The Resistanceby R-Dashiefan20ChaptersChapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 10Chapter 11Chapter 12Chapter 13Chapter 14Chapter 15Chapter 16Chapter 17EpiloguePrologueChapter 1Chapter 5Chapter 9Chapter 2Wind showed up just as Marigold got there. She was wearing a bright purple two piece that made her straightened dark purple hair, that she always covered one eye with, look darker. Her mother had probably made it for her. "Hey, Wind." Marigold said as Wind landed beside her unicorn friend and walked with her. "Hey, Marigold. What's up?" Wind asked. "Nothing much. You?" Marigold replied. "Hey guys!" Cherry yelled as she popped up beside them. She was wearing a red two piece. She had already been in the water because her brown poofy hair was a little wet. "What took you so long, Windy?" Cherry asked. "I had to wait until my mom got before I could leave." Wind replied. "Well, just wait until you see Applespice! He looks amazing!" Cherry yelled. "Keep your voice down, Cherry. I don't need all of Equestria to know that I like him." Wind said. "Oops, sorry." Cherry said as they got to the lake. When they got there, Wind saw all her friends. Comet was sitting under a tree with his face buried in the latest Daring Do book. His purple and blue streaked hair was slightly shiny, probably from being water ballooned. He wore a pair of red swim trunks and a white T-shirt. Applespice and Shadow were in the water horsing around. Shadow's long black hair was pasted to his head and shoulders. He wore a pair of black swim trunks. Wind gasped as she saw Applespice. His short sandy blond hair was shining in the sunlight. He wore a pair of camo swim trunks. Her jaw dropped as she saw the sun glistening off his abs. Cherry had made an understatement, he didn't look amazing. He looked HOT. "You may want to pick your jaw up off the ground, darling." Marigold said in her ear. Wind closed her mouth and shook her head free of the thoughts that were running rampant in her head. She spread her towel out on the ground and sat down. Chapter 3Applespice looked over at her from the water and came towards her. "Hey, Windy. How's it goin'?" He asked. His country accent wasn't as thick as his father's, but it was still there. "Hey, I-I good." Wind replied. Applespice just laughed at her. "Why don't you join us?" He asked. "Okay." Wind replied as she hopped up and followed him to the water. She entered the rather warm summer water and swam out to the middle of the lake. She was surprised when she was lifted into the air. She looked down to see Shadow holding her up. She looked in front of her to see Applespice supporting Cherry on his shoulders. "Oh, so it's a chicken fight you want, is it?" Wind asked as she looked Cherry in the eye. "You shall fall before the great Cherry Pie!" Cherry yelled as she mushed Applespice forward. They slapped each other and bobbed up and down in the water until Wind slipped off Shadow's shoulders and fell head first into the lake. She swallowed some of the water as she came back up for air. "Oh shit. You really got me good, Cherry." Wind said. "And the reigning chicken fight champ goes undefeated!" Cherry yelled as she waved her arms in the air. They continued to laugh and swim until the sun started going down. "We better get to my house, girls." Marigold said. "Yea. We should probably get home too." Comet said as he got up and started to walk off. "See you later, Windy." Applespice said as he walked away with Comet. "Y-yea. See you l-later." Wind said as she went to catch up with the girls. She looked over at Cherry and Marigold as they walked and noticed they were both just smiling at her. "What?" Wind asked. "Nothing. It' just cute how you stutter and slur when you talk to Applespice." Cherry said. "Hey, I do not." Wind replied. "I'm sorry to say, but you do, darling." Marigold said. "Whatever. Let's just get to your house. It's getting chilly." Wind said as she wrapped her towel around her. Chapter 4They walked into Marigold's house to find her mother working on a new dress. She looked up as the door shut behind them. "Oh, hello, sweetie. How was the trip to the lake?" Rarity asked. "It was good, mom. Where's dad?" Marigold replied. "He's around somewhere. If you girls are hungry, there's some lasagna in the kitchen." Rarity said as she went back to working on her dress. "Thanks mom." Marigold said as she made her way to the kitchen. Marigold's dad was sitting at the table picking at a plate of lasagna. He was a couple years younger than her mother, but, they were happy with each other. He looked up as they all walked in. His green hair was a frizzled mess and his purple suit was a bit of a mess as well. "Hello, sweetheart. How was the lake?" Spike asked. "Good, dad." Marigold said as she walked over and gave her father a hug. He managed a weak smile. "Everything alright, daddy?" Marigold asked. "Fine. Just tired is all." He replied as he got up and made his way towards the stairs. "You guys hungry?" Marigold asked. They shook their heads. Marigold shrugged and got a plate. She led the girls upstairs to her room. Cherry flopped down on the bed as Wind went into the bathroom to change. She came back out wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Marigold had changed as well, she was wearing a purple satin night gown and hand brushed her hair back down. She still had her left eye covered though. Wind sat down on the end of the bed. "What you got planned tonight?" She asked as she looked over at Marigold. "Wcldtksabtbsnstf." Marigold said through a mouthful of lasagna. She may have gotten her mother's looks, but, she got her father's manners. "One more time. Only this time, swallow before you talk." Wind said. "I said, we could talk about boys and stuff." Marigold replied. "You know I don't like to talk about that stuff." Wind replied. "Well, how about some scary movies?" Marigold asked. "Woot! Scary movies!" Cherry yelled. Marigold flicked on the TV and brought up Netflix. They watched movies and talked all night. Chapter 6At about five twenty everyone had arrived. Wind had called her dad's friend Vinyl to DJ the party. They danced, laughed and had a good time. Just as Wind was getting close to Applespice, her phone rang again. It was the same number from earlier. She just let it ring. After about another hour her phone rang again, and again it was the same strange number. She walked up to Vinyl and asked her to stop the music in case it was her parents. "Hello?" She answered. There was just a static noise on the other end. Just as she was about to hang up, a bright flash of light blinded everyone. Once their sight returned the saw a blue English style telephone booth sitting in the middle of the living room. "What the hell?" Wind said as the doors opened. A man of about her father's height and build stepped out. He was wearing a brown suit and trench coat and a red tie with an hourglass pin on the lapel. He had shaggy brown hair. A pair of retro 3D glasses adorned his face. "Who the hell are you?" Wind asked as she moved towards him. "There's no time for that. All of you have to come with me now." He said as he motioned towards everyone. "I'm not getting into some strange phone booth with a guy I've never met before." Wind said. "I will explain later, Wind. Right now, you and your friends need to come with me." He said. "How do you know my name?" Wind asked. "I'm a friend of your father's. He sent me here to retrieve you. Your parents are in grave danger." He said. "My parents?" Wind asked. "Yes. You need to come with me now, before it's too late." He said. "Just give me one minute. I have to get something." Wind said as she went to the hall closet and pulled out a long kitana. She pulled the blade out and examined it. It had her mother's signature cloud and rainbow bolt near the guard of it. She slid the blade back into its sheath. "Alright. If you say you know my father, I will trust you. But, if you're lying to me, I will strike you down." Wind said. "Noted. Now, let's go." He said as they all filed into the phone booth. On the inside, it looked like some kind of spaceship. The guy shut the door behind them and walked over to the control panel. Wind followed him. "So, who are you and where are my parents?" She asked as he started flicking switches and presses buttons. "My name is Doctor Whooves. I am an old friend of your father's. As for where you parents are, that's not the proper question to ask." He replied. "What do you mean, 'not the proper question'?" Wind asked. "The question you should be asking is, when are your parents located." He replied. "What the hell are you talking about?" Wind asked. "Okay, let me explain. Your parents were kidnapped by a time traveling villain who I've been tracking for years. She finally managed to slip past me and he took your parents into the future. One that she rules." He said. "But, why would she kidnap them?" Wind asked. "Because. In our time line, with your parents assistance, I was able to banish her to an alternate dimension that she would never escape from. That is why it was so urgent for us to leave so soon. She would be there to take over at any time." He replied. Wind sat down in a chair that was sitting next to the control panel. Chapter 7"This is a lot of information to process. So, this person traveled back in time to kidnap my parents so they could take over Equestria. But, why my parents? They're retired from the evil fighting business." Wind said. "Actually, it's what your father does everyday. He's a field agent for the Covert Flyers." He replied. "What? I thought he had a boring office job." Wind said. "He told you that to protect you. If you knew the truth, you could be taken and questioned." He said. "But, we even had dinner with his boss one time." Wind said. "That was someone that he paid to play his boss. We're here." He replied as the machine made a squealing noise. He walked over and peeked out the door. "It's clear. Let's go." He said as he pulled the door all the way open and we filed out. They exited onto a barren wasteland of ash and dead grass. Wind looked around and saw that most of Ponyville had been leveled, except for Marigold's house. The doctor walked up to the steel door and knocked on it using a musical sequence. A slot near the top of the door slid open. There was a gasp as the slot slammed shut and the door opened. Vinyl stood on the other side and motioned for them to hurry inside. They filed in and she slammed the door shut and bolted it. "It's good to see you doctor. Glad to see you brought them, we may stand a fighting chance now." Vinyl said. "I don't see how they can make our situation any better." A familiar voice said from behind them. Wind turned to see Octavia standing against a wall looking at the floor. Her hair was slightly matted and she had a scar over her right eye. "They're just children. They don't have any experience fighting in a war." Octavia said. "They may not have the experience, but, they do have the gifts that we need. These are the new generation of mane six that we're talking about here." The doctor said. "Come on, Tavi. We don't really have a choice here. All our other resistance members have been killed or gone missing." Vinyl said. Octavia looked up and Wind gasped as she saw her eye. It was pure white and had a scar running down it. She shoved her way past Wind and walked down a hallway and disappeared. "Don't mind her kiddo. She hasn't been the same since we lost our resistance fighters." Vinyl said. "Where's my mother?" Marigold asked. Vinyl looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, we really don't know. Along with AJ, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Trixie they went missing during recon at the fortress. I'm sorry." Vinyl replied. Everyone's faces dropped and they looked away, except for Wind, who had a look of determination. "It's okay guys, we'll stop this evil time traveler and set things right." She said. Wind noticed a device on the table. It looked like a cross between a bazooka and a speaker. "What's that?" Wind asked motioning towards the device. Vinyl looked over. "Oh, that's just a little something I've been working on for a couple of years now. If my calculations are correct, when I get it working, it will be able to pierce even the thickest of steel walls. I'm only missing a proper power source." Vinyl replied. "How long has this war been going on?" Wind asked. "About four years. The initial attack began shortly after that party Cherry threw at your house. We've been fighting for our lives ever since. We built the resistance and stationed here, it's the only place that wasn't effected by the bombs that were dropped. We reinforced the doors and windows and began to plan our assault on the fortress." Vinyl replied. "Well, how can we help?" Wind asked. "We'll get to that in the morning. For now, let's get some sleep." Vinyl replied as she led them down the hallway that Octavia had disappeared into. She set each of them up in their respective parents rooms. They all fell asleep almost immediately. Chapter 8Wind was awoken by the sound of an explosion. She ran out of her room and down the hallway. She entered the main room, breathing hard. Vinyl looked up from her device as she ran in she was wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a loose fitting black T-shirt. "Relax, it's just them testing there bombs. They do it every week. We're all safe." She said as the others ran in too. After a long explanation and some coffee, they were all settled in to discuss the plans. "Before Twilight went missing, she was able to formulate a plan of attack for us." Vinyl began as she pulled out a folder and spread the documents out on the table. "She found three places we needed to hit in order to dampen their defenses enough to attack the fortress head on. We were going to split into three teams and hit each one simultaneously. Each one has a specific job that reinforces the defenses of the fortress. The first of these is the machinery factory. It is responsible for creating the automated drones that scout the area around the fortress walls to assess potential threats. The second is the power station. It supplies the necessary power to keep the electric barriers and search lights going. The fortress itself has a separate power supply somewhere inside. The last one is the worst of them all, it's the resistance holding prison. That will be the toughest to infiltrate. Two of us will have to go undercover and infiltrate the facility." Vinyl continued. "So, where do we start?" Applespice asked. "That's another problem. We would have to infiltrate all three at once. That is why we would have to split into three teams. Doctor Whooves would lead the team into the machinery factory, because he's good with tech. Octavia would lead the team into the power plant, because she knows the layout of it. And the two that would go into the prison would have to sneak in an earpiece for me to be able to help them progress safely through out the facility." Vinyl replied. "Okay, so, who's going where?" Marigold asked. "That's just it. I don't know what skills you kids have, if any." Vinyl replied. "I'm pretty good with tech too." Comet said. "I can handle explosives pretty well." Cherry said. "Good. You two can go with the doctor to the machinery factory. What about the rest of you." Vinyl replied. "Well, I can handle some heavy lifting." Applespice said. "I'm pretty good with stealth." Wind said. "Good. Wind, you will be my little jailbird." Vinyl said as she handed Wind a set of earpieces. Wind took them and looked at them suspiciously. "How are we supposed to sneak these inside?" She asked. Vinyl just looked from them to her. "Wait, do you mean what I think you mean?" She asked. Vinyl just nodded. Wind made a face that was a mixture of sickness and anger. "Why do we need to shut down the prison anyway?" Applespice asked. "If we're going to assault the fortress, we're going to need to bust our friends out to help us. So, you'll need to figure something out for those earpieces, without them you'll be dead in the water." Vinyl said. Applespice just sat back down. "Okay, so, what can the two of you do?" She asked as she turned toward Shadow and Marigold. "Well, I can be pretty inventive in a tight spot." Shadow said. "I can, well..." Marigold began as she walked up to Vinyl and whispered something in her ear. Vinyl's eyes got wide. "Okay, then. You and Applespice will accompany Tavi to the power station. Shadow, you will accompany Wind to the prison. Cherry, I will need you to make two bombs. We leave in o-three hundred hours. Everyone get your gear together and we'll meet here to split into teams." Vinyl said before the group split up. Chapter 10Doctor Whooves, Comet, and Cherry watched as the giant machine came to carry Wind and Applespice to the prison. Doctor Whooves nodded to Octavia and they each took their teams toward the direction they needed to head in. The doctor and his team needed to head West to the machinery factory. He knew the route well, he was the one that had helped Twilight recon the place. Along the way they had to duck behind burnt up trees and rocks to avoid being captured by the new drones being pumped out by the factory. They got to the front of the factory and ducked under an awning. "Okay, Vinyl. We are ready to proceed with phase two. Where's our entrance?" The doctor asked as he put his finger to his ear to turn on the earpiece. "Good timing, doc, everyone else just got into position." Vinyl said as one of the smaller drones came down and spotted them. Comet pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the machine. "Relax, kiddo. It's me, I managed to hack into one the drones so, I could see where you are. Excellent spot to take cover in." Vinyl said as the drone flew off. "Now, there should be a small ventilation duct to your left somewhere. Comet should be able to fit inside and come around the opposite way to unlock the door for you without setting off the alarm." Vinyl said as Doctor Whooves looked around and spotted the duct. He pried the cover off and motioned for Comet to crawl through. He shimmied into the vent and crawled through. After about two feet of duct, he came to an opening and pulled himself out. He looked around. "Clear." He said to himself as he made his way to the door and accessed the touchpad lock mechanism. He quickly hacked it and unlocked the door. "Pssh, child's play." He said as he quietly pushed the door open. The others filed in quickly and ducked behind a giant crate positioned near the open duct that Comet had come in through. "Phase two complete, Vinyl. What's next?" The doctor asked. "Hold on, we're experiencing some difficulties on Octavia's end. Just sit tight until we can get this worked out." Vinyl said. Chapter 11Octavia and her team headed just due East of the fortress to the power station. She remembered that place well. It was were she had gotten her scar and her jank eye from. They arrived and hid behind a broken transformer. "Okay, Vinyl. Phase one complete. Where do we get into this place at?" Octavia asked. "Okay, Tavi. Can you see the first set of transformers next to the front of the building?" Vinyl replied. Octavia looked around and saw the set she was meaning. "Yes." She said. "Okay, just between those two. If you can just pry that crate open, you can get into the facility without any alarms or anything." Vinyl replied. "The sewer? Is there not a better option?" Octavia asked. "Sorry, Tavi. The only other way is to go through the roof, but, unless you guys can survive a ten point twenty-one gigawatt blast of electricity you have to go through the sewer." Vinyl replied. Octavia just sighed and motioned for the other two to follow her. They approached the grate and Octavia pulled out a crowbar. She rammed the crowbar into the side of the grate and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. "Let me get that." Applespice said as he grabbed the crow bar and pried the grate up. The grate thumped to the ground and they all jumped inside. Applespice pulled the grate shut as he jumped in. "Oh, dear Celestia. It smells awful down here." Marigold said. "Well, it is a sewer." Applespice said as they walked through the foul smelling water. As they continued to walk, a growling noise came from around a corner up ahead. Octavia threw up her hand in a signal to stop. They all listened as they heard something moving toward them through the water. They saw a shadow of what appeared to be a couple of dogs. Applespice began whistling at them. "It's just some lost dogs guys. Come on fellas, we won't hurt you." He said as he moved closer to the corner. As he moved, the 'dogs' came around the corner. They looked like dogs, but, they were made completely out of steel and had red lights for eyes. "What the hell?" Applespice asked as the dogs jumped and began attacking them. The largest one took Applespice to the ground and the second one attacked Marigold and clamped onto her hair as she turned to run. Octavia pulled out a pistol and began shooting the hound. "Octavia, what the hell is happening down there?" Vinyl asked in her ear. "We encountered a couple steel hounds. They were patrolling the sewers. How do we take them down? My bullets are just bouncing off." Octavia said as she ran over to try to help Marigold. "I don't see anything in Twilight's files about destroying them." Vinyl said frantically. There was a loud crunch noise. Octavia turned to Applespice with the hound's head between his clenched fists. It was leaking oil from it's crushed head. He threw the hound into the murky water and charged over to the one that had Marigold in its grip. He pried open its mouth and gripped its jaws in his hands as he pulled in either direction. There was an echoing snap as the hound's head split in half, sending oil and metal shards flying. He was breathing heavily as he threw the second hound into the water beside its counterpart. He turned to the others and regained his composure. "Let's go. We shouldn't be far from the entrance." Octavia said as she walked around the corner with the other two following. Chapter 12The jail-bot clasped a metal ring around both of their chests, securing their wings in place and dropped them into a large courtyard. Their were several run down looking buildings made of wood and aluminum scattered around. At the far end was a much larger building made of concrete and steel. It had two giant searchlights at the tops of two towers on either side of it. Wind ducked behind a tree and retrieved the earpieces. She took the plastic off of them and stuck one in her ear and handed the other one to Shadow. "Okay, Vinyl. We're in. You said we should find Luna?" Wind asked. "Yes. Ask her how you can take out the prison security." Vinyl said. "Got it. Come on, Shadow. Let's find Luna." Wind said as she made her way further into the prison courtyard. They entered one of the buildings and Wind recognized one of the people inside as the teacher of the elementary school. She ran over to her. "Miss Cheerilee." Wind said. She looked up as the two approached and her eyes widened. "What are you two doing here?" She asked. "Don't worry Miss Cheerilee. We're here on purpose." Wind said. "On purpose? Why?" She asked. "Vinyl sent us to put this prison out of commission. But, we need to find Luna, have you seen her?" Wind replied. "No, sorry. You should try the building across from this one. They have each race separated into different buildings." She said. "Thank you, Miss Cheerilee." Wind said as he made her way towards the door. "Good luck." Cheerilee called after them. As they made their way across the courtyard, Wind could see several other pegasi with the same steel clamp around their midsections as well. The unicorns had some sort of steel cone contraption on their horns. They entered the building that Cheerilee had sent them to. As they looked around at all the depressed pegasi and unicorns all trying to keep one another alive, Wind spotted Luna at the end of the room. She was lying in a bed facing the wall. Wind slowly approached her and sat on the edge of her bed. Luna sat up and looked at her. "What do you want. Can't you see I'm busy?" She snapped. "Princess Luna, Vinyl sent us. She said you could help us shut down this place." Wind said. Luna looked around and pulled a piece of parchment out from under her pillow and unfolded it. It was a map of the courtyard. "This is the guards station. You'll need to get in there. But, to do that, you'll need to get a keycard from one of the guards. They patrol every couple hours and usually stop behind the trees to smoke. That will be your ideal time to strike. Once you get rid of the guard and have the keycard, come see me." Luna said as she tucked the parchment back under her pillow and laid back down. Wind and Shadow left and stood outside watching the guard station. After a few minutes, two guards exited the doors and started to patrol the area. They split up and headed to go behind the buildings. Wind made her way around to behind one of the guards. He stopped and pulled out a cigarette. Wind wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as she could. There was a snap and the guard crumpled. She searched his body as she hid it in the bushes. She grabbed the keycard and headed back into the building. Chapter 13"Vinyl? Vinyl?" Doctor Whooves asked frantically. After a few minutes of radio static, she finally answered. "I'm here, doc. Sorry, Tavi ran into some mech-hounds at the power station. Now, you guys will need to continue deep into the factory to find the main control panel. Once you find it, you'll need to hack it and shut down the server. That should disable all sentries in the area and stop more from being made." Vinyl said. "Got it. Maintain radio silence until phase 3 is complete." He said as he motioned for the others to follow him. They made their way past several conveyer belts where drones and various other mechanical monstrosities were being assembled. The further they got into the factory, the worse the smell of gasoline and burnt motor oil became. They came to a rusted elevator that descended into darkness below. "That doesn't look safe." Comet observed. "Come one, Comet. It could be fun." Cherry said. Comet fluttered his wings nervously. "We don't really have a choice here." Doctor Whooves said as he pulled the grate to the elevator open. They all stepped on and Comet hit the down button. The elevator creaked and groaned as it descended the shaft. Comet was shaking from nerves, he hated confined spaces more than anything. He felt a hand grip his and looked up to see Cherry smiling at him as she held his hand. He managed a weak smile. "It's okay, Comet. It's just a little elevator ride. I won't let anything happen to you." She said in his ear. The elevator jerked as it stopped and made Comet's heart jump. He ran off the elevator and embraced the open space of the new floor. He looked around and saw six containers that looked like they were meant for cryogenic research. They were busted open, clearly something had wanted out. The strangest part was that each one had symbol above it. Comet recognized several of them as the symbols that his friends mothers sported. Only one was unbroken and empty. It was the symbol of Wind's mother. "Strange that these containers would sport the symbols of the elements of harmony." Doctor Whooves said as he came up beside Comet. "It's kinda creepy." Comet said as they continued through the giant room. There were rows and rows of containers, each one emblazoned with a different symbol. As they passed one that had a sun symbol on it, it exploded open and an alicorn burst from it. She had wavy hair that was striped with different colors. Half of her face was covered in steel with a red light for her eye and she had a giant saw blade for her left hand. "All trespassers will be exterminated!" The cyborg alicorn yelled in an auto tuned sounding voice. Comet ducked out of the way just as it swung the spinning saw. The saw cut a nitrogen line in two and it began spraying everywhere. Thinking quickly, Comet grabbed the end of the hose and pointed it at the cyborg. It began to slow down in moving and after about a minute, stopped all together. The hose stopped spraying and Comet walked over to examine the cyborg. "What is this thing? It looks like Princess Celestia." He said. "I was afraid of this." Doctor Whooves said. "What is this place?" Cherry asked, a small amount of fear creeping into her voice. "A while ago, we intercepted some intel about a secret project to start turning several hundred ponies into cyborg warriors to fight for the overlord. We had hoped it was just a rumor, but, if these containers each represent a pony that they've turned... well, we just need to destroy this place. And fast." He said as they continued through the hallway of containers. They reached the end and came upon a large computer that had two control panels on it. "Okay, Vinyl. Phase three is complete. Proceeding with phase four." Doctor Whooves said. "Excellent. Now, there should be two control panels. You will have to hack both at the same time to open the power core. Once the core is open, you will need to plant the bomb and hall ass out of there." Vinyl replied. "Good. Comet, you take the one on the left, I'll take the one on the right." He said as they approached the panel. They began hacking and after about a minute, the middle of the reactor slid open. "Cherry, place the bomb." Comet said as she pulled out a make-shift bomb and set the timer. She threw it into the open space and they all ran towards the exit. As they ran, several more of the containers busted open. Chapter 14Octavia and the others entered the power station and looked around. They were in a large open room that contained several of the large transformers they had seen outside. On the far end of the room was a large doorway that looked like the entrance to an airplane hangar. "Okay, Vinyl. We have completed phase two. What's next?" Octavia said. "Do you see a large open hangar door?" Vinyl asked. "Yes. It's across the room from us." Octavia replied. "Good. You'll need to get through that door and into the next room. Once through there, you'll need to locate the main power supply." Vinyl said. "Got it." Octavia said. There was a small metal bridge with two transformers on either side. Under the bridge was just a dark void of nothingness. As Octavia tried to cross, the transformers both exploded and shot electrical pulses out of the sides. She backed up and tried again, but, it had the same end result. "What the hell?" Octavia asked aloud. "There seems to be some kind of invisible tripwire. There appears to be a shut off switch on the other side." Applespice said. "How are we supposed to get across?" Octavia asked as she turned to him. "I have an idea." Marigold said. "Well, out with it." Octavia said impatiently. "Well, it's a trick my aunt Twilight showed me. I'm not supposed to use it unless it's an emergency. This is more than an emergency though." Marigold said. "Well, what is it?" Octavia asked. "Stand back and I'll show you." Marigold said as the others backed up a little bit. Marigold took a deep breath and pulled her hair back, revealing her left eye. It was a green dragon's eye. She concentrated and her horn began to glow and a light flashed from her eye. Time slowed around her as her magic went to work. She walked across the bridge with little effort and flipped the switch on the other side. She deactivated her power and collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Applespice and Octavia ran over to her. "How did you do that?" Applespice asked. "It's what happens when I combine my unicorn magic with my dragon's greed. It temporarily slows time. It takes a lot out of me, that's why it's only for emergency use." She said as she slowly stood up. Applespice helped her to her feet and they proceeded through the hangar door. They entered a huge open room that had several steel walkways running along the walls. They were standing on a big circular platform the had a hole in the center blocked by a hand rail. Under them was a gigantic tesla coil that was buzzing with enough electricity to power a continent. On the opposite side of the platform was a computer that probably kept the tesla coil in working order. Standing at the computer, wrapped up in their work was a blonde unicorn, frantically pressing buttons and flipping switches. Octavia approached quietly and held her gun to the back of the unicorn's head and cocked it. The unicorn froze and put her hands up. "Turn around, slowly." Octavia said. The unicorn obeyed. She turned and looked up at Octavia. "Dinky?" Octavia asked. Tears were streaming down the unicorn's face. "Tavi. Please, don't kill me. I'm sorry." The unicorn pleaded. Octavia dropped the gun and pulled the unicorn in for a hug. "Dinky, we thought we lost you. Where's your mother?" Octavia asked. "They have her. They said if I kept the power station up and running, they wouldn't hurt her." Dinky said as she embraced Octavia, tears still streaming from her eyes. "It's okay, Dinky. We're putting an end to them today. We will rescue your mother." Octavia said as she pulled away from Dinky. "Really?" Dinky asked. "Yes. Marigold, give me the bomb." Octavia said as she turned to the other two. Marigold fished around in her bag for a minute and pulled out a make-shift bomb. Octavia took it and set the timer. She placed it on the computer and headed toward the exit. Chapter 15Wind and Shadow returned to Luna with the keycard. "Excellent. Now, you'll have to use that keycard to get into the guard house. Once inside, you'll have to find the main control room. From there, you will be able to disengage all security protocols. Including our restraints." Luna instructed them. "What about the search lights?" Wind asked. "I can lend some assistance with my magic. This device blocks most uses from my horn, but I can still perform simple spells. I will render you both invisible to the naked eye." Luna replied. "Okay, let's do this." Wind said. They all left the building and got ready. Luna hid out of sight behind a tree. She concentrated and the device began to glow slightly with a black light. She gave them the signal to go and they ran towards the guard house. They got to the door without any alerts from the search lights. Wind swiped the keycard and they headed inside. The inside was really drab and depressing. There were several half broken desks with uncomfortable looking chairs. They slowly made there way to the first desk and hid behind it. "Okay, Vinyl. We're in the guard house. Luna said we need to find the main control room. Any idea where we'll find it?" Wind whispered while looking around for guards. "I can't tell, the schematics we have are pretty damaged. See if you can get one of the guards to talk." Vinyl replied. "Okay. Thanks, maintain radio silence until we find it." Wind replied. Wind spotted the stairs. As she made her way towards them, she picked up a tactical knife from one of the desks. She pressed herself against the wall as she ascended the stairs. She heard voices coming from above and turned to Shadow and put her finger to her lips. He just nodded. Wind peeked around the corner and counted five guards in sight. There was one with his back turned to her at the top of the stairs. She quietly made her way to him and shoved the blade into his neck and grabbed the gun from his belt. Before the other four guards could react, she shot three bullets into each of there chests. She let the guard she had stabbed fall to the ground and grabbed the other guards guns. She handed one to Shadow. "You know how to use of these?" She asked. He nodded. "How did you do that?" Shadow asked. "My dad taught me." Wind replied as she stuck one of the guns into the waist of her pants. "Come on. There's only a couple more floors to clear." Wind said as she made her way to the next flight of stairs. Wind hurried up them and was immediately greeted with gun fire. She and Shadow ducked down behind an over turned steel desk. Bullets were flying everywhere. "I count seven guards in total." Wind said. "How do you know that?" Shadow asked as he flinched from a ricocheted bullet. "I can tell by the gunshots. There's a sequence of seven guns firing in order. They should be reloading right... about... now!" Wind said as the firing stopped and she jumped over the table. She ran over to the closest guard. She grabbed him and spun him around. She used him as a human shield as she fired away at the other guards. She got to the last one and ran out of bullets. She threw her empty gun at him and it hit him in the hand, making him drop his gun. She snapped the neck of the guard she was holding and ran over to the other one. She knocked him to the ground and pulled the gun from her waist and pointed it at him. "Where's the main control room?" She asked. The guard spit at her. She put her foot on his throat and pressed down. "Last chance. Where is the control room?" She asked again. The guard made a choking noise. She lifted her foot up. "Top floor. You'll need my access card." The guard said. Wind leaned down and took the card from his belt. "Thank you for your cooperation." Wind said as she stomped on his neck, crushing his windpipe. "Come on, let's go." Wind said as she headed for the stairs. They ran up and entered a room that had a steel cage surrounding a big super computer. It seemed to be powered by a large battery looking object. The cage was emitting a slight humming noise. Shadow started towards the cage, but, Wind stopped him. She picked up a small piece of rubble and threw it at the cage, it sparked as it hit a wall of electric. "Thought so. Vinyl, any word on the power station yet?" Wind asked. From outside, they heard an explosion in the distance. The lights flickered off and the cage powered down. "They just blew it up. If you see a large battery looking object, grab it for me. It's a quantum battery and I need it to make my invention functional." Vinyl replied. "Will do." Wind said as she swiped the card in the gate and entered. She ripped the battery out and an alarm sounded as their restraints fell to the floor. "Warning, removing the quantum battery will cause all security measures to fail. Please replace the battery now." A computerized voice said. Wind and Shadow ran out of the building and into the courtyard, just as the far wall of the prison exploded Chapter 16"Over here guys!" Cherry yelled from the gaping hole in the wall. Wind and Shadow ran over to her. She was standing there with Comet and Doctor Whooves. Wind turned to see all the prisoners looking at her and Shadow. Wind handed Shadow the battery. "Who here is tired of being oppressed by the overlord?" Wind asked. Everyone raised there hands. "Good! Who here is willing to fight for there freedom?" Wind asked. Again, everyone raised there hands. "Excellent! Today is the day we push back! I may not have been here long, but, I am willing to fight for your freedom! Join us and take back this land in the name of Celestia!" Wind shouted as she raised her fist. There were several whoops and hollers from the crowd as Wind turned and started running toward the fortress wall with them behind her. "Vinyl, meet us at the fortress wall and bring your invention. Have Tavi and the others bring weapons, we're bringing the party to you." Wind said as she ran. Doctor Whooves looked over at her. "Your father would be proud." He said as he handed her mother's sword to her. They reached the wall just as Vinyl and Tavi showed up. Applespice was pulling a wagon filled to the brim with various guns and melee weapons. Vinyl had her invention ready to be used. Shadow handed her the battery and she placed it into the open slot in the side as the crowd from the prison were already arming themselves. "This will take a few minutes to charge up. Keep me covered." Vinyl said. There was a rumble from behind the wall. Wind got on top of Applespice's shoulders and looked over the crowd of resistance fighters. "Today we fight to reclaim this land! There may be casualties, but, you will have died for an honorable cause! Die knowing that you were able to help us take down this menace! Are we ready?! For today we dine in hell!" Wind shouted. The crowd gave a unanimous shout of approval as they thrust their weapons into the air. "Very brave words! I'm almost touched! Too bad that one as brave as you must die! Get them, my pets!" A voice said from the fortress. A blur of thousands of colors ascended the wall and landed in front of them. It was an entire army of cyborgs. The ones at the head of the pack surprised Wind the most. They were her friends parents and relatives. Wind gulped as their own army hesitated, seeing there loved ones in the group. "They may look like the ones you know and love, but, they no longer have any humanity left! You must treat them as if they were a simple drone!" Luna yelled. "Vinyl, how goes the charging for that weapon?" Wind asked. "Not quite yet. Buy me some time." Vinyl replied. "Alright! Let's do this thing! CHARGE!" Wind shouted as both armies slammed into each other. Wind jumped down from Applespice's shoulders as he was ambushed by his cyborg family. He was surrounded by Applejack, his aunt; Big Mac, his dad; and Fluttershy, his mom. They were attacking him with various weapons as he dodged and countered, but, he didn't seem to ever strike them enough to do any serious damage. "Applespice, you have to kill them! If you don't, they'll kill you!" Wind shouted. "I can't! It's my family!" He replied. Wind ran over and ran her sword through his aunt. Motor oil spewed from the wound. Applespice had a shocked look on his face. "See? They're not human anymore! Just machines!" Wind shouted. "In that case..." He said as he brought the huge hammer he had, down onto his mother's head, which burst like a melon. He looked over at his father, who was staring at him intently. His dad swung a broad sword at him, but he dodged and used the hammer with full force against his dad's leg. He collapsed onto the ground. Applespice raised the hammer above his head and as he brought it down, he could almost swear that he saw his dad wink at him. "It's ready! But, I can't get a clear shot at the wall!" Vinyl said. Wind and Applespice exchanged a look and nodded. Wind climbed on top of his shoulders again and faced the wall. "Give me the device!" Wind said as Vinyl handed it to Applespice. He handed it up to her. She positioned it on her shoulder like a rocket launcher. She could hear the device humming as it readied to fire. "What is this thing, anyway?" Wind asked. "Oh, it's nothing special..." Vinyl started as the device hummed louder. "it's just my BASS CANNON!" Vinyl shouted as the cannon fired a blast of sound that ripped through the crowd and shredded the fortress wall. Chapter 17Wind was almost knocked off Applespice's shoulders when it fired. She hopped down and handed the cannon back to Vinyl. "Good work!" Wind shouted as she and Applespice headed for the hole in the wall. They made their way into the hole and entered a very bleak courtyard that resembled a desert and had a set of steel stairs leading up to a large steel door, that had also been affected by the bass cannon. They ran up the stairs and through the door. The inside of the fortress was pretty dark. They made their way down the dark hallway and entered a giant throne room. It was mostly empty, except for a golden throne in the middle of the room and a small cage at the far right. Wind could see a few strands of rainbow colored hair sticking out of the cage. She ran over to it and saw her parents huddled together. "Mom! Dad!" She yelled. Neither of them responded to her calls. She rattled the bars of the cage. "Mom! Dad! I came to save you!" She yelled again. They still didn't respond. She looked closely and they didn't seem to be breathing. It looked like her father was holding her mother like she had died and had cried over her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at them. "Mom! Dad!" She cried again. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Applespice with a concerned look on her face. "They're gone, WInd. We were too late." He said in a comforting voice. "No!" She screamed as she pulled away from him. "Where are you!? Show yourself! You coward!" She yelled at the throne. There was a clapping that came from the darkness behind the throne. A female pegasus stepped out from behind it. She had multi-colored hair that had streaks of blue, red, and white. She wore a big black crown and had on all black with a huge red hourglass on her shirt. "I'm impressed. Too bad your parents didn't live to see you being such a great leader." She said. "Fuck you! I'm going to kill you for this! You bitch!" Wind yelled. "Such language for a young lady. Fellows, please teach this young mare some manners." She said as she snapped her fingers and two guards appeared on either side of her. They charged Wind, but she dodged and caught one's throat with her blade. He fell and she took his blade from him. The other guard charged her again. She jumped over him and sliced his head clean off with both blades. She landed and put her own blade into her mouth and grabbed the newly dead guard's. With her lackeys dispatched, Wind could focus on the bitch that had killed her parents. "Well done. Use your hate. Let it run through you." She said. "Fuck you!" Wind screamed as she ran toward the pegasus with all three blades. The pegasus materialized a red steel broad sword and blocked her attack. They swung back and forth blocking each other from advancing. This went on for several minutes before Wind got the better of the other pegasus. Wind managed to catch her in the back of the knee as she slid between her legs. The pegasus fell to one knee. "You're not bad. Your father taught you well." The pegasus said. "I'm just getting started." Wind said as her anger took control. She ran one blades through each of the pegasus's shoulders and pinned her to the floor. "Gah!" The pegasus cried out. Wind stuck her remaining blade into the floor next to her and sat on the pegasus's chest. She began mercilessly beating the hell out of the other pegasus to the point that her own knuckles were bloody. Wind got up and grabbed her blade out of the ground. She paced around the pegasus as she twirled the blade in her hand. "Just do it already!" The other pegasus said as she choked on blood. Wind threw the blade into the air and it came down and pierced the pegasus's throat. Wind walked away as the other pegasus drown in her own blood. She walked over to the cage and had Applespice rip the door off. Wind grabbed her mother and had Applespice grab her father. They walked out of the fortress and noticed that the battle had stopped. The cyborgs had stopped fighting and had fallen over to just heaps of scrap. Doctor Whooves looked up and his face dropped. He ran over and checked their pulses and tears welled in his eyes. "I failed." He said quietly. EpilogueAfter everyone helped clean up from the battle, they buried Wind's parents under a tree on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. It was their favorite spot to picnic when she was a kid. After the funeral, Doctor Whooves gathered everyone in the time machine. Wind stayed outside of it. "Come on, Wind. It's time to go back." Doctor Whooves said. "I'm staying here." Wind said as she looked at the ground. "What? Why?" Cherry asked. "There's nothing for me back there." Wind said. "Well, if you stay, so am I." Applespice said as he stepped out of the machine. Wind managed a weak smile. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach, but, she gave him a kiss as she pushed him into the machine and shut the door behind him. The machine instantly disappeared. She wanted him to stay, but, that would be selfish of her. He still had his parents to go home to in the past. She would always have his memory to keep her happy. Besides, someone had to help Luna lead these lost people. Who better than the daughter of the two greatest pegasi Equestria had ever known? Wind placed a rose at the foot of the tombstone. She shed a few tears as she stood up and walked toward Luna's new castle. She would always love her parents. She would honor them by letting her hair return to it's natural color. PrologueJet was awoken by Dash's alarm clock. Dash was still snoring, fast asleep. He smiled at her as he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to shower. After he showered, he got dressed and walked over to Dash. He shook her awake. "What's, huh?" She said as she cracked her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her. "I gotta go to work now, babe. Love you." He said. "Love... too." She replied before passing out again. He chuckled to himself as he headed downstairs to get some breakfast. He saw his daughter sitting at the table, texting someone on her phone. She was wearing her usual black hoodie, jeans, and black converses. She had recently dyed her hair to a deep black color. He got some coffee and grabbed a doughnut from the counter. He sat across from his daughter as he took a sip of coffee. "I don't understand why you have to dye your hair. You have such beautiful blonde hair." He said. "Dad, it's a bit early for a lecture. Don't you think?" She asked. "I'm not lecturing. I'm just saying, maybe you should just let it go back to its original color. You look nice with blonde hair." He said. "Whatever, dad. It's my hair." She said. Jet just shrugged and looked at his watch. He poured the rest of his coffee down the sink and headed toward the door. "Are you going out today?" He asked as he opened the door. "Yes, dad. We're all going to go swimming at the lake today. Then, we're heading over to Marigold's for a sleep over." She replied with a sigh. "Who's 'all'?" He asked. "Me, Applespice, Marigold, Cherry, Comet, and Shadow." She said. "I wish you wouldn't hang around that Shadow kid. He's a bad influence. Just call me or your mother when you get to Marigold's." He said. She sighed and looked up from her phone. "Will do, dad." She replied. "Thanks, sweetie. Remember, let your mother sleep. She had a long night." He said. "Tell me about it. I could hear you guys all the way in my room." She said. "What was that?" He asked. "Nothing, dad. Have a good day at work." She said as he left the house. Chapter 1A few hours went by before Wind's mother got up. She came into the kitchen with her hair a tangled mess of rainbow colors. Her mother looked at her and frowned. "Why do you have to dye your hair?" She asked. "Because, mom. The new cool color is black." She replied. "Well, I'm just saying. Maybe if you let it go back to blonde, you might get some attention from Applespice." Dash said as Wind blushed. "How did you know I liked him?" She asked. "Honey, I was your age once too. You look at him like I looked at your father. I can see it on your face every time you're around him." Dash said. Wind didn't say anything, she just buried her face in her phone again. "Didn't mean to embarrass you, squirt." Dash said as she walked over behind Wind and peered over her shoulder. She craned her neck to the side and looked at her mother over shoulder. "What is it, mom?" She asked. "Nothing, squirt. Just seeing who you're texting." Her mother replied. "I'm texting Marigold to see if the sleep over is still happening." She said. "Well, you know the rule. Call us when you get there." Her mother said as she ruffled Wind's hair and headed back upstairs. "Yea, dad already said it earlier." Wind said as her mother disappeared up the steps. Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Cherry. She answered it. "Hey, Cherry. What's up?" She asked. "Oh my Celestia! You need to get down here now! Applespice just showed up and he's not wearing a shirt!" Cherry yelled in her ear. "Holy hell. Seriously?" She asked. "Would I joke about something like this?!" Cherry replied. "I'll be right there." She said as she hung up and headed upstairs to change into her one piece bikini. "Bye, mom. Going swimming." She said as she raced past her mother in the living room. She ran out of the house and headed to the lake. Chapter 5Wind was awoken by the sunlight hitting her face from Marigold's bedroom window. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She stood up and made her way to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she checked her phone. It was going on one o'clock. She gathered up her stuff and headed downstairs. Marigold's mother had fallen asleep at her workbench and was slumped over the half finished dress she was working on. Wind made her way to the door and shut it quietly behind her. Once she got home, she showered and got dressed. She went to the living room and flopped down on the couch. Her phone blipped and she looked at the number. "(0770)090-0461? What kind of number is that?" Wind asked aloud as she hit the end call button. She switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. Her phone rang again, this time it was Cherry. "Hello?" She answered. "Hey, Wind. Wanna help me throw a party tonight?" She asked. "I'd love to, but, where are we going to have it at?" Wind replied. "We could have it at your place. Didn't your parents go to Las Pegasus for their anniversary?" She asked. "Oh, yeah. I wondered why it was so quiet around here. Sounds good. What time you guys going to come over?" Wind replied. "I thought we could start about five." Cherry said. "Sounds good to me." Wind said. "Yay! See you then!" Cherry yelled as she hung up. Wind watched TV until about four thirty, when Cherry arrived to set up for the party. She brought her mother's party cannon to help speed things along. The house was decorated and party ready by four fifty. Wind's phone rang again. She looked at the screen. "(0770)090-0461? Who is this and why do they keep calling me?" Wind asked rhetorically. "It looks like it could be important." Cherry said from Wind's shoulder. "Yea, or a telemarketer trying to get my credit card number. Let's just start calling everyone." Wind replied. Chapter 9They all gathered in the main room. Everyone except Wind and Shadow were dressed in all black and were carrying various weapons. "Okay, guys. Here's the plan. Wind and Shadow need to get to the fortress walls and cause a distraction that will result in them being taken to the prison. While they distract the patrol UAVs, the rest of you will make your way to the power station and machinery factory. Once you arrive, contact me via the earpieces. Once everyone is in place, we will begin phase two of the operation. Infiltration. Once we begin phase two, I will give you all instructions on how to quietly make your way into the facilities. Now, is there any questions?" Vinyl asked. Nobody said anything. "Good. Let's move out." She said as she sat at a giant computer and began typing. Everyone hid in the shadows as Wind and Applespice made their way across the town to the fortress walls. They arrived and Wind gasped at the sheer size of it all. It was about thirty feet high, made of solid steel that was about four foot thick, and was electrified. Wind saw one of the search bots that Vinyl had mentioned. She picked up a rock and flung it at the thing. It turned and shined a bright light on them. A high pitched squeal came from the inside of the machine. Several more circled around them and squealed as well. They put their hands over their ears just as a larger drone came and two claws extended down and grabbed them. It hoisted them into the air and started to fly off. On the ground by the house, Wind could see two groups of shapes moving in opposite directions. Phase one was completed. On to phase two. Wind looked up to see a large compound looming up ahead of them.
Chapter 2Wind showed up just as Marigold got there. She was wearing a bright purple two piece that made her straightened dark purple hair, that she always covered one eye with, look darker. Her mother had probably made it for her. "Hey, Wind." Marigold said as Wind landed beside her unicorn friend and walked with her. "Hey, Marigold. What's up?" Wind asked. "Nothing much. You?" Marigold replied. "Hey guys!" Cherry yelled as she popped up beside them. She was wearing a red two piece. She had already been in the water because her brown poofy hair was a little wet. "What took you so long, Windy?" Cherry asked. "I had to wait until my mom got before I could leave." Wind replied. "Well, just wait until you see Applespice! He looks amazing!" Cherry yelled. "Keep your voice down, Cherry. I don't need all of Equestria to know that I like him." Wind said. "Oops, sorry." Cherry said as they got to the lake. When they got there, Wind saw all her friends. Comet was sitting under a tree with his face buried in the latest Daring Do book. His purple and blue streaked hair was slightly shiny, probably from being water ballooned. He wore a pair of red swim trunks and a white T-shirt. Applespice and Shadow were in the water horsing around. Shadow's long black hair was pasted to his head and shoulders. He wore a pair of black swim trunks. Wind gasped as she saw Applespice. His short sandy blond hair was shining in the sunlight. He wore a pair of camo swim trunks. Her jaw dropped as she saw the sun glistening off his abs. Cherry had made an understatement, he didn't look amazing. He looked HOT. "You may want to pick your jaw up off the ground, darling." Marigold said in her ear. Wind closed her mouth and shook her head free of the thoughts that were running rampant in her head. She spread her towel out on the ground and sat down.
Chapter 3Applespice looked over at her from the water and came towards her. "Hey, Windy. How's it goin'?" He asked. His country accent wasn't as thick as his father's, but it was still there. "Hey, I-I good." Wind replied. Applespice just laughed at her. "Why don't you join us?" He asked. "Okay." Wind replied as she hopped up and followed him to the water. She entered the rather warm summer water and swam out to the middle of the lake. She was surprised when she was lifted into the air. She looked down to see Shadow holding her up. She looked in front of her to see Applespice supporting Cherry on his shoulders. "Oh, so it's a chicken fight you want, is it?" Wind asked as she looked Cherry in the eye. "You shall fall before the great Cherry Pie!" Cherry yelled as she mushed Applespice forward. They slapped each other and bobbed up and down in the water until Wind slipped off Shadow's shoulders and fell head first into the lake. She swallowed some of the water as she came back up for air. "Oh shit. You really got me good, Cherry." Wind said. "And the reigning chicken fight champ goes undefeated!" Cherry yelled as she waved her arms in the air. They continued to laugh and swim until the sun started going down. "We better get to my house, girls." Marigold said. "Yea. We should probably get home too." Comet said as he got up and started to walk off. "See you later, Windy." Applespice said as he walked away with Comet. "Y-yea. See you l-later." Wind said as she went to catch up with the girls. She looked over at Cherry and Marigold as they walked and noticed they were both just smiling at her. "What?" Wind asked. "Nothing. It' just cute how you stutter and slur when you talk to Applespice." Cherry said. "Hey, I do not." Wind replied. "I'm sorry to say, but you do, darling." Marigold said. "Whatever. Let's just get to your house. It's getting chilly." Wind said as she wrapped her towel around her.
Chapter 4They walked into Marigold's house to find her mother working on a new dress. She looked up as the door shut behind them. "Oh, hello, sweetie. How was the trip to the lake?" Rarity asked. "It was good, mom. Where's dad?" Marigold replied. "He's around somewhere. If you girls are hungry, there's some lasagna in the kitchen." Rarity said as she went back to working on her dress. "Thanks mom." Marigold said as she made her way to the kitchen. Marigold's dad was sitting at the table picking at a plate of lasagna. He was a couple years younger than her mother, but, they were happy with each other. He looked up as they all walked in. His green hair was a frizzled mess and his purple suit was a bit of a mess as well. "Hello, sweetheart. How was the lake?" Spike asked. "Good, dad." Marigold said as she walked over and gave her father a hug. He managed a weak smile. "Everything alright, daddy?" Marigold asked. "Fine. Just tired is all." He replied as he got up and made his way towards the stairs. "You guys hungry?" Marigold asked. They shook their heads. Marigold shrugged and got a plate. She led the girls upstairs to her room. Cherry flopped down on the bed as Wind went into the bathroom to change. She came back out wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a white T-shirt. Marigold had changed as well, she was wearing a purple satin night gown and hand brushed her hair back down. She still had her left eye covered though. Wind sat down on the end of the bed. "What you got planned tonight?" She asked as she looked over at Marigold. "Wcldtksabtbsnstf." Marigold said through a mouthful of lasagna. She may have gotten her mother's looks, but, she got her father's manners. "One more time. Only this time, swallow before you talk." Wind said. "I said, we could talk about boys and stuff." Marigold replied. "You know I don't like to talk about that stuff." Wind replied. "Well, how about some scary movies?" Marigold asked. "Woot! Scary movies!" Cherry yelled. Marigold flicked on the TV and brought up Netflix. They watched movies and talked all night.
Chapter 6At about five twenty everyone had arrived. Wind had called her dad's friend Vinyl to DJ the party. They danced, laughed and had a good time. Just as Wind was getting close to Applespice, her phone rang again. It was the same number from earlier. She just let it ring. After about another hour her phone rang again, and again it was the same strange number. She walked up to Vinyl and asked her to stop the music in case it was her parents. "Hello?" She answered. There was just a static noise on the other end. Just as she was about to hang up, a bright flash of light blinded everyone. Once their sight returned the saw a blue English style telephone booth sitting in the middle of the living room. "What the hell?" Wind said as the doors opened. A man of about her father's height and build stepped out. He was wearing a brown suit and trench coat and a red tie with an hourglass pin on the lapel. He had shaggy brown hair. A pair of retro 3D glasses adorned his face. "Who the hell are you?" Wind asked as she moved towards him. "There's no time for that. All of you have to come with me now." He said as he motioned towards everyone. "I'm not getting into some strange phone booth with a guy I've never met before." Wind said. "I will explain later, Wind. Right now, you and your friends need to come with me." He said. "How do you know my name?" Wind asked. "I'm a friend of your father's. He sent me here to retrieve you. Your parents are in grave danger." He said. "My parents?" Wind asked. "Yes. You need to come with me now, before it's too late." He said. "Just give me one minute. I have to get something." Wind said as she went to the hall closet and pulled out a long kitana. She pulled the blade out and examined it. It had her mother's signature cloud and rainbow bolt near the guard of it. She slid the blade back into its sheath. "Alright. If you say you know my father, I will trust you. But, if you're lying to me, I will strike you down." Wind said. "Noted. Now, let's go." He said as they all filed into the phone booth. On the inside, it looked like some kind of spaceship. The guy shut the door behind them and walked over to the control panel. Wind followed him. "So, who are you and where are my parents?" She asked as he started flicking switches and presses buttons. "My name is Doctor Whooves. I am an old friend of your father's. As for where you parents are, that's not the proper question to ask." He replied. "What do you mean, 'not the proper question'?" Wind asked. "The question you should be asking is, when are your parents located." He replied. "What the hell are you talking about?" Wind asked. "Okay, let me explain. Your parents were kidnapped by a time traveling villain who I've been tracking for years. She finally managed to slip past me and he took your parents into the future. One that she rules." He said. "But, why would she kidnap them?" Wind asked. "Because. In our time line, with your parents assistance, I was able to banish her to an alternate dimension that she would never escape from. That is why it was so urgent for us to leave so soon. She would be there to take over at any time." He replied. Wind sat down in a chair that was sitting next to the control panel.
Chapter 7"This is a lot of information to process. So, this person traveled back in time to kidnap my parents so they could take over Equestria. But, why my parents? They're retired from the evil fighting business." Wind said. "Actually, it's what your father does everyday. He's a field agent for the Covert Flyers." He replied. "What? I thought he had a boring office job." Wind said. "He told you that to protect you. If you knew the truth, you could be taken and questioned." He said. "But, we even had dinner with his boss one time." Wind said. "That was someone that he paid to play his boss. We're here." He replied as the machine made a squealing noise. He walked over and peeked out the door. "It's clear. Let's go." He said as he pulled the door all the way open and we filed out. They exited onto a barren wasteland of ash and dead grass. Wind looked around and saw that most of Ponyville had been leveled, except for Marigold's house. The doctor walked up to the steel door and knocked on it using a musical sequence. A slot near the top of the door slid open. There was a gasp as the slot slammed shut and the door opened. Vinyl stood on the other side and motioned for them to hurry inside. They filed in and she slammed the door shut and bolted it. "It's good to see you doctor. Glad to see you brought them, we may stand a fighting chance now." Vinyl said. "I don't see how they can make our situation any better." A familiar voice said from behind them. Wind turned to see Octavia standing against a wall looking at the floor. Her hair was slightly matted and she had a scar over her right eye. "They're just children. They don't have any experience fighting in a war." Octavia said. "They may not have the experience, but, they do have the gifts that we need. These are the new generation of mane six that we're talking about here." The doctor said. "Come on, Tavi. We don't really have a choice here. All our other resistance members have been killed or gone missing." Vinyl said. Octavia looked up and Wind gasped as she saw her eye. It was pure white and had a scar running down it. She shoved her way past Wind and walked down a hallway and disappeared. "Don't mind her kiddo. She hasn't been the same since we lost our resistance fighters." Vinyl said. "Where's my mother?" Marigold asked. Vinyl looked at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, we really don't know. Along with AJ, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Trixie they went missing during recon at the fortress. I'm sorry." Vinyl replied. Everyone's faces dropped and they looked away, except for Wind, who had a look of determination. "It's okay guys, we'll stop this evil time traveler and set things right." She said. Wind noticed a device on the table. It looked like a cross between a bazooka and a speaker. "What's that?" Wind asked motioning towards the device. Vinyl looked over. "Oh, that's just a little something I've been working on for a couple of years now. If my calculations are correct, when I get it working, it will be able to pierce even the thickest of steel walls. I'm only missing a proper power source." Vinyl replied. "How long has this war been going on?" Wind asked. "About four years. The initial attack began shortly after that party Cherry threw at your house. We've been fighting for our lives ever since. We built the resistance and stationed here, it's the only place that wasn't effected by the bombs that were dropped. We reinforced the doors and windows and began to plan our assault on the fortress." Vinyl replied. "Well, how can we help?" Wind asked. "We'll get to that in the morning. For now, let's get some sleep." Vinyl replied as she led them down the hallway that Octavia had disappeared into. She set each of them up in their respective parents rooms. They all fell asleep almost immediately.
Chapter 8Wind was awoken by the sound of an explosion. She ran out of her room and down the hallway. She entered the main room, breathing hard. Vinyl looked up from her device as she ran in she was wearing a pair of tattered jeans and a loose fitting black T-shirt. "Relax, it's just them testing there bombs. They do it every week. We're all safe." She said as the others ran in too. After a long explanation and some coffee, they were all settled in to discuss the plans. "Before Twilight went missing, she was able to formulate a plan of attack for us." Vinyl began as she pulled out a folder and spread the documents out on the table. "She found three places we needed to hit in order to dampen their defenses enough to attack the fortress head on. We were going to split into three teams and hit each one simultaneously. Each one has a specific job that reinforces the defenses of the fortress. The first of these is the machinery factory. It is responsible for creating the automated drones that scout the area around the fortress walls to assess potential threats. The second is the power station. It supplies the necessary power to keep the electric barriers and search lights going. The fortress itself has a separate power supply somewhere inside. The last one is the worst of them all, it's the resistance holding prison. That will be the toughest to infiltrate. Two of us will have to go undercover and infiltrate the facility." Vinyl continued. "So, where do we start?" Applespice asked. "That's another problem. We would have to infiltrate all three at once. That is why we would have to split into three teams. Doctor Whooves would lead the team into the machinery factory, because he's good with tech. Octavia would lead the team into the power plant, because she knows the layout of it. And the two that would go into the prison would have to sneak in an earpiece for me to be able to help them progress safely through out the facility." Vinyl replied. "Okay, so, who's going where?" Marigold asked. "That's just it. I don't know what skills you kids have, if any." Vinyl replied. "I'm pretty good with tech too." Comet said. "I can handle explosives pretty well." Cherry said. "Good. You two can go with the doctor to the machinery factory. What about the rest of you." Vinyl replied. "Well, I can handle some heavy lifting." Applespice said. "I'm pretty good with stealth." Wind said. "Good. Wind, you will be my little jailbird." Vinyl said as she handed Wind a set of earpieces. Wind took them and looked at them suspiciously. "How are we supposed to sneak these inside?" She asked. Vinyl just looked from them to her. "Wait, do you mean what I think you mean?" She asked. Vinyl just nodded. Wind made a face that was a mixture of sickness and anger. "Why do we need to shut down the prison anyway?" Applespice asked. "If we're going to assault the fortress, we're going to need to bust our friends out to help us. So, you'll need to figure something out for those earpieces, without them you'll be dead in the water." Vinyl said. Applespice just sat back down. "Okay, so, what can the two of you do?" She asked as she turned toward Shadow and Marigold. "Well, I can be pretty inventive in a tight spot." Shadow said. "I can, well..." Marigold began as she walked up to Vinyl and whispered something in her ear. Vinyl's eyes got wide. "Okay, then. You and Applespice will accompany Tavi to the power station. Shadow, you will accompany Wind to the prison. Cherry, I will need you to make two bombs. We leave in o-three hundred hours. Everyone get your gear together and we'll meet here to split into teams." Vinyl said before the group split up.
Chapter 10Doctor Whooves, Comet, and Cherry watched as the giant machine came to carry Wind and Applespice to the prison. Doctor Whooves nodded to Octavia and they each took their teams toward the direction they needed to head in. The doctor and his team needed to head West to the machinery factory. He knew the route well, he was the one that had helped Twilight recon the place. Along the way they had to duck behind burnt up trees and rocks to avoid being captured by the new drones being pumped out by the factory. They got to the front of the factory and ducked under an awning. "Okay, Vinyl. We are ready to proceed with phase two. Where's our entrance?" The doctor asked as he put his finger to his ear to turn on the earpiece. "Good timing, doc, everyone else just got into position." Vinyl said as one of the smaller drones came down and spotted them. Comet pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the machine. "Relax, kiddo. It's me, I managed to hack into one the drones so, I could see where you are. Excellent spot to take cover in." Vinyl said as the drone flew off. "Now, there should be a small ventilation duct to your left somewhere. Comet should be able to fit inside and come around the opposite way to unlock the door for you without setting off the alarm." Vinyl said as Doctor Whooves looked around and spotted the duct. He pried the cover off and motioned for Comet to crawl through. He shimmied into the vent and crawled through. After about two feet of duct, he came to an opening and pulled himself out. He looked around. "Clear." He said to himself as he made his way to the door and accessed the touchpad lock mechanism. He quickly hacked it and unlocked the door. "Pssh, child's play." He said as he quietly pushed the door open. The others filed in quickly and ducked behind a giant crate positioned near the open duct that Comet had come in through. "Phase two complete, Vinyl. What's next?" The doctor asked. "Hold on, we're experiencing some difficulties on Octavia's end. Just sit tight until we can get this worked out." Vinyl said.
Chapter 11Octavia and her team headed just due East of the fortress to the power station. She remembered that place well. It was were she had gotten her scar and her jank eye from. They arrived and hid behind a broken transformer. "Okay, Vinyl. Phase one complete. Where do we get into this place at?" Octavia asked. "Okay, Tavi. Can you see the first set of transformers next to the front of the building?" Vinyl replied. Octavia looked around and saw the set she was meaning. "Yes." She said. "Okay, just between those two. If you can just pry that crate open, you can get into the facility without any alarms or anything." Vinyl replied. "The sewer? Is there not a better option?" Octavia asked. "Sorry, Tavi. The only other way is to go through the roof, but, unless you guys can survive a ten point twenty-one gigawatt blast of electricity you have to go through the sewer." Vinyl replied. Octavia just sighed and motioned for the other two to follow her. They approached the grate and Octavia pulled out a crowbar. She rammed the crowbar into the side of the grate and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy. "Let me get that." Applespice said as he grabbed the crow bar and pried the grate up. The grate thumped to the ground and they all jumped inside. Applespice pulled the grate shut as he jumped in. "Oh, dear Celestia. It smells awful down here." Marigold said. "Well, it is a sewer." Applespice said as they walked through the foul smelling water. As they continued to walk, a growling noise came from around a corner up ahead. Octavia threw up her hand in a signal to stop. They all listened as they heard something moving toward them through the water. They saw a shadow of what appeared to be a couple of dogs. Applespice began whistling at them. "It's just some lost dogs guys. Come on fellas, we won't hurt you." He said as he moved closer to the corner. As he moved, the 'dogs' came around the corner. They looked like dogs, but, they were made completely out of steel and had red lights for eyes. "What the hell?" Applespice asked as the dogs jumped and began attacking them. The largest one took Applespice to the ground and the second one attacked Marigold and clamped onto her hair as she turned to run. Octavia pulled out a pistol and began shooting the hound. "Octavia, what the hell is happening down there?" Vinyl asked in her ear. "We encountered a couple steel hounds. They were patrolling the sewers. How do we take them down? My bullets are just bouncing off." Octavia said as she ran over to try to help Marigold. "I don't see anything in Twilight's files about destroying them." Vinyl said frantically. There was a loud crunch noise. Octavia turned to Applespice with the hound's head between his clenched fists. It was leaking oil from it's crushed head. He threw the hound into the murky water and charged over to the one that had Marigold in its grip. He pried open its mouth and gripped its jaws in his hands as he pulled in either direction. There was an echoing snap as the hound's head split in half, sending oil and metal shards flying. He was breathing heavily as he threw the second hound into the water beside its counterpart. He turned to the others and regained his composure. "Let's go. We shouldn't be far from the entrance." Octavia said as she walked around the corner with the other two following.
Chapter 12The jail-bot clasped a metal ring around both of their chests, securing their wings in place and dropped them into a large courtyard. Their were several run down looking buildings made of wood and aluminum scattered around. At the far end was a much larger building made of concrete and steel. It had two giant searchlights at the tops of two towers on either side of it. Wind ducked behind a tree and retrieved the earpieces. She took the plastic off of them and stuck one in her ear and handed the other one to Shadow. "Okay, Vinyl. We're in. You said we should find Luna?" Wind asked. "Yes. Ask her how you can take out the prison security." Vinyl said. "Got it. Come on, Shadow. Let's find Luna." Wind said as she made her way further into the prison courtyard. They entered one of the buildings and Wind recognized one of the people inside as the teacher of the elementary school. She ran over to her. "Miss Cheerilee." Wind said. She looked up as the two approached and her eyes widened. "What are you two doing here?" She asked. "Don't worry Miss Cheerilee. We're here on purpose." Wind said. "On purpose? Why?" She asked. "Vinyl sent us to put this prison out of commission. But, we need to find Luna, have you seen her?" Wind replied. "No, sorry. You should try the building across from this one. They have each race separated into different buildings." She said. "Thank you, Miss Cheerilee." Wind said as he made her way towards the door. "Good luck." Cheerilee called after them. As they made their way across the courtyard, Wind could see several other pegasi with the same steel clamp around their midsections as well. The unicorns had some sort of steel cone contraption on their horns. They entered the building that Cheerilee had sent them to. As they looked around at all the depressed pegasi and unicorns all trying to keep one another alive, Wind spotted Luna at the end of the room. She was lying in a bed facing the wall. Wind slowly approached her and sat on the edge of her bed. Luna sat up and looked at her. "What do you want. Can't you see I'm busy?" She snapped. "Princess Luna, Vinyl sent us. She said you could help us shut down this place." Wind said. Luna looked around and pulled a piece of parchment out from under her pillow and unfolded it. It was a map of the courtyard. "This is the guards station. You'll need to get in there. But, to do that, you'll need to get a keycard from one of the guards. They patrol every couple hours and usually stop behind the trees to smoke. That will be your ideal time to strike. Once you get rid of the guard and have the keycard, come see me." Luna said as she tucked the parchment back under her pillow and laid back down. Wind and Shadow left and stood outside watching the guard station. After a few minutes, two guards exited the doors and started to patrol the area. They split up and headed to go behind the buildings. Wind made her way around to behind one of the guards. He stopped and pulled out a cigarette. Wind wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as she could. There was a snap and the guard crumpled. She searched his body as she hid it in the bushes. She grabbed the keycard and headed back into the building.
Chapter 13"Vinyl? Vinyl?" Doctor Whooves asked frantically. After a few minutes of radio static, she finally answered. "I'm here, doc. Sorry, Tavi ran into some mech-hounds at the power station. Now, you guys will need to continue deep into the factory to find the main control panel. Once you find it, you'll need to hack it and shut down the server. That should disable all sentries in the area and stop more from being made." Vinyl said. "Got it. Maintain radio silence until phase 3 is complete." He said as he motioned for the others to follow him. They made their way past several conveyer belts where drones and various other mechanical monstrosities were being assembled. The further they got into the factory, the worse the smell of gasoline and burnt motor oil became. They came to a rusted elevator that descended into darkness below. "That doesn't look safe." Comet observed. "Come one, Comet. It could be fun." Cherry said. Comet fluttered his wings nervously. "We don't really have a choice here." Doctor Whooves said as he pulled the grate to the elevator open. They all stepped on and Comet hit the down button. The elevator creaked and groaned as it descended the shaft. Comet was shaking from nerves, he hated confined spaces more than anything. He felt a hand grip his and looked up to see Cherry smiling at him as she held his hand. He managed a weak smile. "It's okay, Comet. It's just a little elevator ride. I won't let anything happen to you." She said in his ear. The elevator jerked as it stopped and made Comet's heart jump. He ran off the elevator and embraced the open space of the new floor. He looked around and saw six containers that looked like they were meant for cryogenic research. They were busted open, clearly something had wanted out. The strangest part was that each one had symbol above it. Comet recognized several of them as the symbols that his friends mothers sported. Only one was unbroken and empty. It was the symbol of Wind's mother. "Strange that these containers would sport the symbols of the elements of harmony." Doctor Whooves said as he came up beside Comet. "It's kinda creepy." Comet said as they continued through the giant room. There were rows and rows of containers, each one emblazoned with a different symbol. As they passed one that had a sun symbol on it, it exploded open and an alicorn burst from it. She had wavy hair that was striped with different colors. Half of her face was covered in steel with a red light for her eye and she had a giant saw blade for her left hand. "All trespassers will be exterminated!" The cyborg alicorn yelled in an auto tuned sounding voice. Comet ducked out of the way just as it swung the spinning saw. The saw cut a nitrogen line in two and it began spraying everywhere. Thinking quickly, Comet grabbed the end of the hose and pointed it at the cyborg. It began to slow down in moving and after about a minute, stopped all together. The hose stopped spraying and Comet walked over to examine the cyborg. "What is this thing? It looks like Princess Celestia." He said. "I was afraid of this." Doctor Whooves said. "What is this place?" Cherry asked, a small amount of fear creeping into her voice. "A while ago, we intercepted some intel about a secret project to start turning several hundred ponies into cyborg warriors to fight for the overlord. We had hoped it was just a rumor, but, if these containers each represent a pony that they've turned... well, we just need to destroy this place. And fast." He said as they continued through the hallway of containers. They reached the end and came upon a large computer that had two control panels on it. "Okay, Vinyl. Phase three is complete. Proceeding with phase four." Doctor Whooves said. "Excellent. Now, there should be two control panels. You will have to hack both at the same time to open the power core. Once the core is open, you will need to plant the bomb and hall ass out of there." Vinyl replied. "Good. Comet, you take the one on the left, I'll take the one on the right." He said as they approached the panel. They began hacking and after about a minute, the middle of the reactor slid open. "Cherry, place the bomb." Comet said as she pulled out a make-shift bomb and set the timer. She threw it into the open space and they all ran towards the exit. As they ran, several more of the containers busted open.
Chapter 14Octavia and the others entered the power station and looked around. They were in a large open room that contained several of the large transformers they had seen outside. On the far end of the room was a large doorway that looked like the entrance to an airplane hangar. "Okay, Vinyl. We have completed phase two. What's next?" Octavia said. "Do you see a large open hangar door?" Vinyl asked. "Yes. It's across the room from us." Octavia replied. "Good. You'll need to get through that door and into the next room. Once through there, you'll need to locate the main power supply." Vinyl said. "Got it." Octavia said. There was a small metal bridge with two transformers on either side. Under the bridge was just a dark void of nothingness. As Octavia tried to cross, the transformers both exploded and shot electrical pulses out of the sides. She backed up and tried again, but, it had the same end result. "What the hell?" Octavia asked aloud. "There seems to be some kind of invisible tripwire. There appears to be a shut off switch on the other side." Applespice said. "How are we supposed to get across?" Octavia asked as she turned to him. "I have an idea." Marigold said. "Well, out with it." Octavia said impatiently. "Well, it's a trick my aunt Twilight showed me. I'm not supposed to use it unless it's an emergency. This is more than an emergency though." Marigold said. "Well, what is it?" Octavia asked. "Stand back and I'll show you." Marigold said as the others backed up a little bit. Marigold took a deep breath and pulled her hair back, revealing her left eye. It was a green dragon's eye. She concentrated and her horn began to glow and a light flashed from her eye. Time slowed around her as her magic went to work. She walked across the bridge with little effort and flipped the switch on the other side. She deactivated her power and collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. Applespice and Octavia ran over to her. "How did you do that?" Applespice asked. "It's what happens when I combine my unicorn magic with my dragon's greed. It temporarily slows time. It takes a lot out of me, that's why it's only for emergency use." She said as she slowly stood up. Applespice helped her to her feet and they proceeded through the hangar door. They entered a huge open room that had several steel walkways running along the walls. They were standing on a big circular platform the had a hole in the center blocked by a hand rail. Under them was a gigantic tesla coil that was buzzing with enough electricity to power a continent. On the opposite side of the platform was a computer that probably kept the tesla coil in working order. Standing at the computer, wrapped up in their work was a blonde unicorn, frantically pressing buttons and flipping switches. Octavia approached quietly and held her gun to the back of the unicorn's head and cocked it. The unicorn froze and put her hands up. "Turn around, slowly." Octavia said. The unicorn obeyed. She turned and looked up at Octavia. "Dinky?" Octavia asked. Tears were streaming down the unicorn's face. "Tavi. Please, don't kill me. I'm sorry." The unicorn pleaded. Octavia dropped the gun and pulled the unicorn in for a hug. "Dinky, we thought we lost you. Where's your mother?" Octavia asked. "They have her. They said if I kept the power station up and running, they wouldn't hurt her." Dinky said as she embraced Octavia, tears still streaming from her eyes. "It's okay, Dinky. We're putting an end to them today. We will rescue your mother." Octavia said as she pulled away from Dinky. "Really?" Dinky asked. "Yes. Marigold, give me the bomb." Octavia said as she turned to the other two. Marigold fished around in her bag for a minute and pulled out a make-shift bomb. Octavia took it and set the timer. She placed it on the computer and headed toward the exit.
Chapter 15Wind and Shadow returned to Luna with the keycard. "Excellent. Now, you'll have to use that keycard to get into the guard house. Once inside, you'll have to find the main control room. From there, you will be able to disengage all security protocols. Including our restraints." Luna instructed them. "What about the search lights?" Wind asked. "I can lend some assistance with my magic. This device blocks most uses from my horn, but I can still perform simple spells. I will render you both invisible to the naked eye." Luna replied. "Okay, let's do this." Wind said. They all left the building and got ready. Luna hid out of sight behind a tree. She concentrated and the device began to glow slightly with a black light. She gave them the signal to go and they ran towards the guard house. They got to the door without any alerts from the search lights. Wind swiped the keycard and they headed inside. The inside was really drab and depressing. There were several half broken desks with uncomfortable looking chairs. They slowly made there way to the first desk and hid behind it. "Okay, Vinyl. We're in the guard house. Luna said we need to find the main control room. Any idea where we'll find it?" Wind whispered while looking around for guards. "I can't tell, the schematics we have are pretty damaged. See if you can get one of the guards to talk." Vinyl replied. "Okay. Thanks, maintain radio silence until we find it." Wind replied. Wind spotted the stairs. As she made her way towards them, she picked up a tactical knife from one of the desks. She pressed herself against the wall as she ascended the stairs. She heard voices coming from above and turned to Shadow and put her finger to her lips. He just nodded. Wind peeked around the corner and counted five guards in sight. There was one with his back turned to her at the top of the stairs. She quietly made her way to him and shoved the blade into his neck and grabbed the gun from his belt. Before the other four guards could react, she shot three bullets into each of there chests. She let the guard she had stabbed fall to the ground and grabbed the other guards guns. She handed one to Shadow. "You know how to use of these?" She asked. He nodded. "How did you do that?" Shadow asked. "My dad taught me." Wind replied as she stuck one of the guns into the waist of her pants. "Come on. There's only a couple more floors to clear." Wind said as she made her way to the next flight of stairs. Wind hurried up them and was immediately greeted with gun fire. She and Shadow ducked down behind an over turned steel desk. Bullets were flying everywhere. "I count seven guards in total." Wind said. "How do you know that?" Shadow asked as he flinched from a ricocheted bullet. "I can tell by the gunshots. There's a sequence of seven guns firing in order. They should be reloading right... about... now!" Wind said as the firing stopped and she jumped over the table. She ran over to the closest guard. She grabbed him and spun him around. She used him as a human shield as she fired away at the other guards. She got to the last one and ran out of bullets. She threw her empty gun at him and it hit him in the hand, making him drop his gun. She snapped the neck of the guard she was holding and ran over to the other one. She knocked him to the ground and pulled the gun from her waist and pointed it at him. "Where's the main control room?" She asked. The guard spit at her. She put her foot on his throat and pressed down. "Last chance. Where is the control room?" She asked again. The guard made a choking noise. She lifted her foot up. "Top floor. You'll need my access card." The guard said. Wind leaned down and took the card from his belt. "Thank you for your cooperation." Wind said as she stomped on his neck, crushing his windpipe. "Come on, let's go." Wind said as she headed for the stairs. They ran up and entered a room that had a steel cage surrounding a big super computer. It seemed to be powered by a large battery looking object. The cage was emitting a slight humming noise. Shadow started towards the cage, but, Wind stopped him. She picked up a small piece of rubble and threw it at the cage, it sparked as it hit a wall of electric. "Thought so. Vinyl, any word on the power station yet?" Wind asked. From outside, they heard an explosion in the distance. The lights flickered off and the cage powered down. "They just blew it up. If you see a large battery looking object, grab it for me. It's a quantum battery and I need it to make my invention functional." Vinyl replied. "Will do." Wind said as she swiped the card in the gate and entered. She ripped the battery out and an alarm sounded as their restraints fell to the floor. "Warning, removing the quantum battery will cause all security measures to fail. Please replace the battery now." A computerized voice said. Wind and Shadow ran out of the building and into the courtyard, just as the far wall of the prison exploded
Chapter 16"Over here guys!" Cherry yelled from the gaping hole in the wall. Wind and Shadow ran over to her. She was standing there with Comet and Doctor Whooves. Wind turned to see all the prisoners looking at her and Shadow. Wind handed Shadow the battery. "Who here is tired of being oppressed by the overlord?" Wind asked. Everyone raised there hands. "Good! Who here is willing to fight for there freedom?" Wind asked. Again, everyone raised there hands. "Excellent! Today is the day we push back! I may not have been here long, but, I am willing to fight for your freedom! Join us and take back this land in the name of Celestia!" Wind shouted as she raised her fist. There were several whoops and hollers from the crowd as Wind turned and started running toward the fortress wall with them behind her. "Vinyl, meet us at the fortress wall and bring your invention. Have Tavi and the others bring weapons, we're bringing the party to you." Wind said as she ran. Doctor Whooves looked over at her. "Your father would be proud." He said as he handed her mother's sword to her. They reached the wall just as Vinyl and Tavi showed up. Applespice was pulling a wagon filled to the brim with various guns and melee weapons. Vinyl had her invention ready to be used. Shadow handed her the battery and she placed it into the open slot in the side as the crowd from the prison were already arming themselves. "This will take a few minutes to charge up. Keep me covered." Vinyl said. There was a rumble from behind the wall. Wind got on top of Applespice's shoulders and looked over the crowd of resistance fighters. "Today we fight to reclaim this land! There may be casualties, but, you will have died for an honorable cause! Die knowing that you were able to help us take down this menace! Are we ready?! For today we dine in hell!" Wind shouted. The crowd gave a unanimous shout of approval as they thrust their weapons into the air. "Very brave words! I'm almost touched! Too bad that one as brave as you must die! Get them, my pets!" A voice said from the fortress. A blur of thousands of colors ascended the wall and landed in front of them. It was an entire army of cyborgs. The ones at the head of the pack surprised Wind the most. They were her friends parents and relatives. Wind gulped as their own army hesitated, seeing there loved ones in the group. "They may look like the ones you know and love, but, they no longer have any humanity left! You must treat them as if they were a simple drone!" Luna yelled. "Vinyl, how goes the charging for that weapon?" Wind asked. "Not quite yet. Buy me some time." Vinyl replied. "Alright! Let's do this thing! CHARGE!" Wind shouted as both armies slammed into each other. Wind jumped down from Applespice's shoulders as he was ambushed by his cyborg family. He was surrounded by Applejack, his aunt; Big Mac, his dad; and Fluttershy, his mom. They were attacking him with various weapons as he dodged and countered, but, he didn't seem to ever strike them enough to do any serious damage. "Applespice, you have to kill them! If you don't, they'll kill you!" Wind shouted. "I can't! It's my family!" He replied. Wind ran over and ran her sword through his aunt. Motor oil spewed from the wound. Applespice had a shocked look on his face. "See? They're not human anymore! Just machines!" Wind shouted. "In that case..." He said as he brought the huge hammer he had, down onto his mother's head, which burst like a melon. He looked over at his father, who was staring at him intently. His dad swung a broad sword at him, but he dodged and used the hammer with full force against his dad's leg. He collapsed onto the ground. Applespice raised the hammer above his head and as he brought it down, he could almost swear that he saw his dad wink at him. "It's ready! But, I can't get a clear shot at the wall!" Vinyl said. Wind and Applespice exchanged a look and nodded. Wind climbed on top of his shoulders again and faced the wall. "Give me the device!" Wind said as Vinyl handed it to Applespice. He handed it up to her. She positioned it on her shoulder like a rocket launcher. She could hear the device humming as it readied to fire. "What is this thing, anyway?" Wind asked. "Oh, it's nothing special..." Vinyl started as the device hummed louder. "it's just my BASS CANNON!" Vinyl shouted as the cannon fired a blast of sound that ripped through the crowd and shredded the fortress wall.
Chapter 17Wind was almost knocked off Applespice's shoulders when it fired. She hopped down and handed the cannon back to Vinyl. "Good work!" Wind shouted as she and Applespice headed for the hole in the wall. They made their way into the hole and entered a very bleak courtyard that resembled a desert and had a set of steel stairs leading up to a large steel door, that had also been affected by the bass cannon. They ran up the stairs and through the door. The inside of the fortress was pretty dark. They made their way down the dark hallway and entered a giant throne room. It was mostly empty, except for a golden throne in the middle of the room and a small cage at the far right. Wind could see a few strands of rainbow colored hair sticking out of the cage. She ran over to it and saw her parents huddled together. "Mom! Dad!" She yelled. Neither of them responded to her calls. She rattled the bars of the cage. "Mom! Dad! I came to save you!" She yelled again. They still didn't respond. She looked closely and they didn't seem to be breathing. It looked like her father was holding her mother like she had died and had cried over her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at them. "Mom! Dad!" She cried again. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Applespice with a concerned look on her face. "They're gone, WInd. We were too late." He said in a comforting voice. "No!" She screamed as she pulled away from him. "Where are you!? Show yourself! You coward!" She yelled at the throne. There was a clapping that came from the darkness behind the throne. A female pegasus stepped out from behind it. She had multi-colored hair that had streaks of blue, red, and white. She wore a big black crown and had on all black with a huge red hourglass on her shirt. "I'm impressed. Too bad your parents didn't live to see you being such a great leader." She said. "Fuck you! I'm going to kill you for this! You bitch!" Wind yelled. "Such language for a young lady. Fellows, please teach this young mare some manners." She said as she snapped her fingers and two guards appeared on either side of her. They charged Wind, but she dodged and caught one's throat with her blade. He fell and she took his blade from him. The other guard charged her again. She jumped over him and sliced his head clean off with both blades. She landed and put her own blade into her mouth and grabbed the newly dead guard's. With her lackeys dispatched, Wind could focus on the bitch that had killed her parents. "Well done. Use your hate. Let it run through you." She said. "Fuck you!" Wind screamed as she ran toward the pegasus with all three blades. The pegasus materialized a red steel broad sword and blocked her attack. They swung back and forth blocking each other from advancing. This went on for several minutes before Wind got the better of the other pegasus. Wind managed to catch her in the back of the knee as she slid between her legs. The pegasus fell to one knee. "You're not bad. Your father taught you well." The pegasus said. "I'm just getting started." Wind said as her anger took control. She ran one blades through each of the pegasus's shoulders and pinned her to the floor. "Gah!" The pegasus cried out. Wind stuck her remaining blade into the floor next to her and sat on the pegasus's chest. She began mercilessly beating the hell out of the other pegasus to the point that her own knuckles were bloody. Wind got up and grabbed her blade out of the ground. She paced around the pegasus as she twirled the blade in her hand. "Just do it already!" The other pegasus said as she choked on blood. Wind threw the blade into the air and it came down and pierced the pegasus's throat. Wind walked away as the other pegasus drown in her own blood. She walked over to the cage and had Applespice rip the door off. Wind grabbed her mother and had Applespice grab her father. They walked out of the fortress and noticed that the battle had stopped. The cyborgs had stopped fighting and had fallen over to just heaps of scrap. Doctor Whooves looked up and his face dropped. He ran over and checked their pulses and tears welled in his eyes. "I failed." He said quietly.
EpilogueAfter everyone helped clean up from the battle, they buried Wind's parents under a tree on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest. It was their favorite spot to picnic when she was a kid. After the funeral, Doctor Whooves gathered everyone in the time machine. Wind stayed outside of it. "Come on, Wind. It's time to go back." Doctor Whooves said. "I'm staying here." Wind said as she looked at the ground. "What? Why?" Cherry asked. "There's nothing for me back there." Wind said. "Well, if you stay, so am I." Applespice said as he stepped out of the machine. Wind managed a weak smile. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach, but, she gave him a kiss as she pushed him into the machine and shut the door behind him. The machine instantly disappeared. She wanted him to stay, but, that would be selfish of her. He still had his parents to go home to in the past. She would always have his memory to keep her happy. Besides, someone had to help Luna lead these lost people. Who better than the daughter of the two greatest pegasi Equestria had ever known? Wind placed a rose at the foot of the tombstone. She shed a few tears as she stood up and walked toward Luna's new castle. She would always love her parents. She would honor them by letting her hair return to it's natural color.
PrologueJet was awoken by Dash's alarm clock. Dash was still snoring, fast asleep. He smiled at her as he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom to shower. After he showered, he got dressed and walked over to Dash. He shook her awake. "What's, huh?" She said as she cracked her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her. "I gotta go to work now, babe. Love you." He said. "Love... too." She replied before passing out again. He chuckled to himself as he headed downstairs to get some breakfast. He saw his daughter sitting at the table, texting someone on her phone. She was wearing her usual black hoodie, jeans, and black converses. She had recently dyed her hair to a deep black color. He got some coffee and grabbed a doughnut from the counter. He sat across from his daughter as he took a sip of coffee. "I don't understand why you have to dye your hair. You have such beautiful blonde hair." He said. "Dad, it's a bit early for a lecture. Don't you think?" She asked. "I'm not lecturing. I'm just saying, maybe you should just let it go back to its original color. You look nice with blonde hair." He said. "Whatever, dad. It's my hair." She said. Jet just shrugged and looked at his watch. He poured the rest of his coffee down the sink and headed toward the door. "Are you going out today?" He asked as he opened the door. "Yes, dad. We're all going to go swimming at the lake today. Then, we're heading over to Marigold's for a sleep over." She replied with a sigh. "Who's 'all'?" He asked. "Me, Applespice, Marigold, Cherry, Comet, and Shadow." She said. "I wish you wouldn't hang around that Shadow kid. He's a bad influence. Just call me or your mother when you get to Marigold's." He said. She sighed and looked up from her phone. "Will do, dad." She replied. "Thanks, sweetie. Remember, let your mother sleep. She had a long night." He said. "Tell me about it. I could hear you guys all the way in my room." She said. "What was that?" He asked. "Nothing, dad. Have a good day at work." She said as he left the house.
Chapter 1A few hours went by before Wind's mother got up. She came into the kitchen with her hair a tangled mess of rainbow colors. Her mother looked at her and frowned. "Why do you have to dye your hair?" She asked. "Because, mom. The new cool color is black." She replied. "Well, I'm just saying. Maybe if you let it go back to blonde, you might get some attention from Applespice." Dash said as Wind blushed. "How did you know I liked him?" She asked. "Honey, I was your age once too. You look at him like I looked at your father. I can see it on your face every time you're around him." Dash said. Wind didn't say anything, she just buried her face in her phone again. "Didn't mean to embarrass you, squirt." Dash said as she walked over behind Wind and peered over her shoulder. She craned her neck to the side and looked at her mother over shoulder. "What is it, mom?" She asked. "Nothing, squirt. Just seeing who you're texting." Her mother replied. "I'm texting Marigold to see if the sleep over is still happening." She said. "Well, you know the rule. Call us when you get there." Her mother said as she ruffled Wind's hair and headed back upstairs. "Yea, dad already said it earlier." Wind said as her mother disappeared up the steps. Just then, her phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw that it was Cherry. She answered it. "Hey, Cherry. What's up?" She asked. "Oh my Celestia! You need to get down here now! Applespice just showed up and he's not wearing a shirt!" Cherry yelled in her ear. "Holy hell. Seriously?" She asked. "Would I joke about something like this?!" Cherry replied. "I'll be right there." She said as she hung up and headed upstairs to change into her one piece bikini. "Bye, mom. Going swimming." She said as she raced past her mother in the living room. She ran out of the house and headed to the lake.
Chapter 5Wind was awoken by the sunlight hitting her face from Marigold's bedroom window. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She stood up and made her way to the bathroom. After relieving herself, she checked her phone. It was going on one o'clock. She gathered up her stuff and headed downstairs. Marigold's mother had fallen asleep at her workbench and was slumped over the half finished dress she was working on. Wind made her way to the door and shut it quietly behind her. Once she got home, she showered and got dressed. She went to the living room and flopped down on the couch. Her phone blipped and she looked at the number. "(0770)090-0461? What kind of number is that?" Wind asked aloud as she hit the end call button. She switched on the TV and flipped through the channels. Her phone rang again, this time it was Cherry. "Hello?" She answered. "Hey, Wind. Wanna help me throw a party tonight?" She asked. "I'd love to, but, where are we going to have it at?" Wind replied. "We could have it at your place. Didn't your parents go to Las Pegasus for their anniversary?" She asked. "Oh, yeah. I wondered why it was so quiet around here. Sounds good. What time you guys going to come over?" Wind replied. "I thought we could start about five." Cherry said. "Sounds good to me." Wind said. "Yay! See you then!" Cherry yelled as she hung up. Wind watched TV until about four thirty, when Cherry arrived to set up for the party. She brought her mother's party cannon to help speed things along. The house was decorated and party ready by four fifty. Wind's phone rang again. She looked at the screen. "(0770)090-0461? Who is this and why do they keep calling me?" Wind asked rhetorically. "It looks like it could be important." Cherry said from Wind's shoulder. "Yea, or a telemarketer trying to get my credit card number. Let's just start calling everyone." Wind replied.
Chapter 9They all gathered in the main room. Everyone except Wind and Shadow were dressed in all black and were carrying various weapons. "Okay, guys. Here's the plan. Wind and Shadow need to get to the fortress walls and cause a distraction that will result in them being taken to the prison. While they distract the patrol UAVs, the rest of you will make your way to the power station and machinery factory. Once you arrive, contact me via the earpieces. Once everyone is in place, we will begin phase two of the operation. Infiltration. Once we begin phase two, I will give you all instructions on how to quietly make your way into the facilities. Now, is there any questions?" Vinyl asked. Nobody said anything. "Good. Let's move out." She said as she sat at a giant computer and began typing. Everyone hid in the shadows as Wind and Applespice made their way across the town to the fortress walls. They arrived and Wind gasped at the sheer size of it all. It was about thirty feet high, made of solid steel that was about four foot thick, and was electrified. Wind saw one of the search bots that Vinyl had mentioned. She picked up a rock and flung it at the thing. It turned and shined a bright light on them. A high pitched squeal came from the inside of the machine. Several more circled around them and squealed as well. They put their hands over their ears just as a larger drone came and two claws extended down and grabbed them. It hoisted them into the air and started to fly off. On the ground by the house, Wind could see two groups of shapes moving in opposite directions. Phase one was completed. On to phase two. Wind looked up to see a large compound looming up ahead of them.
