Author's Note

Something tells me you guys don’t like how I’ve characterized the Ponies.

Chapter Two

“Darling, be a dear and Fire the left engine for, let’s say, three seconds at 20% Thrust?” A white coated unicorn called to a Cyan Pegasus.

“Got’cha, Firing in three, two, one. What was that term Twi likes to use, oh yeah FULL STEAM AHEAD.” She cranked the valve allowing Energon to flow into the Engine. She could hear the left rear thrusters roar to life.

Rarity waited patiently as the thrusters concluded their trial. She hear the valve squeak closed, cutting the flow of Energon. “I’ll mark it as a success.” Rarity typed the results into her Data pad.

“Rarity?”

“Yes Rainbow Dash?”

“You think it’ll work?” The aforementioned Cerulean Pegasus asked.

“Darling, Whatever do you mean?” Rarity looked over to her filly hood friend with concern.

“That was only 20% Thrust and it Didn’t do much. I don’t think these Engines are up for the task.” Rainbow brushed her hoof against the Valve.

“C’mon, you just need to have a little faith in our superiors’ capabilities.” Rarity gently touched Rainbow’s shoulder with her hoof. “Everything will sort itself out soon enough. Now, how about we claim our Rations, hmm?” Rarity said with a light tug on the Pony’s shoulder.

“I guess your right.” The two Stood up and trotted down into the upper deck, then the middle Deck, then the Lower deck. The group trotted through the nearly empty hallways, but were stopped by Bon-Bon and Lyra Harpstrings.

“No one goes.” Lyra simply stated.

“Darlings, we simply need to retrieve our Rations. So be a dear and step aside.” She commanded.

“I’m sorry, but Celestia’s orders. Cargo hold is off limits- Hnnk!” Bon-Bon started, but was cut off by Rarity slamming her into the wall.

“Rares, It’s-“ Rainbow Dash began, but she too was cut off by Rarity.

“Back off Rainbow Dash. I don’t give two flying Scraps about what Celestia says. I’m getting some Energon. So move, the buck, Aside!” Rarity then shoved Bon-Bon into the floor of the Hull. Her Hoof opened up, revealing a Particularly sharp drill bit.

“Rarity, don’t do this!” Rainbow Dash rushed to her-

“STAY OUT OF THIS DASH!” Rarity bucked Rainbow to the ground. Knocking the wind out of her air funnel, and Denting her cargo Cage. “Tell anypony about this and I will hunt you down.” Bon-Bon nodded quickly at the threatening mare.

Rarity eased off the Mare and retracted the Drill. “That goes for you as well Dashie.” She Said, not bothering to turn to face the Mare.

“G-, Got it.” She stuttered, still recovering from the Buck. The two pressed onwards, Rarity pushing through Lyra, into the Cargohold. The two shared a look of ‘Your funeral’, the resumed their positions.

“And there’s nothing to be Cautious of here. What a waste of Guards.” Rarity practically shouted. She could see nothing but stacked Energon cubes. She picked one of the glowing ones up in her hooves and shook it open. The Green cube fell onto the floor, creating a loud clank.

“Rarity, maybe we really be going. We got what we came for, let’s go.” Rainbow Dash called from the entryway. Rarity had wandered further into the Cargo bay, vanishing into the Dark room. When she really thought about it, the lights had been off on the entire deck. Which was strange as they had never been turned off for any reason.

“Rarity?” Rainbow called out to the Mare after she didn’t receive a reply. Rainbow Dash began to trot into the Room, her one good eye projecting a beam of light forth. “Rares? Where are you?” She called once more. “This isn’t funny, why do you need to go in this deep?”

Rainbow’s ears suddenly perked up when she heard a metallic banging coming from a stack of empty Energon cubes. “Rarity? That you?” The Cerulean mare was almost shaking now, the nerves of the atmosphere getting into her processor. Rainbow trotted around the stack and peered in slowly, the banging growing ever louder.

Rainbow stifled a gasp at what she saw. Next to the pile of Cubes and was a Deep Blue Pegasus Mare. Her neck had been punctured, two holes that had a blue-green substance leaking from it. The mare had been trapped, poised in a reaching for position. Her rear hind leg was the only thing moving. It repeatedly kicked the wall behind it, leaving a hoof shaped dent in it, and warping the hoof itself.

Rainbow Dash backed away from the Dead Mare, her leg finally losing power and seizing like the rest of her. She opened a crate, then pulled a PDC Cannon out of it. She was now regretting not getting shoulder cannons attached like Pinkie Pie and Hightow.

The mare walked with even more caution, aiming her new weapon at any sound the reached her audio receptors. “R- Rarity? Where did you go?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Out of the corner of her eye, something moved. Rainbow turned to face it and fired a blind shot, blasting whatever it was to pieces.

Opening an eye, She mentally face hoofed at the item of destruction. The empty energon cube laid there in fifty different pieces, the pile next to it had been blown across the room. “Rarity, stop playing with me!” Rainbow shouted across the room. As per usual, no response from the white mare. That was, until she heard her friend’s scream. She both saw the muzzled flares and heard the gun shots. They ended as quickly as the started, increasing the urgency to find Rarity sooner rather than later.

Rainbow opening her ‘wings’ and beat them a with as much strength as she could muster. With a great deal of effort, Dash became airborne, allowing her to scan the hold. Fortunately, she could barely see Rarity’s lights near the back of the Cargo hold. What was she doing over there? Rainbow thought for a second. Only a second, but that was long enough for Rainbow to loose Rarity’s lights, and for her to start panicking.

She dove forth into the darkness, aiming at her friends last known location. Though she came up short, Rainbow knew she was close. That was because she could hear her friend’s whimpering and a silent draining noise. It was coming from around the corner, which Dash peered around, aiming the cannon at her friend, and a creature latched on her neck. It detached with a pop and hissed at Dash.

“Let her go!” Rainbow shouted. It screeched and hid behind the white mare, using her as a pony shield.

“Rainbow, get it off me!” Rarity squeaked out. She was stuck in place, just like the rest of the ponies surrounding her. The Small blaster still clutched in her hooves. The creature smirked, realizing the advantage it had over the situation. Either Dash shoots it, and by proxy harming Rarity, or she backs down and becomes more food.

“Go ahead, take the shot Pony.” It cackled, fully believing it had already won. “You won’t, cause you’ll hit your dear old pal.”

“Shoot it!” Rarity cried, desperately trying to move her powerless limbs. Rainbow slowly lowered the Cannon, unable to harm Rarity and/or possibly kill her. The creature cackled as it leapt from Rarity’s shoulders, Hurling itself at Rainbow before she could raise the Cannon to blast it.

Rainbow Dash closed her Eyes, bracing herself to meet the same fate as Rarity. However, she instead heard the creature’s screeches of pain and a set of heavy hoofs impacting the ground. The mare slowly opened her eyes, looking at The thing writhing on the ground, it’s waist chopped cleanly in two.

“I posted guards in the hallway for a reason.” Rainbow heard Celestia Prime’s angered voice from behind her. She saw her leader’s Hailbard comedown on the creature’s head, cleaving a chunk of its Processor from its skull. “I was trying to prevent more casualties until I could deal with the situation. Yet you defied my orders for what?” Celestia’s steel gaze pierced into Dash’s.

“I- I… we weren’t… It wasn’t…” Rainbow stutter, trying to articulate the recent events to her superior.

“Save it, we will discuss this later. Right now I want you to help with… this…” She gestured to the Pony statues, including Rarity’s barely moving one. “Am I understood?”

“We’ll it-” Dash tried to explain.

“Am I, understood?!” Celestia asked again. Small puffs of flame bursting out of her smokestacks.

“I- I… Yes Ma’am.” Rainbow sighed. She glanced at Rarity, who was looking down at the ground, avoid eye contact. Rainbow watched Celestia exit the room, carrying the corpse off to be presumably dumped off in a ditch somewhere.

“Soo… That was quite the specta-” Rarity began, but was cut off by Rainbow Dash.

“Save it. I’m only in trouble because you wanted… what are you doing back here anyways?” The Mare asked, Putting the gun on a Mint Pony’s Back. She sat down in front of her froze friend. The White Mare glancing to the side every so often. “Go on, speak.”

Safe to say, Rartiy didn’t say a word. She simply looked down at the ground, unable to say anything incriminating to the Cerulean mare. She looked up when Rainbow’s sigh met her ears. “You know what? I don’t want to know. Just, promise me you’ll stop doing things like this. Ok?”

“Ok, I promise.” Rarity replied.

“You actually promise? Your going to keep it right?” Rainbow asked, unsure if her friend really meant it or not. “Right?”

“I promise I will up hold this promise to it’s fullest extent.” Rarity replied once more, trying her best to look sincere. Rainbow Dash once again bought into her friend’s spool. Fully believe that she learned her vital lesson.

“Thank you, I’ll get Dos to give you your legs back. Be right back.” Rainbow dashed off, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts.

Cadence whinced slightly as the blowtorch met her Shoulder’s Metal. The Symbol that had been branding her as an Autopony no longer took the surface. Instead, a new Shadowcon Insignia now over took the space. Telling all of her new allegiance.

“Stop whining, it’s not that hot.” Shakedown, the Shadowcon’s chief medic, said. He was a young Stallion, His red eyes and even more crimson coat telling of his youth. He had likely never seen a battle field. Or, as the rather prominent buffer contested, he took rather good care of himself. “Breakup, do you mind handing me the buffer?”

“Uh, sure.” The aforementioned other Stallion in the room replied. Tossing the Buffering machine to Shakedown. “Ya know what I’m trying to understand?”

“What is that, my dear friend?” Shakedown asked, Releasing the Buffer’s trigger to let him speak.

“Why would an Autopony switch sides? Especially her?” Breakup replied. No quite understanding how a pony who was so far enthralled with one cause could just, switch, like this. Fully willing to seek out the opposition to sell out her colleagues.

“Yeah, why did you switch to the winning team? Finally realized how crazy you lot are?” Shakedown said, fully leaning into the insult.

“Celestia is a self absorbed prick with her CPU shoved to far up her own Energon Processor to realize that her whole cause is beyond saving. I left because she refused to accept that she had full control over every situation, and that she unnecessarily got good ponies killed. And to top it off, she still refuses work with Nightmare. Even though a resource pool and a lack of opposition would benefit her greatly.” Cadence vented. The room went silent for a click, before Shakedown broke it.

“Wow, she really does sound like a walking pony disaster. So, why exactly do you want a new paint job? You current one suits you.”

“I would like to distance myself from the mare Celestia knew. I’m not her little pony anymore. I am Overroad, and you shall address me a such.” Cadence said, fully expecting them to take her seriously.

“Overroad? Careful, you don’t want to sound too Cheesy.” Shakedown jeered, pulling out buckets of paint. One was a Light Grey tone, a second a Light purple and a third, a Pale yellow. “So, Overroad, don’t you regret leaving anypony behind. As in, didn’t somepony else mean to you enough to make you reconsider?”

Overroad looked to the wall, a pair of purple Unicorns coming to mind. Maybe she could convince them to join her? “No.” She replied, waving the thought away. They’d be to loyal to Celestia to even consider joining the Shadowcons for more than a click.

“Surprising.” Shakedown said as he finished with Cadence’s paint job. “I must admit, you look stunning in Grey.” He remarked. Stepping back from the newly dubbed Overroad. The Mare rubbed the patch of metal of her left shoulder.

Overroad wore a bemused expression as she inspected herself. Liking what she saw, she stepped out of the Shadowcon’s Medical facility to find Nightmare. She had an Ambush to plan.