly surrounded by a black mist from which equally black tentacles erupted. They shot through the forcefield and ceased the wannabe Celestia. Amber jumped into action immediately, trying to get between Golden Sunshine and the cage. I... did nothing. I trusted Golden Sunshine only as far as I could throw her, but I knew that she was right about one thing. This was not Celestia. It didn't matter that it looked like her. Her magic was the wrong color. While Celestias magic had been a gentle golden color like that of Golden Sunshine, this clones magic was more akin to that of a Changeling.

The white clone writhed under Golden Sunshines ministrations, but ultimately broke free and the tendrils that had bound her broke apart. My friend was not disturbed by this in the slightest. Instead, she was scowling as she turned to Amber Light.

        “You must destroy these clones, or they will destroy you. This one, for example, has the soul of a tortured Unicorn scientist in it. No doubt one of those who made the original Celestia and Luna. You must destroy them!” my friend insisted, and I was taken aback by what she had said. This clone had the soul of a Unicorn scientist in it? How did she....?

Then I remembered what Golden Sunshine had told me some time ago. During the war, she had worked in the Ministry of Image, which was experimenting with Zebra necromancy. I guessed that these black tendrils were part of what she had learned back then. Amber Light seemed more excited about this than alarmed however. Her one organic eye widened, her ears perking up.

        “But that's brilliant! If the soul in that body had something to do with the creation of the originals, it might be able to help us!” she exclaimed, raising a hoof to the numpad next to the forcefield. I reacted quickly, lashing out with my scorpion tail and destroying the device. Nopony would oped that cage for quite some time. Amber whirled around and frowned at me.

        “What did you do that for?” she asked, her cybernetic eye pulsating like a heart.

        “That will be enough Amber. I'll take over from here.” came the voice of an elderly Unicorn mare, a moment before she rounded a corner. Her coat was white, while her mane was short and completely gray. The lab-coat she wore, was stained by blood in several places. Amber opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. Instead, she retreated back the way we had come.

        “Sharp Edge, I presume?” Golden Sunshine said, narrowing her gaze at the elderly Unicorn. She nodded, looking reproachfully at the destroyed numpad.

        “I see you are well informed. Amber is always so excitable when she meets new Ponies. I also can't help but notice, that you are capable of performing Zebra magic, Alicorn. I was about to ask you to leave at once, but now I think you two could be useful to my research.” Sharp Edge said, stepping closer slowly. I couldn't help but feel threatened. I didn't like her tone at all. Closing my armor, I put out a wing to gesture for Golden Sunshine to step behind me.

        “I don't think we want to help you, thanks. My friend here is right. You should destroy these copies, and cease your experiments. In fact, the Princesses themselves forbade any experimentation with their genetic material. In other words, what you are doing here is a crime according to section eighty-eight of the equestrian book of law....” I began, but was interrupted by a searing pain between my shoulder blades. A second later, my body slumped to the ground and I could see several medical warnings flash up on my EFS. They informed me of nerve trauma that had, temporarily, paralyzed me. Something very heavy and white landed on my face, blocking my view of what was happening. Sharp Edge was chuckling and saying something, but I couldn't quite understand her through the bulk of Golden Sunshines body. Soon after, I felt the sting of a syringe through a gap in my armors plating and the world around me faded to blackness.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I awoke, floating in some kind of specimen container. It kept my body in the air, while the same force pressed my wings against my body. A quick glance around the room revealed, that Golden Sunshine was being held in a similar container to my right. She was just waking up herself, a groggy look on her face. I could sympathize. The medical warnings were gone from my EFS and, according to the device, I was in perfect health. Regardless, I felt weak and there was a definite headache coming my way.

At the far end of the room, standing in front of a table that was laden with medical instruments, stood Sharp Edge. The old mare turned towards us as she noticed that we had awoken, a look of deep regret edged onto her face.

        “I'm really sorry for this, but I couldn't risk you two interfering with my work. It's just too important.” she said, pressing a button on the terminal mounted on the wall next to the table. The forcefields containing us disappeared, and we were set down gently.

        “What did you do to us?” Golden Sunshine growled before I could gather myself enough to speak. The old mares eyes widened as she looked back at my friend.

        “Nothing drastic dear, I assure you. All I did was make sure that you two couldn't interfere for a while. Oh, and I copied some of your memories. They will surely help me with my research.” the old mare said, coming over to us and waving her horn over the both of us in turn.

        “Memories? You copied our memories? Why?” I croaked, desperately craving a drink. The white Unicorn mare seemed to read my thoughts, as she levitated a bottle of Sparkle-Cola over to me only a moment later before answering.

        “Amber Light already told you what I am attempting to do here. Well... the rough outline of it at least. I have created a spell that can penetrate the veil, and pull back souls from the beyond. The only problem is... that the Princesses don't seem to be there. No matter how hard we tried, we never got a single response from their souls. Instead, we got several others. Pre-war Ponies like yourself, who had some connection with the Princesses. I stuffed their souls into some of the clones, and have already amassed a great collection of memories. It's my belief that, if I can put all these memories into one of the clones and then give it a blank soul, an appropriate copy of one of the Princesses can be created.” she explained as she took some notes on a clipboard that was floating next to her.

        “That won't work. You can't just recreate a soul.” Golden Sunshine spat, lifting one of her enormous wings to wave Sharp Edge away. She obviously didn't want to be examined by the mare, and neither did I.

        “I agree with Golden on that one. Especially if you use my memories of Princess Luna. I only met her during the war, and each time she was determined to win. She was also kind and gentle, but she rarely left us any other choice but to obey her commands.” I added, as I struggled to my own hooves. Sharp Edge shook her head, sighing deeply.

        “I beg to differ. About a month ago, we had our first great success. The clone we implanted with a blank soul, soon developed a will of it's own. At first, it was amiable and worked with us to achieve our goal. After about a week however, the Luna copy started to resist. She refused to participate in the experiments, and when I went to talk to her, she almost killed me. Thirty of my students were needed to subdue her. Sadly, in the end, we had to kill her. She was a serious threat to our project. I personally think that the blank soul was somehow contaminated, and that we put some lunatic in a very powerful body. I'm sure that, if we could do it once, we can do it again, but this time with a real blank soul.” Sharp Edge argued.

The expression on Golden Sunshines face shocked me beyond belief. Her usually gentle face had darkened, and there was suddenly murder in her eyes.

        “Are you out of your mind? You have seen how that one clone reacted to me! If it had been able to, it would have killed me on the spot and wouldn't even have known why! You want memories? Memories of the Princesses? Now here's a bit of news for you. True Alicorns have genetic memory! So if the abominations you have up there are really made from the originals genetic material, then they do have their memories! The one you killed was most likely the closest you could ever hope to get to the originals. They weren't perfect, gentle and wise beings. The Princesses had flaws, grudges and secrets like any other normal Pony.” Golden seethed, looking down at the elderly mare now. Sharp Edges eyes widened for a moment, before she smiled.

        “You would know, wouldn't you? Scribe Golden Quill. Besides, I doubt that something like genetic memory really exists. It's a nice sentiment, but I have yet to see any proof of it's actual existence.” the old Unicorn said, a sly grin on her face. For some reason, Golden Sunshine grit her teeth at the mention of that other name. I was confused, looking back and forth between the two mares.

        “What does she mean, Golden?” I asked my friend, who turned away from me, not meeting my eye.

        “Before I started working full time at the Ministry of Image, I was Princess Celestias personal scribe. I wrote letters for her and made sure that they were sent, organized her appointments and the like. You could say that I was for her, what Twilight Sparkles Spike was for her. Her number one assistant. She didn't raise me, like the Ministry mare did with her dragon, but she was always like a second mother to me...” the white Alicorn explained in a defeated voice. I could tell that it was painful for her to talk about this.

        “Until you betrayed her, and she kicked you out.” Sharp Edge said, motioning to a case full of memory orbs that sat on an open cabinet. She had obviously watched my friends memories.

        “That is not what happened! What I did was for the good of Equestria! If it had ever become public knowledge.... Can you imagine the outrage?” Golden Sunshine defended herself.

        “What happened? What did you do?” I asked, not really sure I wanted to know the answer. The mare finally turned her head to look at me, and I could see that tears were streaming down her face. Whatever she had done, she regretted it deeply. No matter what she had said, she recognized her mistake, and suffered greatly from the fact that she wasn't able to make up for it anymore.

        “I was a Unicorn stallion before I became like I am today. As I said, I was Celestias assistant, even after her abdication. She... she was just a normal mare. A mare who wanted to love and be loved in return. You have to understand that.” my friend said, sighing in defeat and I could already guess where this was going.

        “Did she have... and affair?” I asked, while Sharp Edge was working on the wall mounted terminal. Golden Sunshine nodded.

        “It was a high ranking Zebra official. They both worked hard to stop the war, and in the end they came to the same conclusion. Equestrias will to fight had to be broken. Celestia planned to defect. The Caesar had promised her safe refuge. Everything was planned out perfectly. Had I not forwarded copies of their letters.... to the Ministry of Image.... Celestia wanted to defect during the peace talks she had organized, but the OIA intervened. They employed the help of Changelings to pose a Zebra attack, in which Big Macintosh died. When I was just about to sent another copied letter to Miss Rarity... the Princess walked in on me. You should have seen her face. It was just after Big Macintoshs funeral. I'm pretty sure only her centuries of experience prevented me from being incinerated on the spot. Instead, I was discharged from her services and started to work as a researcher for Miss Rarity... I still regret what I did, and I will never forget the look she had on her face when she discovered what I had done...” Golden Sunshine said, and a heavy silence fell over us.

        “Maybe, you'll get the chance to apologize sooner than you thought.” Sharp Edge piped up from her terminal.

        “What do you mean?”

        “The transfer is completed. We should have two fully functional copies awaken soon. While you two were talking, the ritual was already happening upstairs.” the elderly mare grinned widely. My heart fell, but that sensation was nothing to what my friend must have been feeling. Her face, usually so gentle and understanding, was now a grimace of rage.

Before either of us could say anything however, alarms started to sound and a tremendous explosion could be heard from above. The lights went out, only to be replaced by emergency lighting a moment later. Shutters fell, trapping us where we were.

        “What's going on?” I shouted to be heard over the alarm. Sharp Edge didn't answer immediately. Instead she was tapping away at the keys of her terminal frantically. When she looked up again, her eyes were wide.

        “Containment breach. The clones are free. All of them! Security teams are in place but...” she looked at the screen again for a second. “... they are getting slaughtered! We've got to get out of here and activate the cleansing Talisman. Won't be pretty, but it's all we can do!”

        “What will it do?” I asked, looking for some way out of this place. Golden Sunshine nudged me in the side to get my attention. Following her gesturing hoof, I saw several Talismans set into the ceiling of the room. They were hexagon shaped, with a pulsing pink gem in the midde.

        “Little Horn Agent....” I thought, my blood freezing in my veins.

~O~Frostmane~O~

I was sweaty, tired and my hangover from last night hadn't worn off in the slightest as I finally reached the location marker that the society had given to me. Rainbow Dash had offered to come with me, but I had insisted that she stayed behind to watch over the slaves. From what I had heard from the mare, they couldn't be left alone quite yet after all. Dash didn't like it, but had promised to do her best to make sure that they were safe and well cared for. She had even made sure that some of her ghouls would return to the Alicorn and help out.

What I saw down below was not good. Ponies were running into the forest, fleeing the ruins in a panic. At first I thought they had somehow detected my approach, but then I saw them. Two Celestia copies who came out of the door behind the fleeing Ponies. They shot bolts of magical energy after them, turning the fleeing Ponies into piles of ash. Those were the lucky ones. Others were merely burned very badly, and lay screaming in the field of Moon Lillys that Luna had loved so much. I couldn't take it. I was too late once again. My Power-Hooves were crackling with energy, while I made sure that my armors straps were fastened correctly. Then I banked, swooping down towards the two Celestias.

Both of them looked at me, their horns glowing in different colors. It wasn't only this that tipped me off that something was wrong about them. It was their expressions that gave them away. Both clones looked as if they were enjoying what they were doing. One of them even started to laugh maniacally. It reminded me of a Raider.

I decided that there was no way to talk my way out of this. Not to mention that I wasn't sure I was strong enough to take them on. Celestia had been one of the most powerful Ponies that had ever lived after all. Before I could devise a plan of action, the one on the left shot a spell at me. Raising my shield, I intercepted the spell. My shield shattered under the sheer pressure of it, and I had to jump to the side.

More and more spells flew my way, and both of the Alicorns seemed to enjoy my jumping around very much. Almost like foals who had finally found a toy that didn't break if they handled it a little too rough. What I soon noticed was, that they didn't seem to know any complex spells. The one on the right of the door shot unrefined magic at me, that made anything it touched burst out in flame. The one on the left however, was simply using blasts of telekinesis.

There was only one good thing about this whole catch me if you can game. While their attention was focused on me, they ignored the frightened Ponies that were running past them. The downside was, that my body began to tire. I had to do something about this, and I had to do it fast.

        “Here goes nothing!” I shouted, startling the two Alicorns for a second or two as I jumped forwards. One of the telekinetic blasts the left one shot at me grazed my flank before I had closed the distance. It hurt as the magic drew blood, but it was only a minor wound. Nothing a healing potion wouldn't be able to take care of.

The two Alicorns did their best to defend themselves against me, but the left one wasn't fast enough. Her magenta magic sparked out on her horn, as my Power-Hooves came down on her neck. As I turned around to take care of the other clone, my heart skipped a beat. Her horn was blazing with raging magic as she released it. Instinctively, I raised my shield to protect myself. It was no use. The mares magic was simply to strong, and my shield shattered once more. A second later, the clone Celestias magic impacted on the right side of my face, setting it aflame.

I screamed in pain as I felt my flesh burn. A second shield spell was able to choke the fire, but it wasn't my own. When I was finally able to open my left eye again, the right side of my face felt hot and raw. A red brown Unicorn mare with a black and gray streaked mane stood over the clone that had injured me, one of her hooves pressed against the mares neck. A sickening crunching sound could be heard as she stomped down, killing the mare in the process. As she turned around to me, I noticed the bulky cybernetic on the left side of her face.

        “Are you alright? You're certainly not one of ours... Well... anyway... Thank you for distracting these two. Gave me the opportunity to sedate this one.” she said, before floating a healing potion over to me.

        “What the hay is going on here?” I demanded after drinking the potion. It went to work, closing up the gash on my flank and easing the pain on my face a little. I could tell however, that it wasn't able to heal the damage that had been done. My right eye didn't open more than an inch or two and what I saw wasn't pretty. The right side of my snout was slowly covering with skin again, but it wasn't at all as smooth as before. In short, the right side of my face had become one giant scar.

        “The Alicorn clones we made here... We finished an experiment earlier, trying to make a copy of Celestias and Lunas souls. Something went wrong however. As soon as they opened their eyes they started killing Ponies! So are you here to help us? There are still several Ponies trapped down below, and our security Ponies can't hold back the other clones for long.” the mare explained, speaking as fast as she could, while shooting two more sedation spells towards clones that were emerging from an open trap door that led deeper into the facility. I knew that trap door. It was the same one Princess Luna had led me down so long ago.

Bringing up my Pipbuck location spell I entered Firestorms and Golden Sunshines tags. They were definitely here, and they were underground. Sighing, I nodded.

        “I'm here for my friends. A white Alicorn and a black Pegasus. Both mares, and both wearing Pipbucks. But let me warn you... if I survive this, you and I will have some harsh words.” I said, as I stepped into the ruined building.

~O~Firestorm~O~

        “Behind you!” Golden Sunshine called out and I whirled around. Another Luna Replica appeared around a corner, her eyes full of malice. Before she could unleash the magic that was building up on her horn, two of my rifles discharged. The shots hit her in the head, splattering her cloned brain on the wall behind her.

I panted. Being sedated, poisoned and having my memories copied wasn't doing anything for my endurance. My heart was pounding in my chest and the left side of my barrel was throbbing with pain. One of these copies had bucked me across one of the corridors earlier, and my EFS informed me that two of my ribs and the wing on that side had been broken.

Golden Sunshine was slowing us down considerably, since she just couldn't walk any faster. Had the corridor been a little bit wider, she could have spread her wings and hovered along. As it was however, this was an option and I was certainly not going to leave her behind. There was just one problem with this. My vision was already blurring from time to time, and I had a hard time standing.

        “Come on, come on! We've got to get to the control room! There's an escape hatch there, and we can activate the cleansing systems!” Sharp Edge called out from further up the corridor. The mare was certainly resourceful. She had taken down two clones without my assistance earlier by tying them to the ground with magical tendrils. One of them had entered the clones heads and, when it pulled out again, they were dead.

I had no doubt that, if she had been younger, she could have fought her way to the control room by herself. She was in her eighties however, so she had to rely on our assistance to get there. I got the distinct feeling that there was more to it however. It was almost as if she simply didn't want to leave us behind. After all, if she had not restrained us earlier, we could have been out of here hours ago.

These clones were incredibly powerful, but our saving grace was that most of them didn't seem to know how to use magic properly. If they had been able to use shield spells or any kind of offensive magic, we would have been royally fucked.

~O~Frostmane~O~

        “Firestorm! Come in, Firestorm!” I called into my radio, as my magic enveloped two of the specimen tanks that lined the corridor and threw them at three Alicorn clones. Two Lunas and one Celestia were hit and were struggling to get to their hooves again when I reached them. I put them out of their misery with my Power-Hooves as quickly as I could. Once I had realized that they didn't know much magic, I had found a way to fight them semi-efficently.

        “Frostmane? Oh Goddess! It's you! We're on sub-level five, trying to reach the control room. There's a way to escape this place there, and we can take out the....” Firestorms voice crackled over the radio, before it suddenly stopped. I could hear a second voice, that made my blood run cold. I was on sub-level three, but I suddenly knew that I had to get to her as fast as I could. Ignoring the two Alicorns that were rounding the corner, I directed my horn downwards blasting a hole in the floor.

~O~Firestorm~O~

        “Major Firestorm. I order you to stop this outrage at once.” came a voice from my left, and I turned to look down the corridor. At the far end stood another of the Luna clones. Her face was... calm and collected. Not to mention that she was the first one of the clones that had actually spoken to us.

        “Princess....?” I stammered, and the other mare nodded. Involuntarily taking a step forward, I didn't notice the other clone closing in on me from my right. Only the sudden clang of two magical blades impacting on each other brought me out of my reverie. Golden Sunshine had teleported next to me, intercepting a blade of golden magic with her own. Behind the attacking blade, stood a Celestia clone, grimacing.

        “Too bad... We could have ended this if you hadn't interfered, Golden Quill. So you have betrayed us once again.” the clone sneered at Golden Sunshine, who did her best to keep the other Alicorns blade pinned with her own.

        “You're not the real Princess Celestia! She would have never attacked us without provocation!” she shouted, but I could see the doubt in my friends eyes.

        “Certainly we would. Nopony must ever know about our creation. We must keep our secret.” the Luna one replied stepping closer to me slowly.

        “What the buck is going on here?” I thought, trying to make head or tails of this. Frostmane had told me that she was forbidden to talk about this place. Could it be that these two were actual copies? The real deal?

Suddenly, the ceiling above us cracked, and all three of us jumped to the side. Through the newly created hole in the ceiling, came Frostmane, pulling herself up to her full height and flaring her wings out. The crossing she was standing in was just big enough for her to do so. I cringed as I saw my marefriends face. The right side of it looked burned and partially melted, the flesh warped and deformed under her skin.

        “Frostmane.” the Luna replica said, and my marefriend turned to her after giving me a reassuring smile.

        “Luna.”

        “I see you have ascended. My congratulations to that... Sadly, I can't let you get out of here alive. Nopony must know of our orign.” the Princess of the night said, nodding ever so slightly. The Celestia clone, which had watched this scene play out silently, suddenly jumped into action, slashing downwards with her magical blade once more.

Golden Sunshine was ready for her, intercepting her blade once more. This time however, they didn't let themselves get caught up in a grapple. Their blades flew and clashed so fast, that my one eye could barely follow them. Sharp Edge jumped in front of Frostmane, facing the Luna clone, while I leaned against the wall to avoid falling over.

        “There's no need for this your highness! I've brought you back so you can rebuild Equestria! Please, cease this needless vio...” the old mare began, but was silenced as a blast of silver magic ripped her head apart.

        “We will rebuild Equestria, like we did once before. But before we can do that, all who know of this place must vanish.” the midnight blue mare said, stepping forward again. She summoned a magical blade of her own, while I was forced to watch while Frostmane tried to fire one of her lightning bolts at the other mare. It got deflected by a flick of her magical blade, searing part of the corridors wall.

        “I must agree with Golden Sunshine. You're not the real Princesses. Luna would never have attacked me, no matter how much I annoyed her at times!” Frostmane called out, jumping forward.

~O~Frostmane~O~

I reared up, using my wings to keep my balance as I engaged the Luna copy. Further down the corridor I could see Golden Sunshine pressing the Celestia clone back. It was amazing really, how fast my sisters magical blade was flying through the air, finding one opening after another in the other Alicorns defenses.

Flying at top speed for hours without taking a rest had really done a number on me, but I was doing my best to dodge my opponents attacks. The Luna clone was using her blade like a novice, which was not at all what I was used to see from the Princess. She had trained with me for a while, so I knew that the original had been a master swordsmare.

I could only gather that, while these things had the memories of the originals, they didn't quite have the same skills, nor their personalities. There may have been potential for these two mares, but I couldn't allow it. The originals had burned Equestria to the ground, before they had finally seen the errors of their ways, and I couldn't allow that to happen. Using one of my hooves to bat away another attack coming for my neck, I jumped back a step.

This mare was not used to fight with a magical blade, that much was for sure, but she was good enough to keep out of my range. Whenever I discharged my Power-Hooves to shatter her blade, she simply reformed it a moment later before I could close the distance. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that Firestorm lay unconscious in one of the side corridors.

As if that wasn't bad enough I could see several more clones come at us from other corridors. My fight with the Luna clone was a loosing battle if I couldn't get past her defenses, and I would certainly be killed if I tried to fight off several clones while fending off that silver blade of hers.

        “Golden! We retreat! To the control room!” I shouted, directing a magical blast upwards and causing the ceiling to come down between the Luna clone and myself. I could see her snarl at me as the debris began to separate the two sections of the corridor.

A panting Golden Sunshine appeared a moment later, picking up Firestorms limp form and placing her on my back. I could see that my sister had collapsed the corridor she had been fighting in as well, buying us some additional time.

OooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Slamming the door to the control room behind us, I began to scan the countless control panels lining the walls. One thing caught my eye. It was a big sign saying Emergency Escape Elevator. At least that was taken care of.

        “Where's that damn cleansing system!” Golden Sunshine called out, as she winked in and out of existence in front of the different consoles. I hadn't known that she could even pull off that spell, but I could see that it was taking it's toll on her. Each time she reappeared, she was panting harder and harder. Loud pounding could be heard from the other side of the door, and I knew that the clones had caught up with us and were trying to break down the door. Suddenly, when coming to a halt in front of the emergency elevator, my sister waved me over.

I obliged and trotted over to her, guessing she had found the cleansing system controls. What she showed me, was a broken terminal and a lever under a pane of glass. At first, I didn't understand. Then it dawned on me. In all the fighting down here, the terminal controlling the cleansing systems had been broken. The only way to activate it now, was a manual override.

        “You take Firestorm to the surface in that elevator. I'll be right behind you.” I said, opening the hatch to the emergency elevator and placing my heavily breathing marefriend inside. When I turned around, to make space for Golden Sunshine however, I was suddenly hit in the face by a hoof. My world started to spin, and my hangover headache crept up on me again as my head slammed against the open hatch of the elevator. It didn't knock me out, but it was enough to daze me.

        “I'm sorry, sister. But you need to live.” Golden Sunshine whispered into my ear as she caught me in her magic and placed me in the elevator next to my marefriend. The hatch closed, and I could still see her through the small window of it.

A mighty crash announced the arrival of the copies. They had finally broken down the door. I could see them stepping up behind Golden Sunshine, as the mare smashed the glass and pulled the lever for the manual override. For a moment, it looked like nothing had happened, but then....

The elevator shot up the shaft and my view of Golden Sunshine was blocked by a solid wall of pink....

Footnotes:

Frostmane:

Maximum level!

Party member rejoined

Firestorm

Party member lost

Golden Sunshine