The rumbling of thunder was drowned out by the tremendous booming of my tesla cannon as I rained death down upon the incoming war ships.

I streaked across the sky, my horn firing off a beam of searing energy that tore across the deck of the armoured warship. Ponies scattered as the lethal beam caused multiple detonations to ripple across the deck, blasting apart multiple ponies and sending libs flying while the coinciding shockwaves rammed into many others, sending them flying off the edge of the ship and into the crashing waters.

I rose up in the air, lightning crashing behind me and heavy rain pounding against the thrashing waves of the ocean below as I watched several Applejack Ranges bodies blasted apart by my lethal blast. Teams of Enclave pegasi surged past me, their novasurge rifles flaring with light as they accompanied my attack with an assault of their own.

“Sink their ships!” Commander Shipbreaker shouted, his own impressive looking gatling laser whirring loudly as he whipped through the air. An Enclave Raptor whizzed past him, its bulky frame swerving in the air as its massive energy cannon flared and ripped a gaping hole through the side of one of the three approaching war ships with a beam of fuchsia light. “Find the Stable mare! Kill them all!”

The ponies on the ships below weaved back and forth, their explosive, saddle-mounted weaponry aiming skyward and retaliating with a hail of missiles. The large cannons of the warship swivelled to face us, each blast sending explosive shockwaves ripple through the sky around me, knocking whole teams of pegasi from the sky in bursts of fire.

The sea below me was cast into shadow as the massive form of the Enclave Thunderhead moved into position above us, its immense form blotting out the sky above. The storm clouds around it crackled, causing bursts of sparks to illuminate the air. Massive rings of turrets along its hull roared as a cloud tank broke free from the looming aircraft, turning its weaponry down towards the interlopers.

My wings snapped tight against my side as I shot down into a tight nose dive towards the ship. Multiple ponies on the decks below turned to face me, firing up at me in the hopes to knock me from the sky before I could reach them. I ignored the blasts that ripped across my side and scared my exposed hide; brushing off a loud explosion as one of the Applejack Rangers launched a grenade from their battle saddle, detonating it against me in an eruption of shrapnel and fire.

I slammed into the deck of the ship, my metal clad hooves denting the steel deck beneath my weight. I saw ponies scampering back as I slowly rose up to my full height, towering well over the tallest pony there. One of the Applejack Rangers took a step back, frantically trying to reload his rocket launcher. “Shit! It’s Horri-”

Boom!

My tesla cannon roared, blasting across the ship deck and obliterating the front half of the prow. Ponies screamed, their weapons flaring as they desperately fired upon me. I whipped back and forth, my tail lashed out, slamming into two ponies and sending them both hurtling into the raging ocean. I pounced forwards, crushing two ponies beneath my heavy hooves, watching as blood spilled out of their crushed bodies, only to be washed away by the rain.

An Applejack ranger rushed me, swinging a large rocket powered sledgehammer in his mouth. I dipped out of the way, my body curving to my right as the massive hammer swung past me, crumpling a section of the floor. I swung my tail out, its long, bladed edge slashing through the side of their armour and sending them collapsing to their side.

To my surprise, the ranger managed to pull himself back up, rushing me again. This time, I didn’t bother dodging, letting the hammer swing true and snap against my side. I growled, reaching out and clamping my fore hooves tight around his armoured head. I felt the metal power armour bend under my strength. With a grunt, I twisted my hooves. I watched the metal plating on the rangers power armour snap, followed by a loud crack as the ponies neck snapped within.

Two more ponies were slammed against the ground as I whipped about, my tail slashing through the air behind me in a violent frenzy. I reared up, my hooves grappling around one of the massive cannons mounted to the war ship and ripping it free with a roar of rage. Fire flared across the deck of the ship as the cannon exploded, large chunks of slag and shrapnel peppering the battlefield.

My eyes burning red in the chaos. I let a surge of psychic power flare into my horn, my magic mentally lashing out and violently piercing into the minds of the scrambling ponies around me. I watched as every single pony on the deck dropped to their haunches, their fore hooves desperately grasping at their ears as they tried vainly to shield themselves from the waves of psychic energy I continued to lance through their brains. A few Applejack Rangers frantically began ripping their helmets off their heads, trying manically to escape the mental torment. One of the sailers collapsed to the ground, dead, blood trickling from his nose and eyes.

I leered at the cowering and groveling ponies around me. I hated alicorn muties, but there was no denying this body had its uses.

One of the ponies squirming on the ground before me desperately began crawling forwards, one hoof grasping at their head while the other painfully pulled themselves in my direction. I watched them approach, looking down at them in the gloom, my wings unfurled. They came to a stop before me, frantically fumbling with their saddlebags as they tried to pull the pin on an apple grenade cluster.

Silently, I kicked the grenades from their hooves. The pony watched it skid across the deck before falling into the raging sea. I could see the hope and fight go from their eyes as they watched the grenades disappear from sight. He looked up at me, his wide, fear filled eyes staring up into the glowing red eyes of death itself.

“Your time is up, Mutie,” I rumbled, towering over the cowering buck. “Now you will see the true wrath of the Enclave.”

A powerful shockwave of magical energy burst from my horn, rippling across the deck of the ship and slamming into the writhing mass of ponies, slamming them down against the ground. The pony in front of me was ripped apart, their body sailing through the air in multiple directions. A few ponies were sent flying against the walls of the ship, their spines breaking under the force.

More Enclave soldiers joined me on the deck of the ship, their rifles blasting down pony after pony. I saw a few of the less armed ponies begin running for their lives, racing desperately for cover, still staggering as I continued to pour psychic energy into their minds. Running wouldn’t save them, we mowed them all down.

“Scour the ship!” I roared, my tesla cannon blaring, blasting apart another section of the deck. “I want the Stable Mare and those Dashites dead!”

Armored pegasi surged forward, filing into the lower decks of the ship. I could hear screams and gunfire as the pegasi began slaughtering the ponies below.

The flapping of wings alerted me to Commander Shipbreaker as he came in for a landing beside me, looking smug. “Was this the best the great Stable mare could do?” He scoffed, stepping over the fallen bodies of one of the rangers. “I am disappointed.”

“This fight is not over yet,” I growled, my eyes narrowing as I watched our soldiers continue blasting away as the assailing ponies. Another Raptor whipped by above us, a streaking shot from their cannons blasting a pony sized hole in one of the other ships. “This isn’t over until the Stable Mare is dead.”

My mechanical tail lashed out and coiled around the throat of a ranger as they tried to scramble back to their hooves and raise their weapon to fire at me. I glowered down at them before violently hoisting them up into the air, their hooves flailing and my grip tightening, strangling the air from their lungs. With another scowl, I thrashed them aside, breaking their body over the ship's railing.

Across from us, I could see the two other battleships begin pulling back, rapidly retreating from the assault. Commander Shipbreaker cast me a snide look. “Oh really? Looks like they’re already retreating! They know they can’t win this!”

My eyes narrowed further, my lipless mouth peeling back into a scowl beneath my helmet. Something wasn’t right. They wouldn’t give up this easily.

“Commander!” An Enclave trooper shouted, rushing up towards us from across the ship. “We can find no sign of the Stable mare or her dashite companions!”

“They must be on one of the other ships,” Shipbreaker snarled, stalking to the edge of the deck and watching as the two unconquered ships rapidly began making their escape. “Do not let them get away! I want all raptors to go and sink those vessels! Now!”

“No!” I grunted, turning my gaze from the raging battle. “You won’t find them on that ship.”

Shipbreaker glared at me like I was a mad pony. Maybe I was. “What are you talking about?!”

“This is a distraction,” I spat, my eyes fixated on the looming monolith of metal that stood proudly from the water behind us. “They’re making a dash for the oil rig!”

Icewind’s hooves touched down on the abandoned landing pad of the oil rig, unlatching herself from the skywagon she had hauled through the chaos of the fight and over the surrounding waters. She looked down at the five pegasus guards that lay dead at her hooves, each of their heads blasted open by a well aimed shot from the Stable mares sniper.

She might be small and cute, but Hero was one hell of a good shot.

Skylight and Hero pulled themselves out of the skywagon behind her, their weapons sweeping back and forth in case any more guards decided to make themselves known. They seemed to be alone.

“Alright, no time to waste,” Hero said, marching ahead and into the oil rig. “We need to get that virus offline and that teleporter shut down.”

“We aren’t going to be able to do both of those in time. Not if the virus goes live in less than twenty minutes,” Icewind pointed out.

“Agreed,” Hero nodded, glancing down the two hallways as they reached an intersection. “We’ll need to split up. You two see if you can stop the IMP virus. I’ll head for the teleporter and try to shut it down.”

“Do you have any idea how to deactivate that thing?” Skylight asked nervously.

Hero just gave a smug shrug. “I mean, it’s being powered by a balefire reactor, right? Make the reactor melt-down, and the teleporter goes boom!”

“You have the map I drew you?” Icewind asked, pushing herself up against the corner of the wall and glancing around the corner. No other guards yet. Looks like the Enclave was putting all they had into the battle outside just as they’d planned.

Instead of answering, Hero hoisted up the small piece of paper with the map Icewind had drawn for her on the trip over. “I’ll see you two when this is all done,” Was all she said, turning and quickly darting down the hallway away from them. “Good luck!”

Icewind took a deep breath, turning back to Skylight and beginning to lead her through a series of hallways towards Doctor Knife's office. “Come on. It should be right this way.”

They began rushing down the hallways, only to almost immediately need to pull back and duck behind a corner as a squad of several Enclave troopers began rushing down the hall, their metal clad hooves ringing loudly through the oil rig.

They waited for a moment, listening to the hoofsteps grow fainter as they faded away into the distance. Their hearts pounding heavily in their chests, their minds counting down the seconds.

“How long do you think till they figure out we’re here?” Icewind asked, quietly moving out from behind the corner and continuing to slink down the hall as fast as she could.

“Horrigan's a brute, but he’s not stupid,” Skylight reasoned, following as closely behind Icewind as she could. “I doubt it will take him long.”

They rounded another corner, making out the doorway to Knife Slit’s room at the far end of the hall. Immediately, Icewind spotted five guards positioned on either side of the doorway, their guns raised and aiming towards them the second they came into view.

“Shit! Get down!” Icewind yelled, her wings bursting out at her sides as she dove backwards, tackling Skylight down with her. A second later the hallway was filled with beams of prismatic light as the stationed guards opened fire, the beams of their novasurge rifles blasting holes in the metal walls and causing bursts of sparks to shower down atop the two mares.

Skylight pulled herself up, her rifle blasting a few shots in their direction. One of the Enclave soldiers screamed out, half their face dissolving to ash as the beam of magical energy ripped through the side of their head. They stumbled about for a moment, wailing manically, before slumping against a wall and going still. Skylight quickly ducked back around the corner, just barely avoiding a shot that flashed past her face.

“You’re outnumbered and outgunned!” One of the Enclave soldiers shouted, the sound of their hoof steps clanking across the floor echoed towards them as the soldier took a few steps towards the hallway Icewind and Skylight were taking cover behind. “Surrender now and we might let you live!”

Icewind cast Skylight a quick glance. “Fuck, we don’t have time for this. Got any ideas?”

Skylight frantically reached into her saddlebag and tossed Icewind an apple grenade. “Nothing fancy.”

Icewind scowled at the explosive in her grip. “It’ll draw attention. And we’re going to need all the explosives we can if Horrigan shows up.”

“We don’t have time!”

Icewind grit her teeth for a second before pulling the pin and tossing the grenade around the corner. There was a loud shout and the sound of flapping wings as the pegasi attempted to dive out of the way, followed by an ear splitting boom as the grenade denoted. One of the Enclave guards bodies was sent launching across the hallway, splattering against the wall beside them.

Icewind and Skylight waited for a second, their chests rising and falling with heavy breaths as their ears twitched back and forth, waiting to see if any of the guards seemed to still be moving. There was nothing but silence.

“Come on. We need to move!” Skylight insisted, grabbing onto Icewind’s hoof and dragging her back out around the corner.

Icewind gave a small grunt as she had to flap her wings to jump over one of the mangled bodies of the guards as they dashed for the laboratory door. She had almost made it to the door, when she felt hooves snap out and grasp onto her hind hoof. Icewind jerked back, whipping around to look down at one of the guards that she thought had been dead as he slowly dragged himself across the floor towards her, one fore hoof obliterated and seeping blood and one side of his face blasted apart by shrapnel.

“Why…” The pegasus gasped, dropping his head to the floor as Icewind pulled herself from his weak grip. “Why would you betray y-your people for traitors…”

“I’m sorry,” Icewind muttered, taking a step away from the dying pegasus. “But I have to do what is right.”

“Thunderbolt gave you everything…” The pegasus gasped, his wide, bloodshot eyes staring up at Icewind through his cracked visor with betrayal. “The Enclave gave you everything and you turned on us…”

“I’m sorry,” Icewind said again, pushing her way through the doorway and into the laboratory with Skylight. “I’m so, so sorry…”

The inside of the lab smelt of death. Blood splattered the walls in messy strokes and numerous surgical implements had been laid out strategically across a gore soaked desk alongside an assortment of alchemical serums. Chains dangled along one wall, some still holding the oozing remains of ponies. Most of the corpses seemed to be earth pony wastelanders that had been abducted, though a noticeable amount seemed to be ponies recently branded as Dashites.

Skylight clamped a hoof over her mouth and and doubled over, retching at the sight. She looked back up, her eyes pinpricks as her gaze darted around the room taking in every horrific detail. “Goddesses…” She breathed, her voice catching in her throat. “What was Knife Slit doing in this place?”

Icewind trotted over to the desk, picking up a hoof full of papers that had been neatly organized off to one side and quickly skimming over them. “Inoculation formula…” Icewind answered, her eyes sweeping the page. “Looks like she actually finished it too. That escaped dashite was telling the truth. They are more than ready to deploy the virus.”

“How do we stop it?” Icewind asked, still looking around the room in aghast horror. She glanced behind her at the door that led back out into the hallway. “We’re going to have to hurry. Somepony definitely would've heard that explosion.”

“The machine they’re using to launch the virus should be behind there,” Icewind said, pointing to a large steel door on the far side of the lab. She pulled herself up behind Doctor Knife’s cloud terminal, clicking it on. To her surprise, it was already open to an entry about the completion of the IMP Dash-13. She closed the entry and began pulling up the terminal’s metadata. “Looks like the door is locked behind a pretty intense password. Give me a moment. I’m going to see if I can hack it.”

Skylight nodded, waiting patiently as Icewind began clicking away furiously as the terminal. After a few seconds, Skylight glanced behind her, looking over at a large medical slab that had been built into one side of the room. Dangling chains and large metal clamps that seemed far too large to contain normal pony hooves lay broken across the surface. A large mechanical apparatus hung from the ceiling above it, sporting long, segmented appendages, each one ending in some sort of cruel looking surgical implement from scalpels or drills to large serrated buzz saws.

Skylight stared at the table for a long moment, running her hoof over one of the massive, broken clamps. “This table…” She breathed, her eyes sweeping over the array of tools that dangled above it. “It was for Horrigan…”

Icewind paused, looking over at her. “Uh… yeah…” She glanced down at her hooves, not wanting to look at Skylight or the macabre surgery table. “Knife Slit had the table made specifically for him. Horrigan was one of her personal pet projects. She was obsessed with him. In making the perfect weapon for the Enclave.”

Skylight's gaze shifted down to the splatters of dried blood that stained almost every inch of the chamber. “How long did she keep him here?”

Icewind grimaced. “Two years. She would have kept him longer had he not eventually broken free,” She shut her eyes, trying to zone out the memories of the horrible sounds that had been coming from Knife Slits office throughout that time. “I don’t know everything she did to Horrigan, but I’ll never forget the screams.”

Skylight’s eyes widened a little. “Wait! Two years of that, awake!”

“Painkillers and morphine didn’t seem to have a strong enough effect,” Icewind sighed, a shiver running down her spine. “And sometimes Knife Slit wanted to test things like his pain threshold.”

Skylight looked back at the table, her eyes sad. “I should have gone back for him…” She said, finally taking her hoof away from the broken clamps. “I should have tried harder to find out if Horrigan was alive after the Maripony incident. Maybe if I had found him before the Enclave did, things could have been different and-”

“If you had found him first, he would have died from his wounds,” Icewind shot back. “The Enclave were likely the only ponies in the wasteland that could have actually saved Horrigan from death, for better or worse.”

Skylight looked down at the floor, closing her eyes. “I know… But I still should have tried… he deserved that much…”

There was a loud beep from the cloud terminal as the password Icewind tried found success. “There we go! Got it!”

The large metal door behind them lurched open, allowing the two pegasi to enter into the chamber. A massive mechanical device filled the centre of the chamber, towering well above Icewind and Skylight’s heads. Multiple metal pipes coiled out from the device, stretching up and latching to the ceiling above. A large glass vat made up the centre of the device, filled with the same viscous, rainbow fluid Icewind had seen within the vial of IMP Dash-13. A massive screen blinked above them, rapidly counting down:

T-minus 00:10:01 minutes

T-minus 00:10:00 minutes

T-minus 00:09:59 minutes

T-minus 00:09:58 minutes

“Shit! We need to deactivate that thing! Now!” Skylight said, her eyes growing even wider as she took in the rapidly decreasing timeframe.

Icewind rushed forwards, her hooves reaching out for the large device, only for her body to ram itself painfully against an invisible barrier. Icewind stumbled back, rubbing her head with a hoof. “What the…?” She reached out a hoof, placing it against the invisible forcefield that was keeping her only inches away from stopping the launch of the virus. Her eyes went wide and she frantically rushed back into the main office, clicking back open the cloud terminal. “No! Nonononono!”

“What! What’s going on!” Skylight asked, panic making its way into her tone. “Why can’t we get to it!?”

“Shit!” Icewind swore, quickly reading over the entry that had previously been left open. “It’s a bypass Spell! The same thing that was used to keep ponies out of the SPP for so long!”

“What!” Skylight blurted. “How the fuck did the Enclave get access to one of those!?”

Icewind shook her head, collapsing down to her haunches and burying her face in her hooves. “I don’t know… Fuck! We were so fucking close!”

“There's got to be a way past it, right?” Skylight begged, looking back at the massive device in the second chamber as the looming countdown continued to flash. “Something we can do!? Who would have access to the bypass spell?”

“I don’t kno- Knife Slit I would guess. Colonel Thunderbolt probably. But they could be anywhere on the oil rig right now!” Icewind spat, kicking the desk in front of her with frustration.

The clomping of metal clad hooves echoed down the hallway as numerous Enclave troopers began approaching the laboratory, likely drawn by the booming of the grenade explosion. They could both hear loud shouts as the soldiers spread out, searching every inch of the oil rig for them.

Skylight looked up at the door as the sound of approaching Enclave began to grow, her expression darkening. She hesitated, her eyes flicking back and forth as she tried to come up with a plan. “Well I don’t know where we’d find Knife Slit, but we know exactly where the Colonel is, don't we?” she looked over at Icewind, her eyes hardened. “He’s heading for the teleporter on his way to kill Littlepip.”

My metal hooves touched down on the rain slicked platform of the abandoned landing pad of the oil rig. My cybernetic eyes flicked back and forth, making out the slaughtered Enclave guards strewn about the area and the damaged skywagon that had docked beside them. It figured Skylight would lead them here. She had known it would be less guarded.

I walked over to one of the fallen Enclave troopers, one hoof reaching out and rolling them over onto their back and giving me a clear look at their face. The well aimed shot had blown out their brains, the bullet perfectly lining up with the ponies visor and piercing them between the eyes.

Grunting, I began stalking my way into the oil rig, my tail swaying back and forth behind me menacingly as I strode forwards. Far in the distance, I could hear the shouting of ponies as they scoured the oil rig for any signs of the Stable Mare or the Dashite traitors.

Up ahead I saw the hallway split off into two different directions. Without hesitation, my eyes flashed a brighter red as my thermal vision kicked in, picking up the faint heat signatures of hoofsteps across the metal floor. Three sets by the looks of it. Two branched off, heading towards the direction of Doctor Knife Slit’s lab, while the third went off alone, heading deeper into the rig.

I narrowed my eyes at the set of hoofsteps that had gone off by themselves. They were small, clearly belonging to somepony that was small even by normal pony standards. But the hoof falls seemed heavier too. Non-pegasus most likely.

I felt my mouth twitch into a snarl beneath my helmet at the thought. Those were the hoof steps of the Stable mare.

Growling, I began trailing the lone set of hoof steps, my eyes sweeping back and forth as I looked out for any sign of the intruder. After a few minutes, I began picking up my pace, no longer bothering to pay as close attention to the trail of hoof steps as a more obvious trail began to emerge. Every few feet, I’d come across more bodies of Enclave troopers that had been shot down. Most seemed to have been felled instantly, a single sniper shot having blown out their brains. Other bodies seemed to have been part of smaller scuffles, with bits of gore decorating the walls alongside a myriad of blastmarks. One Enclave trooper had been blown apart with an apple grenade, their body practically unrecognizable.

It took me less than two minutes to find my destination. The very core of the oil rig.

Silently, I strode into the large central chamber of the oil rig, my glowing eyes focusing on the massive construct that made up the middle of the chamber. Until that point, I had only heard talk of the teleporter the Enclave had created to get into the SPP, but I had never seen it directly.

The teleporter was a huge platform which had been constructed in the centre of the large chamber. Metal steps lead up to the platform on each side and multiple wires trailed down from it to connect to smaller, blinking terminals along the floor. The centre of the teleporter platform had been decorated with an image depicting two pegasi with their hooves raised as if holding the weight of Equestria itself, while the bottom of the image depicted the Enclave’s insignia.

A large terminal screen on one side of the chamber made up most of one wall, its massive screen connected to a larger collection of smaller terminals that seemed to control both the teleporter itself as well as numerous other functions through the oil rig. Dozens of turrets lined the metal walls of the chamber, currently deactivated.

And there, standing at the far side of the chamber, their hooves desperately clicking away at a terminal hooked up to the teleporter's main balefire reactor, was a small, unicorn mare in a Stable jumpsuit.

I stared down at the small mare for a long moment, taking in every inch of the pony that I had been told so much about. At long last, the two of us could finally meet, face to face.

I stepped forwards, the flickering, overhead light of the large chamber illuminating my immense form as I emerged from the shadow of the hallway, casting my features in a grim light as I moved to block the doorway and only exit out. As I spoke, my voice rumbled, resonating throughout the chamber. “You've gotten a lot farther than you should have, but then you haven't met Prance Horrigan either. Your ride's over, mutie. Time to die.”

The small mare whipped around, practically jumping as my imposing voice rumbled through the chamber. “Wha- who is-” She froze as her green eyes landed on me. I could see her gulp nervously as she took in my towering height.

“Me, Prance Horrigan, that's who. Grand Pegasus Enclave Secret Service. You aren't going anywhere from here,” I groused, my large tesla cannon clunking out of the metal plating at my side and shifting into place, locking in on the small mare, its end crackling dangerously with light.

I could see the Stable-mare’s eyes shifting back and forth as she tried to figure out how to deal with the situation. After a second, she took a deep breath, stepping bravely towards me. “Horrigan, Skylight’s told me about you. Now I need you to listen to me. The Enclave is lying to you. Their manipulating you into-”

She was cut off as the terminal she had been working away on gave off a loud beep, its screen flashing a bright red. “Balefire Reactor overloading. Reactor Melt-down imminent,” The terminal chirped in its robotic tone. The Stable mare glanced back nervously, the muscles in her shoulders tensing.

My glowing eyes shifted to look at the terminal. I gave a low huff as what the Stable mare was attempting to do clicked in my mind. She was clever, certainly, but that would not save her. “Making our reactor melt-down means things are going to be pretty hot in here soon,” I nickered in my booming voice, my gaze shifting back to glare at the small unicorn. “Pity you won't live long enough to see it. You're not a hero, you're just a walking corpse.”

The Stable mare grimaced, taking a step back. “Look, this doesn’t have to end in violence,” She soothed, raising a hoof towards me. “I can’t pretend I know you, but I believe that there is good inside of everypony. And if anything Skylight’s told me is true, I believe there is good in you as well. Put down your weapon. Please. We can talk this out.”

I snorted, a burst of steam escaping my helmet's ventilator. “We just did. Time for talking's over.”

The Stable mare’s face hardened, taking on a grimm look of understanding. She sighed, straightening her neck up a little. “Alright… So be it…”

My tesla cannon flared, blazing with light as I sent a powerful blast of arching energy lashing towards the Stable mare. The Stable mare gave a loud shout as their horn burst to life, wrapping themself in a field of magic.

The blast slammed into them, its explosive shockwave rippling out across the chamber. My mechanical eyes narrowed, focusing in on the spot the Stable mare had stood as the smoke from the blast began to clear. The spot was empty.

I whipped around just in time to see the flash of arcane energy as the Stable mare reappeared beside the large terminal, their horn fading from the teleportation spell. Without waiting, their hoof flashed out, tapping a key on the terminal. “Turret controls overridden. Activating defences.”

Immediately, all the turrets around the room beeped to life, swiveling around to face me. I scowled, diving forwards as the rows upon rows of turrets blared, peppering the spot I had once stood.

I managed to righten myself and whip back around, only for a powerful blast of the Stable mare’s sniper to ram into the side of my head, denting my helmet and knocking me off balance. I twisted my body with the blow, swinging myself around, my tail flashing out and colliding heavily with the Stable mare’s chest, sending her slamming backwards into the wall.

The loud clicking of machinery shifting into place warned me of the second round of turret fire seconds before it happened. My wings beat heavily at my sides as I launched myself into the air, only a few rounds of magical energy slashing through my hind hooves as the turrets opened fire on the spot I had been standing.

“You mutant scum! Just like you to try a trick like that. It won't help you though, nothing will... now,” Crackling magic began building up around my horn as I let loose a powerful beam of light that streaked around the room. Several turrets burst open as the beam seared through them, sending flaming shrapnel exploding across the chamber. My tesla cannon flared as I whipped back and forth in the air, sending multiple blasts of crackling energy in every direction, filling the chamber with beam after beam. The Stable mare dived back and forth, a few of the blasts detonating against the ground and causing booming explosions to ripple across the chamber's surface.

My wings tucked in at my sides as I drove at the stable mare. She gave a loud yelp and rolled forwards, narrowly avoiding my massive hooves as they slammed down where her head had just been, the impact indenting the floor with a large crater. Before the Stable mare had a chance to get back up, my tail swung out again, the lethal blade on its end slashing through her shoulder.

The Stable mare gave a scream of pain, staggering back as blood poured freely down her side. She jumped to the side as I lunged at her again, one of my hooves whipping past her face. Her horn burst to life as she swung her shotgun around in the air, ramming its barrels into the side of my head and unloading. I gave a loud grunt as the powerful buckshot sent me careening to the side, slamming against the wall and causing the whole chamber to shake.

Before I had time to get my bearings, the Stable mare rushed me from the side, pulling out a long knife that had been concealed within the sleeve of her stable barding. I let my tesla cannon flare, blasting a massive burst of crackling energy at her. She dove out of the way, sliding between my lumbering fore hooves. She stabbed her large knife upwards, the serrated edge slipping past the platting of my armour and digging deep into my flesh beneath. I let loose a booming roar as I felt the blade twist and pull, lashing open my stomach beneath my armour and sending a torrent of blood splattering across the metal floor as the vicious slash threatened to bisect me.

I reefed myself away, the momentary panic of the blade in my gut getting replaced by rage as the feeling of my writhing flesh patching itself back together beneath my power armour began overtaking my senses. I lunged at her, my hooves trying to smash her skull as she dipped and weaved out of my reach, only narrowly avoiding each strike as I worked myself up into a violent frenzy.

The remaining turrets swiveled to face me, continuing their spray of magical energy fire. My wings curled up, forming a protective layer between me and the turret fire. I felt the blasts rip holes through my wings, my own blood splattering my visor, before I managed to get my horn to flare up, surrounding myself in a magical energy shield.

I spun around, my horn glowing as I let the powerful arcane shield burst outwards, slamming into the remaining turrets and ripping them from the walls. My head snapped around to refocus on the stable mare, only to catch her out of the corner of my eye as she launched herself towards me, her hooves slamming hard into my face.

I stumbled back, howling, my body whipping back and forth as I tried to shake her off as she grasped desperately to my back, both her weapons raised in her magic and firing rapidly into the back of my head. I lashed at her with my tail, my wings beating frantically at my sides. A sharp pain raced up my side as the Stable mare ducked to one side, avoiding the deadly jab of my bladed tail and causing the long blade to sink deep into my shoulder.

Screeching in pain and rage, I slammed myself against the wall, crushing the stable mare between myself and the metal surface. She gave a holler of pain, letting go of my back and dropping to the floor to keep from being flattened completely. Snarling, I spun back around, one of my hooves lashing out and ramming into her chest, sending her skidding across the floor where she came to a rest at the base of the teleporter in a heaving lump. I heard a loud crack as one of her fore hooves snapped from the heavy impact.

I took a moment, taking long deep breaths before slowly advancing towards her, my burning eyes glaring at her crumpled form. “Did you really think you could stop the Enclave?” I groused, looming above her, my SATS locking in on her body. “Did you really think you could stop me?”

With a groan, the Stable mare pulled her head up from the ground to look up at me, one of her eyes blackened and a trickle of blood dripping down her brow. I saw one of her eyes twitch, her mouth tensing. “Maybe.”

The clattering sound of apple grenades filled the chamber as the stable mare leapt to the side, her saddle bag opening and spilling a cluster of several EMP grenades across the floor and around my hooves. My eyes shot wide as I made out the explosives, my wings flaring open as I desperately shot upwards into the air to avoid the detonation.

My whole vision went fuzzy as the grenades exploded below me in a burst of static and crackling blue energy. I felt the mechanisms in my legs and neck lock up, my wings tensing as the electric pulse raced up my whole body. I tried to open my mouth to give a shout of frustration, only to find my jaw unable to move. There was a moment of stillness as my beating wings pulled my one last inch up into the air before I was sent free-falling back towards the ground, my massive form slamming against the floor with a resounding thud.

My flickering vision darted back and forth as my muscles strained against my immobilized form, warning alerts flashing across my vision. I saw the stable mare a few feet away, pushing herself up against the wall as she tried to stand on her broken hoof, blood dripping down her body. She glanced over at me, breathing heavily. “Sorry Horrigan. But I’m ending this,” She turned from me, slowly dragging herself across the floor towards the terminal she had been working on.

I screamed, fighting against my frozen form as I tried to pull myself after her. I grit my teeth, reaching out and trying to strike at her with my magic. The stable mare screamed as a bolt of psychic pain spiked through her mind before her own horn surged and she sent the psychic wave lancing back at me. I howled, my body convulsing involuntarily as the mental pain pulsated through me.

Rubbing the side of her head, the stable mare pulled herself back up to the terminal, tapping away at a few keys. I saw the warning lights on the screen begin blinking faster and faster. The stable mare took a deep breath, turning back to face me, her shotgun and sniper both raised to fire at me if I made any sudden moves, watching as what little parts of my body that hadn’t been immobilized desperately tried to pull myself forwards. “It’s over Horrgian. Stand down. You’ve lost.”

I scowled, managing to pull myself a little closer. “No. This isn’t over until every last one of you mutie filth is eradicated.”

My eyes twitched back to the doorway as I heard the sound of hoofsteps rapidly approaching. The stable mare glanced up as well, tensing and raising her weapons towards the coming intruders.

“Don’t shoot! It’s us!” Skylight yelped, ducking back slightly as she came whipping around the corner, finding herself face to face with the barrels of the stable mares guns. She glanced down at my collapsed form for a second before taking a deep breath and returning her gaze to the stable mare. “And we’ve got a problem!”

The stable mare lowered her weapons, taking a step towards them. “Problem? What problem?”

“There’s no deactivating the IMP virus. Not without finding doctor Knife Slit, or maybe Thunderbolt,” Icewind answered for her, racing around the corner herself and into the chamber, moving into my line of view.

I felt a hollow feeling laugh build up in the back of my throat. “You’ll never find Knife Slit. She’s dead. Her body lying somewhere at the bottom of the fucking ocean,” My gaze shifted to Skylight from my place on the ground, my eyes narrowing to slits. “You traitors are going to all get what you deserve.”

Skylight looked over at me, her expression unreadable. She took a few steps forward, her sad eyes looking down on me. Icewind quickly put a hoof out, stopping her. “Don’t get too close.”

Skylight gave her a slight nod, before taking one more step forward and kneeling down, looking directly into my glowing eyes for her spot a few paces away. “How can you truly think that Horrigan?” She said. Her voice was soft and distant, almost resigned. “How can hate blind you so much.”

I scowled, my stiff body twitching slightly as I tried to lunge at her. “How can hate blind me?” I scoffed, seething. “You betrayed me! You did! Not me! You could have stood beside us as we saved the wasteland! But you chose this! All of you did! Now you’re going to have to live with your choices!”

“If the Enclave succeeds, we won’t have to live with anything,” Skylight spat. “Don’t you get that? They aren’t saving anypony but themselves! Everypony dies, Horrigan. That’s what you're protecting. I can understand not wanting to believe you’ve spent a lifetime serving the ponies that slaughtered your mother, but if you can’t see the truth in this, then there really is nothing in you worth saving.”

I felt the tension in my tail subside slightly as the effects of the EMP grenades began to wear off. A slight grin crept across my face. I felt my heart rate quicken. “Nothing in me worth saving? You couldn’t even save those you thought worth protecting,” I hissed, inching forward another half foot.

Skylight recoiled from the comment as if I had slapped her. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?”

“Your friends. Those Dashite cowards. What were their names? Plasma, TailChaser and Misty? Where are they now?” I mocked, my burning eyes burrowing into hers. “They're dead! All of them! They all died like dogs… My biggest regret is that I only got to kill them once!”

I could see the rage flare up in Skylight's eyes. Instantly, her hoof reached for her rifle as she stormed towards me, enraged.

Icewind desperately rushed forwards, trying to pull Skylight back as she charged me. “No! Skylight! Wait!”

The second Skylight was within range, my tail lashed forwards, striking towards her throat. I saw a blur to my right as the stable mare rushed forwards, slamming into Skylight’s side and knocking her out of the way. The blade on the end of my tail struck air, sailing past them as they dove for safety.

My fore hoof swung out, smashing against the Stable mare’s face as she tried to pull herself away. I felt a burst of blood splatter across the floor as the impact broke her muzzle. The stable mare screamed, collapsing onto her side, her hooves grasping at the broken front of her face as blood spilled down her face and across the floor.

I reared up to my hooves, freed from my paralysis, lunging forwards and knocking the stable mare across the back of the head, sending her sprawling across the ground on her front. I saw Icewind rush me from the side, only to get rammed backwards by a violent swipe of my tail, knocking her against the far wall.

The Stable mare tried to pull herself back up, but I jumped on top of her, my powerful hoof pressing down on her head and pinning her to the ground. I leaned forwards, pushing the weight of my body into my hoof, preshing down hard on the stable mare’s skull. I could feel the pressure building as it threatened to crush her head flat.

Skylight’s whole body went rigid as she pulled herself back up, staring in wide-eyed horror as she watched me loom over the stable mare. She slowly took a step back, her hooves trembling, I could see tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “No… Horrigan. Please… Not her too.”

I hissed, applying more pressure down on the squirming mare’s head. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t pulp the bitches skull,” my voice was low and even. Soulless.

“She’s all the wasteland has left,” Skylight muttered, her wide eyes locked on the stable mare. “She’s the only chance of making the world better and you’re killing her, please!” She unhooked her rifle from her side and dropped down to her knees, her head bowed slightly. “You want me to rejoin the Enclave? I will. I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll be the mare you always wanted me to be, just please… let her go.”

“Skylight, what are you doing!” Icewind spat, trying to pull herself back up to a standing position.

I looked down at Skylight for a long moment, trying to get a read on her. “You think your fate can be so easily changed?” I scowled. I could see a shiver race down Skylight’s spine at my icy response. My wings flared out at my sides as I towered above all of them, my eyes glowing balefully. “I gave you the chance to walk away. The chance to run and escape all of this. But you just had to follow your stupid delusion that you could be some kind of wasteland hero. You’re no hero, Skylight. You’re not some great saviour of pony kind. You’re just a Dashite,” I shifted my gaze, glaring spitefully at Icewind as she watched in horror from the far side of the chamber. “Once a Dashite, always a Dashite. And Dashites belong dead. There’s no room for you in the Enclave’s new world…”

I felt the squirming of the stable mare beneath me as she tried to pull herself out from under my compressive hoof. I leered down at her, my heart pounding heavily in my chest. “And you. The great Stable mare. You didn't do nothing here, 'cept seal your own death warrant. Duty, Honour, Courage, Obedience…” I leaned down, my muzzle only inches away from the Stable mare’s face. “Semper Fi…”

There was a loud sounding crack as my hoof slammed down, crushing the stable mare’s skull. Blood and brain matter splattered across the floor, seeping out from under my hooves and pooling in thick red puddles around Skylight’s. Skylight took a step back, her wide eyes streaked with tears as she stared at the lifeless, headless body of the stable mare. She sank down to her haunches, her mane falling into her face as she closed her eyes and took a slow, shuddering breath. When she spoke, her words were quiet and hollow. “Horrigan… what have you done…?”

Blam! Blam! Blam!

Three streaks of searing prismatic energy flashed across the room, blasting across Skylight’s side. Skylight screamed, collapsing back as the three Novasurge blasts ripped through her hide.

Icewind whipped around, her own rifle readying to fire as Enclave soldiers began swooping into the chamber. She only managed to fired off one shot before a flaming blade slashed her across her chest, searing the front of her hide and sending her skidding back. She managed to look up just in time to see Firestreak launch into the room, her flamer spewing burning napalm in her direction. Icewind barely ducked out of the way of the blast when Firestreak was on her again, ramming her to the ground with her powerful, armoured hooves and pinning her to the ground, the tip of her flamer pressed against Icewind’s scalp.

“Hohoho! I’m going to fucking enjoy this,” Firestreak snickered, joyfully staring down at Icewind through her vizor as the Dashite squirmed beneath her. "You thought you could just escape your punishment, bitch? I can't wait to show you just how wrong you were..." She looked back towards the doorway as the last of the Enclave squadron moved in, completely surrounding the two cornered Dashites. “All clear Colonel.”

I lifted my gaze to the doorway as Colonel Thunderbolt strode into the chamber, head held high as his callus eyes swept the room. He looked over at me, his inquisitive gaze quickly noting the lifeless corpse of the stable mare crushed beneath my hoof. “Horrigan,” the Colonel smiled, striding the rest of the way into the chamber. “You have made the Enclave proud. Your service tonight has not gone unnoticed,” The Colonel turned, addressing an Enclave trooper that stood closest to the teleporter. “If you would be so kind as to clean up the Stable mare’s mess, I would be most gracious.”

The soldier gave a quick salute, turning to the terminal beside them and typing away at a few keys before taking a step back. There was a small beeping sound from the terminal followed by the robotic sounding voice chirping out: “Balefire Reactor stabilized. Reactor melt-down desisted.”

Nodding to himself, the Colonel slowly began striding his way around the room, his eyes taking in the two Dashites that now lay in the centre of the clearing, fully surrounded. A thin smile etched its way onto his lips. “What exactly did you both think you would accomplish here?” He nickered, coming to a stop before them. he leaned down, glaring directly into Icewinds eyes. “Did you think I would allow all our hard work to be so easily undone?” When neither Icewind or Skylight responded, he just huffed and turned away, looking up at the looming teleporter behind us. “Even with your rather impressive war fleet, surely you knew you had no actual chance of stopping this?”

“Colonel, this is madness!” Icewind spat, pushing herself up from the ground. She didn’t make it more than a foot before Firestreak intercepted her, knocking her back down with a rough strike from her hoof.

“Stay down Icy!” Firestreak nickered, leering down at her. Her mocking tone oozed throughout each word. “I’m itching for a chance to reunite you with Cedar.”

Colonel Thunderbolt glanced back at her, smirking. “Clearly, Icewind, you do not possess the vision that I do. Our world has already faced armageddon. Our civilizations have crumbled. If one hopes to see the world one day reborn, difficult decisions need to be made,” He turned, nodding to a power armoured Enclave Sergeant beside him. “Sergeant Granite, activate the megaspells. Start by targeting Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Hoofington, and Appleoosa. Show the wasteland what the Enclave is capable of.”

“NO!” Skylight screamed as she rushed back to her hooves, her wings flaring as she dove for Sergeant Granite. Three Enclave troopers rammed into her, knocking her back to the ground. One pinned her down with a hoof, pressing the barrel of their novasurge rifle against her head.

Sergeant Granite gave Thunderbolt a nod, trotting over to the large, central terminal. He typed a few things into the terminal before quickly flipping open the glass casing covering a large red button and pressing down on it. Immediately, a red light began flashing from the top of the terminal, a siren blaring out.

“Megaspell launch initiated. Missiles launched. Detonation in T-minus 2 minutes.”

“Thunderbolt, you need to stop this! Do you really think this is the best thing for the wasteland!” Icewind spat, trying to push herself up and get to him again. Once more, Firestreak knocked her back down.

“With control over the Single Pegasus Project? I do,” Thunderbolt replied simply, walking away and ascending the steps of the teleporter. He stopped atop the platform, turning to look down on everypony below. He reached out, tapping one of the keys on the terminal beside him. Immediately, the massive teleporter began humming, crackling bolts of energy began racing up its surface.

“Teleporter initializing. T-minus sixty seconds till launch.”

Colonel Thunderbolt glanced back down at everypony, gesturing from them to join him on the platform. “Well. Let us not leave the lightbringer waiting,” He looked over at me, his expression dark. “Oh, and Horrigan…”

I looked up at him, the muscles in my neck tensing as Firestreak and the rest of the Enclave troopers moved past me to join the Colonel on the massive teleportation pad. “Yes, Colonel?”

His next words were cold and soulless, lacking any form of mirth. “Kill the Dashites.”

I turned, my massive tesla cannon swinging to face towards Skylight, its end glowing dangerously as I charged up a blast. I saw Skylight push herself backwards, cowering as the imposing weapon began glowing brighter and brighter. She closed her eyes, her face awash with the glowing blue light of my cannon. I saw her take a deep breath, a single tear rolling down her face as she embraced what was coming.

“Sorry Skylight. You chose the wrong side.”

“T-minus fifty seconds till launch.”

“Really, Horrigan? That’s it?”

I paused, glancing over to see Icewind pulling herself to her hooves and glaring at me. “Excuse me?”

“You’re just going to kill her? Like that? After everything?” Icewind spat, taking a step forwards. “At least give her the decency of telling her the truth!”

My eyes narrowed at her, my lips curling back to bear my teeth behind my helmet. “What are you talking about?”

I was surprised to see Icewind laugh. She reached down, scooped a piece of shrapnel off the ground and tossed it at me. The jagged metal bounced harmlessly off my helmet, a hollow ringing sound echoing around the chamber at the impact. “You know exactly what I’m talking about!” She picked up another piece of shrapnel, chucking it at me. “You’re a liar, Horrigan! You’ve never said a single goddess damned truth in your whole fucking life and I’m sick of it!”

Despite myself, I took a step back, completely dumbfounded by the situation. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I glanced back at Skylight, suddenly finding my legs weak. “I don’t… You don’t know what you’re saying!”

“T-minus forty seconds till launch.”

“Oh, I know exactly what I’m saying!” Icewind scowled back, coming to a stop before me. “It took me a long fucking time to figure you out, Horrigan. But I get it now. I understand why it didn’t matter what happened, or what Skylight said, you could never figure out the truth about the Enclave. Skylight kept thinking that some combination of words or actions would make you see the truth, but it never did…” She paused, taking a step back, breathing hard. There was a strange look in her eyes, as if she was begging with me to tell her that what she was saying wasn't true. “Because you already know the truth, don’t you?”

Skylight looked up in surprise. “Icewind, stop. He doesn’t-”

“He does,” Icewind spat, cutting her off. “Horrigan isn’t stupid. He knows when he’s being lied to. Say it, Horrigan! Say it! Tell the truth!”

My eyes darted back, my mind racing faster and faster. “You’re wrong! You don’t know the first thing about me! I’m Prance Horrigan! Grand Pegasus Enclave Secret Service! I obey!”

“Wrong! What are you Horrigan!” Icewind pushed, advancing towards me again. “Say it! Just once! Tell her the fucking truth!”

“T-minus thirty seconds till launch.”

I froze, my eyes locked with Icewind as the two of us stared at each other, as if daring the other to back down. I could feel my rapidly beating heart begin stilling in my chest as an icy numbness began creeping over me. After a long moment, I glanced down at my hooves, ashamed to look either Icewind or Skylight in the eye.

“I’m a bad pony, Skylight… I always have been…”

I could see Skylight’s whole body go limp as the words passed through her, as if her whole body had been wracked with pains and the truth had finally given her relief. She looked up at me, her tear filled eyes locking with mine. “I never could have saved you… Could I?” She asked, the sorrow clear in her voice.

I shook my head, unable to fully look away from her. “No… I’ve been lost for a very long time… You were right about me, Skylight. There is a very big difference between a good pony and a good soldier.”

“Horrigan, we do not have time for this,” Colonel Thunderbolt scowled, glaring down at us. “Kill the traitors. I will not ask you a second time.”

“T-minus twenty seconds till launch.”

I took a long moment, just standing there, staring down at Skylight. My whole body tensed as my mind instinctively demanded I comply with the Colonel's demand. But I didn’t move. I just stood, staring, my mind racing as I tried to sort out all the different thoughts coursing through me.

I looked over at Icewind, seeing her watching me tensely. “Obedience or penance,” I rumbled to her under my breath, low enough that only she could hear. “Which are you?”

Icewind’s body stilled for a second, one of her ears twitching as she heard the words said back to her that she had once upon a time said to me. She gave me a knowing look. “You already know which I am. The question is if you’ll choose yourself.”

“I grow tired of waiting, Horrigan,” Thunderbolt scowled again, taking a step towards the edge of the platform. “Do not delay our victory. Kill them.”

“T-minus fifteen seconds till launch.”

I felt a strange calm settle over me. A sensation that until that point, I had never felt. I took a deep breath, my mechanical eyes closing beneath my blood red visor. “Of course, Colonel. But first, I need you to answer something for me,” I rumbled stoically, not bothering to face him, my eyes reopening and locking once more with Skylights.

Though I couldn’t see him, I could feel Thunderbolt shifting uncomfortably atop the platform. “Make it quick, Horrigan.”

“Did the Enclave stage the Cloud Seeding Rebellion?”

Silence.

I waited, the stubs of my ears twitching beneath my helmet as I awaited his response. After a long moment, the Colonel spoke up. “I don’t know what these Dashite traitors have told you, but understand one thing, Horrigan. These traitors or liars. Silver tongued fiends that would corrupt your mind with their very words,” the Colonel’s tone dripped with honey.

“You didn’t answer the question,” I replied flatly, still turned away from him. My fore hooves tensed, digging small grooves into the metal floor. “Did the Enclave stage the Cloud Seeding Rebellion?”

Another moment of silence followed the question.

“Do you really think the Enclave would commit such an atrocity?” Thunderbolt asked, his voice suddenly taking on a much more kindly tone. “You know that we only have the best interests of our citizens at heart. These traitors are trying to confuse you. You know what the right thing to do is.”

“Yes… I’m afraid I do…”

“T-minus ten seconds till launch.”

“That’s enough Horrigan!” Firestreak snapped, the tip of her flamers sparking to life and letting a small burst of fire flare into the air in front of her. “Obviously, the Enclave wasn’t responsible! Now, as your commanding officer I demand that you stop this madness and obey! Kill the-”

The left side of Firestreaks head was obliterated as I whipped around and fired off a blast of my tesla cannon before any of them had time to understand what was happening. Firestreak stood there silently for a moment, her body swaying slightly, blood and brain matter oozing down her body from where the blast had ruptured her skull and dripping onto the platform around her hooves. Her one remaining eye had shot wide open, twitching back and forth, her mind having had just enough time to register the agonizing pain before she died. Her hooves gave out from under her and she crashed to the floor of the platform, the flames at the tips of her flamer extinguishing.

“Wrong answer!” I boomed, taking a step towards the platform. Even elevated, Thunderbolt was only eye level with me. “Try again!”

I could hear Skylight give a low exhale of breath from behind me. “H-Horrigan… What are you-”

“You dare betray the Enclave!” Colonel Thunderbolt roared, glaring at me disdainfully. “We gave you everything! If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead! We gave you life! Purpose! Stand down and obey!”

“T-minus five seconds till launch.”

“Did the Enclave stage the Cloud Seeding Rebellion?” I asked again, not bothering to raise my voice.

“T-minus four seconds till launch.”

The cold, merciless monotone of my voice seemed to cut through Thunderbolt like a knife. He took a step back, his eyes widening. He whipped around, frantically signalling to the squadron of soldiers behind him. “Sergeant Granite! I demand you kill Horrigan at once! Now!”

“T-minus three seconds till launch.”

Sergeant Granite looked me over for a second before exchanging a quick glance with his troops. He looked back at Thunderbolt. “With all due respect Colonel…” His wings beat at his side as he and his whole squadron took to the air. “We’d rather live.”

“T-minus two seconds till launch.”

“Cowards! Traitors!” Colonel Thunderbolt howled, screaming as he watched all of Granite squad abandon ship and sweep out of the room. “Get back here and fight!”

I watched them leave for a second before returning my gaze to Thunderbolt. I only had one target.

“T-minus one second till launch.”

Thunderbolt scowled at me, his face glowing with light as the teleporter charged up. He reached into his coat, pulling out a pulsing balefire egg. “It doesn’t matter. You cannot stop what I have planned! Tonight, the lightbringer dies!”

The teleporter gave a loud beep, followed by more streaks of crackling energy racing up it. “Initialization complete. Initiating jump.”

My tail lashed out, shattering the main terminal connected to the teleporter. There was a burst of light and static as the terminal exploded, chunks of the teleporter bursting apart as the energy from the machine was expended and sent crackling across the room in multiple directions. Thunderbolt was sent flying from the platform, crashing violently to the ground as the whole device imploded in on itself.

“No!” Thunderbolt screamed, frantically pulling himself up to his hooves just in time to watch the rest of the teleporter collapse to the ground. Blood dripped down his brow, staining his coat. He lunged to his side, his hooves reaching for the dropped Balefire egg.

My tail coiled around the deadly explosive before the Colonel could reach it, swiping it away from him and sending it clattering across the room, landing far out of reach. I snarled at him, lowering my head so that I glared down directly into his eyes. “This all Ends now. I am going to tear down this oil rig piece by piece. I’m going to make you watch as everything you have worked so hard to achieve comes crashing down around you.”

Colonel Thunderbolt's lips peeled back as he scowled. “How dare you! After everything! I demand that you-”

“I am making the orders now!” I roared, silencing him. I reared up above him, a burst of steam escaping my grafted helmet's ventilators. “Now kneel.”

Thunderbolt stared at me for a long moment before slowly bowing his head and dropping to his knees.

I huffed, looming over him. I took a long moment, staring down at him, watching him fidget uncomfortably beneath my piercing gaze. “You will know your place,” I rumbled, placing a hoof on his back and pressing him down against the ground. I turned, looking over at Skylight and Icewind as they watched me in awe from across the room. I slowly approached them, leaving Thunderbolt cowed. “I am a bad pony,” I repeated simply. “Redemption is a path I cannot walk. But we are not yet finished here. There is still work to be done.”

“You're... siding against the Enclave?” Skylight stammered, clearly at a loss for words.

I held her gaze with my own. “I’m fixing this,” I grunted, my words echoing Vapours.

There was a shuffling sound behind me. I whipped around to face Thunderbolt, my tesla cannon charging up. My eyes locking on him just in time to see him reef a small detonator out of his coat and press down on it.

Pain.

Pain flared through my body as the small explosive planted in my abdomen detonated. My vision went dark for a second, fire bursting across my body. I felt the armour guarding my stomach ruptured open in a blast of searing metal, the muscles ripping apart and blood spraying across the walls and floor in messy strokes.

I was sent stumbling backwards, the front half of my body slamming roughly into the far wall. The lower half of my body did not follow. I looked down, staring in horror at my bisected lower half, intestines spilling across the floor and sinewy strands of flesh and muscles trailing behind me. An uncomfortably similar wound to that which I had inflicted upon Vapour Trail.

“Horrigan!” I could hear Skylight shrieking, but the words sounded distant and quiet. Beams of prismatic light flared across the room, lancing out from Colonel Thunderbolt’s novasurge pistol as he opened fire on Skylight and Icewind. I saw two of the shots strike true, blasting through Icewinds hoof and sending her careening towards the ground as she tried to catch air.

I groaned, rolling onto my back as more pain throbbed through me. I could feel my whole body growing weak as more and more blood spilled from my missing lower half, pooling around my crumpled form.

I looked up as a shadow passed over me, my blurring vision just barely being able to make out the form of Colonel Thunderbolt standing over me, scowling.

“Did you not think I would prepare for something like this?” He spat, one of his hooves kicking out and clocking me upside the head. “Did you think I would be careless enough to just let you walk around without a leash!? I ordered Knife Slit to implant a bomb into you the moment you broke free!” He kicked me again, this time forcing me to recoil as the impact caused tremors of pain to race through my pounding skull.

“Get away from him!” Skylight spat, lunging at Thunderbolt. He ducked away from the strike, swinging around and giving her a rough kick in the ribs. There was a loud snap as his strike broke bone. Skylight staggered back, gasping.

Thunderbolt turned back to me, leering. “Your betrayal means nothing! The IMP Virus will still go off! The megaspells have already been launched. In less than a minute, those megaspells are going to vaporize every major cesspool of mutie life,” He turned, glancing at the still intact balefire reactor inset into the wall. “I can make a new teleporter. You’ve delayed my proclamation of the SPP by a month at best. Nothing has changed, Horrigan.”

With a grunt of pain, I shifted my body weight and began dragging myself across the room, pulling myself forward inch by inch with my remaining two hooves, a trail of blood being left behind me as I went. I could feel the internal pressure inside my systems begin building up, accumulating in my head, threatening to explode my skull.

Thunderbolt stood there, watching me slowly drag myself away from him. He took a few steps forwards, watching my pathetic attempt to move. “Just lay down and die, Horrigan,” He hissed. “That’s all that's left for you. Lie down and die with whatever dignity and honour you think you have left.

A loud hiss of pain escaped my lips as I pulled myself up to the massive terminal on the wall. I ignored Thunderbolt, using every bit of strength I had left to push my body upwards and glare down at the terminal. Bracing one shoulder against the wall, I reached out, tapping a few keys, my brow furrowing in concentration as I quickly typed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Thunderbolt's body stiffen. “Wait. What do you think you’re doing?”

I didn't bother answering. I just continued to press away at buttons. There was a loud beeping noise from the terminal as I pushed a final key before I dropped back down to the ground as what little remained of my strength faded away. Warning lights began blaring across the screen, a new countdown beginning to flash across its flickering surface.

Thunderbolt took another step back, his eyes narrowing. “What the fuck did you just do!”

I turned my head, my red eyes piercing into his. “You- You haven’t won here. You and all your Enclave-bastard friends are going to join me in a big ol’ mushroom cloud sendoff. I just redirected the megaspells. Triggered this place to practically self-destruct. The work will not continue.”

Colonel Thunderbolt's eyes went wide, fear and panic splaying across his features. “NO! You’re- you're bluffing! You wouldn't- You wouldn't even know how to-” His eyes darted up to the rapidly ticking countdown. I could see more and more panic begin rising up inside of him. His chest began rising and falling in rapid succession as his breath became ragged. “You’re insane! You’re-”

Thunderbolt spun around, his wings flaring open as he desperately rushed for the exit. He didn’t make it far before my horn flared, a beam of green energy lancing through his wing and dropping him to the ground. He screamed in pain, frantically thrashing against my magic as I used it to pin him to the ground, holding him in place.

He twisted in the magical grip, staring at me in abject horror. “Horrigan! You have to let me go! It’s not too late to fix this! Please!”

I growled, my voice resonating around the chamber. “No. I'm already fixing this. You will stay,” I turned my head, watching as Icewind limped across the room over to Skylight, helping to pull her back to her hooves. “You two go. Live. It’s us who belong dead.”

Skylight and Icewind stood there for a second, hooves wrapped around each other for support as they stared at me in what I could only assume was shock. After a moment, Icewind approached me, kneeling down to look me in the eye. “You’re doing the right thing, Horrigan.”

I humphed, looking away. I could feel the pain in my body increasing, more pressure building up inside my skull. “Took me long enough,” A second later, I felt hooves place themselves gently on either side of my helmet. I looked up, my eyes catching with Skylight’s as she looked down at me. I could feel my whole body tremble under her gaze. “It took me far too long.”

Skylight gave me a soft smile. It was a little forced, but it was still one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. “Thank you, Horrigan. I wish things didn’t have to end this way.”

“It was the only way this could have ended,” I said back, my voice low.

The two of us stared into each other's eyes for a second longer, lost for words. What words could possibly make up for all that had happened? What words could possibly even begin to emote half of the emotions we were feeling. I love you? No. We were both far beyond that.

“I’m sorry,” I finally rumbled, my eyes closing slightly. I could feel my mechanical heart slowing in my chest. Each beat feeling weaker than the beat before it.

“I know…” Even through my thick helmet, I could feel Skylight press her lips against my forehead. A calming numbness overtook me, and for a single moment, I felt peace.

Then they were both gone, their wings spread wide as they soared from the chamber and out of my sight forever.

I lay there a long moment, my chest heaving as I tried to draw air into my lungs. Not all that far away, I could still feel Thunderbolt wrestling with my magic as it held him down. A bolt of agony flared through me, pulsing up my body from where the explosion had ripped me in half, breaking my concentration. The moment the strength of the spell weakened, Thunderbolt rushed to his hooves, hopelessly racing towards the door. He made it less than a foot before my horn flared again, filling the doorway with a magical field of energy.

Thunderbolt screamed, his hooves beating desperately at the force field barring him from his escape. He whipped around, glaring hatefully at me from across the room. “Don’t you know what you’ve done Horrigan! What you’re sacrificing! What you're doing goes far beyond just killing me! You’ll die too!”

I leaned back, resting my head against the wall. “Maybe so, but then again… I don’t think I ever really go to live, either… Our time is over, Colonel. It's time to die.”

Thunderbolt stormed back towards me, rage blazing in his eyes. “No! My time is not over until I say so! I call the shots! I do! You are nothing but my servant! And you will do as I demand! Stop this madness Horrigan! I demand you obey me! Obey! Obey! Obey!”

I pulled myself upwards, swaying on my two remaining hooves, tasting copper as I felt blood begin burbling from my mouth. I shifted my gaze, glaring down at him, my glowing eyes burning like fire and narrowing to slits. “I lived my life by four virtues, Colonel. Do you know them…? You should. You taught them to me well.... Duty, Honour, Courage…” I paused, coughing up blood as I lifted my gaze skyward. I let a thin smile settle across my face. “But… if I’m being frank with you Colonel… fuck Obedience…”

Icewind sat beside Skylight on the stern of the war ship as the encroaching megaspells collided with the Hippocampus oil rig in the distance. In an instant, the sky was filled with a bloom of baleful green light as the whole rig was vaporized by the expanding green mushroom cloud. Ash, soot and water were kicked up into the air, blocking out the overcast sky with dark black clouds and a torrent of crashing waves. The air rang with the booming blare of detonation.

Swarming raptors were ripped from the sky, blasted apart and sent hurtling into the waves below. Whole squadrons of Enclave soldiers were atomized in a single second. The looming Enclave Thunderhead was obliterated, its gargantuan hull shattered and the ponies within eviscerated. Fire raced across the sky, drowning out the pounding rain. The air filled with the sound of a thousand screams, only for each and every one to cut out in terrifying unison.

Shockwaves rippled across the water, knocking the ships back and forth as the crew struggled to keep the vessel aloft, even from this distance. Icewind staggered to her trembling, bleeding hooves, doing her best to keep from being thrown overboard. Skylight lay curled up beside her, silently weeping, her tears washed away by the rain.

The explosion raged on for minutes, balefire filling the sky and surging across the ocean. When at last it stopped and the looming green cloud dissipated into the night, everything went silent. Everypony on the boats stood in frozen anticipation, their breath catching in their throat, watching the empty skyline where the oil rig had once been.

Nothing moved, because nothing was left alive.

Author's Note

Just the epilogue remains!

Hope you all enjoyed the conclusion, and all have a wonderful day!