Icewind pushed on against the whipping winds of the blizzard, her wings beating frantically at her sides as she continued to drag Skylight along, moving at a steady pace away from the MOA Hub. Her whole body hurt, a sharp pain spiking up through her broken hoof. Blood flowed freely from the massive, gaping wound on her chest. Her wings faltered for a second and she sagged in the air before she managed to righten herself, tears of pain crystallizing to flecks of ice in the biting cold.

Her mind was screaming at her, demanding she turn around and go back, demanding that she go back and save Vapour, but she didn’t dare. She had to survive. If she died here and now, then there truly was no hope for Equestria.

Vapour Trail was dead. She knew that. There was no surviving a direct blast like that from one of Horrigans cannons. Perhaps he might cling to life for a few more moments, but she knew deep down that he wouldn’t be able to do that for long.

But you could have still tried to save him! Icewind’s thoughts hissed at her, forcing her to grit her teeth. He took the bullet for you and you just fled!

Icewind flew on, fighting against the pouding snowstorm, eyes half shut to shield her vision from the icy flakes of snow that lashed at her like frozen knives. She felt her wings begin to sag at her sides again, exhaustion overtaking her and her breath coming out in heavy, ragged pants.

At last, after several minutes of flying, pulling Skyligh’s depleted body around behind her, Icewind came down for a landing, angling for a snowback atop a mountain ledge, a few miles out from the Donut Joes. She curved her body in the air, bracing herself for a rough landing as a particularly hard gust of wind knocked her off course. She collided hard with the snowbank, a shudder passing through her body as she felt her back slam against the rougher terrain beneath. Skylight crashed down beside her, her gaze still distant and resigned as she landed on her back, her eyes staring out at the overcast sky above.

Icewind rolled over, pushing off the mound of snow that had slid into place above her. She took a long moment to catch her breath, breathing in and out as her exhaustion and shock turned into a strange mix of elation and sinking dread. Somehow, against all odds, she had survived. It didn’t even feel real yet. At any moment she expected to open her eyes and find the cold walls of the MOA Hub once more around her, Horrigans immense form towering over her and preparing to strike. The idea of fighting Horrigan and surviving seemed ludicrous, but here she was all the same.

But at the same time, alive or not, she had failed. The Enclave now had the means to not only reestablish the cloud layer over Equestria, but the means to commit the mass genocide off all non Pegasus life twice over.

Groaning, Icewind pulled herself up to her hooves, staggering as a bolt of pain passed through her chest. She stumbled, grabbing onto the nearby rockface for support. She looked down, watching as more blood spilled from the massive hole in her chest where Horrigans blast had struck her. She pushed her hoof up against her body, trying her best to stop the blood flow.

Beside her, Skylight slowly dragged herself up, staggering over to the edge of the cliff overlooking the frozen cityscape they had just fled from. Icewind took a step towards her, suddenly worried the small pegasus was about to throw themself over the side of the ledge, but Skylight just stood there, staring silently out at the frozen wasteland.

Coughing up a little blood, Icewind cautiously approached her, careful to stay as non threatening as possible. “I uh… I hate to be a bother…” She started, pulling her hoof back briefly to stare at the oozing blast wound. “You wouldn’t happen to have any healing potions would-”

Skylight’s hoof crashed into Icewind’s face before she had time to react. Icewind was sent stumbling back, blood now spilling from her muzzle. She looked up, only barely with enough time to dodge out of the way as Skylight lunged at her again, armoured hooves aiming to crush her.

“Woah! I’m on your side! Remember!” Icewind shouted, dipping out of the way as another hoof sailed for her head. She flapped her wings roughly against her sides, pushing off from the ground and zipping out of the way of another swing. “Stop- damn it- attacking me!”

“I recognize your face!” Skylight spat, growling up at Icewind from the ground. “You were working with the Enclave! With Horrigan! You helped them kill Tailchaser and Plasma! You were there when they branded off my cutie mark and you did nothing!”

A beam of prismatic light flashed out from Skylight's rifle, whizzing past Icewind’s ear as she weaved out of the way. Icewind swooped around her, her hooves swinging out and ramming into the back of Skylight’s head, knocking her to the ground.

“I’m also the only reason you aren’t a splattered stain on the wall right now! So you’re fucking welcome!” Icewind shot back, landing roughly in front of Skylight as she slowly tried to climb back to her hooves. Icewind’s broken hoof gave out from under her as she touched down, causing her to drop to one knee. “Look!” Icewind shifted to her side to show off the lightning bolt shaped brand on her flank. “I’m a Dashite too… see?”

Skylight hesitated, her rifle still aimed at Icewind’s head. “Start talking! Right now!”

Icewind scowled. “I think I liked you better when you were all depressed and mopey,” she pushed herself away from Skylight, leaning against the cliff face for support. “Yes. I was Enclave. I thought we were actually trying to do something good. I should have seen the signs that I was wrong sooner.”

Skylight’s rifle lowered slightly, pointing down at the ground, but her eyes remained suspicious. “Sorry… I of all ponies know the kind of manipulation the Enclave uses to keep you in line. I’m just also getting really fucking used to ponies stabbing me in the back.”

Icewind gave her a slight smirk. “For what it’s worth, I think you would have been rather stupid to trust me,” She glanced back down at the bloody hole in her chest. “But like… about that healing potion… Your special somepony kinda shot me.”

Skylight stiffened at the remark. “We aren’t like that anymore.”

“Semantics. Potion. Please.”

Skylight gave a nervous nod, digging around in her saddlebag for a moment before tossing a healing potion Icewinds way. Icewind deftly caught it in her mouth, her teeth ringing slightly as they abruptly came in contact with the glass bottle. She took a moment to push the two broken bones on her fore hoof back into place, gritting as the jagged shards of bone clicked together before leaning her head back and downing the potions contents. Almost immediately, she could feel the itching feeling of the healing potion patching up her wound. It took the whole potion, and quite a few moments of waiting, until the regenerative magic finished its work. Though the fact came as no surprise to her, Icewind began to realize just how lucky she was that she had been wearing a full suit of power armour when the blast struck her. Without its protection, she would very definitely be dead.

Skylight downed a potion of her own, its magical properties patching over the many cuts and bruises that marred her hide. She slumped down in the snow, just staring at Icewind from across the way as Icewind began circling back and forth, deep in thought.

“Are you going to tell me what happened back there?” Skylight asked, when it seemed like Icewind wasn’t going to stop her pacing any time soon. “That vial you were trying to keep from Horrigan. What was that?”

Icewind paused her circling, glancing over at Skylight. “Something called IMP Dash-13. Some sort of alchemical formula they plan to use to wipe out all mutant life.”

Skylight’s brows furrowed. “All mutant life? Like hellhounds and radroaches and stuff?”

Icewind shook her head. “I don’t think this virus discriminates between glowing hellhounds and ponies that drank a Sparkle~Cola a few months ago.”

Icewind could see Skylight's eyes flicking back and forth as she digested the information. “We hadn’t heard anything about this…” She muttered, her tone grim. “We knew about the Balefire Reactor Module and the Enlcave’s plan to bring the cloud layer back, but this…” Her words trailed off as the real horror of what this virus implied sunk in. “This is madness…”

“Why do you think I switched sides,” Icewind harrumphed. She paused, glancing out at the cityscape below them. In the distance, she saw an Enclave Raptor lift up into the air and soar out into the blinding white of the howling snowstorm. Looks like Horrigan and Firestreak were on their way back to the oil rig.

“And Horrigan knows about this?” Skylight asked, her voice resigned.

Icewind gave her a sad, knowing look. “I don’t think he understands the full extent of it, but yes. He found out, same time as I did. I tried to get him to understand the insanity of what the Enclave is doing, but…”

“But he’s too far gone,” Skylight finished for her. “I know… I tried. Nothing I did ever got through to him.”

“Don’t be so sure…” Icewind nickered, stretching her fore hooves. All her muscles felt sore from the fight. “Horrigan cared a great deal about you. I’ve seen him slaughter dozens of ponies in cold blood, yet he never could bring himself to kill you, even when under direct orders to do so. He always came up with some reason to let you live just a little longer.”

“Until now,” Skylight sulked. “He didn’t even hesitate back there.”

Icewind’s expression darkened. “No… No he did not. Colonel Thunderbolt has sunk his claws into Horrigan deep,” She paused, looking off into the direction she had seen the Raptor fly off in. “I don’t suppose you have a way to get back to Manehattan, do you?”

Skylight opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, another voice spoke up. “Make a move and I’ll drop you where you stand!”

Icewind stiffened, suddenly feeling the cold feeling of a gun barrel press against the back of her head. Her eyes flicker to the side to try and get a glance at the pony holding her at gunpoint, but the pony was too far behind her for her to make out. The only solace she had was that Skylight’s face seemed to fill with relief, so the chances this pony was Enclave was rather low.

“Not sure who you are, but I’m not with the Enclave,” Icewind responded slowly, turning her head slightly. She still wasn't able to get a good look at the pony. “Check my cutie mark if you want proof.”

There was a moment of silence from behind her as the pony deliberated. “Your mark looks old,” The voice piped up again, more curious now. “But I saw you aiding the Enclave in the fight against those raiders only a few hours ago.”

“Blue, it’s okay I think,” Skylight interjected, stepping forwards. “She helped us get away from Horrigan down in the Hub. She’s the only reason I’m still alive.”

Icewind scrunched up her muzzle. “Blue?”

After a moment of hesitation, Icewind felt the gun barrel shift away from the back of her head. She waited a second longer, making sure no other surprises were about to come her way before turning around.

Standing about three feet away, posed almost heroically on a rocky outcropping, was a small unicorn mare. Her coat was a light brown in colour, her hooves flecked with dust and grime from her journeys across the wasteland, and her mane was a ruffled mess of grey streaked with vibrant red. Her eyes, a pale green in colour, had an intelligent look to them and the green aura around her horn held both a large sniper rifle and a shotgun aloft before her. She had rugged, makeshift leather and metal armour strapped over her body in different places among an assortment of other straps, but what caught Icewinds attention the most, and clearly the cause of Skylight’s nickname for this mare, was the bright blue Stable jumpsuit that she wore beneath her armour, marked with a small, yellow 13 on the collar.

All in all, the mare looked surprisingly unassuming. Just another shorter than average Stable pony that had had the misfortune of wandering out into the wasteland. But Icewind knew that initial impression was deceiving. She had no doubts in her mind, the unicorn mare before her was the Stable mare she had heard so much about. And if even half the things she had heard about this pony were true, then this was not a pony one should take lightly.

Despite all of that however, the next words that escaped Icewinds lips slipped out before she had time to stop them. “You’re cute.”

At that, the Stable mare’s whole face, which until then had been a headstrong mask of stoicism, flushed a bright, vibrant red. “I- I am not!”

Icewind couldn’t help but chuckle. Fucking hell, the fate of the wasteland rested on the shoulders of a small, easily flustered mare. Just perfect. Some things just never change.

“Name’s Icewind,” Icewind said, stepping forward and raising her hoof to the stable mare. “I’m guessing you’re the mythic Stable mare everypony’s in a tizzy about?”

The Stable mare looked the hoof over carefully for a second before reaching out and returning it with a hoof bump of her own. “My name's Hero,” She replied, her face still flustered from the previous comment.

“Of fucking course it is,” Icewind snorted. Because what the fuck else would this mare be named. She couldn’t tell if the name was fitting or cruelly ironic. Her eyes glanced down at the small number emblazoned on her jumpsuit. “I see you were from Stable 13? I’m guessing that’s how you found out about the Enlcave’s plans for the MOA Hub, huh? I thought the Enclave killed everypony there when they first took it over?”

Hero gave a slow nod, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Why do you think I’ve been so dedicated to stopping them? They killed everypony I’ve ever known and…” She paused, seeming to notice something was off. She turned to look at Skylight, worry reflected in her eyes. “Where’s Misty?”

Skylight’s head dropped, her eyes downcast. “Dead… Horrigan got her…” Icewind could hear a quiver in her voice at the words.

The Stable mare took a step back, her own face dower. Icewind could see guilt and regret flashing across her face. “Damn… I had hoped… I should have…” She shook her head, shaking herself from whatever depressive stupor her mind was dragging her to. “We’ll make this right, Skylight. I promise. We’ll find a way to make all of their deaths mean something.”

“On the topic of death…” Icewind cut in, noting a few burn marks scoring the Stable mare's armour. “You’re here, so I’m guessing Firestreak is dead as well.”

Hero shook her head. “If you’re referring to the flamer wielding pony I encountered in the Hub, no. We got separated when a pack of frozen ghouls ambushed us,” She looked Icewind up and down carefully for a second before jumping down from the outcrop to stand in front of her. Now up close, Icewind saw that she was even shorter than she had initially realized, standing at only half her height. “I made it to the bottom floor hoping to get to the Balefire Reactor first, but it looks like it has already been taken, along with the launch code overrides for a whole arsenal of megaspells which had been redirected to some unspecified location. I’m hoping that wasn’t you ponies?”

“Oh no, that was definitely us,” Icewind scowled.

Skylight let out a loud gasp. “What?”

“I know, it keeps getting worse, doesn’t it,” Icewind nickered angrily. “Yeah, Enclave has the Balefire Reactor, the IMP formula and a collection of megaspells ready to fire off at a moment's notice. They’re gearing up to commit a genocide bigger than any Equestria has seen since the great fucking war.”

Hero raised an eyebrow. “IMP formula? What are you talking about?”

“IMP Dash-13. It’s a long story, I’ll tell you on the way back to Manehattan,” Icewind ushered. She paused, glancing back and forth between the two other mares. “Which brings me back to what I was asking before you rudely put a gun to my head. I’m assuming you two have a way back to Manehattan, right?”

Hero cast Skylight a worried look. “You trust her?”

Skylight shrugged. “I was Enclave once too, and I turned on them for less. I trust her about as much as any pony else right now.”

“Alright, yeah. Welcome to the team. We have an old skywagon we repaired. It’s how we got here so fast in the first place,” Hero said, turning back to Icewind. “How long do you think we have until the Enclave makes their move?”

Icewind would have commented further on the whole “team” remark, had she not been more preoccupied with the question that followed. She grimaced to herself, pacing back and forth. “Seeing as they have everything they need and know you’ll be on your way to stop them? Not long. Ever since the destruction of the cloud layer, the Enclave has needed to play it safe. They cannot afford failure. When they make their move, they’re going to hit fast and hard. I predict within twenty minutes of them taking over the SPP, bombs and viruses are going to start flying.”

“But how long,” Hero insisted, eyebrows furrowing. For the first time since meeting her, Icewind suddenly saw a level of determination and strength in her gaze that befitted a pony of her renown. She almost had to take a step back as the glare tore through her. That was the look of a mare that could rip apart the whole Enclave with her bare hooves alone.

Icewind bit her lip, thinking the question over, trying to regain her composure. “They’ll probably still need to do a few tests with the IMP and teleporter first, but this is a project they’ve been working on for almost two years. Most of the work is already done,” She paused, trying to do the math in her head. “We probably have twenty-eight hours at most.”

“Then we need to get going,” Skylight said, flapping her wings and lifting off into the air. “We have to get to the oil rig before they begin.”

Icewind laughed. The laugh felt a little mean spirited, but she didn’t care. It all was just sounding so insane. “Stop the Enclave? Just the three of us? They have a whole army, not to mention Raptors. The Enclave means business. This is their last hope of returning to their former glory and they know it. They’re going to throw everything they have into making sure we don’t get anywhere near the IMP formula or the teleporter. And even if we do manage to get past all their defenses, we still have Horrigan to worry about. We hardly survived him in the MOA Hub, and that was without him being backed by the whole fucking Enlcave!”

Skylight’s beating wings slowed and she dropped back to the ground. “Well, what are we supposed to do then?”

Icewind glanced back at the Stable mare, expecting to see them looking just as discouraged as she felt. Instead, she saw the mare's eyes darting back and forth in thought, a plan clearly forming in her mind. “We’re going to need an army of our own,” Hero muttered, her hoof tracing small circles in the snow. “And I think I can get us one…”

I stared out the window of the Raptor as it soared over the vast expanse of the Celestia Sea, homeward bound once more for the Hippocampus Oil Rig. Rain beat heavily against the glass; a clear indication that the storm raging above the oil rig had not yet begun to die down. I wondered if perhaps the bad weather was the Lightbringers sad excuse of an attempt to slow the Enclave’s progress. If it was, it wasn’t working.

I had remained completely silent on our trip back to Manehattan, my mind fixated on everything that had happened at the MOA hub. Icewinds betrayal, Skylight and Misty Cloud, the IMP formula, and of course, Vapour Trail’s death. His dying words kept rattling around inside my head, my mind desperately trying to make sense of them. Fix this, he had said. Fix what? He had said he’d let me decide what I was supposed to fix as well. That made the whole thing even more confusing.

Eventually, my mind turned to our objective, still safely concealed within a compartment at my side. How much violence had transpired just in light of it? I couldn’t help but grow curious as to what would happen if it was ever actually distributed. My first thoughts were pandemonium, only to be quickly followed with the realization that death would likely settle across the wasteland long before such rioting could begin. The idea didn’t sit well with me, but I shoved the discomfort down. Colonel Thunderbolt knew what he was doing.

I looked over to my right, where Firestreak leaned against one wall of the Raptor, wrapping a wad of gauze around her hoof. Her body had taken a rather rough beating in her fight with the Stable mare. She glanced up at me as she felt my piercing gaze fall on her. Her lips curled back into a thin snarl. “What?”

“IMP Dash-13,” I monotone in my rumbling voice, my gaze unmoving. “Does the Enclave truly intend to use it?”

Firestreak just grunted, turning her gaze back to her leg as she continued to wrap it. “Just keep doing what you’re told,” She growled. “And shut up… I’ve had a fucking day…”

I returned my gaze to the bounding mane below as it whipped by, feeling unsatisfied with the answer.

Ten minutes later, the oil rig came into view, jutting out of the crashing waves like a metallic monolith. Firestreak pulled herself up to the window beside me, her own sights locked on the rig. “What the fuck is happening down there?”

Swarms of Enclave patrols were circling the oil rig, weapons drawn. The main platform of the oil rig was filled to the brim with ponies, each one a fully equipped Enclave soldier in dark carapace armour. Barricades had been erected at every entrance into the structure and I saw squads of pegasi swooping out into the storm and over the roiling sea, each one carrying a large moored mine between their hooves before dropping them into the water below. Two Raptors loomed overhead and I saw several massive artillery cannons posted at each corner of the rig. My mechanical eyes focused in on the raptors and the heavy artillery. Where the fuck had the Enlcave gotten those?

There was some light turbulence as our Raptor came in for a landing on the oil rig’s central platform. The sound of hissing steam accompanied the main door of the raptor sliding open, making way for us as Firestreak and I strode out into the pounding rain. The eyes of everypony on the deck turned to face us, their expressions unreadable behind their insidious Enclave helmets.

“Firestreak!” A pegasus in an Enclave commander uniform announced, stepping towards us through the crowd, four armoured pegasi flanking him on each side. His dark grey mane had matted to his face by the downpour. I recognized him from the briefing the Colonel had given us the night before. “You cannot begin to comprehend just how happy I am to see you!” Even with my rather lacking knowledge of social etiquette, I could feel the smug sarcasm that oozed from his words.

“Commander Shipbreaker,” Firestreak replied curtly, her eyes narrowed. “I need to speak with Colonel Thunderbolt at once.”

Commander Shipbreaker clicked his tongue loudly inside his mouth. “I’m afraid that is impossible. The Colonel is busy overseeing the last second adjustments on the teleporter,” He raised his hoof to Firestreak, clearly demanding for her to place something within it. “I will be taking the Balefire Reactor Module to him, if you would be so kind as to hoof it over.”

Firestreaks face twisted into a snarl. “How dare you… This was my mission! My victory!” She stomped her hoof down roughly on the slick floor. “I think I’d very much like to deliver it to him myself.”

“I would advise against it,” Shipbreaker warned, his face smug. “Unlike some of us, the Colonel was not too pleased with your performance in this mission.”

I saw Firestreaks whole body go still. Her eyes widened as Shipbreaker’s words lashed at her like a whip. “What are you talking about? What is going on here!?”

“Like what I’ve done with the place?” Commander Shipbreaker grinned, gesturing to the massive improvement in security. As if to prove his point, one of the Raptors whipped overhead, blowing at Firestreaks mane. “I know the Colonel was very pleased. But you? He read the report you forwarded him about the mission. Letting the Stable mare and two Dashites get away? Losing four members of your squad? The Colonel is livid.”

Firestreak took a step back, her face registering with fear. Her eyes darted back and forth, clearly taking note of all the different eyes on them. After a moment, she straightened up, huffing. She reached into her saddle bag and pulled out the Balefire Reactor Module, shoving it roughly into his outstretched hoof.

“Very well,” She hissed, her teeth clenching together. “Deliver this to the Colonel for me,” She narrowed her eyes, allowing for a forced smile to push its way across her muzzle. “And if you’d be so kind as to make sure he received the overrides to all those megaspells I found, that would be greatly appreciated!” She raised her voice at that, clearly making sure everypony present could hear her.

I saw Shipbreaker tense at her words. Clearly he had not yet heard about that part of the mission. His eyes narrowed, his lips pulling back into a tight scowl. “You’re bluffing,” He growled, pocketing the Balefire Reactor. "I would have been informed if we had gained possession of such a thing."

Firestreak just shrugged. “Go ask him. Oh! And do go back to upping security around here. I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with something much better than a megaspell arsenal,” She pushed past him, stalking her way into the oil rig. “Come Horrigan. We have much to do.”

I gave a gruff snort, causing a few ponies to scuttle out of the way in fear as I stomped after Firestreak. Shipbreaker looked around hesitantly for a moment before barking off some commands at some nearby troopers and soaring off in a different direction.

“He can’t take this victory from me,” Firestreak seethed once we were alone, storming through the halls of the oil rig. There was an almost manic look in her eyes. “I’ll show them. I’ll show all of them who’s really loyal to the grand fucking Enclave…”

“Where are we going,” I grunted, following behind her as Firestreak turned down another tunnel.

“If Thunderbolt doesn’t want us to deliver the Balefire Reactor, so be it,” Firestreak snapped, her breath sounding ragged. “But we still have one other objective to deliver.”

Before long, the two of us pulled up in front of Doctor Knife Slits chambers. Firestreak didn’t bother knocking, she just barged in, forcing the sliding doors to make way for her.

Knife Slit stood on the far side of the room, hunched over her desk as she inspected a small vial of some purple liquid in a syringe. She was clad in her usual black, Enclave lab coat, though I noticed that it had been speckled with blood. Dozens of different implements had been methodically splayed out on the desk before her, ranging from scalpels and pliers to large bone saws. Beside her, two pegasus mares had been securely bound to the wall by metal clamps, thick wads of cloth had been pushed into their mouths to prevent them from screaming. The two mare’s had similar coat and mane colours; likey siblings or at the very least closely related. Both mares had been branded as Dashites, though from the relatively fresh blistering of the skin around the mark, I could tell they had been branded relatively recently.

Doctor Knife Slit glanced up as the door jolted open, her face filled with annoyance. “What are you-” When her eyes landed on Firestreak and I, her expression changed to that of unbridled excitement. “Ahhhh, so you have both returned. I assume you are here to deliver to me the IMP formula?”

“We are,” Firestreak affirmed, placing the small vial of sloshing fluids on the desk before her.

“And I assume you have done as the Colonel and I requested. No pony else knows about this?” Knife Slit asked, picking up the vial and inspecting it curiously.

“No pony else in the Enclave,” Firestreak replied swiftly, I could hear a sudden worried hesitation in her voice. “However… Icewind has been made aware… There is a good chance she will leak the information to the Stable mare.”

Doctor Knife Slit let a sinister looking grin stretch across her face. “Ah yes, I had been informed about your failure with Icewind. Such a pity,” She returned her gaze to the vial for a moment, lifting it up to the light with her hoof.

“Why mustn’t the rest of the Enclave be informed?” I frowned. Something about the whole situation feeling wrong. “If our enemies already have the information, wouldn’t it be prudent to make sure everypony has a solid grasp on what they’re defending?”

Knife Slit cast me a sideways glance. “You saw what happened when Icewind learned the truth, did you not? Some ponies just don’t have the stomach for what needs to be done,” Knife Slit gave a small chuckled and placed the vial back down on the desk, scooping up the syringe she had been holding when we first entered and quickly approached one of mares that had been chained to the wall. “Would you like to watch a small demonstration? I have been working on a serum that should hopefully counteract IMP Dash-13.”

Firestreak gave a curious nod. “A demonstration would be entertaining.”

I remained silent beside her.

Knife Slit knelt down next to the struggling pony, quickly slipping the needle into their hoof and watching as the purple fluid within injected into their bloodstream. “IMP Dash-13 is a fascinating formula. Just a .0001% aerosol solution exposure is enough to kill anything with even a microdose of radiation poisoning within minutes! I confess that I have been attempting to replicate it for quite some time, though I never could figure out the exact alchemical requirements,” The bound mare gave a loud hiss of pain, trying to coil away despite her binds, her eyes going wide as Knife Slit continued to gush about the formual’s properties. She bit down hard on the cloth shoved in her mouth, clearly trying to reject the searing pains that began to course through her body.

Doctor Knife Slit took a step back, eyeing the thrashing mare carefully. After a long, painful moment, the violent spasming and muffled screams died down to a simmering whimper. “Well, the subject didn’t die this time. So that’s a plus,” Knife Slit noted, trotting back over to her desk and carefully putting a small drop of the IMP Dash-13 formula into a new syringe. “Let’s see if the cure was actually effective?”

Once more, she walked over. She waited a few moments, counting silently under her breath before inserting the second syringe into their neck and injecting the formula into them. She took a step back, watching with wrapped attention as she awaited for something to happen.

She didn’t need to wait long. Within seconds, blood began to burble past the Dashites lips, staining the cloth in her mouth a dark red. Her body spasmed, wracked with pain after searing pain. Hives began breaking out across her flesh, accompanied in short order my oozing, bloating bubbles of green pus. Within a minute, the mare lay dead.

The second mare gave out a muffled scream through her bindings, pulling desperately against her bonds as if trying to break free and rush to her sister, tears streaming down her face. Knife Slit simply ignored the gagged protests, turning back to us with a sigh. “I should have figured. Though she did survive longer than the last subject. I should have a cure much quicker now that I have the real IMP Dash-13 to experiment with.”

“How long will it take?” Firestreak asked, curiously looking over the oozing corpse. “I suspect the Colonel will want to be ready to launch the virus soon.”

“Don’t worry yourself. I should have it done in short order,” Knife Slit cooed, sitting back down at her desk and jotting a few notes down. “Despite how grisly that looked, it truly was a major improvement over previous attempts. A few hours should be all I really need, especially since I now have the actual formula for experimentation. Besides, once we’re back above the clouds, we shouldn’t really need the cure anyways. The Single Pegasus Project should give us complete control of Equestria’s jet streams. A few controlled storms over the more populated areas of the wasteland and the Virus will have done its work before you know it.”

I stood and stared at the corpse of the mare for a long moment, almost zoning out Firestreak and Knife Slit’s conversation. It wasn’t until Knife Slit turned and addressed me directly that I managed to snap myself out of my stupor. “By the way, the Colonel would like to talk to you. He told me to inform you to stop by his office at 19 hundred hours.”

I gave a grim nod, finally forcing myself to look away from the dead mare and her sobbing sibling. “Understood.”

“What about me?” Firestreak insisted, her voice suddenly becoming very hostile. “I still have to inform him on the greater details of the mission.”

Knife Slit practically cackled. “Oh no, he doesn’t want to see you at all. If you are wise, you will stay well out of his way until his disappointment has cooled. He put a lot of faith in you with this mission. To be disappointed in such a manner… And you only just got promoted too.”

Firestreak scowled, though I could see the horror reflected in her gaze. Wordlessly, she spun around and stalked from the room, the steel door sliding shut behind her.

“The leash tightens,” Knife Slit noted cryptically, returning her gaze to her notes. “But the Colonel’s methods are effective.”

I glanced at Knife Slit once I was sure Firestreak had left. “Is the Colonel really that mad at her?”

Knife Slit gave a small shrug. “He didn’t seem that mad, honestly. If anything, he sounded pleased with the mission's outcome. But Firestreak is dangerous. Power gets to her head. I think the Colonel just wants to make her remember who’s really in charge around here. Without her rank, who really is Firestreak? I don’t know. I doubt she does either. All she has is servitude to the Enclave. She won’t risk losing that.”

“I just hope that for the sake of your own soul, you’ve figured yourself out better than I have,” I heard Icewinds words echo inside my head. For the first time in my whole life, I wondered just how many ponies in the Enclave had that very same problem.

I looked back at the door Firestreak had left through, my brow furrowing. “Of course… Everypony must know their place…” But to my surprise, I didn’t think I was referring to the Enclave.

Foaming waves crashed hard against the rickety dock as Icewind shook out her mane, sending a small spray of droplets flinging out in every direction. She had to admit that she was impressed the dock managed to stay together in spite of the raging storm. Say what you will about the old world, they built architecture to last.

Beside her stood Skylight and Hero, their coats and manes soaked through to the bone from the torrential downpour. Hero’s Stable jumpsuit looked waterlogged, it's already tight fit clinging tighter to her hide. Hero was in a conversation with a large earth pony stallion who had met us on the docks shortly after we had arrived in Manehattan. He had a rather impressive build with a matted white beard clinging to his wrinkled face. His clothes, tattered and worn from the tribulations of the wasteland, were reminiscent of what old, pre-war sailors used to wear, the Sou'wester hat shielded his face causing the heavy rain to pour off his back.

“Thank you again!” Hero was saying, once more raising her voice to be heard over the storm. “If there's anything we can do to repay you, just let us know!”

The old buck just waved off the remark with a hoof, huffing. “Don’t mention it! Anythin’ to stick it to ‘em damn Enclave bastards. ‘sides, it’s the least I can do af’er everythin’ ya did.”

Icewind shifted slightly to look over at Skylight who’s gaze had locked on one of the three massive crafts beside us.

Anchored beside the dock was a row of three massive, fully operational pre-war Equestrian battleships. Their gargantuan metal hulls almost the size of whole skyscrapers knocked on their side. Rust clung to the ship's many surfaces and Icewind could see spots where large holes in the ship had been patched together with jagged slabs of scrap metal. Large artillery cannons protruded from the center of the ships and Icewind could see a small crew of ponies rushing about, trying to ready the massive transports. Turns out the Stable mare knew more than just how to get an army. She knew how to get a whole army to the oil rig.

“Enclave would have a fucking fit if they knew these were here,” Icewind smirked, leaning in towards Skylight a little. “How are these even operational after all this time?”

Skylight smirked, though it felt forced. “Blue and I managed to scavenge a large powersource from a nearby powercenter,” She stated, gesturing between Hero and herself. “Had to kill a raider that was raising an army of radroaches to do it. It was like, a whole thing.”

Icewind chuckled. “Well whatever the fuck you had to do, I’m glad. We’re going to need these,” She glanced over at the ponies scurrying back and forth on the ship's deck. “Who exactly are these ponies?”

“Sailors mostly. They run supplies back and forth to the Griffin kingdom on the other side of the Celestial Ocean,” Skylight informed her. “Though they’ve had an increase in ponies here lately. Mostly from the survivors of Libertalia. At least that’s what Blue told me.”

Icewind grimaced. “Libertalia? The fishing town Horrigan attacked?” Skylight gave a small nod in response. “Well at least we know we have ponies that want the Enclave dead just as much as us.”

“The Captain and I are going to take a look around the ship,” Hero said, turning back to the two of them. “Do you both mind waiting here? Our guests should be arriving shortly.”

Skylight gave a stiff nod. “You got it Blue.”

Icewind watched Hero board the ship after the captain for a moment before leaning against one of the rickety wooden posts suspending the dock and glancing over at Skylight again. Skylight seemed to have taken to staring vacantly out at the water, her wings ruffling at her sides. ”Hey, you doing alright?”

Skylight glanced back at her. “I could be better.”

Icewind hesitated for a second. “I uh… I just wanted to say sorry. I know we got off on the wrong hoof. Thanks for trusting me.”

“I’d be a hypocrite to hold being in the Enclave against you,” Skylight replied with a shrug, her wing feathers brushing up against her dashiki brand. “Sorry I attacked you after you saved me.”

Icewind gave a simple shrug back. “I don’t think you’d be pony either if you just forgave me, so it’s all par for the course,” She glanced back at the looming warships for a second. “This army Hero mentioned? You think they’re going to show?”

“They’ll be here,” Skylight nodded confidently. “They owe us a bit, and they aren’t ones to ignore debts.”

“Lemme guess, it’s another whole thing,” Icewind nickered.

Skylight gave a small smile. “Yeah. Another whole thing.”

“You two really have been busy.”

“Us five,” Skylight corrected. Her already vacant face took on a sadder expression. Her ears drooped a little and Icewind could see the muscles in her shoulders trembling. “There were five of us…”

Icewind looked away and stared out at the frothing waters. “Right… sorry about that.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yeah. It is,” Icewind scowled at herself. “True, Horrigan was the one that killed your friends. But they were my orders.”

Skylight glanced over at her, biting at her lower lip for a moment. “You didn’t order Misty’s death. Horrigan chose to do that himself.”

"That doesn't remotely make all the bad I did right."

There was a long moment of silence between the two of them as they just stood there in the rain, staring out at the raging waters, rain hammering down around them and rolling down their bodies.

After a long, agonizing moment, Icewind sighed. “I lost a pony too once. I mean, I’ve lost a lot of ponies in my life, but I lost one here in the wasteland. She was killed by raiders. It was messy. They made me watch…” Icewind glowered down at her hooves. She could feel Skylight’s gaze turn back to face her, but she didn’t bother looking up at her. “After what happened, I swore I’d do everything I could to save the wasteland. Rid it of monsters like raiders and mutants so that no pony would ever have to go through what I did again… So I joined back up with the Enclave… The biggest monsters in the wasteland…” She looked back up at Skylight, holding her gaze. “I’m not stupid. I knew what the Enclave did. And I still joined them. You watched your friends get slaughtered in front of you just as I had because of me, and somehow they Enclave convinced me it was for your own good. How fucking dumb is that?”

Skylight stared at her for a long second, her eyes shifting back and forth as she tried to get a better read on Icewind. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke up. “Did you really choose to rejoin the Enclave because you wanted to save the wasteland? Or did you rejoin because you wanted to get back at it?”

Icewind found she suddenly couldn’t meet Skylight’s searching gaze.

“Excuse me!” A booming voice greeted from the far side of the dock. Icewind and Skylight both looked up to see five ponies trotting down the wooden plank towards them, each one clad in a suit of dark black and red power armour. Behind them stood a larger gathering of ponies, each one wielding impressive weaponry and dressed in the same impressive suit of power armour. “The Applejack Rangers are here to answer the Stable Mare’s call.”

I stood at attention outside Colonel Thunderbolt's office, waiting for the signal to enter. The Colonel had been busy; I hadn’t seen him since before returning to the oil rig. There was much work to be done and not a lot of time to do it. The Enclave was rapidly approaching its final move, and everypony on the rig knew it.

Two guards stood stationed in front of his office, their expressions unreadable behind their helmets. I could feel their eyes trained intensely on me, as if expecting me to lunge forwards and crush them at any moment. I stood my ground and waited, staring them down with equal intensity. One of the guards audibly gulped, their knees trembling slightly under my gaze.

After several minutes, an exhausted voice from the other side of the door called out. “You may enter!” I could feel the immense amount of relief that passed through the two guards at the knowledge that our silent standoff was finally coming to a close.

Stealing myself for just a moment, I let the door fully slide open before tromping into the chamber. Colonel Thunderbolt sat in his usual spot behind his large, ornate desk, his eyes flicking back and forth over the lines of code scrolling across his cloud terminal. Dark bags had formed under his eyes. Clearly he hadn’t been getting much sleep. Behind him, hung a massive banner with the Enclaves insignia.

He looked up as I approached. “Horrigan. I am pleased to see that you received my summons. Your performance at the MOA Hub was commendable. I applaud you on your successful reclamation of both objectives,” He smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes.

I pulled to a stop in front of his desk and looked down at him. “What do you wish to discuss?”

“I appreciate your forwardness, as there is much work for us to do, and not nearly enough time to do it,” The Colonel’s face took on a more stern expression. “There are a few things we must go over Horrigan. However, before we do, I have something for you,” He leaned over and pulled a large badge from his desk’s drawer, the badge proudly displaying a slightly different version of the Enclaves insignia. “I believe, due to your services, this belongs to you.”

My magic reached out, plucking the badge from his grasp and holding it up. It took me less than a second to recognize the symbol's significance. How could I not? I had once worn this very symbol proudly into the depths of Maripony. It was the symbol of the Grand Pegasus Enclave Secret Service.

“Welcome back,” Thunderbolt said smugly, leaning back in his seat as he continued to speak in his calm, stately drone. “You have overcome great hardship and temptation, Horrigan. You have proven yourself to be a true patriot,” Once again, his eyes hardened. “I want you by my side when I take on the Lightbringer and reclaim the Single Pegasus Project for the Enclave. I do hope you understand the significance of this request?”

“I do,” I monotone, my eyes locked on the badge floating inches from my face. I felt an unrecognizable emotion twisting in my gut from the sight of the badge; was it pride? It should have been? How many ponies are promoted to Secret Service twice? Few ever even manage to achieve such a rank.

Thunderbolt seemed to sense my uncertainty. He leaned forwards, his forehooves bracing themselves against the top of his desk. “So seemed troubled, Horrigan. Do not tell me you are having reservations?”

“No,” I spat back bluntly, forcing whatever strange feeling this was out of my voice if not my mind. “I serve the Enclave.”

“I suggest you keep it that way,” Thunderbolt retorted briskly, his tone dangerous. There was an undertone to his voice that sent a chill passing through even my spine. He leaned back, looking me over thoughtfully. “Perhaps you need to be reminded of our might?” He stood up from his chair, marching towards the doorway out of his office. “Come Horrigan. There is something I wish to show you.”

The Colonel led me up to the top deck of the oil rig, pushing out into the open air and pounding rain. I could see thicker storm clouds churning on the horizon, heading our way, thunder and lightning crashing in the distance, illuminating the dark atmosphere with flashes of light. The storm was only getting stronger.

Hundreds of Enclave soldiers had gathered atop the main platform in organized patterns. They stood at full attention, shoulder to shoulder, row by row, imposing black armour slicked with rain and glowing weapons mounted to their sides. Four squadrons of Pegasi darted overhead in perfect formation before branching out and sweeping out over the water once more.

Thunderbolt gave a signal to Commander Shipbreaker as he stalked out into the rain, who was still ordering his ponies around on the upper deck. “It’s time!” the Colonel shouted, his voice rising above howling winds. Shipbreaker took a long, deep breath before giving the Colonel a salute and flying off, barking off more commands.

“The Enclave has been hard at work these past two years,” Thunderbolt said factually, turning back to me. “All my lieutenants were working on their own secret projects throughout this time. Icewind, as you are well aware, was working on the creation of our teleporter, Knife Slit the IMP Dash-13 virus, and Shipbreaker…” Thunderbolt smirked and sweeped his hoof out at the crashing waves. “Shipbreaker was charged with returning our military to what it was always intended to be!”

There was a massive sounding crash as the ocean seemed to break apart and split, massive waves beating against the side of a mountainous, black metal shape as it began to break out from the sea. Looming metal structures began protruding from the depths as a massive, anvil shaped construct began rising up into the air, casting a dark shadow over the rig and surrounding waters. At each corner of the massive craft, four thunderclouds burst to life, crackling with electric blue energy and thick swirling vapours. Building sized cannons rapidly blinked to life along the aircrafts sides, sweeping back and forth across the raging waters. I watched as four Raptor airships broke off from the monolithic ship, zipping out and hovering over the oil rig.

I took a long moment, staring up at the massive ship. It felt as if it had only been a few months since I had last seen one of these, though I knew it had been multiple years since the Enclave had actually been in possession of one. “Where did we get a Thunderhead?” I rumbled, my glassy eyes locked skywards as the ginormous Thunderhead continued to rise, water still spilling from its sides.

“Many of the parts were scavenged from Fillydelphia. Others were taken from across the wasteland,” Thunderbolt stated. He took a step forwards, as if being drawn forwards by the sight of the majestic skyship. “The construction of this was very difficult to keep a secret, but it will prove to be very advantageous to us in the coming hours.”

“Coming hours?” I grunted, finally pulling my gaze away from the Thunderhead. “Are we attacking somepony?”

Thunderbolt snorted. “No Horrigan. We will soon be under attack ourselves. The Stable mare and her Dashite companions are aware of our intentions, and by now they likely know of the IMP virus as well. They will have realized that if they do not stop us by tonight, they will fail. They will fail regardless. They cannot fully comprehend the firepower that we have amassed here.”

“Won’t Icewind warn them about the Thunderhead?” I pushed. I glanced out at the open waters, as if expecting to see Skylight and her companions rushing at us from across the waves. All I saw was the raging storm.

Colonel Thunderbolt gave a snide smile. “Icewind has not been made aware of the Thunderhead. I suspected she would turn to her Dashite ways, and as such I intentionally left her removed from these plans.”

I felt a sickening sense creeping over me. “You knew that she would betray us?” My words sounded more forceful than I had intended. “And yet you still let her stay in the Enclave?”

Thunderbolt paused, looking me over curiously. His eyes narrowed, as if trying to read my thoughts with his eyes alone. “I had a suspicion. Once a Dashite, always a Dashite. I had hoped that my forgiveness of her previous misdoings might dissuade her from the corruption that the wasteland had embedded within her soul, but she has discarded my kindness for sin and proven that Dashites are truly the heartless monsters that I have always known them to be,” When I failed to say anything in response, Thunderbolts eyes narrowed even further. “I read in Firestreaks report that when Vapour Trail fell, Icewind abandoned him and left him to die... Did you know that it was Vapour Trail that originally convinced me to let Icewind back into the Enclave?”

“I did not.”

“Icewind did, and yet she left him to die anyway. I had hoped that such darkness did not dwell in her heart. I gave Icewind more chances than she deserved, and yet she betrayed us… betrayed you,” Thunderbolt let a scowl form across his muzzle. “So do not question my actions as ignorance, Horrigan. My actions or ones of kindness and forgiveness. But kindness and forgiveness can only go so far…”

Thunderbolt paused as an Enclave soldier in a grey uniform swooped down towards us. “Thunderbolt, I come with a report from Doctor Knife,” the soldier said, their wings flapping as they came in for a landing. I noted that they made sure to give me as wide a berth as possible. “She says she completed the IMP inoculation formula and is ready to start administering.”

Thunderbolt smirked. “Wonderful. Send word to Knife Slit to begin the countdown to the Virus for launch.”

The soldier gave a salute and prepared to fly off, only to be interrupted as yet another Enclave pegasus came stomping towards us through the rain. Firestreak came bounding across the landing pad, her armoured hooves shaking the metal flooring beneath her. “Colonel! I demand you speak with me!” Her voice was venomous.

I saw a bunch of nearby Enclave soldiers go dead silent as the Tartarus fire Trooper stormed towards the Colonel. A few ponies backed up, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near what was about to happen.

Colonel Thunderbolt turned, head raised, silently staring down at Firestreak as she approached. I waited for a moment, expecting him to speak, to order her to back down, but instead he just remained silently stoic.

Firestreak came to a halt in front of him, seething. “You can’t do this to me! I was the one that got you those megaspells! I got the balefire reactor! I gave the orders that put the IMP virus in your hooves! I did! Me!” She stomped her hooves down in front of her aggressively, glowering. “I will not be denied! I won't!”

The Colonel just stood there for a long moment, his soulless eyes continuing to look down on her. Again, I expected him to speak, but he just remained silent.

I could see doubt and fear flickering across Firestreaks face at his lack of response. She gave a loud growl, snorting with anger. “Well! Say something, damn it! I have given everything for the Enclave! Everything! I won’t let you strip that from me!”

Again, the Colonel refused to respond, continuing his piercing gaze. More pegasi had begun to gather around, watching from a distance. I couldn’t remember the last time somepony had so openly yelled at the colonel.

Firestreak took a step back, her eyes wide and darting to see at the dozens of gathered onlookers, horror prevalent across her face. Her forehooves trembled, a war between defiance and submission waging across her features. Her head dropped, her shoulders heaving. “I’ve given everything… please…” She dropped to her knees, her head bowed before the Colonel, forehead pressed against the cold, metal floor. “Please… The Enclave is all I have… I’ll do anything…”

A smile twitched on the Colonel's face as he looked down at the pleading mare. He stepped forwards, looming over her. “Now you have given everything,” He said cryptically, placing a hoof on Firestreak’s shoulder. To onlookers, the gesture might have almost looked comforting, but there was a pressure to the hoof and an intensity to Thunderbolts expression that proved otherwise. This was not an act of kindness or sympathy; this was an act of dominance. “Consider your transgressions forgiven, Firestreak. Remember my kindness. I have punished ponies for far less. You may keep your rank and your honor, so long as you remember whose hooves you lick…” He looked over at me, a sick enjoyment in his usually lifeless eyes. I could feel my stomach churning. For the first time since I had awoken as this abomination of metal and flesh, I felt a sinking fear. “The Thunderhead is a symbol of our strength, Horrigan, but this… this is the true might of the Enclave.”

He turned, addressing the pegasi that had gathered around to watch Firestreak beg and the assembled army on the platform below us. Colonel Thunderbolt raised his head, his voice booming out over the storm. “Pegasi of the Enclave! Tonight, we reclaim the skies and put an end to the ponies that have driven us out of our homes!” There was a resounding cheer from the ponies below. Colonel Thunderbolt stomped his hoof down hard, rattling the platform, making the whole assembly go silent. “But there are ponies on their way to destroy that victory. Traitors! Ponies some of you once considered family! They have betrayed you! Let corruption into their hearts! They have allied themselves with terrorists! With wasteland savages and rapists! These ponies have no love in their hearts; no compassion! When these deserters come knocking at our door to destroy the only hope of saving Equestria, are we going to stand by and let them spread their corruption?”

“NO!” The army below roared, their hooves stomping like war drums.

“And are we going to listen to their lies!? The lies of Dashites that turned on their own brother and sisters! The lies of ponies who care only for themselves!?” Colonel Thunderbolt roared in response, taking a firm step forwards. I could feel more than see the rage billowing off of all the pegasi below. “These ponies would use their silver tongues and twisted words to turn you on your families! To turn you away from the light of the Enclave! But are you going to listen when those lies come!?”

“NO!” the pegasi roared again, stomping louder and louder. The engines of the Thunderhead above gave a loud boom as it blotted out the rain above, as if affirming the Colonel’s words.

“No indeed,” Colonel Thunderbolt cooed, finally letting a smile rest across his headstrong expression. He took one more step forwards, his head raising ever higher. “The fight ahead will be hard, but we will not back down! We will show Equestria that we will not limp silently into the night! We are going to remake the world! Remake it into something beautiful where we can bask in Celestia’s sun and watch our children grow without the terrors of the wasteland! The Grand Pegasus Enclave was the most powerful force in Equestria! And tonight it will be again!” He stomped down again, one forehoof raising skyward. “All hail the Grand Pegasus Enclave!”

The cacophony from below was almost deafening as every pegasus raised a hoof to the heavens, a single word bellowing up to the sky from each and every one of their mouths in unison. “Hail!”

Firestreak pulled herself up beside me, her eyes downcast but the determination in her voice resounding. “Hail!”

I looked up at Colonel Thunderbolt as he turned, one of his cold, calculating eyes looking back at me. For a moment he just stood there, clearly waiting. I opened my mouth, but the words didn’t want to come out.

“Remember whose hooves you lick…” Thunderbolt's voice echoed inside my head, low and scathing. “Obey.”

I held his gaze for a moment more before grunting. “Hail.”

I spun on my hooves and marched back into the oil rig, moving out of the pounding rain.

Night had fully fallen at last.

I stood in my quarters, staring at the empty walls. The room had never felt so hollow. Just steel walls holding up a steel roof. No pictures of family or loved ones decorated the walls. No personalized knick-knacks cluttered the broken metal desk that I had smashed in a previous fit of rage. The room was just empty and cold and lifeless. If not for the massive indent in the wall where I had repeatedly rammed my hoof against, there would be no indication that I had ever been the one to live here.

I wasn’t sure why I was fixating on this right now. The Stable mare and her companions were coming, our plans for the Single Pegasus Project were about to come to a head, there were a million other things I should have been focusing on. But instead I stood in my quarters and thought about how empty it was.

I ran my metal clad hoof along the wall. Had I the time, what could I have hung on it? Did it even matter? Every other pony in the Enclave seemed to have done at least something to their living space, be that a few words scratched into the metal or a simple enclave flag hanging from the wall. I had seen Vapour Trails chamber once. He had a picture of him and Lightning propped up beside his bed. Could I have done that? A picture of Skylight and I? The idea seemed absurd.

Eventually, after a few minutes of staring at the wall, I began walking in slow circles around the room, trying to imagine how I would have decorated it. Nothing came to mind. Well, almost nothing. Skylight came to mind, but I couldn’t exactly use her as a room decoration.

If you killed her you could, my thoughts scowled at me, but I quickly pushed the morbid idea away.

Instead, I turned my thoughts to my old childhood bedroom. What had been in there? A bed, a few Enclave posters. A small statue of a Wonderbolt my mother had given me a few months before she died. A couple of stuffed ponies I had once used to play soldiers with Skylight.

Had there been anything else? If there was, I couldn’t remember it. Even back then, the Enclave was all I had ever been. It had been that way for Skylight too… How could she have abandon that?

Again, I pushed those thoughts from my head. There was no point thinking about Skylight. She had made her choice, and I had made mine.

At last, I turned back to the first wall I had been staring at and gave a small grunt. I reached out with a hoof, slowly scratching a few words into its surface. The only words that seemed to matter.

Duty, Honor, Courage,

I stopped, staring at the blank spot on the wall where I knew the final word should go. Why was I hesitating? With a growl, I continued.

Obedience.

I stepped back, looking the words over. This was who I was. These four words made up everything I had ever been and ever would be. I glared at the words for a long moment, then, without even knowing why, I let my tail flash forwards, slashing long grooves into the metal over the words, rending them eligible. I stood there, glaring at the wall a second longer still, wondering why the fuck I had done that.

My confusion hardened into hate. I didn’t know what I hated. Skylight probably. She was the reason for all of this! That traitorous bitch had used her silver tongue just as the Colonel had warned and now her lies were corrupting my mind! I wouldn’t let that happen. I needed to figure myself out. Understand who I was just like Icewind said I needed to.

I paused. No, not Icewind. I wouldn’t do anything that that traitor suggested. She had probably been trying to get inside my head even back then. I needed to know who I was on my own terms.

Activating the Stealth Buck in my helmet, I watched as my whole body shimmered and disappeared from view. I took a deep breath, steeling myself before turning and trotting out of the room.

I arrived at my fist destination before I even knew where I was going, my hooves just took me there on instinct. I had passed only two Enclave soldiers along the way, but none of them noticed me with my body concealed by the impressive technology of my stealth buck. The doorway to the Colonel's office lay before me, unguarded. I suspected everypony had been called to help defend the oil rig for when the dashites arrived. I didn’t dwell on that long before I walked forwards and let the door into his office slid open.

Inside was much like how I had last seen it. A large, ornate desk in the centre of the room containing a cloud terminal and a hoofful of papers, a filing cabinet to one side and a large Enclave flag hanging behind it. Off to the side, lay a door that led to what I knew to be his personal sleeping quarters. The office was the only room in the whole rig that had wooden walls.

The office was also empty. Clearly Colonel Thunderbolt was preoccupied with preparations for the coming hours. I could feel myself relax a little at the realization. That would make what I was about to do so much easier.

I pulled myself over to his terminal and clicked it on. Locked, naturally. I tried two quick passwords, hoping it would open, but found no success. Scowling to myself, I began searching the area, until I found a small log book in his personal chamber. I flipped through the pages for a second until my eyes came to rest on a page full of different passwords. I had definitely been right to look for this book as opposed to trying to hack the terminal. His password was a twenty character long collection of random letters and numbers.

I was about to walk back into the office when I paused, my eyes looking around the room. How did Thunderbolt decorate his personal room? I looked around, taking in as much as I could.

Like the office it conjoined to, the walls were made of a rich looking wood, their surfaces decorated with nicely framed Enclave posters. A large bed with a wooden frame that matched the room rested against one wall and against another sat a single display case housing a model of an Enclave Thunderhead.

I looked around the room for a second longer before huffing. It had been more thoroughly decorated than my own chambers certainly, but interestingly enough, it felt just as hollow.

Moving back out into the office, I tapped a few keys on the cloud terminal and watched as the terminal unlocked, revealing a slew of different files. My eyes scrolled over the files for a long moment until my eyes came to rest on the file I had been hoping to find.

Stable-Tec Industries (TM) Termlink Protocol -Server 1-

Logs, Coronel Thunderbolt

>Prance Horrigan

>Doctor Knife Slits insistence on keeping Horrigan from the field is getting infuriating. I understand that she desires to continue to use Horrigan for her experimentation on IMP, but the Stable Mare has been causing many of our missions to end in failure and we cannot continue staying on the offensive. We need to start fighting back, and I am of the belief that Horrigan will be the powerhouse that we need to make that necessity a reality. To hell with Knife Slits belief that he isn’t mentally stable enough for combat. That will only make him more unpredictable and as such, more lethal to our enemies. Besides, his health was stabilized over a year ago. All other advancements in Horrigan’s state are experimentation and should not affect his physical ability to operate.

>Furthermore, I have reviewed Horrigan’s file numerous times and I believe that he will remain loyal to the Enclave, even in the event of a psychotic blunder. His disposition towards the Dashite named Skylight may prove to be difficult, however, she has not been seen in almost a year and is most likely deceased. It should not be hard to convince Horrigan of her demise in the event that he retains any preexisting aspects of his original personality after the brain incident in the lab-

The file droned on for a few more paragraphs, but I quickly had to force my gaze away. I could feel a writhing anger coursing through my gut. Two years of torture at the hooves of Doctor Knife Slit. I had been told it was to keep me alive. That had been a lie! Most of that time hadn’t been spent keeping me alive, it had been spent experimenting with me. And who knows how long that might have continued had I not escaped confinement?

I was going to have to go pay Knife Slit a visit…

Growling, I exited the file. I had had enough self discovery for one day. I moved to leave when another file caught my attention:

Stable-Tec Industries (TM) Termlink Protocol -Server 1-

Logs, Coronel Thunderbolt

>Cloud Seeding Rebellion

I looked at the file for a long minute before daring to open it. I could feel my heart racing rapidly inside my chest as I clicked it open, only for it to go dead still as I read the words inside.

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

I stood there for a long moment, staring slack jawed at the files. Nothing? It contained absolutely nothing!?

Frantically, I began clicking through other files, searching for any other mention of the Cloud Seeding Rebellion. To my growing horror, there was nothing. Anywhere there should have been a mention of the regime, it had been deleted and purged from the database.

I took a step away from the terminal, my glowing red eyes fixating on the flickering green screen. No. There had to be something. Anything.

My eyes landed on the filing cabinet against the far wall. I stalked over to it, my bladed tail swinging up and slashing the metal lock off with a single slice. I froze as the metal lock clattered to the floor, the stubs of my ears twitching as I waited to see if anypony had heard that. To my relief, I seemed to remain unnoticed.

I pulled open the filing cabinet and began combing through the files. Almost immediately, I found the single file housing all the info on the Cloud Seeding Rebellion. It was completely empty.

“Damn it,” I grunted, stepping back and closing the cabinet. Icewind was right. The Enclave had destroyed all evidence of what had happened with the Cloud Seeding Rebellion.

There had to be another reason for this. Surely this was some kind of trick, or test or… It must have been Icewind. She had planted this idea in my mind knowing I would find these empty files. It had to be her! She had access to the Colonel’s office for months. She could have destroyed the evidence at any time.

Even as those thoughts raced through my mind, I knew they weren’t true.

Feeling just as confused as I had been when I arrived, I stalked back out of the office, moving out into the strangely empty halls of the oil rig.

I arrived at my second destination before long. The doorway to Doctor Knife Slit’s lab was an imposing one, mostly due to the smell of rotting flesh and alchemical substances that wafted from it.

I slunk into the lab, making sure no pony in the hallway watched the door open as my invisible body slipped through. Once inside, I finally let the Stealth buck drop. I had felt its power waning anyway.

The office was a mess. Papers were strewn about everywhere and it looked like a desk had been tossed over in a fit of rage. Clearly Doctor Knife had been having a bit of a manic episode in her rush to get the IMP formula and inoculation serum finished in such a short period of time.

Much like Colonel Thunderbolts office, Doctor Knife Slit seemed to be out. The office, however, was not empty.

To my right, the surviving dashite mare I had previously seen bound in Knife Slits laboratory whimpered at the sight of me, trying to cringe away despite the metal clamps holding her in place. Her body sported a few surgical incisions along one side and I could see some swelling where multiple needle marks pocked her flesh, but despite it all, she was alive.

“Remain quiet, or this won’t end well for you,” I grunted in a resonant sounding hush, my glowing eyes burning into her. The mare just gave me a wide eyed look of fear, nodding her head nervously, but she remained silent as requested.

I pulled myself up to Knife Slits cloud terminal and clicked it on. Unlike Colonel Thunderbolt, Knife Slit seemed to have left it unlocked. Perks to her being in such a rush, I supposed. Numerous files popped up on the screen, though few of them meant anything to me, just strange observations of chemical reactions that I couldn’t comprehend. Finally, I found the collection of files about myself that I had been searching for. There were notably more of them than there were in the Colonel’s office, so I quickly decided to just skim through them instead of actually reading them through.

Eventually, my eyes came to rest on a single entry that caught my interest more than the others.

Stable-Tec Industries (TM) Termlink Protocol -Server 5-

Logs, Knife Slit

>Prance Horrigan: Complication

>Today marks the largest complication in my experimentation with Horrigan. He awoke half way through his heart surgery; nearly broke the chains holding him in place. Told a lot more tranquilizer than expected to put him back to sleep, and even then, I think he is still somewhat conscious.

>But that isn’t the interesting part, no. Horrigan was speaking the whole time, which is the most we've gotten out of him since bringing him to the oil rig. Well, screaming is probably a better description. He kept asking where somepony named Skylight was. According to private Icewind, it sounds like that was one of the Dashites that left the Enclave after the attack on Friendship City. I was curious if I could use the idea of her as a way to mentally condition Horrigan. Some sort of reward system or something. The Colonel has other plans; wants to see if we can erase the memory of Skylight from his brain in its entirety. I have my doubts on the success of such an endeavor, but the Colonel is adamant. I’ll update further on my progress in this regard.

I read that over for a second time, trying to digest all the information. Thunderbolt had wanted to… erase my memories? The idea alone felt like a brick in my stomach. I turned my gaze to the next terminal entry, curious and anxious.

Stable-Tec Industries (TM) Termlink Protocol -Server 5-

Logs, Knife Slit

>Prance Horrigan: Memory Deletion and Failsafe

>Fuck me! So that was a fucking bust! I meddled around with Horrigan’s mind for a while; nearly killed him in the process. I managed to stop the internal bleeding somewhat, but the brain damage was likely irreversible. A weaker pony would probably be dead. I suspect Horrigan will likely be prone to fits of rage if we ever release him from confinement. According to records of Prance Horrigan’s behaviour prior to his accident, it looks like he was already violent and somewhat prone to anger, but I suspect that his emotional state will be more volatile than ever. With luck, that will prove to make him more deadly on the battlefield.

>Furthermore, I was unable to remove all memories of Skylight from Horrigans mind. I think I managed to remove a few, but it looks like half the fucking memories swimming around in that fucking noggin of his are related to the stupid dashite in one way or another. I suspect the only reason Horrigan has managed to keep himself alive for so long despite his condition is because he's holding onto the memory of that bitch. Using her as some kind of coping mechanism for his trauma.

>The Colonel doesn’t seem overly disappointed however, so that’s a fucking relief. He is under the impression that we will be able to convince Horrigan of Skylight’s "death" if it ever comes up. Even still, the Colonel is no fool. I’ve been asked to insert a little failsafe in Horrigan’s abdomen, just in case he is more hostile towards us than we predict. Hopefully it won’t come to that. I’d hate to see all my hard work go to waste.

>Evidently, the whole deal with these memories of Skylight has come to a standstill. There is little else we can do to forcefully remove the idea of her from his mind, but he has also not mentioned her since, so only time will tell. But the work must continue. Tomorrow we’re going to attempt to hook Horrigan up to a more permanent life support system utilizing hydra, dash, and buck. Hopefully the constant high from the chems will make him more susceptible to suggestion. I’m going to leave Med-X out of it for now. I want to see what Horrigans pain threshold is.

I took a step away from the terminal, looking around the room. Two years I had spent in this lab, bound and chained, tested on over and over again. What memories had been stolen? Were they good ones? Bad ones? Moments of self discovery? If I still had whatever memories were stolen, would I still be here with the Enclave? Or would I have flown to Skylight’s side the first chance I got? I knew I would never find out.

Returning my attention to the terminal, I clicked open another file of interest to me.

Stable-Tec Industries (TM) Termlink Protocol -Server 5-

Logs, Knife Slit

>IMP Dash-13: Completion

>Success! The amount of time I have dedicated to this stupid inoculation formula is insulting. Turns out I was a lot closer to completing it than I thought; the actual formula was the last piece I needed to figure it all out! But at last, after far too many hours, and admittedly, too many failed test subjects, it’s finally, finally done! I was running out of excuses to give Thunderbolt on why certain Enclave members were Dashites so I could get the green light to test on them. I think the Colonel was getting fed up with the amount of ponies I’ve had to take out of his little army. My biggest regret, honestly, is that I never managed to convince him to let me use Icewind as a test subject. Apparently she was too “important,” end quote. Bet he's regretting that decision now that the cunt has betrayed us.

>Regardless, the inoculation is done. I have administered it to myself already, and the Colonel is next on the list. Furthermore, once I receive the word from Thunderbolt, I will begin the countdown to the virus’ launch. Once activated, there will be no stopping it without me directly deactivating it. The distributor is contained behind a powerful energy shield; same one used in Neighvarro to keep ponies out of the S.P.P. for so many years. Was hell getting my hooves on that kind of tech, but it looks like it’s going to pay off. I finally fuck you to that Stable-mare and her dashite friends if they manage to get that far.

>But that isn’t even the most exciting part! I’ve been doing calculations regarding the spread of IMP Dash-13. Five days. That’s about how long it will take once it’s launched to wipe out all mutant life! And it will be my doing! I’m practically giddy! The Enclave's liberation of the wasteland is here at last and it’s all because of me!

I stopped reading and glanced over at the mare still clamped to the wall. She was watching me cautiously, her wide eyes nervously tracing my every move. I turned, looking down at her. Instinctively, she flinched, clearly expecting me to attack.

The words in the latest log from Knife Slit filled my mind: I was running out of excuses to give Thunderbolt on why certain Enclave members were Dashites. I could feel rage swelling in my gut. Knife Slit had lied to the Colonel. In my eyes, that made her a traitor.

I knelt down next to the mare, my magic reaching out and pulling the bloody gag from her mouth. “What did you do,” I grunted flatly. The mare didn’t say anything, just continued to look up at me in fear. I sighed, sitting back a little and thinking of how to rephrase the question. “Why are you a dashite?”

The mare tried to work her mouth for a moment, clearly trying to build up the courage to say something. “I- I don’t- I don’t know what I did wrong-” She stammered, tears leaking from her eyes. “I don’t know what I did. Please… don’t hurt me…”

Before I could respond, I heard the door behind me slide open. I quickly shoved the gag back into the mare’s mouth. She gave a cry of protest, but the sound was instantly muffled.

“What are you doing in here?” Doctor Knife Slit hissed, glaring at me from the doorway. “I didn’t save you for you to go rummaging through my things!”

I stood up to face her, glancing down briefly at the mare bound below me. The fear in her eyes at the sight of Doctor Knife was prevalent. I took a deep breath, trying to work out whatever strange emotions had drawn me to her office. I didn’t know much, and I certainly didn’t know who I was or where I stood on much of anything, but I did know one thing. I hated Doctor Knife. She had experimented on and tortured me for two years, wiped memories of Skylight from my mind, created the means for a virus to kill hundreds of ponies and branded loyal ponies of the Enclave as dashes for her own twisted experiments.

I stared at her for a long moment before finally exhaling. “I’m here because the Colonel wishes to speak with you,” I lied, taking a step towards her.

I could see Knife Slit’s eye twitch. “Again? Was inoculating him and completing the formula and dispenser not enough? I need fucking sleep!”

“It would be unwise to refuse his summons,” I stated factually, gesturing for her to step outside. I shifted my body slightly, making sure she had a clear line of sight on the Secret Service badge that now hung from one of my massive pauldrons. From the way her eyes darted to the symbol I could tell the message was received. “You live to serve the Enclave. Do not forget who’s hooves you lick.”

There was a flicker of defiance across Knife Slit’s face at those words before she gave a long gasp of exasperation and relented. “Very well. But this had better be important,” she sighed, turning and strutting out of the chamber.

The second she was out of sight, my tail lashed out, digging deep into the metal clamps holding the bound dashite mare to the wall, causing them to clatter to the floor. I heard a small yelp as the blade sliced into her hooves, drawing blood. The mare pushed herself against the wall, clearly unsure how to react to her sudden freedom.

“Wait two minutes, then leave the oil rig,” I instructed her, not bothering to look back as I made my way to join Doctor Knife Slit in the hallway. “Do not come back.”

I stormed out into the hallway and began leading Knife Slit down one of the hallways to the abandoned section of the oil rig. Almost immediately, Doctor Knife spoke up. “Where are we going? The Colonel’s office is the other direction.”

“The Colonel wishes to meet you elsewhere,” I replied bluntly, not bothering to elaborate any further.

Eventually, we made our way out into the night air, the rain pounding down onto one of the old catwalks. We weaved our way down to one of the lower sections where the catwalks lined the large supports holding the oil rig suspended above the churning water. We finally came to a stop at a desolate, remote section of the oil rig, the area around us almost pitch black from the shadow of the oil rig above. I saw a few Enclave guards patrolling in the distance, but they were quite a ways away from us, and they cleared out the moment they saw me coming.

Knife Slit seemed to scowl to herself, turning her back to me and walking to the edge of the catwalk, looking up at the looming form of the Enclave Thunderhead casting its massive shadow over the oil rig. “Well? Where is the Colonel? I have a lot to do and I have no intention of waiting forever.”

I remained silent, just staring at her as she looked out at the raging waters. The night had grown quite, only the sound of the drumming of rain on the metal catwalks filling the air.

In the silence, a realization seemed to sink into Doctor Knife Slit. I could see her whole body slacken as a chill passed through her. With a defeated huff, Knife Slit lowered her head, her back still turned to me. “The Colonel isn’t meeting us here… is he?” I remained silent, looming behind her. She turned her head, one eye looking back at me and glinting in the dark. “The Colonel doesn’t even know we’re here…”

I began walking forwards, the loud clanking of metal on metal joining the sound of the rain with each step. I could see panic began overtaking Knife Slit’s features. She began trying to push herself away from me, her wings opening up at her sides defensively.

“I don’t know what you want Horrigan, but I can get it for you!” She pleaded, desperation rising in her voice. “Need more chems for the pain? A new gun?” She hesitated. “I can find a way to get your old body back!”

I ignored her, continuing to advance. The hair across my body all stood on end as my tesla cannon began to charge up.

Knife Slit pushed herself up against the rails of the catwalk, leaning away from the weapon as it closed in on her. “I see you’re angry. Is it because of what I did to you! I only did what I did to keep you alive! You must understand that?” When I failed to respond she quickly took on a different tactic. “The Colonel is the one that told me to make you into this! I was trying to save you, but he wanted to make you a weapon! Your problem is with him! Not me! Please! We can talk this out!”

Again, I remained dead silent as I approached. I could see the panic and fear in her eyes morphing to complete hysteria. “Oh fuck this!” She spat. Her wings pushed themselves the rest of the way open and she went to throw herself off the side of the catwalk.

My horn flared with light, a beam of green energy lancing out and skewering one of her wings just as she began to lift off the ground. With a scream of pain, Knife Slit collapsed to the catwalk with a thud, blood splattering across the metal gridding and her wing ripped to tatters.

“No! Please! No!” She screamed, desperately dragging her soaked body away from me, trying frantically to pull herself back to her hooves. My tail lashed out and coiled around her, flinging her to the side and slamming her against the large pillar beside us. She gasped with pain, slumping to the ground. Blood trickled down her face where the impact slit her skin.

I loomed over her, one hoof reaching out and pinning her struggling body to the ground. I could feel her hooves flailing and batting at me in an attempt to wriggle free, but I ignored them, holding her down. My tesla cannon swiveled at my side, aiming down at her head, its end glowing a dangerous blue.

Knife Slit went still, her eyes wide, her face illuminated by the crackling energy at the end of my cannon. “Horrigan, you’ll be considered a Dashite for this! You would dare turn on the Enclave!? You’re nothing without them! Nothing!”

I leaned down, my steel clad face only inches from hers. “The Enclave won’t find out,” I assured, my words going through her like ice. I reared back, glaring down at her with hate. “I’m fixing this.”

Doctor Knife began thrashing harder, desperately trying to rip herself away from my grip. “Help! Somepony help me! He-”

Her words were cut short as a flash of blue light flared from my cannon, obliterating her head. Doctor Knife Slits headless body went slack, blood dripping from the grated catwalk to the water below.

I took a moment, stepping back and admiring my handiwork. My tail reached out, coiling around the body and unceremoniously dumping it over the side of the railing, watching as it plunged into the churning waves below.

I stood there for a moment, simply staring at where the mangled body had fallen. For the first time in my life, I felt a strange sense of… I wasn't sure, but it had felt right.

As my gaze settled on the crashing waters, something caught my eye. I lifted my gaze, looking out in the direction of Manehattan as three large shapes began slowly emerging across the water from west, almost invisible in the dark shroud of night. I squinted, my mechanical eyes whirring as I tried to make out the finer details.

Ships. Three, massive Equestria war ships were fast approaching.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. “Skylight…”

A siren suddenly blared out, ringing throughout the oil rig and out across the water. I heard shouting in the distance as teams of pegasi began mobilizing for a coming attack. The four Enclave Raptors swerved into formation up above, joining up with the Enclave Thunderhead as its massive guns swiveled to face the approaching war ships.

The Stable mare and her Dashites were here…

Icewind sat on the top deck of the warship as it plunged and rose across the heavy waves. She had to admit, for all the time she had spent flying, there was a strange joy to being able to ride on a boat. Few pegasi ever really travelled by water, especially after the war.

In front of her, Icewind could see Hero standing at the bow of the ship, staring out towards their destination, the heavy winds whipping at her mane and tail. That Stable mare, for all her adorableness, could be really fucking dramatic. The oil rig wasn’t in sight yet, not with the thick fog and near blinding rainstorm, but she knew it wouldn’t be long until it appeared on the horizon. And when it did, all hell was going to break loose.

A few Applejack rangers walked back and forth, patrolling the deck of the ship alongside a few of the survivors from Libertalia. Other than that, the ship was mostly quiet. Not to mention dark. They had shut off all unnecessary lights, hoping it would help conceal them a little longer before the Enclave picked up on their presence.

Spotting Skylight sitting a few feet away from her, Icewind pulled herself to her hooves and trotted over, watching as Skylight disassembled and reassembled her magical energy rifle.

“Hey,” Icewind started, pulling up next to her and hanging her hooves off the side of the ship's railing, looking out at the waves as they raced by.

“Hey,” Skylight said back, clearly more focused on readying herself for the fight ahead.

Icewind was silent for a second, trying to think of what to say. Eventually, her gaze returned to Hero standing at the front of the ship. “The Stable mare. Hero. What do you know about her?”

Skylight paused, glancing over at her. “What do you mean?”

“Well, we heard a lot in the Enclave about her. Most of it was probably some propaganda bullshit to make us hate her more. Hard to know what to believe,” Icewind responded with a shrug. “And even then, most of the information we got about her was from broadcasts by that DJPon3, who we weren’t technically supposed to be listening to.”

“Well, she cares about ponies,” Skylight smiled, resting back on her haunches and looking up at the sky. “More than most any other pony I’ve met. She beats herself up about things more than she should, pushes herself past what she should, but she always manages to come out on top. I haven’t seen anything beat her yet.”

“What about Horrigan?” Icewind asked hesitantly. “You think she has an actual chance of killing him?”

Skylight hesitated. “I uh… I don’t know. Maybe. I once saw her take down a group of Hellhounds with just a single bullet, so if anypony has a chance, it’s her,” Icewind didn’t bother mentioning that she had seen Horrigan take out a Hellhound with a single strike of his hooves. Skylight seemed to draw into herself for a moment, her expression vacant. When she spoke again, her voice sounded faint. “Am I a bad pony for hoping that she does?”

Icewind raised an eyebrow at the question. “How do you figure?”

“Horrigan and I, we go way back. I spent my whole life with him. We shared the same dreams, helped each other through hardships. I don’t know… We had something special. Even after everything that’s happened and seeing the monster he became, I can’t help but look back on all of it and think to myself that it had still all been worth it; the time we shared,” Skylight looked down at her hooves. Tears didn’t come, but Icewind could feel the sorrow in her voice. “Am I a bad pony for hoping that Horrigan dies? For hoping that my best friend in the whole world, the pony I once loved with all my heart, gets killed?”

Icewind let out a long, deep sigh. “No, that doesn’t make you a bad pony, Skylight. You’ve given Horrigan every chance you could to change,” She looked back out at the waters, watching as the Enclave oil rig finally began to come into view, emerging from the thick fog. “Prance Horrigan is not the same pony you used to know. Not anymore.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” Skylight said flatly, her own gaze shifting to the approaching oil rig. “He was always a monster. I was just to stupid back then to see it…”

Icewind had stopped listening however as her eyes caught on the massive shape looming above the oil rig, casting a menacing shadow down upon the ocean below, the four large storm clouds holding it aloft crackling with energy. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of it, her eyes going wide. “Wait… Is that a-”

Skylight looked up, her eyes catching on the same thing. “An Enclave Thunderhead? How did they get a Thunderhead!?”

“We’ve got a pegasus incoming!” An Applejack ranger a few feet away from them alerted, snapping everypony on deck into focus. Icewind looked up, spotting a single pegasus flying through the storm towards them, their wings beating frantically as they tried to stay aloft in the heavy rain.

“An attack?” Skylight asked, readying her rifle by her side.

Icewind shook her head. “If the Enclave had noticed us, they’d have sent a lot more than one pony?”

“They’re unarmed!” Another Applejack ranger shouted, raising their hoof to their brow to keep the rain off their visor.

The approaching pegasus mare’s wings gave out and she dropped to the metal deck of the ship, skidding across the slick surface. Icewind immediately spotted the places on her hooves where restraints had rubbed her hide raw and several deep surgical incisions across her back and sides.

“She’s a dashite?” Skylight gasped, rushing to her side. She looked up, gesturing to a nearby Applejack ranger. “Quick get a medic!”

“How did you get out here?” Icewind asked, quickly trotting over.

“I escaped! I can’t go back! You have to save me!” The mare gasped out, clearly going into a state of shock. She curled up, rocking back and forth in an attempt to soothe herself. “I can’t go back, I can’t go back, I can’t go back!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep you safe,” Skylight assured her, gently helping her to her hooves.

"No! You don't understand!" The mare screamed, her hysteria only growing. "They've made some sort of virus! You can't keep me safe! Nothing will! No where in the wasteland is far enough away!"

Icewind cast a worried glance at Skylight. "This virus? Are they already prepared to launch it?"

The mare trembled, curling in on herself even more. "Not prepared to... launched! It goes live in twenty minutes!"

A loud siren began to sound out across the water, ringing loudly even above the thunderous rain. Skylight’s head bolted up at the noise, her eyes staring wide at Icewind. “What is that!?”

Icewind scowled, glaring back towards the oil rig as the orbiting raptors and mountainous Thunderhead shifted to face them and began speeding out across the water. “They've sounded the alarm. We’ve been spotted.”

“What happens now?” Skylight shivered, helping as a medic quickly rushed up and helped escort the panicking mare below deck.

Icewind grimaced, her heart thudding in her chest. “Now? Now we end the Enclave once and for all,” She hesitated. “Well, that or die trying.”

“You two ready?” Hero called out. Icewind looked up to see the stable mare bounding towards them, her sniper rifle and shotgun levitating in her powerful magic behind her. At Icewind and Skylights nods, Hero gave them an awkward smirk. “Then let's go blast the Enclave out of the gosh darn sky.”

I strode out onto the top deck of the oil rig, watching as the Enclave Raptors began flying out to meet the approaching battle ships. Before me, I could see Colonel Thunderbolt standing silently at the edge of the large platform, his coat billowing around him in the whipping winds, his mane matted to his face from the rain.

Several fully armed Enclave soldiers stood behind him, at attention and awaiting orders. A few steps away from them, Commander Shipbreaker paced back and forth, barking off orders to Enclave personnel as they leaped into action.

“Horrigan. I’m pleased you could join me,” The Colonel said, not bothering to look back at me. “The time has finally come. The launch for the IMP virus has begun and we are ready to begin our teleportation into the Single Pegasus Project. Are you prepared to do what needs to be done?”

I stared at him for a long moment, unsure what to do or say. Finally, I just did what I had always done. “What do you need from me?”

“In a few moments we will be embarking on our mission to kill the Lightbringer and restore peace and balance once more to the world,” Thunderbolt said, his gaze fixed on the Thunderhead above. “But the trivial matter of these intruders will first need to be dealt with,” He turned, finally addressing me directly. “I suspect you are well aware of who is on those ships?”

I gave a grim nod, not wanting to say her name out loud. Not in front of him.

“Then you understand why they must be taken out of the picture,” Thunderbolt adduced. “Destroy the fleet. Show them the full wrath of the Grand Pegasus Enclave.”

“Colonel!” I looked over to see Firestreak fast approaching, clad in her imposing suit of Tartarus Fire power armor, her flamer flickering dangerously at her side. “Permission to go out and kill Icewind myself!”

“Negative,” Thunderbolt asserted, stomping his hoof slightly. “You have more important matters to attend to. You will accompany me with Granite Squad while we prepare our final preparations,” He gestured to the squadron of Enclave soldiers beside him. “I need you with me when we activate the teleporter. I am more than confident that Horrigan and Commander Shipbreaker will be able to deal with the threat at hoof.”

Firestreak hesitated for a second, clearly wanting to rebuttal the request before relenting and giving a small bow. “Of course Colonel. I understand.”

“Good,” the Colonel once more returned his attention to me, his expression hard. “Do not fail me Horrigan. It is time to show the wasteland that the Enclave will not be brought low. Obey.”

Wordlessly, I turned, striding to the edge of the platform, my eyes glowed red in the gloom, my tesla cannon crackling dangerously with deadly light.

The warships closed in, their large cannons shifting to intercept the incoming Enclave army, their metal hulls rapidly approaching the oil rig.

And I, Prance Horrigan, The monster of the wasteland, the nightmare of metal and flesh, opened my wings to meet them.

Author's Note

One Chapter left...