“Hello children. Today- Today is a dark day for the wasteland.

“You all remember that town I was telling you about between Fillydelphia and Manehattan? Yeah? Well it’s gone. Completely wiped off the map. The buildings burned t’ the ground and the ponies slaughtered at the hooves of, you guessed it, the Enclave. The Applejack Rangers are searching through the wreckage for survivors now, but so far, they haven’t found any. The Enclave came in, took whatever it was they were after and killed everypony in sight. Every Stallion, mare and foal.

“I have with me today a traveling merchant that had been on his way to Stable Town when the attack happened. He saw the culprits with his own eyes. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“I-I… I was only a few minutes out of the town when it happened… I could see the smoke, even from over the hill… and the screams… Goddesses, there were so many screams… I- I took cover a few miles out, watching from afar. I saw five Enclave ponies fleeing the scene. One of them was… Fuck. I don’t even know how to describe the thing. A nightmare. It was huge! A mountain of metal and flesh. One of those monstrous alicorn’s but bigger! So much bigger! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so terrifying in all my life… If it had seen me, I’d probably be dead...”

“Well, you heard it here first, children. Seems like the Enclave is makin’ a comeback, and this time they have some sort of monster with them. I don’t fully know what to make of this just yet, but to me it sounds like we might have another wasteland boogie pony on our hooves. Until we know more, children, I suggest you keep your eyes peeled, and your guns loaded. And if that new Stable mare hero I've been hearing about is out there listening, I wish you the best of luck. Until next time, Children, this is DJ Pon3. And stay safe out there…”

“She completely disregarded my orders!” Icewind blurted, trotting back and forth in front of Colonel Thunderbolt. We had returned to the Enclave oil rig after our mission in Stable 13. Icewind had ordered all of us to meet with Thunderbolt right away, and right now, she was furious. “The Enclave doesn’t need more enemies, and that stunt she pulled has just made us the news of the fucking wasteland! I demand Firestreak be removed from my squad immediately and dishonorably discharged.”

Thunderbolt stared back at Icewind for a long moment with a cold, emotionless gaze. “You were supposed to be monitoring and reporting back to me on Horrigans performance on the field, not Firestreaks,” He finally said flatly, holding her gaze.

“Colonel, if I may,” Firestreak interjected, taking a small step forwards from beside me.

Thunderbolt silenced her with an almost violent swipe of his wing. “Silence. We will discuss you later,” He barked, before returning his gaze to Icewind. “Well...? How was Horrigan’s performance?”

“Horrigan did fine,” Icewind responded swiftly. “He followed orders without question and was a huge advantage over both the Hellhounds and the Steel Rangers we encountered, but he is also highly unpredictable and violent. But I’m not here to talk about Horrigan! Firestreak’s behaviour was-”

“So he was effective?” Thunderbolt pushed, his eyes finally drifting over to rest on my large form for the first time since we had entered the control room. There was a small twinkle of excitement in his eyes as he looked me over.

“I, uh- Yes. Very,” Icewind stammered, clearly trying to bring the topic back to the matter at hoof. “With the exception of a few instances where he acted on impulse, he obeyed just like you said he would. Now, please, Colonel, we need to discuss Firestreaks behaviour!”

“Firestreak was under a direct order from me,” Colonel Thunderbolt replied flatly. “And from what I have heard, she carried out that order expertly and without question.”

“Yes, but-” Icewind’s eyes darted around. Clearly the conversation was not going in the direction she had expected. “Sir, she had Horrigan slaughter a whole town of ponies! We killed foals! It’s wro-” She caught herself quickly. “It’s going to draw attention to us! And Firestreak has shown multiple instances of disrespect towards me and the chain of command!”

“Maybe this squad would work better then if we weren’t taking orders from a pegasus like you,” Firestreak snapped, glaring at Icewind. “A pony like you shouldn’t even be allowed in the Enclave!”

Icewinds eyes glared daggers at her. “Fly steady Firestreak! I am your commanding officer!”

Firestreak ignored her, taking another step forward. “Colonel, if I may. I think Icewind’s resistance towards direct ordered from you is a clear sign that-”

“Fly stead, Firestreak,” Thunderbolt growled, glaring at her. Firestreak immediately shut up. “Despite your distaste for Icewind, she is your commanding officer and you will fall in line. I will not have disobedience in my army!”

Firestreak took a quick step back, falling in line with Vapour Trail, Lighting and I, her head bowed. “Sorry Colonel. It won’t happen again.”

“It had better not,” Thunderbolt groused, turning away from all of us and returning to face the large map of the wasteland that he had sprawled out across his large desk. “You will both learn to work together. I do not wish to hear of any of this again! Understood?”

All my subordinates gave quick nods. I raised my wing into a sharp salute. “Understood Colonel,” Was all Icewind had to say, her voice sounding low and almost wounded.

“Good,” Thunderbolt grunted, his face still turned away from us. “Your next mission will be delivered to you within the hour. Dismissed.”

At his command, I turned and trotted out of the room, my heavy hoofsteps shaking the walls slightly. Icewind and Firestreak stocked out behind me, neither of them saying anything as they made it into the hallway and marched off in opposite directions.

I had made it halfway down the hallway when I heard the sounds of two sets of armoured hooves trotting up beside me. I glanced down, making out the shapes of Vapour Trail and Lightning as they scampered to keep pace with me.

“H-hey Prance, I uh… Good work out there t-today,” Vapour stammered, craning his neck to look up at me.

Lighting gave a quick nod, her own face a little nervous. “Yeah. I’m glad you’re on our side,” She added in her breathy voice.

“Indeed,” I rumbled back, my pace never lessening. They both waited quietly as we walked, clearly expecting me to say more. I never did.

Vapour gave a nervous laugh after a few seconds of silence. “So uh… Well, it’s a little past 12. Anyone up for lunch?” he glanced up nervous at me. I gave him no response.

“Y-yeah, count me in on that,” Lighting added, casting me a small glance of her own. After a second, she cleared her throat. “H-horrigan? D-do you want to join us?”

“No,” I grunted flatly, turning the corner and entering into my chambers. The sliding metal door closed behind me, blocking them off from my line of sight.

An hour later I found myself once more trotting down the long halls of the Enclave oil rig once again, my sights set on the room at the end of the hall. A lone Enclave guard stood stationed in front of the door, their eyes casting me worried glances as they watched my hulking form approach them.

“C-can I help you?” The guard asked, trying their best to keep the stammer out of their voice. They failed miserably.

“I’m here for Icewind,” I replied bluntly. I moved to pass them and enter the chamber beyond, but the guard quickly moved in front of me to stop me from entering. I cast them a death glare, making them wince back.

“I’m sorry. She is busy right now and is not to be disturbed,” I guard ordered me. To his credit, he actually managed to hide his fear and I towered over him.

“I have our orders for her from Colonel Thunderbolt. We leave immediately,” I grunted back, this time pushing past him and letting the sliding open for me.

The guard struggled to keep me back, but he could do little against my massive bulk as I powered forwards. “Fuck… I’m gonna get so fired…” He sighed, watching as I trotted the rest of the way into the room.

Icewinds room was, like most rooms on the oil rig, a large box of gray metal wall. The decor was a little nicer than my room, certainly nicer than the shared bunks most Enclave troopers had, but at the end of the day, it was still just a metal box. There wasn’t much that decoration could do to fix that I supposed. A small bed had been pushed against one wall and a large desk sat beside it, its surface covered in multiple battle plans and what looked like some kind of machine schematics. As those plans were likely out of my jurisdiction, I avoided looking at them.

Icewind, however, was not in the room.

I turned, my ears picking up the sound of rushing water coming from a small side room. I trotted over, tapping my hoof to the control panel on the side and making the metal doorway slid open.

Icewind was in fact inside, her uniform and saddlebags removed and tossed on the floor. She stood against one wall, her eyes closed and head turned upwards as the steaming water of the shower cascaded down on her. Almost at once, my eyes caught on her flanks, no longer hidden by her saddlebags.

Icewind opened her eyes, catching me looking at her curiously out of the corner of her eyes. She jumped a little, her tail flicking up and doing its best to coil around her flanks, obscuring her cutie mark, or rather, lack of one. She was not fast enough to stop me from seeing it. “Horrigan. What do you want? I thought I had a guard posted outside to keep ponies out!” Icewind barked, shifting slightly so that I would have a less good view of her flanks.

“You’re a Dashite,” I muttered, my glowing red eyes still locked on her flank, despite no longer being able to see the lightning bolt shaped brand that adorned it.

Icewind hissed at me. “Was,” She shut off the water and snatched up a towel, throwing it over her bare flank to better hide it. “And I don’t want to hear you mention it again.”

“Does Thunderbolt know,” I growled. The muscles in my fore hooves tensed. If there was one thing that I could not stand, it was a traitor.

“Of course he knows,” Icewind scowled at me. “Do you really think a Dashite could get a position in the Enclave like I have without the Colonel finding out?” She quickly rubbed herself down with the towel before trotting over to her pile of clothes on the ground and pulling her uniform back over her body. “I have spent my whole life atoning for what I did... It’s not easy, building yourself back up through the ranks of the Enclave after you’ve been dishonoured… when everypony wants to see you fail…” She trailed off, lost in thought for a second. After a moment, she shook the thoughts from her head.

“So that is what Firestreak meant…” I drawled, my blood red gaze still fixated on her. “When she said that a pony like you shouldn’t even be allowed in the Enclave.”

Icewind flinched at the remark. “As I said, the ponies here want to see me fail. They want to watch the pathetic dashite crash and burn. But look where I am now. I showed them all, didn’t I? Now fly steady Horrigan. I don’t want to have to ask you twice. Bring this up again, and I’ll have you branded just as they had me.”

After a moment, I gave a slow nod. If Colonel Thunderbolt was aware, who was I to disregard his direct commands. Surely there was more to this story than Icewind had told me. I would leave understanding this sort of thing to smarter ponies. The world was confusing, but orders were not.

“Colonel Thunderbolt has assigned us our next objective,” I stated, switching topics and pulling out the message I had been given only a few minutes prior. “We are to leave at once.”

Icewind took the message from me, scanning over it with her pink eyes for a long moment before finally nodding. “Indeed. Gather Vapour and Lightning. We leave in twenty.”

Five ponies stared down the barrels of our guns, their bodies frozen in fear as they gazed upon us.

We were standing in the middle of the wasteland, the ground around us composed of little but brown cracked dirt and charred rock. A few scattered, twisted trees, jutted from the desolate expanse, their leaves long since burned away and their lifeless husk almost skeletal. In the far distance I could see the ruined skyscrapers of the once great city of Manehattan, its crumbling skyline silhouetted by the rising sun.

I cared little for the view of the city however. My only interest was the ponies before us. They had information that Colonel Thunderbolt wanted… Or wanted erased. From the phrasing on the rather short debriefing he had given us about the mission, he had made it pretty clear that he would be satisfied either way.

“Just come with us and tell us what you know,” Icewind was telling them. “This doesn’t have to end violently.”

The leading pony spat on the ground at us, giving us a small growl. He was a beige coloured pony, the flesh around his face wrinkled with age. “Go fuck yourself, Enclave scum.”

Icewind gave a low sigh. “Please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. We will be getting what we want no matter what you do.”

The old stallion was about to respond again when I stepped forwards, my hooves crushing the stones beneath me to dust. “Old man, you WILL come with us.” I snorted, steam bursting from the metal ventilator in my grafted on helmet.

The old man snarled, though he took a slightly frightened step back at my approach. “Leave us alone. I will never support the course of your superiors, freak!”

I glowered, the massive tesla cannon at my side snapping out into place and aiming at the old bucks head. “I will not ask you again. Come now, or you will be made an example of.”

One of the ponies behind the old buck, a smaller, green mare, cowered back as my huge gun came to bear. She grasped at the older pony's hind leg, trying to pull him away from me. The older stallion ignored her, holding his ground as he glared up at me defiantly. “I would rather what knowledge I have disappear with me into the grave. I don’t know what the hell you pegasus basterds want with me, but I won’t let you have it,” he stomped one of his hooves on the ground before him. “Ya’ll killed my wife back in the battle for new Appaloosa. You won’t get nothin’ out of me.”

I stared at him for a long moment, waiting to see if he would have a change of heart and come to his senses. He never did. “So be it. Kill them all.”

No sooner had I spoken the words, than a jet of flame lanced out from Firestreaks flamer, dousing the five ponies in blazing napalm. Icewind turned away, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as the ponies fell to the ground screaming, their hooves batting desperately at their sides as they tried to smother the flames. Their efforts were futile. Within the minute, they lay curled up on the cracked ground, their bodies rendered to ash and charred bones.

“It is done,” I grunted stoically, my red eyes looking over the mangled remains. I turned to Icewind, standing at attention and waiting for our next set of orders.

Icewind gave a slow nod, taking another deep, shaky breath and refusing to look over at burned bodies. “Report back to the oil rig until-” She got cut off as a small intercom in her ear beeped. She turned from us, placing a hoof to her ear. “Yes Colonel… Are you… Do you think it’s-... Understood…” She paused for a moment, before turning back to face us. “New orders. Our scouts have located a group of Dashite terrorists that have been causing us trouble for the past two months. They aren’t far from here. We need to apprehend them before they have a chance to escape.”

Firestreak snickered at her mockingly, flicking her armored, bladed tail in her direction. “Oh? And are you going to be able to go through with that, killing your old buddies, ground lover?”

Icewind scowled at her. “I have no affiliation to these Dashites. I assure you, I have no issues putting them down,” She snapped out her wing, pointing in the direction of Manehattan. “Now get moving. It is of great importance to the Colonel that they do not escape. Failure is not an option.”

I gave a grunt of understanding, my large wings beating at my sides and lifting me off into the air. A second later, Vapour Trail and Lighting shot up after me, followed in short order by Firestreak, Icewind taking up the rear.

Shifting slightly in the air, I set my sights on Manehattan before beating my wings again and dashing towards it. I had to slow slightly, to allow the rest of my squad to keep pace with me. They may have had more experience flying, but I had learned quickly that my large wings were capable of traveling much farther distances in a relatively short amount of time.

“So, Horrigan,” Firestreak snickered at me, her wings flapping at her side as she flew up next to me. “I read through your file after our mission at Stable 13. You were Enclave secret service, huh?” I gave a curt nod in response, not giving any real direct answer. Firestreak whistled. “Damn. Only the best of the best get promoted to that. You must have been a damn good fighter, even before the Enclave turned you into this.”

“The mutie Goddess turned me into this,” I answered flatly. “The Enclave keep me alive. For that I am in there eternal debt.”

Firestreak practically giggled at that response. “Ooooh. I read this too. They say you're the loyalist pony there ever was. Guess you’re blind to everything the Enclave is doing, aren’t you?” Again, I didn't respond. That almost sounded like disobedience. “Also not much for talking. They didn’t include that in the file, but I figured it out pretty quick. So spill, how’d you gain the rank of Secret Service?”

“Obedience. I live to serve, and for that I was rewarded,” I grunted back. “Skylight always detested it. She was wrong to do so.”

Firestreak gave a grim nod. “Right, Private Skylight. I heard a bit about her. What were you too? Marefriends? Before the Lightbringer killed her in Friendship City, of course.”

I felt a small pang of some strange emotion lance through me. I wasn’t fond of the feeling and pushed it down. Instead, I focused on another point of her question. “We were acquaintances. And I’m not a mare.”

Firestreak chuckled. “Right, right. I’m betting that must have sucked when you found out the alicorn transformation took away Horrigan Jr.”

“Is this conversation relevant to the mission?” I growled back, tilting my head to glower at her with my glass eyes.

Firestreak gulped a little under my intense glare. “I uh… No, I’m just-”

“Then I would suggest you fly in silence,” After that, Firestreak quickly shut up.

A few moments later, we were flying over the city of Manehattan, the shattered ruins of once proud skyscrapers flashing by below us. Icewind, who had taken the lead at some point, angled down and began descending towards a large building below us that connected to the massive monorail that marred the Manehattan skyline. I angled my wings slightly, my centre of mass shifting as I tilted downwards and began diving towards the structure.

Icewind touched down on the roof first, followed shortly by me and my subordinates a second later. Icewind turned to me, her expression hard. “This should be the place. Horrigan, how many are we dealing with?”

I straightened a little, my glassy eyes turning to look at the roof. My advanced, built in EFS system kicked in, my vision highlighting the green markers of four pegasus forms two floors down.

“Four Dashites, two floors down,” I grunted, looking back up at her. My large gun slid out and locked into place.

Icewind gave a nod. “Understood. Horrigan, you take point with me. Firestreak, Lighting and Vapour, take up the reer. Make sure we don’t get flanked.”

All three pegasi snapped their wings up into a salute in response.

Moving across the top of the building, Icewind cracked open a large hatch in the roof and trotted down the set of stairs beyond into the building. I followed after her, grunting slightly as I had to squeeze my shoulders together to pull myself through the opening. Reluctantly, I let my gun slide back into place, finding it too large to fit through the entryway.

The inside of the building was a mess. Bits of the floor had collapsed, making navigating the hallway relatively difficult. Large chunks of rebar jutted out from gaping holes in the wall and small sections of the roof had begun to cave in. I ducked my head, the top of my helmet scraping across the ceiling. I grimaced slightly as I tried my best to step lightly, certain my tremendous weight would collapse the floor. Thankfully, it seemed to hold well enough under me.

Icewind led us down to a second set of stairs, this one seeming to have once been a fire escape. As I followed behind her, I heard Lightning and Vapour whispering back and forth to each other.

“W-what do you think this building used to be?” Vapour stuttered quietly, his eyes looking over the long since damaged walls. "Y-y-you know. Before the war."

“It was an apartment building,” lightning said back softly. “The Enclave used it a long time ago as a small base of operations to study hellhounds. A lot of the data collected here was later sent out to Stable 13 for proper testing.”

Icewind hushed them with a small hiss. “Shhh. I think I heard something…”

Sure enough, as we slowly reached the bottom of the stairs, I began to make out more voices, these ones less hushed than our own.

“What? That thing can’t be real!” One of the voices chuckled. It was a stallion's voice, slightly distorted by what sounded like an Enclave helmet over his head. “That doesn’t even sound remotely believable!”

“The Dread Maulwurf! Sure it’s real, Plasma Charge!” Another voice responded, this one distinctly a mare, though with the same helmeted distorsion. “It’s half-bear, half-mole, half-raging pile of claws! Or so I’ve heard. They say it came from the Manehattan gardens.”

“Misty, that’s stupid. That's stupid and you fucking know it’s stupid,” The first voice laughed back.

Icewind made all of us pause, holding up her hoof as we came to stop behind the corner of the wall. From the sound of the voices, I guessed the Dashites were just beyond. I tilted my head, my EFS outlining the Dashites on the other side of the wall. Now a little closer, I could make out the bulky shape of their armour around them, giving me a clear indication they were all fully clad in suits of Enclave Power armour.

“Alright you two, maybe stop joking around and help us dig through this stuff?” Another voice piped up with a small giggle, another mare by the sound of it. “The Enclave must have left something behind that can help us.”

My team all exchanged a look. So they were after Enclave tech. That we could definitely not allow. Not that we would have allowed Dashites to continue existing anyway.

“Face it Tailchaser. The Enclave made damn sure to destroy everything they had here when the pony stationed here first went Dashite herself,” The first Dashite, Plasma Charge, I remembered his name being, grunted. “If there was anything here for us to find, we would have found it by now.”

Icewind turned, clearly having heard enough of their conversation. She raised her hoof, signalling for us to hold, then, a deep breath later, swung it towards the door, inciting us to attack.

As soon as the command was given, I powered forwards, rushing around the corner, my huge gun clanking out and my EFS targeting the four Dashites inside. Icewind, Firestreak, Vapour and Lighting dashed out behind me, their own weapons up and firing.

“Fuck! We got Enclave here!” The Dashite, Plasma Charge, shouted, staggering back and swinging his magical plasma gun up to bare. He fired at me, the green beam doing little against my impressive armour.

My massive tesla cannon fired in turn, firing off massive beams of arching blue energy towards the armoured pegasi. They quickly took to the air, darting around the room frantically in the hopes to avoid the flashing beams of light. One of my shots grazed one of their wings, bolts of energy crackling through them and dropping them to the ground.

“Shit! What the fuck is that thing!” The Dashites I hadn’t heard speak yet shouted, flipping around in the air, the nova surge rifle on her battle saddle firing rapidly at Firestreak as she spewed streams of fire across the room.

I paused as her voice reached my ears, the deadly fire blasting from my Tesla cannon slowing for a second. That voice, I could have sworn that I'd heard it before…

Vapour Trail blasted a shot from his rifle, the blazing beam missing the fallen Dashite by inches as they scrambled back to their hooves and once more took flight. Lighting was firing off beams of her own from beside him, one of her shots grazing the tail of the Dashite I had heard referred to as Misty.

Firestreak pounced forwards, her hooves slamming hard against Plasma Charge’s chest and knocking him to the floor. Her flamers glowed brightly at the end as she prepared to smother him in flame.

The Dashite I didn’t know the name of lunged at her, her hooves slamming into Firestreaks chest and knocking her back. Firestreak scowled, rearing up and letting bursts of fire race from her flamer, trying to fry the Dashite that had attacked her.

Pulling myself from my stupor, I turned and fired off another beam of energy from my Tesla cannon, this time the deadly beam slammed into Tailchasers chest, sending her crashing back against the wall, the front of her chest smoking and jolts of energy crackling through her armour, making her spasm. Her power armour seemed to protect her from being completely disintegrated, but she slumped to the floor unconscious.

Plasma Charge fired off a shot in Lightning’s direction. The blast lashed across the exposed part of Lightning’s wing, making the pegasus stumble back with a scream. Another blast, this one slashing through her throat, sent Lightning collapsing to the ground. I didn’t need her bar on my EFS to blink out to know that she was dead.

“Lightning!” Vapour shrieked, jumping in front of the fallen pegasus and firing off a few more blasts in Plasma Charge’s direction. Plasma Charge pivoted, dodging a few of the blasts and letting a few more bounce off his metal armour.

My armoured tail flashed out, catching the Dashite Misty across the side and sending her flying backwards, crashing against the far wall. Tensing my muscles, I thundered towards her, my hooves plumbing loudly against the trembling floor as I rushed to crush her with my bare hooves.

Misty rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding my hooves as they crashed down towards her head. The metal wall dented and broke under my hoof, jagged chunks of the wall scratching at my armour and digging into the exposed parts of my leg. With the med-X pumping through my veins, I hardly felt a thing. I whipped back around, my Tesla cannon glowing as I lined myself up for another shot.

Across from me, Icewind had pulled out her magical energy revolver and was firing off shot after shot towards the currently unnamed Dashite. The Dashite was doing flips in the air, doing her best to keep from being turned to a glittering pile of ash, though she was rapidly slowing. I could tell that with each dodge, she was getting more and more worn down.

My Tesla cannon fired. The shot missed the Dashite I was aiming for as they swerved out of the way, but the blast radius did not. Both Misty and Plasma Charge were sent stumbling backwards, collapsing back to their rumps. I saw Tailchaser trying to rise, only to collapse back to the ground due to the large wound on her chest.

Icewind’s revolver cracked off a shot, the red beam of light slashing through the leg of the Dashite she was attacking. The Dashite gave a loud scream, dropping to the ground, blood pouring down her leg where the beam had penetrated her armour.

I loomed over the two Dashites that had fallen in the centre of the room, my eyes boring down on them hatefully. “You will come with us,” I ordered, stomping my hoof down. The whole building shook under the force.

The Dashite, Plasma Charge, cast a glance at all his companions before letting his eyes dart towards the window set into the wall beside him. “Like fuck we will, freak!” His hind hooves shot out, bucking me and the chest as he launched himself into the air, his rifle firing off a couple blasts at Firestreak as he rocketed towards the window. “Run!” he shouted to the other Dashites, his head bowed as he smashed through the glass, broken shards flying out and falling to the street below like glittering rain.

Misty shot up into the air as well, her hooves scooping up the collapsed form of Tailchaser before shooting out the window after Plasma Charge. The Dashite Icewind had shot, blocked off from the window, staggered to her hooves, frantically pushing past Icewind and rushing down the hall towards the fire escape.

“Damn it! Firestreak! After the Dashtes! Vapour Trail, tend to Lightning! Horrigan!” She whirled around, pointing her hoof at me before gesturing to the hallway the last Dashite had rushed down. “After her!”

Without bothering to acknowledge her order, I sprang forwards, charging after the pegasus. My body slammed against the narrow hallways walls as I ran, smashing off large chunks of the wall and sending debris spraying through the air like shrapnel. Up ahead of me, I saw the Dashite whip around a corner and start rushing up the stairs, clearly trying to escape via the way we’d gotten in.

Growling, I bounded forwards, the whole tower shaking as I pounded against the floor. My EFS locked on the Dashite through the walls, my Tesla cannon firing off blasts of searing light. I heard a frightened eep as the pegasus dove forwards, nearly getting blown apart by my attack as she stumbled on her wounded leg.

I smashed through the corner of the wall and onto the stairs, my sides scratching against the walls of the narrow staircase as I broke into a full on gallope, sparks shooting from where metal slid against metal. I fired another blast from my Tesla cannon, this time obliterating the floor of the top story of the building. The pegasus dashed forwards, their wings sweeping them off the ground just long enough to jump the gap before their wings gave out and they were forced to drop back to the ground and keep running.

I leapt the gap myself in a single bound, more of the ground crumbling away under my armoured hooves as I gained on the scrambling Dashite. The pegasus gave a frightened scream and fired off a blast of energy from her rifle towards me, only for me to easily swerve out of the way, my huge form crashing through another wall to avoid the shot before breaking back into the hallway. My head lowered, the top of my armoured helmet scraping across the roof, causing chunks of the ceiling to fall away. The Dashite had to jump back and forth as bits of roof tile crashed down towards her.

I saw the pegasus bolt up the final steps of the building and towards the still open hatch leading to the roof. Knowing that once she got outside she could fly off before I could reach her, I tensed my legs and beat my wings hard at my sides, ramming myself upwards towards the roof. The already crumbling structure easily gave way to my strength, my body smashing straight through the ceiling and into the blinding light of day above. My hooves scratched at the flat rooftop, seeking purchase as I hauled myself upwards.

The pegasus gave another frightened scream as they were confronted by my immense form, staggering up onto the roof, only to see me ripping myself free from the building, my wings flaring open and bits of rubble flying in all directions as the last of my body burst through the roof's surface. The Dashite’s wings shot out as she took to the air, catching a current of wind and hoping to dive off the building to escape me.

My tail flashed out faster than she could dodge, catching the pegasus across the withers and slamming them down to the roof. The Dashite cried out, the black paint on their armour being scratched to hell as they were battered against the roof of the skyscraper. They staggered back up, only for my tail to lash out again, sending them staggering to the ground.

I bounded forwards, my hooves stretching out to crush their skull. The Dashite rolled, narrowly avoiding the lethal attack. She rolled to a stop, twisting around and firing a beam of magical energy into my face. The blast did little but bounce off my armour.

Snarling, I rushed forwards again, my huge, metal-clad hoof swinging out and pinning the pegasus to the ground. I loomed over her, my hoof pressing down harder, the surface of the roof cracking below the pressure. “You should have stayed Enclave,” I growled at her factually, my red eyes boring into hers. Her bleeding hooves beat frantically at mine, trying desperately to pull herself free. She stared up at me, her eyes pleading behind her visor. “Instead, I’m going to show you what it’s like to be a fucking corpse.”

Her beating hooves slowed as her eyes landed on the Enclave insignia emblazoned on my hulking pauldron, completed with a set of outstretched wings. “W-wait… Secret Service… Prance?”

I swung my hoof, sending the mare toppling head over hoof across the roof, denting up her armour. She gave a loud yelp of pain as she came to a stop, crumpled into the corner of the roof. She looked up at me, one of her helmets glass eye covers shattered and blood seeping from her body as she tried to push herself back.

I advanced on her, my tesla cannon glowing brighter as I readied myself to fire upon her. I could feel all my hairs stand on end as the deadly weapon charged up. “Goodbye traitor. It’s time to die.”

“Wait! Wait, please!” The dashite pleaded, crawling back a little, her wide, fearful eyes visible behind her broken visor. Her hooves reached up, quickly ripping off her Enclave helmet and tossing it aside, revealing her yellow mane and white hide. Blood drizzled from the side of her mouth and one of her eyes, green in colour, had been bruised badly. “Prance… I-It’s- It's me…”

I froze, my eyes locked on the pegasus mare in front of me. I felt my breath catch slightly in my throat. “Skylight…” I breathed, my eyes focusing on her features as I tried to recognize a face that I hadn’t seen in a very long time. The face of a pony that I had been told was very much dead. All my muscles had gone ridged, my whole body locking in place as if I no longer knew how to move. “You’re… Alive?”

Slowly, Skylight pulled herself back up, trembling as she stood on her injured hoof. “I’m alive!? How are you al-” she paused, staring up at me in horror, her voice trembling. I hated the look she gave me. As if she were staring at a monster. I suppose she was. “What have they done to you…?”

“You’ve gone Dashite?” I groused, my momentary shock getting replaced by anger. “What do you think you‘re doing, associating with traitors!?”

Skylight winced. “Horrigan, listen to me. The Enclave, they're bad. Really bad. They killed innocent ponies for no reason! I watched it in the battle for Friendship City. I saw them fire upon their own soldiers!” She paused, her emerald eyes looking me over as if trying to see if I was following anything she was saying. “The Lightbringer stopped them for a while, but they’re on the rise again, and we know what they’re planning. We can stop them, for good this time!”

I could feel the muscles in my chest clenching. “You don’t know what you’re fucking talking about,” I shot back, taking a step towards her. “The Enclave has always tried to do what’s best for the wasteland. The ponies here have corrupted you. You aren’t thinking straight.”

A long sigh escaped Skylight's cracked, bleeding lips. “Horrigan, please. I’m thinking clearer than I ever did when I worked for the Enclave. For the first time in my whole life I saw past all those lies they were feeding us with! They’re pulling the wool over our eyes! Making us think they’re trying to make the world better. But they’re lying to you, Prance. Everything we ever believed when above the clouds was just a giant lie!” She extended her hoof out to me, as if offering for me to join her. Join her in what, I didn’t know. “You could come with me? We have a plan to take out the Enclave. A good one. There’s this pony. A Stable Dweller. They’re leading us. We could try and help you.”

At those words, I took a step back, my eyes hardening. “If you think I would ever betray the Enclave to terrorists, then you don’t know me at all,” I growled, my massive Tesla cannon once more charging up.

“Prance, wait! Please!” Skylight pleaded again, trying to scamper away from me. “You’re making a mistake. Prance!”

“No. I’m not,” I affirmed, taking another advancing step towards her. “The Enclave has ordered your execution. And I will obey them.”

Five beams of magical energy flashed out from behind me, singeing the back of my helmet. I spun around, my eyes locking on the Dashites Plasma Charge and Misty who were hovering a few feet away above us. Tailchaser and their pursuer, Firestreak were nowhere to be seen.

“Get away from her, you alicorn freak!” Plasma Charge shouted at me, shooting off another energy round into my head. The blast hit never hit me as I let my horn charge up and create a magical shield between it and me.

I growled at them both, bending my legs and locking onto the two flying Dashites with SATS. These were the ponies that had corrupted Skylight. “Big mistake, traitors!”

Before I had time to fire, Skylight rushed at me, her hooves pushing at my Tesla cannon and sending my shot wide as the huge beam of arching, blue energy flashed out. Plasma Charge and Misty swerved out of the way of the wide shot, swooping down at me and blasting at my hide with their weapons.

I dodged the first volley of blasts, my own cannon glowing brightly for a second before firing off a beam of light in their direction. Both assailing Dashites swerved, their wings beating frantically as they tried to stay aloft as the huge shockwave of my weapons discharge slammed into them.

“No, Stop! Don’t hurt them!” Skylight was shouting, though I couldn’t tell if it was directed at me or her traitorous friends.

I swung around, my tail coiling around Skylight's neck just long enough to reef her into the air before hurtling her backwards, sending her once more crashing back to the ground. No sooner had I thrown her down, than I was spinning back towards the two other pegasi, my hooves flashing out and knocking Misty right from the sky. She screamed, thudding against the ground as my strong hooves crashed into her, one of her hind hooves snapping as it collided with the rough surface.

“Skylight! Fly! Get out of here!” Plasma Charge hollered, his wings flapping as he shot between me and the fallen Dashite. “Go now!” His hooves scooped Misty up just in time to save her from being crushed by my hooves as I went for another strike.

“No! I can’t leave Prance!” Skylight shouted, her injured hoof buckling as she tried to pull herself from the ground and rejoin the fight.

“Who the fuck is Prance!” Plasma Charge scowled back at her. He did a flip over my head, only narrowly avoiding another blast from my Tesla cannon. “but we need to go! Tailchaser needs us! She needs medical help! I don't think she's going to make it!” He flapped over to her, nudging her back towards the edge of the roof with his hoof. “Go! GO NOW!”

Skylight took one look back at me as I pivoted to face them, my Tesla cannon already charging up for another blast. “I’ll find a way to fix this, okay? I promise, Prance,” Then she dove off the roof, her wings flaring out and catching the wind as she swooped off, Plasma Charge and Misty shooting off behind her.

My wings shot open at my sides, my legs tensing as I prepared to launch into the air and give pursuit. Skylight looked back at me just as I jumped into SATS, my magically enhanced aim locking onto Skylight’s form. 100% chance to hit. No need to give chase, I could shoot them down from here.

I lay there, sitting in the magically induced stillness of SATS for a long moment, simply staring at Skylight. With time froze and her head turned, it felt as if she was staring into me. I cued up two shots to her head, then one to each of the Dashites beside her. It would be so easy to kill them all now.

I froze again.

Damn it, why couldn’t I just take the fucking shot.

With a small grunt, I dropped SATS, leaving the strange, magic induced stillness and watching as the three traitors flew off, dipping down below the crooked buildings and out of sight.

Not a second later, Icewind burst out onto the roof, out of breath; her mane frazzled. She looked up at me, murder in her eye. “Please tell me you at least got one of them!” She demanded, marching over to me.

I turned back to her, looking her over with calculating eyes. “One of them was Skylight?” Icewind froze at the blunt comment. I looked at her for a second longer, before snarling. “You and Colonel Thunderbolt told me she was dead.”

Icewind hesitated. “We must have been… mistaken…” Her gaze turned cold. “Don’t tell me that you let her go.”

“She… escaped,” I rumbled back hesitantly. “It will not happen again.”

“It had better not,” Icewind agreed darkly. She turned, marching back into the crumbling building. I followed close behind.

“What happened up there? Did you kill one of those fuckers!” Firestreak growled as we trotted back into the room we had first encountered the Dashites. She was standing over the crumpled form of Lightning, Vapour Trail crouched down below her, clutching to Lightning's ridged body tightly with his hooves, tears streaming down his un-helmeted face.

“They got away,” Icewind said coolly. "They managed to get to the roof and fly off before Horrigan could catch up to them.”

I cast her a surprised look. That was not what had happened at all, and she knew it.

Firestreak growled and stomped her hooves in frustration. “Fuckers. Those dashites made fucking fools out of us. I’m going to flay them a-fucking-live the next time we cross paths for what they did to Lightning!” She slammed her armoured hooves down on the ground, cracking the cement floor. “We need to go after them! I’m not letting those cunts get away with killing one of our own!”

Icewind nodded. “I said it already. Failure here is not an option. The Colonel needs those Dashites dead. They pose a direct threat to the Enclave and their interests.”

Vapour gave a loud moan, clutching to Lightning cold form as if afraid we were going to try to drag him away from her. “Th-th-those b-b-bastards are going to d-d-die for this,” He seethed, pushing his face into the crook of Lightnings neck. I had never seen the stuttering pegasus so angry before. Nor had I seen him so ridden with grief “I-I-I’m going to fucking k-kill them!”

“At least we got one of them,” Firestreak harrumphed. “That Dashite, what the fuck was her name, Trailchaser. She’s not going to last much longer, not after that blast from Horrigan’s cannon. I give her a day at most before she dies of her wound.”

“They’ll probably seek shelter in a nearby settlement,” Icewind remarked, trotting over to the shattered window and looking out at the city beyond. “They’ll likely think they’re safe from us there and seek out medical help for their ally.”

“Then what the fuck are we wating for,” Firestreak snapped, a burst of fire erupting from the tips of her flamers. “Let’s go roasts those fuck alive! I don’t care if we have to burn down every settlement in Manhattan to do it. Those Dashites are fucking dead!”

Icewind gave a nod. “For once, we agree. Gather your bearings. We will rendezvous on the roof in ten minutes.”

Firestreak nodded, straightening up a little and breathing heavily, clearly trying to release some of her rage. She trotted over, reaching out and trying to pull Vapour Trail up to his hooves. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

“No!” Vapour shrieked, pushing her away and clutching to Lightning's cold body tighter. “I-I won’t l-l-leave her here!”

“I said get the fuck up! That’s an order!” Again, Firestreak tried to pull him away, only for Vapour to brush her off, sobbing more. Firestreak growled. “Fucking hell, Vapour. Move. Now!”

Icewind put a hoof on the trembling pegasus’ shoulder. “We’ll give her a proper pegasus funeral,” She said softly, before pulling away and looking up at me. “Horrigan! Carry Lightning's body.”

I gave a nod, bending down and picking her up. There were many things in life I didn’t understand, but the death of a soldier was not one of them. I was something I understood well. Our final funeral was our reward for obedience.

“Now come on!” Firestreak groused, pulling at Vapour again. This time, Vapour didn’t resist as she dragged him out the door.

I waited a moment, my eyes glaring at the doorway and my ears listening to the sound of Firestreak and Vapour trotting away. “You lied to them?” I rumbled the second I was sure Firestreak and Vapour were out of ear shot.

Icewind glanced up at me, cocking an ear to one side. “Excuse me?”

“About Skylight. You said I didn’t manage to catch up with her,” I elaborated bluntly. “You know full well that I did. You lied to your soldiers. Why?”

Icewind scowled. “I lied to them for you,” She shot back, her voice coming out in a low hiss. “Do you want them learning that you let a Dashite go because you knew her? They’d have you branded yourself in seconds.”

“They wouldn’t brand me,” I responded assuredly, snarling at her little. I was repulsed that she would suggest such a thing. Who was she to talk anyway? Being a Dashite herself. “The Enclave only brands traitors.”

“I think you’d be surprised how willing the Enclave is to consider somepony a traitor,” Icewind retorted, shifting her saddlebags slightly to reveal the brand emblazoned across her flanks. A second later, and it was once more obscured from sight. As soon as they find out you let her go, then they’ll consider you the enemy.”

“She escaped,” I corrected her, huffing slightly. I didn't let her go and I didn’t appreciate being compared to a Dashite. I was nothing like those vile traitors.

“Do you think that matters?” Icewind hissed at me, narrowing her eyes. “You want to know the real truth about the Enclave, Horrigan? The truth is that you either make no mistakes, or you end up with your cutie mark burned off and your head on a pike. There is no middle ground. That is the Enclave’s price. Perfect obedience or penance. Which are you?”

I recoiled slightly as if she had stabbed me, my glass eyes glowing a darker shade of red as I glowered at her. “I obey. I always obey.”

“Good,” Icewind scowled, spinning back around and flicking her tail as she began trotting out the doorway and into the hallway beyond. “Now come. We have some Dashites to hunt.”

Author's Note

Wrote this in a single sitting. It honestly amazes me how fast I can write a chapter when they aren't the 25+ thousand words that comprise the chapters of my other FO:E fic.

Tell me your thoughts on the story! And I hope you enjoyed!

Fallout: Equestria belongs to Kkat