Equestria: Salvation

Early the next morning, the entire world prepared for the attack on Starnet Central. Helicopters were being loaded, ammunition being loaded into guns, et cetera. A map reader called over Velvet Remedy.

“Remedy!” she called. “Command for you.” Remedy walked over and took the mic.

“This is Remedy!” Velvet called.

“Remedy, are your mares ready?” Shining Armor asked.

“Negative,” Remedy said. “Nopony is ready. We are not, you are not. We must abort the attack. The game has changed.”

“What are you talking about?” Shining Armor inquired. “All our elements are past the release points. They are in assault position.”

“Then delay the attack!” Remedy pleaded. “At least delay the attack. I have a chance to infiltrate Starnet and rescue those prisoners. Give me that opportunity.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Shining Armor denied. “This is not the time for a rescue mission. What you ask for will undermine the whole operation.”

“Starnet has Littlepip,” Remedy informed.

“Then that is her fate,” Shining Armor said.

“No, it’s our fate,” Velvet argued. “I have to save her. She is the key. The key to the future, to the past. Without her, we lose everything.”

“NO!” Shining Armor yelled. “You stay the course!”

“If we stay the course, we are dead!” Remedy cried. “WE ARE ALL DEAD!!!”

“As of this moment, soldier,” Shining Armor coldly said. “You are relived of your command. You are no longer a part of this Resistance!” Shining Armor hung up. Remedy, shocked and furious, threw down her mic. She looked over at Rainbow Dash.

“I didn’t catch that last statement,” Rainbow Dash denied.

“Neither did I,” the map reader said. Remedy felt complied to make a speech. She quickly left for her quarters and picked up the mic.

“This is Velvet Remedy,” she said. “If you’re listening to this, you are the Resistance. Listen carefully. If we attack tonight, our equinity is lost. There was a stallion, who knew to fear the future: that the end was coming, that all would be lost. He thought nopony would want to hear his truths. He locked himself away. That stallion was Braveheart. My father. And now we know, when he sheltered us in the Stables, that all he predicted had come to pass. Command wants us to fight like machines. They want us to make cold, calculated decisions. But we are not machines. And if we behave like them than WHAT IS THE POINT, in winning? Command is going to ask you to attack Starnet. I am asking you not to. If even one bomb drops on Starnet before sunrise, our future will be lost. So please, stand down. Give me the time to protect the future that all of us are fighting for. This is Velvet Remedy.” Velvet hung up and prayed that her speech would be enough. She left for the hanger and prepared for her mission. Braveheart walked up behind her. Remedy turned around and saw her father. She walked up to him and they gave each other a kiss on the lips. Braveheart looked at his daughter with sad, wet eyes. He knew he may never see his daughter again. He had this struggle before, but now, it was a stronger feeling than ever. Remedy nodded and started to walk away.

“What should I tell your mares when they find out you’re gone?” Braveheart wondered, close to tears. Remedy turned around and gave her answer.

“I’ll be back.” Braveheart nodded and watched his daughter go.
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Velvet Remedy placed a boom box in the middle of the road and played a song. A Moto-Terminator not too far away heard and stopped. It analyzed the sound and moved in toward it. Remedy took the rope she had brought and wrapped it around the axle of a flipped car. She ran over to another flipped vehicle and wrapped the other end of the rope around the axle. She heard the Moto-Terminator close in, and she tightened the rope. The Moto-Terminator flipped and crashed into another car. Remedy ran over. She pulled out her knife and forced open the machine’s control frame. She pulled out a small computer and plugged it in. She also removed one of the Moto-Terminator’s eyes. She overrode the machine’s mainframe, got on, and sped towards Starnet.
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Starnet Perimeter [North Gate]

Pinkamena crouched behind a downed Resistance helicopter. A giant turret turned away, scanning. Pinkamena breathed, and hoped that she wouldn’t be blasted to nothingness. She walked out from behind the helicopter. The turret immediately noticed and proceeded to scan her. Pinkamena’s face was recognized, and the turret turned away. Pinkamena wasted no time in getting up the hill and into Starnet. When she reached the top of the hill, she saw the vast complexity that was Starnet. Huge factories surrounded a massive tower in the center. Fire spewed from the exhaust vents, and smoke rose up from the work of the factories.

“I’m coming for you,” Pinkamena whispered. She ran down the hill into Starnet.

Velvet Remedy was approaching the Starnet Perimeter. The blackness of the night concealed her approach.

As Pinkamena made her way to the Starnet Tower, she marveled at the automated machinery. She ran past an automated bulldozer and to the tower.

Near the Starnet Perimeter, Velvet Remedy had made her stop up in the cross sections of a broken bridge. She had a full view of Starnet Central. She pulled out her minicomputer and waited.

“Come on, Pinkamena,” she whispered. She looked back toward Starnet Central.

As Pinkamena walked into the control room, the holographic computer lit up, revealing the entire Starnet database. It confirmed Pinkamena’s identity as she got closer. Pinkamena was a wreck; flesh and jacket torn, half of her face missing, much endoskeleton exposed. She put down the radio Remedy had given her. She placed her hoof over a projection of a hoofprint, and the computer began to sync with her memory chip. Pinkamena winced and gripped the back of her head. For a moment, her entire vision field went black. It came right back on, accessed with the files of the Starnet database. The sync was complete. Pinkamena began to look around, trying to find the necessary controls and data. She found the controls for the north gun turret, the one that had scanned her earlier. She turned off all power to the turret, disarming it. She kept looking and found the holding cells. She found Littlepip in cell 4a. She sent a map of the level to Velvet Remedy.

Remedy heard beeping from her minicomputer. She looked at it and saw the sent file. She decrypted it and looked it over. She put the minicomputer away and got ready to go.

Finished with her military duty, Pinkamena moved on to her personal duty. She found news articles that said, “Murderer Donates Body to Science,” and “Pinkamena to Donate Body after Execution.” She remembered these memories. They were when she had said her final goodbyes to Braveheart. She scrolled through the news clippings. She found two more that said, “Doctor Redheart Succumbs to Cancer,” and “Science World Bids Farewell to Dr. Redheart.” Doctor Redheart had died from her cancer, and the Crystal Empire continued her work. Pinkamena was shocked. She saw uncontrollable files of the launching of the nuclear missiles when Starnet went online, and the destruction they caused when they fell. Pinkamena saw Trixie’s wagon get blown away, ending her life. The information was too much for Pinkamena’s memory chip to take, and Pinakmena passed out.

Inside of Starnet, Remedy used her minicomputer to find her way around. The signal pointed to the tower. Remedy walked up to a Starnet transport and quietly opened up the control frame. She connected the minicomputer to the frame and manually opened up the doors. She suddenly heard a noise behind her. She quietly walked into one of the transport holding cells and hid. A T-600 walked in front of the transport, holding an F-2000 assault rifle. The Terminator looked around, scanning for anything unusual. When it found nothing, it walked away.
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In the Resistance Command sub, the stolen signal was being sent out.

“Signal broadcasting at full threat, sir,” Cadnece said to Shining Armor.

“Good,” Shining Armor said. “Commence bombing of Starnet.”

“We have a green light for the attack,” a soldier said to the world.

“This is Appleloosa,” the commander said. “That’s a no go on your last. Over.” The other cities involved in the bombing all stood down as well.

“Cloudsdale, Dodge Junction, Appleloosa, they’re all standing down,” a soldier informed.

“They will not attack unless Remedy gives the order,” Cadence concluded. Shining Armor scowled. This reckless move would bring down the Resistance.