Equestria: Salvation

Somewhere out in the desert, the medivac team had set up camp to operate on Velvet Remedy. The heart rate meter beeped slowly. Bravheart was standing over Remedy in the hospital bed, stroking her mane. He was about to cry. Remedy looked into her father's eyes. Braveheart walked over to Rainbow Dash, Pinkamena, Pip, Pumpkin Cake, and Spitfire. He was in tears.

“How long?” Rainbow quietly asked. Braveheart struggled to speak.

“Her...heart,” Braveheart stammered. “Can't take it.”

“It's gonna be OK,” Rainbow soothed. “It's gonna be OK, Braveheart.”

“Pip,” Remedy whispered. Pip walked over to Remedy. Velvet pointed to Pinkamena's original jacket. The one she first had.

“Take it,” Remedy quietly said. Pip was in disbelief. Pinkamena grabbed the jacket and put it around Pip's shoulders. Pip looked down at the jacket sleeve, at the commander emblem.

“You earned it,” Remedy said. Pip stood up straight and gave a small nod. She looked back at Pinkamena, near tears.

“Braveheart,” Pinkamena said. Braveheart looked as Pinkamena pointed to her working heart. “Take mine,” Pinkamena said.

“Pinkamena,” Spitfire gasped. Pinkamena looked into her eyes.

“Everypony deserves a second chance,” Pinkamena said. “This is mine.” Spitfire nodded, tears in her eyes. She and Pinkamena kissed before Spitfire gave a warm smile to her friend. Pinkamena turned to Pip. Pip was crying. Despite only knowing Pinkamena for a few days, she had grown a friendship with her. Pumpkin Cake walked over to Pinkamena and held her mechanical hoof. Pinkamena wrapped her steel hoof around Pumpkin Cake's one last time. Braveheart walked over to Pinkamena.

“Pinkie,” he said. He extended his hoof. “This is goodbye.” Instead of shaking his hoof, Pinkamnea hugged Braveheart, and Braveheart hugged back. He would miss his once party-fanatic friend, and would never forget her. Pinkamena looked at Remedy, prepared to make a sacrifice for her survival.

Pinkamena lay down on another hospital bed and looked at Remedy. Velvet gave a small nod. Pinkamena looked up at the sky as she was prepared for the surgery.

“What is it that makes us equine?” she thought to herself. “It's not something you can program. You can't put it into a chip. It's the strength of the equine heart. The difference between us and the machines.” Pinkamena passed away, and her heart transplanted into Remedy.

Velvet Remedy woke up from her surgery in a helicopter. She was being carried back to base.

“There is a storm on the horizon,” Velvet said into her mic, after her recovery. “A time of hardship and pain. This battle has been won, but the war against the machines rages on. Starnet's global network remains strong. But we will not quit until all of it is destroyed. This is Velvet Remedy. There is no fate but what we make.”