My Little Pony: Stormbreaker

Record 08: On a Wing and Despair

The three friends united once more after the many years ripped apart, now stood before a threat of all ponies old as that of the Dragons. A Gryphon. Gilda spread her wings wide and leapt from the catwalk above the decommissioned Pegasus Device, laughing a dark, pleased laugh as she descended the distance between her and the trio. In the dim, scant light of this forgotten room, her impressive size was made even more frightening. Two of the ponies stepped back in their fear, while the third stood her ground. Apple Bloom had faced a number of horrors, many far worse than this hybrid creature, and was not so easily frightened besides.

Gilda landed before them and stood tall on her four limbs, sizing up the ponies but focused on one. “Absentia, you traitorous cunt. First you go mad, now you stand with the enemies? Tsk. I knew you were shit the moment I saw you”

“I’m no traitor!” Scootaloo shot back, finding some courage with her old friends beside her. “I only just finally woke up” She was shaken, clearly not used to standing her ground, especially to the head of Rainbow Death’s Lightning Guard.

Folding her wings tight to her, Gilda shook her head still grinning. “Such a stupid pony, I can’t figure why Dash took pity on a gimp wing runt, with no backbone. She wants to make her kind look so great, sweeping up all those failures and wimps, but keeping the most pathetic one at her side. Fuck’n stupid”

“Because she is still good under all of that! She still loves me, and will stop all of this once she can be reminded of who she was!”

“Oh boy, she did a real number on you kid” The Gryphon laughed again, a short, and mocking sound. “She didn’t forget, she knows just who she is and was, you dumbass, that’s why she works so hard. She wants to erase all those miserable years, tear down all that and those who held her back and kept her from going great so much sooner. It haunts her, all that shit from before, and you are her greatest disappointment. She tried to make you better, the best, like her. Maybe that’s why she held onto you, a reminder of what not to invest in. Even after she showed you all her best moves, and treated you like a sister, you still couldn’t measure up. You’re just a crippled little shit, who got new wings and wasted them”

Scootaloo was trying not to listen, accept these words or believe in them, only it was not easy given all she had been through in recent years. There was a moment, Rainbow had even said very much the same as Gilda was now. “She helped me get better, trained me, made me her second!” She fought back, finding some spark to believe otherwise.

“I doubt you’d know, because who would be lower than you, but ever fuck someone because no one else would, just to shut them up? You’re kinda like that, only you’re a pity fuck up” Gilda showed no humor, only seriousness as she cracked her knuckles of her fore claws. “Whatever her reason for letting you live, it doesn’t matter now. You are a traitor, on top of all that other shit that should have sent you to the machines long ago, but now you’ve gone too far. You are working with those trying to take down the Rainbow Factory, and attack the Flock. You ain’t worth even feeding to a machine, but you are still gonna be punished, and I’m just the bird for the job”

“SHUT UP!!!” Apple Bloom could not listen to this any longer, and rushed up to the Gryphon. In a graceful, fluid turn, landed her two trained legs on the bird. Gilda flew back from the spot, taken off guard by the sudden attack and traveled far in her surprise. “Oversized chicken! Scootaloo ain’t no fuck up, and she’s a mess better than you or Rainbow!”

Recovering midair, Gilda turned and caught herself then soared up roaring in a rage. “You cunt!” She rolled and came back at the group landing at Bloom, talons poised to rip into the pony. “She ain’t shit, you ain’t shit, and you will all die here!” She missed her first strike, and was now swinging and stomping toward Bloom as she avoided her.

“Y’all are sure kick’n up a lot of dust, but ain’t got a rodeo to put on fer it! We’re getting outta here, and y’all can’t stop us!”

“Y’all” Gilda mocked her accent. “Are stupid for coming here, throwing your lives away for that gimpy little shrimp” Laughing at the pony before continuing, Gilda was clearly not afraid of their claims. “Not sure who is more pathetic, the waste of feathers, or the two ponies dumb enough to enter the black heart of the Aerial Nation to save a broken foal?”

Apple Bloom was quick to lasso one of Gilda’s Wings, using her rope skill as well her impressive strength to jerked the larger creature off the ground and sent her flying involuntarily. “She ain’t broken, never was! She’s got a heart and passion, and is a great pony! I’d give my life fer her, but that day ain’t today” Her lost eye was glowing under the band over it, causing Scootaloo to wonder what was under there; however she was more consumed by the fact her friend had come so far and would do so much for her even after being apart for so long. The passion in Bloom’s voice was not bravado, and it was moving for the pony who thought she had nothing left.

Gilda twisted in the air, and saved herself from crashing to the wall. Again soaring above, she gripped the rope and pulled the mare with her. She jolted the rope sending Bloom flying up toward her, with ready claws to slash at her only to get a head crashing into her own. The two tumbled, recovering before hitting the ground. On the floor they danced a fierce step, landing blows and avoiding the more deadly strikes, each with a fury that few others could match as their different drives pushed their combat.

Scootaloo watched in confusion, not sure why she was worth so much trouble to the pony. She had lived so long feeling like nothing, never reaching the levels of those around her. Now after so long, her friends had come back for her, and were risking their lives to save her. She was Rainbow’s Second, but truly nothing more to her than a whipping girl now. “Why would somepony want to die for me?” was all she could think.

“Stay here” Sweetie Belle said, ready to trot into the fray, but was stopped by Scootaloo. She turned to her friend. “You are still wea- tired and worn out” She corrected herself before using the wrong words. “Let us take care of her, and we can all go home”

“Why?” Scootaloo questioned. “Why are you both here, why are you willing to throw your lives away for me?” There was confusion and pain in her tone and eyes.

“You see that glow in her left eye, under that wrap?” Scootaloo looked and nodded, though still confused about it. “And this thing wrapped around my horn?” It was the first time she even took notice of either of these things. “We’ve become the new Elements of Harmony, and it’s because we are true to our loved ones. We missed you Scootaloo, and never stopped loving you” Her horn was starting to glow like Apple Bloom’s eye. “We lost a lot through the years, but no more. What we can get back, we’re taking back! The storm isn’t taking anything else from us!”

As the two ponies talked, Gilda managed to pin down Bloom with one clawed hand and was poised to strike with the other. “Lost your eye huh?” Gilda grinned, as the band was slipping and showing the scaring.

“It couldn’t deal have’n to look at yer ugly ass” Bloom shot back.

“Well, I guess since you're so blind to your own death, I’ll just take the other too” She then screamed out in sudden pain, as she was shot from off the mare by a magickal bolt charged by conviction and the Element of Magick. Gilda tumbled and rolled until her talons cut into the solidified clouds to stop her from going further from her prey. “Little shits…” She growled as she righted herself.

Apple Bloom stood as Sweetie Belle came up beside her. “Thanks Sweets, her breath was do’n a better job at fight’n me than she was”

Amused and dumbfounded by her friend’s lack of fear in the face of such dangers, Sweetie could only shake her head. “You do like to ruffle feathers”

“Can y’all blame me? Look at how she keeps that crest of feathers on top of her head, I was only try’n to help her improve”

Ignoring their banter, Gilda slowly moved up to the pair, looking at each in turn. “Two ponies, one Gryphon” She cocked her head until it cracked. “This will be fun. Dash doesn’t let me rough up the runaways too much” She flared her wings to catch them off guard, and then launched herself at them.

Apple Bloom used her Elemental Eye to see the move, and darted from the path, giving Sweetie Belle a subtle gesture for her to do likewise. Gilda roared past, and skidded to push herself back at the Earth pony. Bloom’s Element was fully awoken, with Sweetie’s also active, and she was granted the Foresight to read Gilda’s moves. She kicked at the bird, and sent her tumbling into Sweetie’s path, who called her power to blast Gilda in a great wave of energy. Gilda was about to recover in time to roll away from harm, getting singed instead of fully cooked.

Going back to the offensive, Gilda came down from the sky to strike Sweetie, razor claws whistling through the air just inches from the white hide of the mare. Hairs were caught, and were blown about in the wind of the attack. Sweetie attempted again, finding no further luck than before, and was caught in the Gryphon’s grip and hoisted up in the air. Satisfied to use her beak, Gilda was about to snap into the exposed chest of the mare, when Bloom returned to her concerns, using her full body to knock Gilda from her stance.

The two tumbled, and using the opportunity Sweetie shot a lesser, but still powerful spell, and won a hit against her. Gilda called out like an eagle, the blast still having the bite needed to do damage. She stumbled away, and recovered as several bolts of energy shot at her like a shooting range target. Some of these struck, most were avoided, with Apple Bloom charging in again.

Gilda was not going to be struck again, and seemed to read that the Earth mare could see her moves coming, and attempted a faint. She went to slash, only to pull back and used her mighty wings to slam the pony hard, knocking her a good distance into the air,where Gilda quickly met the stunned mare and landed a kick of her own.

Scootaloo watched the three fighting, the display something to behold. Gilda was fierce, she had always been so, and now she was completely unbound and was showing just how terrible she truly was. She fought magick and physical attacks like a demon, almost shrugging off each attack as she pressed her own. Snapping beak and slashing claws, she was not afraid of killing them; no, she was hoping for it. To their own credit, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were avoiding taking any real damage, and landing some good hits of their own. Scootaloo was not sure how they had become such experts in combat, but they were standing against one of the most feared members of the Flock like she was nothing more than a playground bully.

“Rainbow Dash used to believe in me, but she treats me like a project…” Scootaloo said to herself. “They believe in me, and now risk their lives for me… I was always so loyal to her, but she has abandoned me, left me to wonder the dead parts of this factory” She looked around the room, as something came back to her…

… Standing in the room so vast and empty, save for some large, square vats in the back. Above them was a machine that had tubes that fed into each of those vats. A single, central stack stood attached to the machine, and above its opening was a series of chains, pulleys, restrains, controls and devices to command them independently as they would be moved around the series of tracks. A catwalk spanned across the room above the machine, allowing some to observe from above whatever horror was to play out below.

Rainbow Dash and a younger Scootaloo, less scared and beaten by the years, stood on the ground floor as several other Pegasi moved around setting up the machine. “This is the best machine since the Mark 2, and a personal fave” Dash grinned. “Three and four were fine, but they didn’t do much to be really improved. Really should have pressed that ‘2.2’ or whatever, but Hide likes whole numbers, so he got his way”

“So what’s so great about this one?” Scootaloo asked, looking around the room. “and why is it so empty?”

“Oh Scootaloo… you have always lacked the eye for theatrics” Dash shook her head. “This room inspires fear and despair, helping the resource produce even greater levels of Spectra. Once these vats fill with it, and the machine is set, the resource will piss itself in terror. The pain induced from the massive rack will increase the production that will be many times that of the old machines!”

Looking down, Scootaloo was feeling strange. “Should we be so… mean? I know they are failures, but to torture them?”

Rainbow Dash stopped in her marveling, and turned slowly toward the other. “Scootaloo, you should be careful of what you say, you are just barely gliding above the clouds of failure yourself. Only my protection has kept you from feeding the machines” She spoke coldly, with a blank look in her eyes.

The younger pony stepped back. “I know, and you know I have sworn myself to you, I just worry that we are being too cruel”

Slapping her with a powerful wing, sending Scootaloo to the ground as Dash growled. “I fixed your crippled wings, made you my vice president, done everything to train you in the ways of being awesome, but you still act like a failure!” Gilda stepped up behind where the pony lay. “Failures are punished, and I can no longer abide by your constant failings” Dash looked at Gilda, and the Gryphon eagerly grabbed Scootaloo.

Turning toward the workers, Rainbow shouted. “Get the machine running, we are testing it now! Ready the rack” The workers scrambled to get it ready to run, as it was not yet at the point to even be turned on.

“Dash, please! We’re sisters!” Scootaloo cried, struggling in the talons of the powerful, and wicked Gryphon with blood trickling from where she was held. “I would never betray you, I’m loyal only to you… I just-”

“Questioned me” Dash cut her off. “You were my sister, that is why it pains me to do this” She never turned around, transfixed on the machine. “You make me a failure…”

Gilda bound the struggling mare to the rack, all limbs locked into chains, that pulled her into the air once they were secure. All the while, she was screaming out for mercy and hoping to reach the mare she had dedicated herself too. That pony seemed gone now, as the cranking and whining of the untested machine reached the same pitch as the ill fated mare’s cries. The chains pulled at her, like wild animals fighting for their piece of the prey.

“So far so good” Gilda remarked with a grin, standing next to an indifferent Dash who showed no joy in this moment.

“Phase 1 set, Phase 2 primed” A worker called out, and the machine sparked. Alarms went off, and the room filled with smoke and noise not meaning to be heard. “System failure! Shut down!”

Returning to life, Rainbow sneered and growled. “What happened?!”

One of the workers hesitantly flew down to her, and struggled to report. “Uh… it-it wasn’t… ready when you-” She slapped him much like Scootaloo earlier.

“Get it working, and get it done yesterday!” She commanded, then turned to leave. “And Orion, you’re next”

The work’s eyes went wide, and nearly collapsed to the ground. Gilda, still in her place, amused by the plight of the worker, turned to look at Dash. “Want me to toss her into the collector?”

Rainbow stopped, looking back at the sobbing pony still dangling, limbs just at the point before being ripped from her. “No, it seems her luck has not yet run out. Maybe I can still save face and make something out of a failure, besides just Spectra”

“What should we do with her for now?”

Turning away and trotting again, she was momentarily troubled by a soft spot in the clouds, though she recovered fast enough that it was barely noticeable. “Let her hang until the machine is repaired, then switch her with Orion to make sure it is ready. After that, bring her to me” In a louder voice, for the workers to hear. “Fix these floor clouds!”…

…Coming out of her memories rubbing at where Gilda once held her, she had been snapped awake by the alarms and flashing of lights through the room. Something new must have risen the danger level of the factory, but the three fighting just beyond her seemed to ignore these sudden changes to the atmosphere in the abandoned machine room. Scootaloo tried to cling to the memories, and the meaning to them.

Gilda grabbed at the rope around her throat, and with a sharp pull of it, drew Apple Bloom toward poised claws. The Gryphon was ready to end this pony’s life, and just as the sharpened talons hungered to bite into the flesh, Scootaloo with her full wits, came smashing into the mare. The move saved her friend, and earned her new marks in her side, matching so many others already covering her. She crashed to the ground, and cried out in pain, the depth of the wounds caused her blood to quickly pool about her.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom called out and tried to reach their friend, but Gilda was already on top of the mare. She violently grabbed the Pegasus’ wings as she pulled her into the air, causing new pain to surge through the struggling Scootaloo. “I’m gonna pluck these wings off ya, save them from being wasted on such a wimp; just like they should have been years ago” Gilda started to pull on them, leaving the screaming mare to dangle by her aching wings as one was beginning to rip from her. Gilda just laughed over the sickening wet sounds of flesh and muscle being torn, driven to do what she has desired since she found this pony who had made herself number one in Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

Shouting out in her own fury, Apple Bloom charged at the Gryphon and slammed into her much as Scootaloo had done earlier to Bloom. Free from the grip, but in too much pain and a wing nearly gone from her, Scootaloo fell to the ground hard with Sweetie Belle soon at her side.

Bloom and Gilda renewed their fight, with ever increasing rage and desperation. With her Element eye almost ablaze in her socket, she was in a whole new mode of her still discovering abilities. She did not settle to just the rope with this advanced Foresight, Bloom deployed several knives she held in her bags to fling them in an attempt to take out the threat. Gilda was also elevated by their fight, the lust she had for carnage and the freedom to unleash it was surging through her and making her too quick to hit. Gilda maneuvered around the deadly barrage with the skill she had honed over her whole life, and fueled by her risen thirst for real combat. If any others could see this display, all would agree she was only out matched by Rainbow in regards of her abilities in the air.

“Pathetic!” She called out, still moving around the air with even sharper moves than the blades of the knives sent at her. “Try all your little tricks, Earth trash, you won’t get-” She was too cocky, and missed the rope that returned to the action, and hooked her leg. With a harsh whipping motion, Gilda was slammed back to the hard clouds. “Fuck…” She exclaimed, and rolled from the descending hooves coming to smash her skull.

“Y’all hurt yer last pony!” Bloom declared, before being forced to call out in pain.

Gilda used the moment to slash at the pony, cutting deep into her chest and up her neck. “Oh, no, I think I have at least two more” She laughed in triumph, swiping at the mare more only without the same success as Bloom was on guard again.

Bloom was deeply cut, and hurt, but she was filled with adrenaline as well as the power of the Element. She left splatters of blood around the room, as did Gilda, when she earned some deep cuts of her own. She used the rope to loop some of the discarded blades, and with a show of truly impressive skill, knotted several knives in the rope and made a new weapon. The rope looked more like a rose stem, with daggers for thorns. Bloom lashed about, and turned her two weapons into a unified strike.

Watching this display, Gilda was stoic to the threat. “Think that’s going to do any better?” She darted out of the way, only to find the decoy attack left her to a second rope that seemed to come from nowhere. Rolling from this strike, she now found herself with two hooves crashing into her head. “Fuck!” She called out, crashing to the ground, realizing too late that the bladed rope was looping around her whole body. The blades found purchase across her, and took deep of her. Gilda struggled, then was quickly spun like a top, as Apple Bloom pulled the rope hard. Feathers and gore shot out from the rotating Gryphon, until she managed to recover from the clever attack. She would not be allowed a moment to rest, with Bloom already on her again.

“Scootaloo, are you okay?” Sweetie Belle looked down at her friend, not sure if she should move her as she was studying the damage.

Gritting her teeth, the Pegasus snapped. “What do you think?” She groaned, then shouted out in agony in a failed attempt to move. “Shit… I’m broken… again…” She sounded more defeated than just the physical cuts could do, she had much deeper ones that never healed in her mind.

“You’re not broken!” Sweetie challenged. “We’ll get you help” She pulled out some potions, giving one to Scootaloo to drink, others to use on the damage. She wished she had some for the emotional ones, but she would settle for healing the external pains for now. “That will ease your suffering, and these should numb the joints so you won’t hurt moving, help heal and clean them.

Looking at the vial, Scootaloo hesitated at first. “Where did you learn all of this stuff?” She then drank it, and twisted in disgust at the taste. “Not sure that was better than the pain…”

Sweetie allowed a snicker, remembering the words she shared now. “The Taste might not do, but it is good for you” She gave a soft smile. “I learned a lot from Zecora”

The pain was fading, but the feeling was still there in her stressed joints, and the sensation of the liquids fizzing was tingling as they sealed the rendered flesh. It reminded her of what she lost. “How can I go on when I can’t even help you two? You came to save me, but what is the point? Without Gruber, there is no way I will fly again now, not that I would steal another set of wings or wish that asshole was still alive”

“You’re sounding a bit too much like me” Sweetie admitted to her frequent bouts of depression. “Apple Bloom has said it a dozen times or more, ‘we can’t let the past keep us down. Hope is still out there, and we have to keep fighting for it, and fight for all those who have managed to survive the Shatter Storm and the horrors that were in its wake. So don’t lose hope, and we can make it through.’ I’ve learned so much between Twilight and Zecora’s magicks, and I will use everything to get your wings working again”

***

The light green Pegasus was frantically going around the small room, trying to manage the over growing chaos of the dying Rainbow Factory. Gentle was in a panic, all across the boards were alarms going off. “Shit, shit, shit…” She did her best to figure solutions, but not every problem could be given the attention it needed.

“What is happening?!” Dr. Hide stormed in, standing behind her in great aggravation and hidden concern.

“Freak’n systems are going down all over the place! Those little issues must have been a warning to the fact this fucking place is a time bomb!” She snapped and groaned before shouting more orders into the intercom, though she was quickly losing hope that any of it mattered. “Get those vents open. Reroute the coolant! Jeffery, get into those tubes and patch up the shorts or the chamber is going to breach! I’ve lost feed on the deeper levels of 13, someone find out where Forester is!”

Looking around, Hide’s frown deepened. “Where is Gauge!?” He needless asked, omitting “I don’t care if he needs a diaper or just shits in this room, but we need all bodies working or this factory is going to fall to the ground!” He pointed at a monitor. “Elevation has dropped already” Turning away, growling to himself. “I told her we needed to shut this place down periodically, so we could clean up all the remodels. This factory has become an ever increasing labyrinth, and now it’s about to all come crashing down!”

He turned back, collecting himself a bit. “What are Pipe Wrench and Contrails doing?”

“I’m sure the latter is doing their best to drive the former as mad as they are” She said humorlessly. “Pipe went down to one of the lower levels to deal with the more serious problems, with Contrails being… Contrails…”

“One can only wonder if they will make it better or worse…” He groaned with a heavy sigh. “How long do you think these repairs will take?”

She whipped around, forgetting their positions, foregoing their friendship. She snapped in a full rage. “How long?! Do you think this is a Sci-fi novel?! This ship is literally sinking, every problem addressed raises new problems beyond. Forget about fixing anything, we’re lucky to keep things from getting worse!” She pressed a hoof to her forehead. “If we don’t shut this place down, it’s on-”

“NO!” Hide cut her off, forgiving the outburst, but not the suggestion. “She will never allow it, and if we so much as turn off a light, she’ll throw us both into a device”

Looking at him, the so-called “Master of the Rainbow Factory”, always under the frightful shadow of Rainbow Death. Dumbfounded by his clouded views, she could only shake her head. “At this rate, there won’t be a device, a factory for her to throw anything into” She took a deep breath, reevaluating her life. “I should have just traded some random failure for my life, and got out of this engineering and electrician nightmare!” Turning back to the console, Gentle looked for any glint of hope. “If we survive this, I’m throwing myself into a vat…”

“You can me both” Hide said, then narrowed his eyes as a dark orange stallion trotted past him. “If shitting was your job, I believe we’d owe you overtime pay” He quipped, then became stern. “Help Gentle fix this, and get this factory back into order! I don’t care if you need to go, you can do it in your seat. No Pegasi is to leave their duties until this crisis is undone!”

“Good to see you too, boss” Gauge groaned, his flank obviously sore, not to mention his guts from the ongoing problem.

“Made it just in time” Gentle pointed to a monitor. “The system is going critical, and I’ve got enough over here to keep just from going over the edge”

Bathed in the flashing glow of red, and backed by the crying alarms, the most feared voice in the Flock shouted over all the noise. “Just what is going on here?!” Her tone was accented with rage and hate, and it filled the three with terror.

***

Gilda held up Apple Bloom, both looking like they just came out of the worst of war. Beaten, bloody, and about on the edge of death, they had both fought with passion. Apple Bloom was fighting with the drive of saving her friend, while Gilda was fighting with absolute freedom of not having to hold back anymore. She had not had a good opponent before, and this fight was pushing her to her limits. She spat her own blood into the face of the mare, and was grinning. “Little cunt, couldn’t beat me, even with all yer fancy tricks and glowing eye” She threw the mare to the floor.

Sweetie Belle stood, wanting to rush to her friend’s aid, only Scootaloo was also in her concerns. She was torn between her friends, and could only attempt to distract. “Get away from her!” She demanded, and won the attention of Gilda. “Why are you doing this?”

Not thinking much of the others or seeing them pose the same threat as the earth pony, Gilda scoffed, and nearly tumbled. The fight had taken more out of her than she would admit, though she laughed it off. “Why not?” She responded. “Ponies are worthless, and Dash is doing a great job at cleansing this world of your kind”

“So you serve a pony, to kill ponies? What about when she runs out? Are you or your kind next to start falling into her machines?”

“That’s the beauty of it, the devices don’t work on anything but you ponies. Even the Mark 8 can’t get Spectra from anything but your kind” She snorted another laugh. “Guess your kind is only good for making pretty colours” She stumbled a bit more, moving from Bloom who seemed unable to move. “What happens when your little land is cleared of all ponies?” She shrugged. “Who cares?”

Shaking her head, not able to understand or fathom the reasoning. “Why are you so hateful? I don’t understand how why creatures can be so vile, what causes someone to be so cruel?”

Gilda stopped, as if struck by an arrow. “Why?” The word came out like steam before the bubbling of a hate filled broth. “What can make me hate ponies?” The water was churning, and now boiling over. “I came to Equestria long ago, trying to escape the shitty place I came from, and I heard all this great stuff about ponies, and friendship, and all that junk. All I found were more creatures who avoided me, even picked on me! Making fun of me, and mocking me! Dash was the only one who talked to me like an equal, and she was mocked and ridiculed too. I dealt with that for years, and when I came back after leaving your shitty little land, I had all my friendship and hopes throw away over some fucking ponies who she chose over me! She abandoned all the times we fought to be the best through the academy for those fuckers in the ass crack of a town!” She slammed her fore limbs, going in a standing rage and roared in her fury. She let herself calm a bit, before going on. “She came to me, when she finally smartened up a bit, and I nearly killed her right there. She admitted to how stupid she had been, choosing ponies over me. Maybe all this Flock shit is still pointless, and dumb, but soon enough she’ll see how dumb it all is and we can just live our lives together, like we should have all this time!”

Sitting up with a great effort, Scootaloo now laughed at Gilda. “You think… she values you any more than she did me? Anything?” It was hard for her to keep talking, but she had a point that needed making. “She took me in, treated me like a sister, kept me safe for all the early years of the Flock, and one wrong move and she tossed me aside too. She has no loyalty, it’s a crock that she was ever the bearer of the Element of Harmony. She’ll kill you just as easily as she tried to kill me. All that matters to her, is her”

“Yeah” Gilda said calmly, letting her rage go. “I figured that, but I’m enjoying the ride for now” She shocked them both, how quickly she dismissed the same drive she was showing for all she was doing. “We’ll see what happens, and if I get to enjoy a few more years with my only friend, or a few more minutes, I at least get to have some happiness” She cracked her neck, and flared her wings. “Right now, the pleasure I want is ripping you shits apart” She leapt at them, claws out to go for the kill.

Sweetie Belle was done, and focused a blast of magick that struck one of Gilda’s wings, sending her crashing back to the ground. Now it was becoming clear to all, just how much the fight with Bloom had taken out of her. “Stop this, and you can make it out alive. You just wanted love, but she can’t love you. Find someone else to bring you happiness, and live on” She took one a sterner tone. “I don’t want to kill you, but I will protect what is important to me” The Element on her horn began to shine brighter.

“Ha! Nothing will stop me” She jumped up and went for Scootaloo, but Sweetie blasted the Gryphon again. She attempted for Apple Bloom, getting the same treatment. This went on and on, forcing Sweetie to use her magick over and over to keep the mad creature from her friends. “I can keep this up all day, what about you? Unicorns can’t cast forever, and I know you’ve been spending a lot of your magick already”

“I’m a Zebracorn! I can go on longer than you!” Sweetie lied, then thought to herself. “She is right, even a small blast like these will burn me out. She is weak from fighting too, but I’m willing to bet she had more stamina than I have magick reserved…” She needed to change tactics, and an opening to go from a shooting gallery to ending this.

Laughing ever more, Gilda went to push off the floor, only her talon sank through a weak area and trapped her. “Shit…” She pulled, but the limb was lodged tight. She turned just in time to see a bright light coming at her, and her eyes went wide. She let an agonizing cry, much like Scootaloo had when her wings were being pulled. Gilda flew from the spot, free from the hole, crashing then rolled. Grabbing at her arm, what was left, she winced, as her blood pulsed from the torn limb as she tried to hold back the pain, and stop the bleeding.

Sweetie Belle trotted up to her, a dangerously serious look in her eyes. “Yield or die” She simple gave the choice again. She jumped back, getting her answer as Gilda tried to swipe at her. “Very well…” She closed her eyes then a magick band formed around the Gryphon’s neck, and with a quick motion, the unmistakable sound of bones breaking followed by even more blood as the band cut deep to ensure the deed was done. Gilda fell lifeless, head barely attached as it rolled a bit with a still scowling face frozen in death. “You did not deserve it, but this was the most merciful death I could give, if only to ease my own mind”

Seeing that Scootaloo was stable enough, Sweetie rushed to Bloom investigating just how badly the mare was hurt. She had not moved much since the last attack, and it was not clear how close she was from death.

“What is going on in here?!” A voice silenced the whining of alarms, burning with so much rage it was like a volcano was given speech, and the two conscious ponies could almost feel the heat of the anger. “First my factory is falling apart, now Gilda is dead?!” High above, on the same catwalk that Gilda had come in from, a cyan Pegasus now stood. The unmistakable rainbow mane, though faded, gave all the answer to who was bathing in the red glow of the warning lights. She was seething in the sight of her friend and head of the Lightning Guard, dead, while the biggest failure in her life stood in mockery of all she had worked to create. It looked like the metal of the bridge was smoking, like the absolute maelstrom of her emotion was going to melt it.

They had barely escaped Gilda, now they were down a pony, with Scootaloo lingering, and Sweetie Belle nearly spent. The three young ponies might have had their run of fortune go dry, while the worst of their fears stood above them with all her attention focused on them.

Record 08:

End

Author's Note

Trial after trial, the work of the Stormbreakers is not easy. Have they been pushed too far, or does hope still remain as one of the greatest terrors of The Third Flock is traded for an even greater one? With a factory crumbling around them, can any survive the time bomb?