Fallout: Equestria - Prance Horrigan

by dystopia8

Rating: mature
Tags: Other, Original Character, Profanity, Adventure, Violence, Crossover, Fallout, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe
Length: 112431

The Enclave told Horrigan that life below the clouds was a nightmare, and he believed them. Then he went below the clouds, now he's the nightmare

When the Enclave commands, obey. Do not question. Obey. Do not fight back. Obey.

Prance Horrigan thought it was just going to be another mission like all the others. He had done hundreds of missions for the Enclave, why should this one be any different? The amount of troops Colonel Harbinger was bringing along was a little out of the ordinary, but that wasn't really any of his business. When the Grand Pegasus Enclave ordered him to do something, Prance obeyed.

Horrigan wasn't much for asking questions. He simply did what he was told. It was easier that way. The world doesn't make sense a lot of the time, but following orders are easy. Orders are simple. Orders make sense. Duty, Honour, courage, obedience. Prance served, and when the Enclave commanded, Prance would kill. That was just the way things were. That was the way things had always been. The way things always would be.

But this was not just another mission like all the others. This was the beginnings of something much, much larger. The beginnings of a war that would shape the wasteland forever and blast the Enclave right from the sky. It was a mission that was doomed to end in disaster and balefire. Four Pegasi would soon enter Maripony to confront the Goddess, but only one of those ponies would make it out alive... if you can still call the thing that was pulled from the rubble alive.

This is their story. The story of how they became the monster. The story of how they became the villain of the peace. And the story of the terrible tragedy that would befall them.

A take on Fallout 2's Frank Horrigan in the world of Fallout: Equestria
(Warning, contains spoilers for Fallout Equestria.)
Fallout: Equestria was created by Kkat, and can be found here.

Published 2021-12-29 03:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-08-01 22:32:55 UTC

Prologue: Peace in Our Time

There is only one thing in life I have always known to be a certainty. If you obey, everything will be alright.

I have been in the Grand Pegasus Enclave longer than I care to admit, and admittedly longer than I probably even knew. It was the only life I had ever known, or ever would know for that matter. Duty, honour, courage, obedience. These were the standards in which I had held myself to while serving under the command of Colonel Harbinger, and they were the standards in which I intended to take to my very grave.

Over the years I had done hundreds of missions for the Enclave. Reconnaissance, battles, tracking down Pegasi turned dashite, whatever the Enclave required, I was there to serve. I never asked questions, never was much for talk at all really. If I was told to do something, I just did it. It was as simple as that. Life is easier that way. The world doesn't make sense a lot of the time, but following orders are easy.

For the Enclave, I had gone below our saviour, the great cloud layer, a few times, though only ever for short missions. Prolonged exposure to the radiation and taint below the clouds was something I greatly intended to avoid, and the Enclave had laws about ponies that went below the clouds. The last thing that I wanted was to become a dashite. There is no greater shame in my opinion, than being a traitor. So that was the rule. Don't go below the cloud layer unless ordered to, and defiantly don't stay down there for long.

But today… Today was an exception to that rule.

I pulled my insectoid helmet off the bench beside me and expertly secured it to my head, completing my suit of fully enclosed, black Enclave power armour. I stood straight for a moment, my head held high as I let the heavy metal places shift properly into position around me before I once more leaned down and retrieved my large Novasurge rifle.

I took another moment to make sure it was properly secured to my battle saddle before finally taking a step back, turning to look out the large window of the Thunderhead at the vile wasteland below.

What a waste, I thought to myself, my concealed eyes lingering on a particularly nasty looking patch of radiation. What an absolute waste.

We were currently flying over the ruins of a place that had once been known as Splendid Valley. I had seen a picture of the place once, lush and full of life. It looked nothing light that now. Now, the twisted hellscape was pitted with holes, entrances to more elaborate systems of tunnels created by mutant abominations called Hellhounds. The trees that had survived the war survived in the form of dead, withered, charred husks, more akin to the fractured rib cage of a dead, ripped open animal than actual trees. Far below, I could see a glowing crater where the megaspell had hit the valley two hundred years ago, glowing with a sinister looking green.

Clearly the Enclave had been right, the wasteland was beyond saving.

“Well look at you,” A chipper voice spoke up, inciting me to turn my head to glance behind me where I could see a smaller pegasus mare in grey enclave fatigues that was trotting up to me. She had a windswept yellow mane had been pinned back behind her hat to keep out of her green eyes and her white coat that seemed to practically gleam in the artificial light of the Thunderhead. “All dressed up and ready to take on another mission… The power armour looks good on you.”

“The power armour will serve its intended purpose as it always does, Skylight” I noted stoically, pivoting fully from the window to face her. “You have seen me in my armour many times. My appearance should come as no surprise to you.”

Skylight gave me a flat, but playful look. “Admittedly, I think I see you in your armour more than I see you. I can’t remember the last time I actually saw your face,” She snarked, trotting a little closer to me and booping me on the tip of my armoured muzzle with a hoof. I just stared back at her, unflinching from the touch. She gave a small smirk and roll of her eyes at my lack of response before lowering her hoof and tapping it against the symbol of a circle of stars surrounding a capital E with a pair of pegasus wings reaching out from either side of it on my power armours left breastplate. “But I was referring more to this. Congrats on the Promotion, Prance Horrigan. Grand Pegasus Enclave Secret Service. You earned it.”

“My promotion will allow me to further aid the Enclave in its mission, yes,” I agreed flatly, a small flare of pride swelling inside my chest if not in my voice. “I am eager to serve fully at Colonel Harbingers side.”

Skylight nickered at me. “You really are the poster pony of the Enclave, huh?”

I narrowed my eyes a little, unsure what exactly she meant by that. “What are you doing here?” I demanded, my helmeted gaze sweeping over her. “The last I heard, you were supposed to be preparing to head for Canterlot Castle.”

“I finished early. I’ll be leaving in a few moments,” she swiftly answered. “I just thought I’d quickly drop by to see you off. First mission as Harbingers second in command is pretty special…” She glanced down, shuffling her hooves together nervously for a long moment before stealing herself and glancing back up. “Hey, uh... After all of this is done and we’re back safe above the clouds, do you want to catch lunch with me some time...? When you’re off duty, of course.”

I raised an eyebrow at her, though I knew she couldn’t see the action from behind my helmet. “Catch lunch?”

Skylight opened her mouth to respond, but before she could a different voice spoke up, drawing our attention to the entrance of the room where another pegasus mare, this one clad in a full suit of dark Enclave carapace power armour like me, stood at attention. “Horrgan, Colonel Harbinger wants you ready for deployment, now.”

I quickly jumped to attention, my wing snapping up into a salute. “Thank you Ambrosia. I’ll report to him right away,” I turned back to glance at Skylight. “We can continue this meeting upon completion of our objectives.”

Skylight rolled her eyes a little at that. “Yeah yeah,” her face flushed a little for reasons I was not quite sure. “Love you, Prance.”

“Indeed,” I grunted stoically, marching to the doorway to stand beside Ambrosia. The metal door slid shut behind me, blocking my view of Skylight.

I could hear Ambrosia chuckling softly from behind her power armour. “Quite the mare you got there.”

“She doesn’t work for me,” I stated factually, not quite sure what she was getting at. “Skylight serves under Colonel Thunderbolt.”

“Huh, it really is true what they say about you, isn’t it,” Ambrosia nickered as she began leading me down a long corridor to the Raptor boarding bay. “Most loyal Pegasus of the whole Enclave. I wonder if what they say about your combat abilities are true as well…”

“This is a peace meeting,” I informed her as we rounded a corridor and passed a few Enclave soldiers that were hurrying to get into their own power armour. We weren't expecting a fight, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. “There should be no violence necessary.”

“Of Course not,” Ambrosia grimaced, glancing away briefly. “But still, I look forward to getting to fight by your side in future battles.” The two of us continued walking in silence for a bit, the only noise being that of our metal clad hooves as we marched onwards. After a long moment, Ambrosia once more broke the silence. “So why love the Enclave as much as you do? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Enclave, but it takes a certain amount of passion to have the dedication to it that you do.”

I glanced over at her for a second, my expression unreadable from behind the insectoid helmet of my power armour. Finally, I just grunted and kept walking. Ambrosia paused for a second at the response, before chuckling to herself and skipping a little to keep stride with me.

Only a few moments later, we were boarding the Raptor. Another fully armoured Enclave trooper had joined us as we stood at attention, hooves firmly planted and left wing raised to our brows as Colonel Harbinger trotted on board. I had seen Harbinger hundreds of times, having served most of my missions for the Enclave under him, yet his elegance never seemed to disappoint me. He was a stately pegasus with a dusk-coloured hide. His barding, grey in colour, held a sophisticated, sleek, military elegance to it and his very presence seemed to demand respect.

“At ease,” Harbinger ordered, coming to a slow stop before us as the Raptors entrance slid shut and the large airship began to break away from the Thunderhead. “You all know the objective?”

“Sir, yes sir,” We shouted, our voices synced enough that had one not paid close enough attention, it would have sounded like a singular, unified voice.

“Good,” Harbinger cooed, a small smile across his muzzle. He turned, facing towards the head of the Raptor. “Pilot, take us in towards Maripony.”

I could feel the Raptor tilt beneath my hooves as it angled down in a quick descent towards the looming structure. I glanced out the window, first at the direction we had come from, making out the visage of the massive Thunderhead and the hundreds of Raptor ships that swarmed around it in a unified fashion. I shifted my gaze, letting my eyes land on our destination. Maripony, a massive looming structure of metal suspended over a gaping schism in the ground. A baleful green glow emanated out from beneath it, casting the whole building in a vile, imposing light. I saw hundreds of alicorns gathering around the building, their horns glowing and their gaze turned upwards to watch us as our ship descended towards them. They were all just standing and staring at us mindlessly.

Mutant abominations, I thought to myself grimly. Those Alicorns freaked even me out. I knew this was a peace meeting, but a part of me hoped that we slaughtered every last one of those Muties.

There was a loud thunking sound as the Enclave Raptor touched down upon the jagged landscape before the monolithic structure of Maripony. There was a hiss of steam as the metal, sealed doorway once more slid open, giving us access to the hellscape beyond.

Ambrosia and I existed first, our weapons drawn and ready for any would be attackers. I glared one of the alicorns down, the muscles in my withers tensing beneath my armour as I waited for them to attack. The alicorns however, seemed to have little interest in approaching us. They all kept their distance, their slitted gaze glaring at us stoically.

“They give you a run for your bits on who’s more emotionless,” Ambrosia quipped at me, her own gaze locked on the nearest Alicorn, a tall green mutant with golden slitted eyes.

“Do not joke on the job,” I grunted back, not even bothering to look at her. “We are here to keep Colonel Harbinger protected, nothing more.”

Ambrosia gave a nod of understanding before shutting up.

Harbinger exited the Raptor next, the third Enclave trooper marching close behind him, their own weapon raised and ready to fire at a moments notice. Finally, at the sight of Colonel Harbinger exiting the Raptor, an alicorn approached us, this one a large Purple alicorn with pitch black eyes.

“You are Colonel Harbinger of the Enclave?” The alicorn asked. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

“Indeed. I am here to speak with the goddess,” Harbinger smiled, looking up at the mutant. I could see his wings shift slightly at his sides, his dusk-coloured feathers brushing us against a magical energy revolver he had tucked under his coat.

“She is expecting you,” The alicorn nodded, turning and leading us towards the massive, crumbling building.

Colonel Harbinger took point, calmly striding forwards as the rest of us quickly fell in step behind him, our weapons slowly sweeping back and forth. Two more alicorns, these ones a midnight-blue in colour, swooped down from above and taking up defensive positions behind us.

The alicorns lead us straight into the heart of Maripony. We trotted through dark, warped steel hallways, swarming with dozens of alicorn drones before finally entering into a massive chamber that lay at the very centre of the building. The chamber was filled with six huge vats, though only two still remained fully intact, falling debris having destroyed them long ago. The vats at one point had been interconnected by wires and catwalks, and the two still intact vats were filled with a stange, churning liquid that glowed with an eerie luminescents.

Taint, I remembered the file on Maripony reading.

Long since broken arcane apparatuses dangled from the cracked, semi caved in ceiling and long catwalks ringed around the massive vats while others, mostly broken, extended above them. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, sludge and rubble, the jagged mounds of debris casting twisted, evil looking shadows across the chambers already warped walls.

My eyes instantly went to the central vat, swirls of multi-coloured light seeping from the sloshing stew within. The giant warped face of what looked to have been a once blue unicorn mare had emerged from the depths of the vat, small motes of other ponies faces squirmed and bursting across the sludgy surface of the goddess like puss filled zits before sinking back into her. Tendrils of inky fluid burbled over the side of the vat, forming strange, grotesque hooves and tentacles, as if the goddess was filled to the brim with drowning ponies trying to break free from her slimy embrace.

To my surprise, the goddess was not alone in the chamber. Another mare stood before the Goddess. Well, perhaps not stood before her. The mare was floating, her small horn glowing as she held herself telekinetically over the sloshing vats. She was a grey mare, small in size with a ruffed up brown mane and tail. She wore Stable barding over her body and I could make out the image of a pipbuck on her flank.

She seemed to be backing away from the goddess, her magic having just tossed some strange object into the murky vat of taint below her. Was it a book she had thrown in? It was hard to tell. Whatever it had been however, it was gone now. I doubted anything could survive being submerged in that much taint.

The mare backpedaled, frantically moving away from the Goddess. Their gaze was locked on whatever they had just tossed into the taint, I doubted the mare even saw us enter.

Thump.

The mare backed into me, her backside pressing up against the large metal plating of my power armour. The mare gave a startled eep, the levitation magic around her horn imploding and dropping her knee deep into the mucky lake of taint below her. She spun around, her eyes wide with fear as she looked up at us, seeing her only exit blocked off.

I narrowed my eyes at the small mare, my Novasurge rifle shifting to aim down at her. I didn’t trust wastelanders. Any sudden moves and I would vaporize her where she stood.

Colonel Harbinger however, ignored the frantic mare, his gaze focused on the monstrous form of the Goddess before us. He had more important things to deal with than wasteland savages. “Greetings, Goddess,” Harbinger called out, seeming to be completely unfazed by the impressive light show currently spilling off of the Goddess. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Harbinger, and I am here on behalf of the Enclave.”

At his words, all three of us stomped down on the ground with our hooves, our chest swelling and our heads raising in pride. We were the Grand Pegasus Enclave, and at last, we had come to fulfill our liberation of the Wasteland.

Much like Harbingers ignorance of the unicorn mare, the Goddess seemed to have more important things on her mind…

{{CHILDREN! FLEE!!!}}

This was not the reaction we had anticipated from the Goddess, but I understood her fear. The Enclave was not something to defy.

“There is no need to flee,” Harbinger calmly assured the abomination. “We mean you no harm. In fact, I have come to offer you an alliance between the Enclave and the Goddess…”

Below us, I saw the small mare freeze at that, her jaw dropping open in shock. She stared back and forth between us and the Goddess, an expression of sheer horror across her face. “Wait… what?!”

{{FLY, MY CHILDREN!! SAVE YOURSELVES!!}}

My gaze shifted back briefly to look up at the Goddess as she lashed about in her bubbling vat. Odd. I had expected the great and powerful Goddess to be more defiant and brave.

“We have recently become aware of what the pony named Red Eye is doing,” Harbinger continued, his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to enrapture the Goddesses attention. It was not like ponies to ignore the Grand Pegasus Enclave like this. “We know he opposes you and his plans to overthrow you. His intentions with the towers pose a clear and imminent danger to the Enclave and its citizens. His intentions are nothing short of an act of war.”

I saw the mare below us prancing back and forth, her head whipping to and fro. Likely they were trying to spot some sort of escape route. I shifted my position slightly, making sure to block her off as much as possible. No pony would leave here until Harbinger said so.

“But the Enclaves military is…” Harbinger paused for a second, allowing himself a small chuckle, “...let us just say ‘formidable’. Should we combine our efforts, I have no doubts that we can deal with Red Eye and eliminate the threat he poses in its entirety. Swiftly… And With the threat of Red Eye and his plots wiped away,” he paused again, this time letting a smug grin stretch across his face. “You can rule all of Equestria below unchallenged. And we will all know peace in our time.”

At those words, the small mare below us broke into a full on gallop, their horn glowing as they launched themselves up to one of the catwalks and began rushing for what appeared to be an observation room on the far wall of the chamber.

Shit! She was probably going to try and warn other wasteland savages about what she had heard! I locked onto her with my rifle, waiting for harbinger to give the order to execute her.

“What is she doing?” Harbinger asked, his eyes darting to glare at the stable pony as if seeing her for the first time. “Ambrosia, after her!”

Jumping into action at once, Ambrosia spread her wings and launched herself into the air, swooping after the mare at top speed. I let my aim on the Stable mare shift away. Harbinger had commanded another to do the deed.

Harbinger followed the chase for a second with his eyes before turning his gaze back to the Goddess. There was no doubt in our minds that Ambrosia would deal with the wastelander quickly. Unicorns weren’t nearly strong enough to stand a chance against the Enclaves' technological might and intense military training. Especially an inexperienced stable dweller.

“As I was saying,” Harbinger sighed, returning to the more important topic at hoof. “I think you will find the terms of our alliance to be most beneficial to you.”

Across from us, I saw Ambrosia land in front of the door to the observation room. “Hold!” She barked at the Stable dweller, folding in her wings as she trotted through the doorway and out of sight. “I said hold! As in freeze right where you're fucking standing or I’ll turn you into a glowing pile of soup!”

{{CHILDREN! FLY NOW! GET TO SAFETY!!}}

The other Enclave trooper standing with me cast a nervous glance at me before gulping and turning to Harbinger. “I think we should get out of here, now.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Harbinger snarled, glaring at the armoured trooper before returning his gaze to the Goddess and letting his smile once more settle across his face. “As I said, there is no reason to flee. The Enclave has come as allies. We have no intentions of harming you or your children. Indeed our forces are great, but-”

{{GREAT!?}}

At that seemingly specific word, the Goddess finally shifted her looming head to glare down at us, her mouth twisting into impossible shapes as her voice echoed around inside of our minds. We all took a step back, taken by surprise by the sudden amount of power and hate that seemed to surge towards us from her presence alone.

{{THE GREAT AND POWERFUL GODDESS DOES NOT FEAR YOUR ENCLAVE!}}

Then, as if she had once more forgotten about us entirely, she turned her monstrous gaze skyward, more zit-like pony forms trying to push their way from her shifting form as she once more began screeching for her children to escape.

“Colonel, we really should get out of here,” The Enclave Trooper beside me repeated, this time a loud tremor traveling through their voice. “I- I don’t like this. This isn’t going according to plan…”

“You will stand your ground until Colonel Harbinger tells you otherwise,” I snarled, turning to face him. The glowing eyes of my insectoid helmet seemed to cut straight through the subordinates soul and my bladed tail swished back and forth behind me menacingly. "Now fly steady!"

In front of us, I could tell that Colonel Harbinger was beginning to lose it a little as well. He stomped his fore hooves on the ground in front of him, his eyes narrowing at the Goddess. “Goddess, I demand that you answer me at once!” He ordered, his voice booming loud enough to echo around the chamber.

Instantly, tendrils of taint shot from the glowing vat, slamming into all three of us and pinning us to the wall. I felt the Enclave power armour around me sizzle and meld to my flesh at the very touch.

{{YOU ARE NOT THE MASTER OF THE MIGHTY GODDESS! MY FINAL ACTS SHALL NOT BE STAND IDLY BY WHILE LITTLE PONIES DEMAND ME OBEY THEM!!!}}

I felt the slimy tendrils around me constrict, burning away at my armour. My built in geiger counter went haywire, click click clicking faster and faster as I began taking in more rads than I thought was even possible.

Beside me, I saw Harbinger scream, the front of his withers burned open by the deadly taint. My armoured subordinate had already dropped to the floor, their head now a pulped steaming mess of bubbling flesh.

I gave a loud shout, my Novasurge rifle flaring and blasting through the thick, sludgy appendage. The goddesses tendril around me recoiled, dropping me back to the slanted catwalk with a loud thud. I dove forwards, my wings flapping at my sides as I rushed to aid my fallen leader, only to find that all my feathers had been burned away, leaving my wings as useless stumps.

Another tendril of taint lashed out, catching me across the chest and sending me flying backwards. I slammed into the wall, cracks shooting up the crumbling structure from the impact. I struggled to regain my balance when the tendril rammed into me again, this time wrapping tight around my hind hoof and reefing me up into the air. I struggled, trying to twist around to fire at that tendril too. It didn’t work, my bulky armour making bending that far impossible.

I felt myself swing out over open air. I glanced down, making out the glowing taint of one of the vats below me. The squirming shapes of ponies writhed within the sickly sludge, their mucky hooves reaching out desperately as if wanting to drag me down into the depths with them.

The tendril around me released and I was sent plummeted downwards into the taint, my featherless wings beating at the air frantically as I tried to take flight. a scream escaped my lips, and for the first time in years, I felt true fear grip me.

My eyes clenched shut seconds before I plunged into the gunk. I could feel taint surging through every opening in my armour, warping my flesh, distorting my bones. Dark fluids burbled up into my helmet, obscuring my vision and forcing its way down my mouth and nose. I gasped out, only for more taint to surge down my throat.

I thrashed, struggling to swim out of the vile substance, only for the writhing hooves to reach out and drag me under. I struggled a moment more, pushed onwards by nothing else but willpower and determination as my limbs began to dissolve. Then, with one final gasp for breath, I was consumed by the churning waves.

There was a loud bloom of baleful green light and a loud rumbling boom comparable only to that of a thunder clap as the looming monolith of Maripony was blown apart by the expanding green mushroom cloud. The rising cloud could be seen for hundreds of miles, ash and radioactive dust getting kicked up into the air around it, filling the whole of Splendid Valley in a dark cloud of ash before that too was blasted away by the coinciding shockwave that rippled across the landscape.

Huge cracks spiderwebbed out across the desolate expanse, radioactive green light spilling from them and already crumbling ruins collapsing down into the ruptured terrain. Fire raced across the sky, vaporizing all nearby pegasi and alicorns in seconds. Their screams were cut short as their bodies were rendered to little more than charred bones. Raptors were torn from the sky, bursting apart and raining debris down upon the valley as pegasi screamed and tried to pull themselves from the deathtraps. Even the hulking Thunderhead was blown to shreds, its massive hull crashing down towards the desolation below.

The explosion raged on for minutes, balefire racing across Splendid Valley and ash raining down upon the areas beyond. When it finally stopped, when the looming green cloud finally dissipated into the night, everything went silent. Nothing moved, because nothing was left alive.

Author's Note

I know, I know. What am I doing, starting another FO:E fic while still writing my other one? But don't worry, this fic should be significantly shorter, both in the amount of chapters and in chapter length, so hopefully that should make writing both fairly easy.

I am still surprised to this day that no fic I'm aware of has tried to tackle the character of Frank Horrigan in the world of Fallout: Equestria. Welp, I decided it was time to make one. Enjoy and have a great day.

Chapter I: The Nightmare of Metal and Flesh

“-ight, I know. Fuck. This place is a mess…”

“Watch your step. Who knows what kind of abominations still lurk down here.”

“Everything is dead. Nothing can survive an explosion like that.”

“Just get your fucking ass over here and help me lift this. I don’t like being here. Too many rads.”

“Shit, is that- fuck.”

“I’m surprised there’s even bones left… Rest in peace Colonel Harbinger. You served the Enclave well.”

“Fuck. Smells like rotting flesh over here…

“Whole place smells like that.”

“No, it’s worse over here… I think there might be a… What the fuck… take a look at this…”

“The hell is that thing?”

“Goddesses…! I think it’s still alive!”

Something shifted above me, rubble and debris falling away as sunlight streaked across my vision. The light burned at my retinas, searing pain throbbing across my whole body. I could feel jagged shards of metal cutting into my hide and the skin off my face felt as if it had been fully peeled away, revealing the exposed muscle and skull beneath. I tried to recoil from the stinging light, but my shattered, broken legs twisted awkwardly, leaving me paralyzed. My peeled lips twisted into a howl, a bloodcurdling sound forcing its way through my throat.

My flaring vision darkened as two blurry, black shapes moved into my line of sight, looking down at me with large, glowing eyes. One of the shapes pulled back at the sight of me, gagging and retching in disgust.

“Fucking hell… It’s hideous…” one of the two shapes grimaced. They leaned in closer, my hazy vision finally being able to make out the detail of their insectoid Enclave helmet. “The fuck is one of these things doing in our armour…”

They reached out, their armour clad hoof tracing the Enclave insignia emblazoned on my dented chestplate. I wanted to pull away, even the gentle touch feeling like a hammer blow to my gut. “Enclave Secret Service… What the hell… Prance Horrigan? Is that you!?”

I opened my mouth, my voice cracked and dry. I could feel blood dripping down my face, the exposed grotesque muscles on my face warping in sickly ways. “D-duty… Honour… Courage… Obedience…” the words crawled from my mouth on instinct, each syllable feeling like a knife sliding its way across my tongue. I pushed past the pain, raising my head up shakily to glare up at the two Enclave troopers defiantely as they continued to stare down at me in aghast horror. “All Hail, the Enclave…”

I toppled over, my head cracking against the broken debris around me and sending me into a pained, fevered sleep.

Blood.

Metal appendages came down from the ceiling, pulling apart my flesh. My metal chest plate was removed, pulling the flesh and muscle it had welded to off with it. Thin blades dug into my eyes, splitting open the retinas and inserting circuitry within.

Pain.

Four ponies stood over me, each one clad in a blood soaked hazmat suit as they carved up my flesh, their faces obscured by dark stains that blotted out their dome like visors. Bones snapped, limbs surgically removed. My heart was slowly pulled from a deep laceration in my chest, trailing severed, dripping arteries and sinew, before being replaced with one of metal and wires.

Nightmare.

I screamed, thrashing against my bindings as the knives and saws and needles sliced into me again and again. Ripping me open over and over before putting me back together and starting all over again. Gore spilled across the surgical bed, intestines and entrails splayed across the room.

“Shit, he’s coming to… give him another dose…”

“Fuck, it’s not doing anything… do it again!”

Numbness crept over me, only to be replaced with agony once more as drills began probing into my skull. I felt cold metal clamping down around me, securing my chest and head, slamming tight around my hooves. Needles in the metal slid beneath the flesh, pumping strange fluids throughout my body.

I spasmed, another wave of burning pain lancing through me as the flesh on my stomach was peeled away, unveiling my oozing bowels, only to be replaced with icy steel. Arterial spray splattered the walls in messy strokes, dripping down the walls and pooling darkly along the floor.

“He keeps waking up! Put him under again!”

“It’s no use! Just lock him down! Fuck! Lock him down now!”

Metal rods pierced through my hooves, securing me to the ground beneath. chains coiled my neck, clamps secured my thrashing body. I writhed, screeches of pain bursting from my lips with each slice of the knife.

Then all was still and all was quiet, save for the methodical plopping sound of blood splattering against the blood stained tiled floor in slow drips and the loud, grating beep of an electrocardiogram.

“Fuck! He’s loose! He’s loose! He’s- agh- ahhh!”

The Enclave trooper’s voice died as his throat was crushed under my hoof, the tremendous force causing his neck to twist violently, snapping. The pegasus collapsed to the ground, blood spilled across the floor and pooling around my hooves.

I staggered forward, the broken chains around my hooves clanking loudly as I dragged them across the floor. My blood red vision was spinning and the searing clinical lights blinded my throbbing eyes. Strange glowing words and symbols flashed across my vision, warning me of medical alerts. I slumped against the wall, using it as support until I felt the strong metal bend beneath my strength like rubber. I pushed away, my hooves thundering against the floor. Metal plates shifted and grinded against my flesh, causing wave after wave of intense agony to flash through my body.

Where was I...? How did I get here!? I could feel rage and hatred bubbling up inside me as my mind flashed with images of being surgically ripped open again and again. The painkillers had done nothing to stop the pain. I had felt everything.

How long had I been here? A week? A month? It had felt like forever. Constant torment paired with the feel of burning flesh as I remembered the waves of balefire washing over me in Maripony.

Blood spilled out from the doorway of the medical chamber like a river of crimson as I had staggered through, the pile of mangled corpses left behind filling the hallway with the wafting stench of copper and death. Necks twisted, chest caved in, skulls shattered. They had desecrated me, torn me apart for whatever sick twisted experiments they were working on... And so I had desecrated them.

I rammed against a wall, my whole body thrown off balance as my vision blurred, a loud ringing sound blaring in my ear as my eardrums ruptured. A sharp pain stabbed at my head, causing me to bite down hard on my tongue to keep from screaming. I could taste copper as blood leaked from my chewed tongue. Gritting my teeth, I reared back before slamming my head against the wall again and again, trying desperately to rid myself from the constant pains that stabbed through my mind. I could feel my skull crack open, blood splattering across the metal surface where I smashed in my face. I staggered away from the blood soaked wall, a sensation of itching pain stitching across my face as my body seemingly patched my face back together again.

I bent over, the feeling of the flesh on my face slithering back together beneath jagged, icy metal making me feel sick. Vomit surged up my throat as I crouched over and retched. I could feel blood and bile spilling from my lips, only for a tube built into whatever strange helmet had been forced onto my head to suck the vile fluids up with some sort of tube, filtering them back into my body.

I opened my mouth to gag, only to find the tight, metal helmet made opening my jaw all the way impossible.

Claustrophobic panic flared through me and I desperately began clawing at the helmet, frantically trying to pull it off. To my growing horror, I found it fused to my flesh. My hoof slipped, jerking up the side of my head to touch something protruding from my cranium.

I froze, my hoof slowly tracing the long, bony protrusion. No… It couldn’t be. Slowly I turned, glaring at the steel wall I had been leaning on. Fear and horror gripped at me as my glowing red eyes locked with the glowing eyes of the monster that stared back at me from my reflection.

The reflection of a massive green alicorn stood before me, at least seven and a half feet in height. Their green hide, ripped with muscles, was covered in fleshy, pink scars that marred their matted coat and bulky pieces of advanced looking cybernetics protruded from welded together incisions in their flesh. Their body was mostly covered by a bulky suit of advanced Enclave Power armour, similar in design to the normal models, though not without distinct differences. A massive scorpion-like tail swayed back and forth behind the monster, the deadly curved blade looking sharp enough to slice through solid metal and armoured tubing seemed to have been inserted into whatever flesh remained below the metal plating, pumping chems into the creature's body. The power armours shoulder pads, massive in size, each bore the Enlcave’s insignia, and the helmet, a monstrous looking thing with multiple, thick wires protruding from its top, had a set of deep, bulbus, blood red eyes that sent shivers racing down my spine. A pair of large, armoured wings protruded from either side of the beast's back, but what caught my attention the most, was the long horn that jutted out from their metallic forehead.

I pushed myself away from the vile reflection, my hooves trembling fearfully from the sight of the alicorn abomination. Only one word could truly encapsulate the creature I had seen staring at me. Monster…

“No….” I hissed, my voice coming out in a strange, booming, metallic sounding gargle. A mare’s voice, albeit a tortured one.

Panicked, my hoof flew backwards to touch at the spot between my hind legs. I stilled for a moment, my hoof finding very different genitalia than I had been expecting. I felt my breath come out in frantic, ragged pants, my heart pounding rapidly in my chest. “The fuck happened to me…”

“There they are!” The sound of shouting alerted me to the approach of five fully armoured pegasi as they charged down the hallway towards me, the large Novasurge rifles on their battle saddles charging up loudly before sending beams of powerful energy lancing towards me.

Instinctively, I dashed towards them, my muscled hooves making the whole hallway shake with each booming step. The beams of deadly energy lashed at my sides, ripping oozing holes in my now green hide. I didn’t care. The pain was nothing compared to the pain my body was already in.

My hulking body slammed into the first pegasi, my hooves pummeling them into the ground. They gave a loud shout of pain, only for me to rear up again and crush their skull flat beneath my hooves, flesh ripped open, shattered skull fragments and brain matter splattering across the floor.

I spun around, my body seemingly moving on its own fruition as I rammed into the next two armoured pegasi. They hardly stood a chance as my hooves slammed down hard on their chests, my immense strength denting their powerful armour as if they were nothing but tin cans. Blood and viscera burst from their muzzles as they were sent crashing to the ground, life rapidly fading from their glazed over eyes.

Slowly, I rounded on the final pegasus, my red eyes blazing into them as they stood there trembling before me. My vision seemed to lock in on them, a built in SATS appearing on the inside of my helmet's tinted visor. We both stood there, glaring at each other for a long moment before the pegasus finally gave a scream of fear induced rage. They rushed at me, only for my new horn to glow, wrapping them in a field of magic.

There was a loud pop followed by a vomit inducing ripping sound as the pegasi’s rib cage was violently ripped upwards through their mouth. Blood splattered my face, dripping down my glass plated eyes. Blood dripped from the mangled rib cage as I looked it over curiously, before my magic released and the rib cage along with the now spineless pegasus it had once belonged to crumpled to the floor with a wet sounding plop.

I stood there for a long second, my whole body slowly rising and falling as I let out slow, pained breaths. I could feel the tubing inserted all over my body pumping chems into me, quickly healing over the blistering wounds from the pegasi’s Novesurge rifles. Biting back another scream of pain, I limped forward once more, my large hooves stepping over the crushed bodies of the pegasi.

I heard muffled voices up ahead. I tried to swivel my ears to try to better hear them, only to find with growing horror that my ears seemed to be gone. I ran my hoof over my helmet, tracing the area where my ears had been, only armoured stumps attached to wires remained. How I could still hear anything was any ponies guess.

Moaning softly, I shambled a few more feet, my hooves dragging across the metal floor. The voices grew louder with each step, and I began to make out some of the words.

“...The Enclave isn’t strong enough to…

“...the Lightbringer has…”

“...We need to find a…”

“...Our answers lie in Stable 13…”

I rounded the corner, making out a large control room with a large metal table with a holographic top in the centre of it. Several pegasi stood at attention around it, arguing back and forth as five more fully armoured troopers stood sentinel around them, their weapons snapping up to aim at me the second I came around the corner.

“Fuck! How did he get loose!” One of the pegasi shouted, taking to the air and quickly firing off a blast of deadly light from their rifle.

The searing pain of the blast sent rage flaring up in my mind. I roared, lurching forwards and bashing the assailing pegasus out of the air with a single swipe of my hoof. The pegasus screamed, their body thudding heavily against the ground as I violently thrashed them, the front of their power armour punched in, the jagged metal piercing their lung.

Another pegasus flashed into the air, their own rifle cracking off shot after shot in my direction. Most of the shots bounced harmlessly off my impossibly strong power armour, while the rest did little as my impressive healing abilities patched the deep burning gash up faster than the burning beam could cauterize the wound.

I spun on the pegasus, my tail flashing out and slicing their head clean from their body. The deadly blade slid through their power armour as if it were just butter.

The rest of the armoured pegasi had quickly mobilized, forming a defensive position around a few of the more important looking pegasi. Two of the pegasi fired off deadly beams in my direction, the blasts, strong enough to render most ponies to glittering goop in a single shot, did little against my lumbering form.

“Don’t shoot at him you idiots!” a commanding, adenoidal voice shouted. The pegasus that the troopers had formed a tight defensive formation around scowled, pushing his way through the wall of troopers to stand proudly before me. He had a dark ash coloured coat, his jet black mane matching his black military uniform.

“Thunderbolt, get back!” An ice blue mare in a grey Enclave uniform scowled, reaching out to try and drag the pegasus back. The mare had a short cropped, jagged, militaristic mane cut and a thin scar raced down from her left temple to the bottom of her jaw. An Enclave patch was fastened around her right hoof, giving me the distinct impression she was a Commander. “That thing will kill you!”

Thunderbolt shook off the mare and glared up at me. “Prance Horrigan. I am Colonel Thunderbolt, current acting head of the Grand Pegasus Enclave. Repot!”

I froze, my red eyes landing on the pegasus. I felt the muscles in my neck clench, my mind practically burning with pain as I tried to make sense of the words.

“Obey!”

Everything clicked into place in my mind. At that word, I straightened up, my huge wing snapping up to give the Colonel a stiff salute. “Prance Horrigan, Enclave Secret Service, reporting for duty, Colonel,” I rumbled, my grating voice sending chills down the Enclave guards spines.

Colonel Thunderbolt gave the icy-looking mare a glassy smile before returning his gaze to me. “At ease Horrigan. Do you know where you are?”

I looked around, my red eyes sweeping over everything. “I… I am not sure where I am,” I confessed, my rumbling voice echoing around the chamber.

“You’re on the Hippocampus Oil Rig. Not far off the coast of Manehattan,” Colonel Thunderbolt informed me slowly, taking a small step toward me. “This is where the Grand Pegasus Enclave has set up as their headquarters while you were out of commission.”

I frowned, lowering my head slightly. “Oil Rig? Why are we not utilizing the use of above cloud bases,” I boomed.

Colonel Thunderbolt exchanged a glance with the pegasus mare. “I’m afraid that that has ceased to be an option for us,” Thunderbolt sighed. “I am afraid to say you have been out of commission for longer than you probably realize. Two years to be exact. Those two years have been difficult for us. The Enclave lost the war. The terrorist the Wastelanders call the Lightbringer took control of the S.P.P. hub in Neighvaro, decimated the cloud layer. Our remnants have been scattered across the wastes, hunted by groups like the Steel Rangers and hellhounds. We are all that remain of the Enclave.”

I stood there, staring down at him in disbelief. The Enclave, defeated? “I see…” Was all that I managed to grumble. My knees felt weak. Two years of my life gone and the destruction of the Enclave… it seemed impossible. After a moment, I raised my head to look at him again, my blood red gaze burrowing into him. “What… what has happened to me…”

“What do you remember,” Thunderbolt soothed, cocking his head to the side a little.

“I was… In Maripony,” I grunted, my brow furrowing beneath my fully enclosed helmet. I wracked my brain, trying to remember anything but searing pain. “There was a pony in Stable Barding… And a creature… The Goddess…”

“That was likely the Lightbringer. The same mare that dispelled the cloud layer. Destroyed the Enclave,” Thunderbolt nodded. “As for yourself, you were knocked into the IMP vats. We are not sure how you fully survived the explosion. Likely a result of your mutated body gaining strength from radiation exposure,” He explained, slowly beginning to trot back and forth in front of me. “One of our recon teams discovered your body while scavenging the Maripony crater for samples for our IMP research.”

I glared down at myself, raising one of my green, armoured fore hooves and looking it over disdainfully. “I was… rescued from the rubble?”

Again, Thunderbolt nodded, his voice coming out in slow, clean sentences, as if he were talking to a foal. “Yes. You were in very critical condition. Without us, you would have died,” He gestured to the advanced suit of power armour that had been fitted over my body. “As I’m sure you have noticed, we have fitted you with a unique suit of power armour. The suit is your lifeblood, without it you die. It periodically injects you with multiple types of chems. Dash, hydra, rage, buck, stampede,” he paused, looking over the fleshy scars that marred the exposed parts of my flesh and the cybernetics that protruded from my hide. “Though I understand that that may be of some discomfort to you. Obey, and I’m sure I can have our doctors incorporate a healthy dose of painkillers into the mix.”

“Where is Colonel Harbinger? I wish to report to him as soon as possible,” I grunted, straightening up a little.

Thunderbolt exchanged a second glance with the mare. “I’m afraid Harbinger is dead. Most of the Enclave high council is. He was one of the first casualties of the war. Murdered while on the very same a peace mission to the goddess that turned you into what you are now. Until further notice, you will follow my orders.”

I froze, my gaze locking on Colonel Thunderbolt. Colonel Harbinger, dead… “There must be some kind of mistake…” I groused, my voice low and scathing.

“I’m afraid there is not,” Thunderbolt sighed. “Colonel Autumn Leaf was killed a few days later in an attack on Red Eyes cathedral and most of the rest of the high council was slaughtered in a raid on Neighvarro led by the Lightbringer.”

A strange feeling sparked up in me. A feeling that I did not recognize. “And what about private Skylight?”

Thunderbolt looked at me for a moment, a little confused. “Skylight…” he breathed, her brow scrunching as he seemingly tried to put a face to the name. After a second his face darkened before taking on a stone cold, stoic expression. “I’m afraid Private Skylight was killed by the Lightbringer as well… Battle for Friendship City, I believe.”

I grit my teeth, rage building up inside me. We had lost everything! Everything the Enclave had ever endeavored to achieve had come crashing down, and I had been nowhere to help stop it. Harbinger, Autumn Leaf, Skylight, probably Ambrosia as well, all dead. And all because of…

“Where is this Lightbringer…” I boomed, my anger clearly prevalent in my tone. I was going to find them, and rip them apart for what they had done. The wasteland would be stained with their blood.

“Untouchable. Locked away in the S.P.P. control tower where we can’t get to her. There isn’t much we can do to stop them unfortunately,” Harbinger cooed. The icy-looking mare opened her mouth, seemingly to rebuttal that, but Colonel Thunderbolt quickly cut her off with a swipe of his wing. “Of course, we have not just sat around on our rumps. The Enclave has plans to reinstate itself to its former glory once again, but it will undoubtedly take time.”

“Colonel, if I may,” The pegasus mare finally spoke up, stepping forwards. “But perhaps Horrigan is what we need to deal with our issues out at Stable 13.”

Thunderbolt’s smile widened a little at the comment. “Yes. I had very much the same idea myself.”

A pegasus in a dark black lab coat that I hadn’t previously noticed stepped forwards, glaring at Colonel Thunderbolt and the pegasus mare. “Absolutely not. Prance Horrigans mental state is still incredibly unstable, and we have not yet had the ability to properly test out his enhancements. Not to mention that-”

Thunderbolt cut the pegasus off with a loud stomp of his hoof. “You have had two years to experiment on Horrigan, doctor Knife Slit,” Thunderbolts gaze traveled over to the collapsed, bloodied form of the Enclave trooper I had severed the head of and the other pegasus trooper who was still gasping for breath on the ground as they tried to draw air into their punctured lung. “And I think Horrigan has proven his capabilities.”

Doctor Knife Slit narrowed their eyes. “Prance Horrigan just went on a murderous rampage through our base. He isn’t mentally stable enough to be placed in high stress environments. He could snap, or do something else entirely. We have no way to gauge his reactions to things. There are innumerable unknown variables!” The doctor paused, leaning in and lowering their voice. When they spoke again, they were so quiet that I hardly heard them. “If Horrigan dies, we won’t have another chance experimenting with IMP to this capacity again.”

Colonel Harbinger nodded. “I understand your concern, but you have blood samples to work with, do you not? And I do believe our current objective is more dire than IMP experimentation, as much as you may wish otherwise. It is paramount that we secure the files in Stable 13 before…” Thunderbolt trailed off, his eyes flicking up to glance at me for a second before returning his gaze to the doctor. “...Before somepony less favourable gets their hooves on them.”

Doctor knife Slit was silent for a long moment after that before giving a quick nod and conceding. “I understand. Perhaps we can learn something from Horrigans performance on the field.”

“Indeed,” Colonel Thunderbolt practically hummed. He turned back to me, his eyes sweeping me over with intense interest. “Prance Horrigan. Do you think you are well enough to get back in the field?”

I gave a slow nod, once more snapping my wing up into a salute. “I exist to serve the Enclave,” I boomed, standing proud before him, my wings splayed out, giving me a larger, more imposing look. Not that I needed it, few of the ponies in the room stood at even half my height.

Thunderbolt practically purred with glee in response to that, his mouth twisting into a charismatic smile. “I know…” He turned, facing the icy mare beside him. “Commander Icewind, why don’t you fill Horrigan in on the necessary details of the mission?”

The mare, now known as Icewind, gave a nod, trotting over to the holographic table and pulling up a three dimensional diagram of a large Stable door. “Our target is Stable 13. A Stable formerly used as an Enclave Remnant base shortly after the Lightbringer cleared the sky. A malfunction with an Enclave experiment we were working on there forced us to evacuate the Stable a few months ago,” Icewind annotated, pointing at the large gear shaped door with a wing. “Inside is a valuable asset that is of incredible importance to the Enclave. However, the Stable has been fully sealed off, and a group of wastelanders that have formed a small settlement around the Stable in our absence have proven to not take kindly to Enclave presence.”

“Understood,” I rumbled, taking a step towards the glowing hologram of the Stable door. “What asset is in need of retrieval?”

Icewind and Thunderbolt exchanged a silent conversation with each other before Icewind turned back to me. “A valuable file located in the Stable’s Overmare office. The contents of the file are classified.”

I gave another nod, my gaze still locked on the gear. “Understood.”

“Icewind. I want you to accompany Horrigan on his mission to Stable 13,” Colonel Thunderbolt grunted, his eyes practically daring Icewind to argue with him. I saw Icewind visibly flinch at the order. “I want you to monitor his progress, and secure the file. I’ll have a squadron of troopers readied to keep you company and ensure your success.”

Icewind gulped, glancing up at me before giving a shaky nod. “Yes. Understood Colonel,” She turned, quickly stalking towards the exit. “Come Horrigan. We leave in twenty four hours!” Icewind barked, ordering me to follow. “Let's get you equipped with some weapons.”

I cast Thunderbolt a confirming glance, only to see him give me a reassuring nod. Giving one final salute, I turned and marched after commander Icewind.

Chapter II: If You Thought Hellhounds Were Bad...

“Good morning, children! This is DJ Pon3, coming at you with, what else, the news! Get a load of this!

“I know you’re probably expecting me to go on some long-winded tangent about how grateful we all ‘otta be about our favourite little Lightbringer bringing back Celestia’s sun, and I still just might, but first I got some more pressing news for ya! I’ve been getting reports about a new settlement popping up in the expanse between Manehattan and Fillydelpia. The place had been built around one of those old Stables, some Stable 13. The Stable door has been sealed off as far as I’m aware, no pony knows exactly what’s inside, but second hoof accounts seem to claim that the big door had been opened relatively recently.

“But this town provides all of us with a lot more than just some fun speculation over the Stable. For the first time in as long as I can remember, there’s now a safe place to stop and rest in the Filly-Manehattan expanse. Already, caravans are taking full advantage of the town's hospitality, and supplies are finally being givin’ the opportunity to reach our Outcast brothers in the Filly ruins as they keep fighting that good fight to clear out the raider and slaver infestation there. So if you find yourself out that way, make sure to stop by the small town and giv' them my thanks…

“In other news, it seems like we have a new wasteland heroine running around. You guessed it, it’s another one of those crazy Stable Dwellers. I don't know what it is, but mares that come crawling out of Stables seem to have a knack for changing the wasteland for the better. I just received word that they’ve cleared out the group of Enclave Remnants that were givin’ travellers trouble on the notorious Route 52. Good work Stable Dweller, I can’t wait to see where you go next!

“But that’s enough chatter from me. Time for some music! This is ‘On Our Own’, by everypony's favorite, Velvet Remedy!”

As the song began to play out, Icewind turned and snapped at the Enclave Trooper beside her. “Turn that damn thing off!”

The Enclave trooper winced, quickly clicking the off the radio on their armour. “S-sorry mam. Just wanted to get intel on what we might be up against.”

Icewind scowled. “We have all the intel we need without relying on that hack.”

We were flying over the wasteland, heading westward towards the very town the DJ had been speaking of over the radio. I had zoned out most of the DJ’s words, not having any interest in listening to the wasteland savages local gossip. My goal was retrieval of the files in Stable 13. Everything else was just a distraction.

My eyes scanned across the desolate expanse below us as we flew, darting back and forth as I watched for potential dangers. It was shameful, really, how desolate the wasteland was. Perhaps, had the ponies of the wasteland accepted the Grand Pegasus Enclave, the world of Equestria could have been something more. Instead, they had chosen death.

As we neared the aforementioned town, we descended downwards and touched down on a rocky outcrop a few miles away. I began striding forwards the second my hooves crunched down on the ground, standing at the precipice of the large outcrop, my blood red eyes glaring at the town below. I spotted a few ponies gathered around a campfire in the centre of the town, talking, though I couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance.

I turned, finding Commander Icewind organizing the three troopers Colonel Thunderbolt had sent with us. Two of them were standard Enclave soldiers, each equipped with a full suit of Enclave X01 power armour. The other, a large mare that stood just short of half a foot above Icewind, was one of the Enclave's elite Tartarusfire Trooper, clad in their own suit of hellish looking power armour. A huge flamer was attached to their battle saddle, its end flickering with sinister light. I had only seen the Enclave deploy Tartarusfire Troopers once before. When the Enclave sent them in, they meant business.

Thunderbolt had told me the troopers names back on the oil rig, though I didn’t remember any of them. Names were irrelevant, only the objective mattered.

“We get it Ice,” The Tartarusfire trooper scowled, brushing Icewind off with one of her wings. “Get into the Stable, clear it of hostiles, retrieve the files. This ain’t my first rodeo and the objective is straight forward,” The Tartarusfire trooper turned to look at me, flashing me a quick smile. “Besides, I don’t think I'll need to do much work. Not with muscles over there.”

Icewind scowled at her in turn. “Stay in line, Firestreak. I am still your commanding officer.”

Firestreak snorted, spinning around and flicking Icewind in the face with the blunt side of her bladed tail. “You shouldn’t be and you know it. You’ll get what you deserve one day, Icy,” snickering, Firestreak stalked off, taking up a defensive position a few feet away.

“What was that about,” I rumbled as Icewind slowly trotted up to stand beside me, not bothering to look down at her.

“Irrelevant,” Icewind scowled back, her wings shifting uncomfortably at her sides. “Bad history.”

I dropped the topic, both because I had no interest in irrelevant information and had even less interest in the outside lives of my subordinates. “What is the plan,” I asked instead, my gaze still locked on the town. “You mentioned the town was hostile towards us?”

Icewind nodded. “The town calls itself Stable Town. Likely because it’s built around a Stable. Not the most creative of names, I know. We’ve tried approaching the town before, but heavy resistance chased us out.”

The sound of flapping wings signalled the arrival of one of the two Enclave soldiers as they flapped over to stand beside us. It was hard to tell through their power armour, but they appeared to be a stallion with a more slim, lanky build. “They managed to chase off fully armed Enclave soldiers? What kind of resistance are we talking about?”

“The town folk are mostly harmless. Just a bunch of wastelanders with a couple pipe weapons and sticks. It’s the Steel Rangers we need to worry about?”

“Steel Rangers?” I questioned, finally turning my head to face the two pegasi. The Enclave trooper beside us cowered under my intense gaze. “I was not debriefed on them.”

“What? You don’t know what Steel Rangers are?” Firestreak snickered at us, glancing over from her position a few feet away. “I was guessing you were more muscle than brain, but I had expected more than that.”

“Horrigan, until just recently, was out of commission for two years,” Icewind shot back at Firestreak. “Forgive him if he does not have the same experiences in the wasteland that we do.”

Firestreak just rolled her eyes behind the visor of her helmet. “Sure, sure.”

Icewind once more returned her gaze to me, sighing. “The Steel Rangers are a group of wasteland fanatics that hoard technology. Their tech is less advanced than ours, but they are still nothing to be ignored. Normally they don’t engage in the lives of wastelanders, but they seem to have made a bit of an exception at this town, acting as their sort of guardians,” She glared hatefully at the town, scuffing her hoof. “They likely want the tech inside of Stable 13. Naturally, that’s going to cause some conflict if they find out what we’re after.”

“So they need to be eliminated,” I grunted, my voice leaving little room for debate as I returned my gaze to the town in the distance. Now knowing what to look for, I spotted three ponies in full suits of clunky power armour trotting between the town's ramshackle houses. They looked well armed, for mutie filth at least.

“It would be nice to try diplomacy first,” The Enclave buck that had swooped in beside us suggested, his voice coming out in a weak sounding squeak as I shifted my gaze to face him. “L-less casualties are al-always bet-tter, r-right?”

“From what I understand, we already tried diplomacy,” I retorted bluntly, my glowing, glass eyes burning into the small pegasus. “If they pose a threat to the Enclave, they need to die.”

Icewind gave a distressed sounding sigh. “No, Vapour Trail is right. We’ve been instructed to approach this as diplomatically as possible. If a temporary cease fire can be achieved, we need to aim for that. The Enclave is still weak from its defeat in Neighvarro and we cannot risk losing more ponies on brash actions.”

“Booooo! I like the big guys style more!” Firestreak called out playfully. “Come on Commander Icewind, you know they’ll never actually comply with us. Just let us attack them now so that we have the element of surprise on our side.”

“It would give us the tactical advantage,” I pointed our bluntly, my stoic voice making gauging any sort of emotion or reservations I may have had impossible.

“Orders are orders, Firestreak,” Icewind snapped. “Now fly steady or I’ll have you court-martialed.” Firestreak just snickered in response and gave Icewind the flying feather before returning her attention to guard duty.

“Fine. We will negotiate with the mutie savages,” I finalized, bringing the conversation to a very abrupt conclusion, my wings spreading out at my sides and the muscles in my legs tensing as I prepared to lift off from the ground. “There is no reason to delay. Be prepared for resistance.”

Everypony gave grim nods, their own wings flaring out as they readied themselves for lift off. The second Icewind gave the signal, we shot into the air, launching towards the town below.

My hooves pounded against the ground with a loud boom as I touched down in front of the town's junk wall border, the whole ground shaking around me at the heavy impact. A cloud of ash and dust burst up around me, small craters forming where my hooves pounded into the rocky terrain. A second later, Icewind and our three Enclave troopers landed behind me, their weapons up and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

The towns guard, a bulky looking buck in a suit of power armour raised their impressive looking minigun up to face me, his horror prevalent even from behind his visor. “What the hell is tha…” he paused, his eyes rolling over to look at Enclave troopers behind me. “Shit… This town is under Steel Ranger protection. You are not permitted to enter. Leave or- or…”

The large steel Ranger hesitated as I took a few steps towards him, his voice dying in his throat as my massive shadow passed over him entirely. He had to crane his armoured head up to look at my glowing red eyes.

“We are the Grand Pegasus Enclave. You will grant us access to the town and the Stable within it. Failure to comply will result in death,” I rumbled, my amplified voice loud enough to make the heavy ranger stumble back. “Will you comply?”

“F-Fuck…” the Ranger breahed, his legs visably shaking through his armour. He took another trembling step back, raising his hoof to tap on an intercom built into his helmet. “Sir, we’ve got a situation at the gate…”

A few moments later, five more rangers came trotting out of the entrance to the town, each one armed to the teeth and clad in a full suit of power armour. My eyes followed each and every one of them as they trotted out, my built in SATS individually targeting each one as they neared.

One Steel Ranger, the largest of the bunch, walked straight towards me, their impressive looking suit of power armour painted a dark green. He craned his neck up, glaring up at me bravely. “Hello. I am Paladin Sandwich, commander of this off branch of Steel Rangers. To what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?” I just stared back at him silently, my breathing coming out in slow, pained rasps. At my failure to respond, the Paladin tried again. “This town is under our protection, if you-”

“Don’t bother talking to him,” Icewind chidded, stepping forwards to stand beside me. “My name is Icewind, commander of this squadron of Enclave. You will be dealing with me. My friend here is simply for insurance.”

“I see…” Paladin Sandwich grunted, turning to face the much smaller pegasus. “What do you and your Enclave buddies want with Stable Town?”

Icewind began trotting back and forth between us, her eyes sweeping back and forth between all the Steel Rangers. “We want access to something located inside of Stable 13. We do not intend to leave empty hooved. We also do not wish to cause any violence, so we ask politely that you allow us access to the Stable. We mean you no harm.”

“Since when has the Enclave not wanted to cause us harm!” One of the Rangers shouted, snorting defiantly in Icewinds direction.

My head instantly snapped to the side, my red eyes burning into the ranger that had spoken out. My SATS locked in on him at once, the monitor on my helmet bringing up my probability of hitting any given part of his body. My chances were quite good. There was a loud clunking sound as my battle saddle opened up, a massive looking Tesla cannon twice the size of a normal pony popping out and swivelling to aim at the armoured Ranger.

The Ranger gave a shout of surprise, staggering back as they were suddenly faced with the huge cannon. The end of the cannon began to glow a near blinding blue as the powerful weapon began charging up.

Icewind quickly stepped between us, raising one hoof to signal for me to hold fire. “I apologize for my friend,” Icewind cooed. “They are loyal to the Enclave completely and fully. I would suggest holding your tongue on any reservations that you may or may not hold about us until we are gone.”

Paladin Sandwich cleared his throat, once more drawing Icewinds attention to him. “As I’m sure you can understand, the Stable is currently Steel Ranger property. We’ve put a lot of resources into setting up an outpost here, and we don’t want its primary purpose to be taken out from under our hooves. Now, I would suggest you leave before we need to resort to violence.”

Icewind raised an eyebrow at him. “Before you need to resort to violence?” She turned her head, glancing back at me with half an eye. “Horrigan, why don’t you show our friends here what-”

“What if we helped each other out!” The Enclave Trooper behind me piped up timidly. What had Icewind referred to him as? Vapour Trail, was it? “I m-mean, we all want into the Stable, right. We could help each other out…”

One of the Steel Rangers that hadn’t spoken up took a small step towards Paladin Sandwich. “We have been unsuccessful in getting the Stable door open so far. Perhaps we should let them help us…”

Sandwich gave a grim nod. “Hmmm. You are not incorrect,” He sighed, taking a small step backwards. “Very well. If you will help us gain entry to the Stable, we will permit you to retrieve whatever it is you are after. But once you have what you came for, we demand that you leave and hoof over command of the Stable to us.”

“Then we have a deal,” Icewind said through gritted teeth, her eye glaring daggers at Vapour Trail with a look that screamed, We’re going to talk about this later.

Moving back to allow us entry, the Steel Rangers began leading us through the small town, weaving back and forth between the makeshift, thatched houses. A few of the locals threw trash at us as we passed, their faces scrunched with rage as they shouted profanities in our direction.

“Go back to where you belong, Enclave shits!”

“You aren’t wanted here!”

“Winged rats!”

"Go fuck yourselves!"

They all fell silent as they saw me, their screaming mouths quickly snapping shut in fear. They hurriedly scampered away, shutting their doors and cowering behind any cover they could find as my blood red gaze and massive Tesla cannon swivelled around to face them.

“Why do they hate us so much?” I grunted, my eyes passing over a cowering filly that had taken cover behind her trembling mother.

“Cause they’re entitled and butt hurt,” Firestreak nickered from beside me, her eyes watching in amusement as the towns locals scuttled off like rats from a flame. “They think they deserve the sun and sky, and they’re damn pissed off we kept them from it.”

“Do you ever think that maybe we should have given it back to them sooner?” The Enclave Trooper on the other side of me muttered, her voice coming out in a soft, breathy tone. Until then I hadn’t heard her speak.

Firestreak glowered at her. “Don’t you go dashite on me Lightning.”

The Enclave trooper, Lightning by name apparently, recoiled at the large Tartarusfire Troopers remark as if she had been slapped. “Wha- oh no! No, of course not. I just… never mind. Stupid thoughts…”

No sooner had we entered the town, then the Steel Rangers led us into a large cave that the town appeared to have been built around. The cavern floor slopped steeply downward, forming a long ramp to what appeared to be a huge metal gear at the far end. piles of skeletons cluttered the rocky floor, many of their bones yellowed and broken with age.

I had only seen a Stable once before, many years ago now while on a recon mission assigned by Colonel Harbinger. It had not been a pleasant experience.

“We have been trying to open it for the past week,” Paladin Sandwich explained as we slowly pulled to a stop in front of the huge steel door. “So far, we have been unsuccessful. There are signs the door was opened in recent years, but whoever closed it last really didn’t want anypony else getting in.”

Icewind fluttered her wings and swiftly lifted into the air, gliding over to the Stable’s control panel beside the huge gear. She tapped a few keys on the small terminal to no success. “Damn. Enclave damaged the door when they left. No wonder you haven’t been able to get through. Pretty much all the circuitry inside has been fried.”

I could see Paladin Sandwich give a surprised raise of his eyebrow from behind his visor. “So this is the Enclave's work then. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I guess you’ve come to clean up some loose ends.”

Icewind just frowned, brushing back a loose strand of her bluish-pink hair. “Something like that…” she tapped a few more keys. “Fuck. This is going to take a moment.”

“You don’t think Horrigan could just rip the door off, do you?” I heard Vapour Trail whisperer from behind me, leaning over to be a little closer to Lightning.

Firestreak snorted at him. “Don’t be stupid. These doors were designed to withstand Balefire bombs. I don’t care how strong he are. You don’t just rip the door off.”

I didn’t bother glancing back at the three of them, instead, my gaze had focused in on the massive gear. I remembered when I had first broken free from my bonds on the Enclave’s oil rig, how the metal walls had bent under my weight like rubber. I took a long stride towards the massive door, my huge hooves carrying me across the room faster than the average pony could. I stopped a few inches from the door, my gaze burning into it as if I were trying to melt the very steel with my eyes alone.

Icewind glanced up at me, her pink eyes looking me over with confusion. “Horrigan, what are you do-”

I reared up and lunged forwards, my fore hooves slamming against its thick surface with tremendous force. The steel crumpled, my hooves digging deep grooves into the huge gears face. I grit my teeth, the muscles in my back straining as I pulled against the Stable door.

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then the door jerked, the metal edges crumpling and bursts of flashing sparks shooting out of its corners as I violently dragged it across the airtight metal walls around it. The whole cavern shook as the massive door was forcefully dragged forwards.

I could practically feel everypony's mouth gaping as I began to pull back from the wall, ripping the huge gear door out as I went.

“No way…” I heard Firestreak breath, her eyes wide and jaw slack. “It’s not… he can’t…”

I gave a final grunt, releasing my hooves grip on the metal surface and letting the giant gear clatter to the ground beside me with a hearty thunk, the entryway into the Stable now clear of obstructions. A cloud of dust was thrown up into the air as the heavy door hit the ground, temporarily obscuring our vision and causing one of the Steel Rangers to cough.

After a long moment of silence in which no pony knew what to do, Icewind gave a small cough and flashed the Steel Rangers with a smug smile. “So… Into the Stable then shall we?”

With that, we continued onward, marching into the depths of Stable 13. I took the lead, my glowing red eyes cutting through the gloom. A bright light flickered to life before us, silhouetting a large, hunched over creature looming in the Stable’s entry room. The light flickered again, unveiling the forms of three more of the large mutant creatures as they moved to greet us.

One of the Steel Rangers behind us swore, the magical energy rifle at their side charging up. “Shit, We got hellhounds in here!”

The bestial creatures, Hellhounds as the Ranger had called them, were large dog like creatures, covered in a thick layer of matted grey or brown fur. Each stood on their hind legs as they stalked towards us, their tail swishing back and forth slowly behind them. Their claws, massive in length, glinted in the overhead light of the Stable, seemingly sharp enough to dig through solid rock and stone. I spotted what appeared to be cybernetics protruding from their heads, the fir of their scalp having been shaved off to reveal expertly stitched up incisions in their flesh. Their eyes darted back and forth, glaring suspiciously at all of us as we strode forwards.

The leading Hellhound, one notably taller than the rest, came to a stop before us, pulling back its fangs and giving a low snarl. His yellow eyes lingered on the Enclave insignia emblazoned on my power armour before it glared up at the rest of us. “Hellhounds no want Enclave here! Hellhounds still angry at Enclave,” The hellhound growled, its huge claws fidgeting at its sides restely. “Enclave leave now.”

So this must have been experiment the Enclave was conducting in this Stable that had gone wrong, I thought to myself, sizing up the four Hellhounds. I had been involved in a few recon missions regarding the creation of Hellhound mind control devices back before my accident, though those experiments were usually sanctioned by Autumn Leaf and one of his head scientists, Star Breeze, not Coronal Harbinger. I admittedly had never actually seen one in the flesh. Though from the look of the extensive cybernetic implants protruding from most of the Hellhounds heads, I assumed progress on that project had come a long way from simple helmets. They must have broken free of their control and chase the Enclave out.

“We have come to retrieve files from the Overmare’s office,” I boomed, not even flinching as the Hellhounds stalked closer to me. “Step aside, or die.”

The leading Hellhound hissed at me, bearing fangs. “We live peaceful here in Stable. We no hurt ponies in here. Eat only Radraoches. Why Enclave no leave us alone! Leave! We no let you enter here! We happy in Stable without you.”

Paladin Sandwich stepped forward, standing proudly before the Hellhounds. “Hellhounds, we do not mean you harm. We-”

“Step aside, or die,” I rumbled again, cutting Sandwich off before he could finish whatever proposition he was going to make. “You stand in the way of the Enclave. Will you comply?”

The Hellhound hissed again. “You no scare us alicorn freak. Go! Leave us! You no go past this point!”

I felt my eyes narrow at the Hellhound behind my armoured helmet. “Very well. Then in the name of the Enclave, you will all be wiped clean.”

I lunged forwards, my huge hooves plowing into the large hellhound. My hooves bashed into their head, crushing their skull and sending brain matter splattering against the floor and walls. The body hadn’t even hit the ground when my SATS targeted the heads of the other three Hellhounds, my Tesla cannon blasting off deadly beams of blazing blue light into them with terrifying accuracy. Two of the Hellhounds fell to the ground dead, gaping holes burned straight through their chests.

The final Hellhound collapsed with a manic howl, blood spilling from the stump where their leg had once been as my Tesla cannon ripped through them. They pulled themselves away with their huge claws frantically scrambling across the floor in an attempt to reach safety.

I lumbered towards them, my hooves denting the metal floor with each step. I towered above then, one hoof pinning the crawling Hellhound to the ground while my Tesla cannon swivelled to point down at their head.

The Hellhound snarled up at me, blood dripping from their maw. “Tell your Enclave that they will burn for this!” The Hellhound spat, their neck twisting to glare up at me hatefully.

I just glared down at the Hellhound, my hoof pressing down harder and crushing the beast's ribs. The Hellhound howled, their broken bones stabbing into their lungs. “Whatever. You're just a talking experiment that needs to be put down.”

Boom!

My Tesla cannon fired, obliterating the Hellhounds skull. Blood spilled out from the mutilated stump of the Hellhounds neck, seeping out and covering the floor of the Stable entrance with a slick carpet of crimson.

Firestreak was practically bouncing on her hooves with excitement. “Fuck yeah! I take back what I said about you! You're badass as fuck!”

I glared at the Tartarusfire Trooper, my glass eyes unblinking. “What exactly did you say about me?” I groused, my tone emotionless.

Firestreak’s excitement dissipated. “Uh… heh. Don’t worry about it.”

“F-fuck… You just- You just killed them-” One of the Steel Rangers gasped, their eyes still locked on the four mangled Hellhound corpses before us. “They were peaceful and you j-just… Goddesses.”

“The Enclave does not have time to deal with abominations,” I monotone, stepping over the crumpled bodies on the floor. “Now come. We have an objective to secure.”

“There’s likely more Hellhounds further in,” Icewind told me, flying beside me so that she was at my eye level. “My reports say the Enclave had at least twelve Hellhounds captive in here. It’s possible that more have moved in since.”

“Then they will die as well,” I assured her, my pace never slowing as we moved further into the Stable. There was a small beeping sound in the back of my head and suddenly green lights popped up in my vision. I narrowed my eyes, surprised to find that my cybernetic eyes were picking out enemy targets through the walls.

“Well that’s new,” I muttered, my head shifting to glare at a wall beside me. I could make out the green outline of a Hellhound on the other side of the wall.

Icewind glanced up at me in confusion. “What’s ne-” She was cut off as my Tesla cannon fired, blasting a hole straight through the wall. There was a howl of pain as the deadly blast blew the head off the Hellhound on the other side. Icewind stared at the smoking hole in a mix of horror and shock. “How did you…”

“Come. There is much to do,” I replied simply, my stride still not slowing once.

I heard two of the Rangers bickering back and forth behind me as we walked, their voices so low that I suspected they didn’t want me to hear them.

“What the fuck are we going to do about that giant freak?” One asked. I could feel their eyes boring into the back of my head.

“Well we can’t let it live, obviously,” the other quipped back, just as silently as the first, if not quieter. “We can’t let the Enclave have something that powerful…”

I ignored them. If they tried to kill me, I would just kill them first. It was fairly straightforward really.

We pushed our way through the rest of the Stable, me leading the way as we descended upon the Overmare’s office. A small marker popped up on my visor's hud, indicating to me where I was heading. How my cybernetics knew the layout of the Stable was beyond my understanding, but frankly, I didn’t really care.

The rest of the Hellhounds were of little concern to me. Most of them tried to ambush us, no doubt an attempt to get revenge for their fallen brothers, or perhaps for the experimentation that they had undergone at the hooves on the Enclave months earlier. They were smart, setting traps and flanking us from behind. It didn’t matter in the end. Each and every one of them fell dead before me by the end.

At last we marched into the Overmare’s office, a large, wood panelled room with a central desk and terminal in the shape of a large Horseshoe. A flag bearing the Enclaves symbol hung above the desk, though the Hellhounds seemed to have ripped large claw marks through it, likely out of spite. Feeble Wasteland Muties.

Icewind flew over to the terminal and began trying to type in the password as the rest of us filed in behind her. Paladin Sandwich ordered three of his Rangers to stand sentinel outside in case more hellhounds showed up. I didn’t bother informing him I had eradicated the last of them a few minutes ago.

“W-well? Is everything there?” Vapour Trail asked, his voice stuttering as he peeked over Icewinds shoulder.

Icewind brushed him off with a wing, her focus never leaving the terminal screen. “The Terminal does a manual password reset every month as a security measure, I’m going to have to hack it,” she told him, her hooves typing away at the terminal's keys. “Now let’s see here… Ah ha!”

There was a small beep and the terminal unlocked. From my spot a few feet away, I could see a large collection of assorted files pop up on the computer screen.

“We’re in, and everything still appears to be here,” Icewind smirked, pulling out a holodisk and inserting it into the terminal before starting downloading everything onto it. “All the files about the MOA Hub are still intact.”

"Exactly what kind of files were we even recovering?" Lighting asked, standing on the tips of her hooves as she tried to make out the flickering terminal screen.

"It relates to a MOA Hub, and that is all you need to know. The rest is classified soldier," Icewind monotoned, her gaze never lifting from the screen. "What's important is that we've gotten what we came for."

“Good,” Paladin Sandwich grunted, strolling over to glare down at Icewind. “Now that you have retrieved what you came for, I suggest you leave so that we may-”

Fire burst from the ends of Firestreaks flamer, sending Paladin Sandwich up in a blaze in dancing light. The armoured paladin staggered back, a surprised scream escaping his lips as fire raced across his body. Before anypony could react, Firestreak rushed him, her flamers continuing to spew burning napalm across his body before she slammed her hooves into his chest, knocking the paladin to the ground.

“What the fuck are you doing!” The Ranger beside me screamed, his minigun aiming at Firestreak and whirring up as he prepared to fire. He never got the chance as I shifted my weight to aim my Tesla cannon at him and sent a powerful beam of magical energy lancing through his chest. He died instantly.

Paladin Sandwich screamed again, struggling to get back to his hooves as Firestreak’s flamers burned him alive. The air filled with the smell of cooked flesh and burning hair. Firestreak reared up, her hooves looming over Paladin Sandwich for a single moment before she slammed down, her impressive power armour shattering the large paladin's skull.

Both Vapour Trail and Lighting flinched away from the carnage, staring in horror at the slaughtered rangers around us. Icewind stood in shock, her own face speckled with red from the arterial spray of Paladin Sandwich’s shattered head.

“Firestreak… what- What the fuck did you just do!” Icewind demanded, her shocked expression turning to rage. “We were under orders to try and keep this as peaceful as possible. The Enclave doesn’t need more enemies!”

Firestreak whirled on her, her unbearably smug smirk prevalent even from behind her helmet. “And I was on orders to make sure that no pony can access the contents of this Stable once we’re gone,” She snickered, waltzing over and sticking her armoured muzzle in Icewind's face smugly. “That means the Steel Rangers need to die.”

“But they were working with us! We could have-”

Firestreak cut her off before she could finish, pulling a note out of her saddlebag with her wing and shoving it against Icewinds chest. “Orders from Colonel Thunderbolt. Secure the data and destroy all remnants of Enclave activity. No survivors,” She sneered, pulling away from Icewind and looking over the terminal, letting the note fall to the floor. After a second, she pulled out the holodisk, now filled with the terminal's data, before slamming her hoof through the terminal screen and then lighting the terminal on fire for good measure. She turned to me, giving me a smug grin. “Well Horrigan. We still got three Rangers outside.”

I looked down at her, uncertain. I was supposed to be following Commander Icewinds commands, but then again... if this order was coming from Colonel Thunderbolt, that would override her.

Firestreak scowled at my lack of response. “These are our orders, soldier! Now obey them!”

Obey…

I turned, my Tesla cannon charging up as I approached the door. My cybernetic eyes targeted the forms of the Steel Rangers on the other side of the wall. I saw them shifting around on the other side of the wall, my hud outlining their bodies in a blinking green line.

No doubt they had heard the screams and sounds of fighting. I would be surprised if they weren’t planning some sort of ambush the second we exited the room. I wasn’t going to give them the option.

My SATS targeted their heads, and I fired.

Five minutes later, I trotted out of the Stable, my armour soaked in Steel Ranger blood. I felt the heat of the raging fire licking at my hide, its writhing, crimson light silhouetting my form as I strode back into the wasteland. The Data had been secured, and we had made damn sure that no pony would ever find anything in that Stable again.

Firestreak danced out beside me, the tips of her flamers still red hot from use. She grinned up at me, the light of the smouldering stable dancing across her tinted visor. Vapour Trail and Lighting followed close behind her, their faces downturned and their power armour coated in soot.

Icewind slowly walked out a few steps behind us, her short cut mane hanging slightly into her face and a haunted look in her eyes. “Sometimes I forget just what the wasteland has turned us into,” she said solemnly, her voice strangely distant. “And sometimes I remember all too clearly…”

Not bothering to cast it a second glance, I marched away from the burning Stable. Ahead of me, I could see the makeshift forms of the houses comprising Stable Town just outside the cave. I heard shouting. The Town folks probably saw the smoke from the fire. Maybe they had even heard the gunfire.

My blood red gaze locked then hardened on the town ahead. No survivors; That’s what Colonel Thunderbolt had ordered. I obeyed.

Chapter III: Once Enclave, Always Enclave

“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

Chapter IV: Those we've Lost

I watched from afar as Vapour Trail and Icewind gently loaded Lightning’s curled up body onto the small cloud. The fallen pegasus looked so small out of her armour, her hooves folded across her chest. A second later, I saw Firestreak join them, her helmet removed, giving me a clear view of her scared face. I don’t think I had ever seen Firestreak show the smallest of care for another, but right now her eyes glistened with moisture.

She was not the only one. Beside her, tears were streaming freely down Vapours cheeks. He turned away from us, facing towards the wastes, clearly trying to hide them. It didn’t matter. I could hear his tears in the snivelling of his muzzle as he openly sobbed.

Icewind reached out, her hoof trembling as she gently closed Lightning's eyes. She gave a sturdy flap of her wings, sending a gust of wind surging up beneath Lightning's cloud, causing it to slowly begin floating upwards, rising higher and higher into the sky above us.

Another loud, sob-like gasp broke free from Vapour's lips. He collapsed to his knees, his eyes turned upwards as he watched the cloud ascend. “I’m going to find the Dashites that did this,” Vapour promised as the cloud holding Lightning's body began to disappear beyond our lines of sight. “I promise you this. I’ll make them pay for this.”

A proper pegasus funeral; that’s what Icewind had called this. It lacked many of the formalities I had grown accustomed to seeing above the clouds while in the Enclave, but the principle of it was still there. This is all that one who died on the battlefield away from home could really hope for, especially while below the clouds. To be reunited once more with the sky. The domain of the pegasi.

I watched the three of them stand there for a long time, their heads raised as they watched the last bits of Lightning's final ascent. Finally, no longer able to see anything of the cloud that would serve as Lightning’s final resting place, I turned, trotting back out into the dilapidated streets of Manehattan. There was no time to sit around feeling bad for ourselves. We had some Dashites to kill.

“We’ll set up camp here,” Icewind ordered, coming to a stop by the ruins of what appeared to be an old grocery store. Above us, the sun had set below the horizon and the cloudless night sky had filled with the glittering lights of hundreds of stars. I could see the beginnings of thin, pale beams of moon strewning through the city, though the moon itself remained hidden behind the towering structures.

“No. We keep moving,” I grunted, turning back to look at her with one big, glassy red eye. “The longer we wait, the more likely those traitors will escape us.”

Icewind snarled at me. “Unlike you, Horrigan, some of us actually need sleep. We will be able to search them out much faster and more efficiently if we’re well rested.”

True to her words, all three of my companions seemed to be looking rather worn down. Twenty four hours of scavenging the city to no success had left them tired. I could practically see the dark bags forming under Vapour Trail’s eyes even through his tinted visor.

At my silence, Icewind stamped her hoof. “We need rest, Horrigan. That is an order.”

Orders made sense. I snapped my wing up into a salute. “Very well,” I rumble as I pivoted and trotted into the ruins of the grocery store. My subordinates followed close behind me.

Setting up our camp inside didn’t take long. Firesteak had quickly scavenged as much flammable things as she could find from the building and threw them in a big pile in the centre of the floor, before quickly igniting them with a loud fwoosh of her flamers. The walls were cast in the warm, flickering glow of the fire, the single light source in the centre of the room casting large, geometric shades across every surface. The building appeared to have been picked clean by raiders years ago, so there wasn’t much around for eating, though that mattered little. We had packed at least a month's worth of MRE’s with us before leaving the Hippocampus oil rig. Food would not be an issue.

Not that I had even seemed to need to eat since my accident. I had never really stopped to think about it, but I supposed that I hadn’t had anything to eat in over two years.

I stood by the doorway, focusing more on my EFS than my subordinates as I scanned the outside area for any hostiles. Icewind offered for me to join them at the fire, though as it wasn’t an order, I just grunted and returned my gaze to the street.

“You r-really think the Dashites heading for a settlement?” I heard Vapour Trail ask, bunkering down by the flickering firelight, the warm glow of the flames dancing across the metal surface of his visor.

Icewind gave a nod, resting down across from him. “I’m certain of it. If they care anything for their companion's life, they’ll seek out medical help, and with their wounds, they aren’t strong enough to carry her all the way out of the city.”

Firestreak snorted. “That’s assuming they actually give a dick about that bitches life,” She trotted towards the makeshift campfire, gazing into the smoldering flames. “You forget that they’re Dashites, Icy. Traitors. They don’t give a flying fuck about any pony but themselves.”

Icewind flinched. “Trust me. Dashites care about other ponies just as much as we care about our own,” She looked away from Firestreak as the Tartarus Fire trooper cast her a stern glare. “You know full well that I speak from experience.”

Vapour Trail shivered, curling his hooves around himself. “So then which settlement? Tenpony?”

“We can likely rule Tenpony out,” Icewind grunted, not bothering to look up at him. “They didn’t appear to have enough caps on them to get in, let alone afford their medical services. No. They’ll likely head for either Friendship City or one of the smaller settlements in the area,” She paused, tracing her icy blue hoof on the ground, making a swirly pattern in the thick layer of dust. “I’m going to bet on one of the smaller ones. Friendship City is too far and they’ll probably expect us to check there first.”

Firestreak smirked. “If you’re right, that narrows it down exponentially. Not many settlements still left standing in Manehattan. Not with how hard it is for savages to survive in these parts of the wastes.”

Vapour Trail trembled again, this time resting his head down on the ground and glaring at the flames. “I’m going t-to kill them when we find them… I-I I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to k-kill anypony this much in my l-life…”

Firestreak raised an eyebrow at him, finally resting down by the fire herself, tucking her armoured forehooves beneath her. “You and Lightning had history?”

Vapour gave a slow nod, taking a deep breath to try and console himself. “Yeah… W-we met in training back when we were both still privates,” he sniveled, whipping his hoof across his muzzle to clean off some of the snot. “I’ve never actually been on a mission without her… we did everything together.”

Icewind’s expression took on an even more dower look than before. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it’s like to lose a pony you care about.”

“Did you like her?” Firestreak asked. Icewind shot her a sharp glare, though her question didn’t seem malicious. Just curious.

Vapour gave a slow nod. “O-Once. We tried dating b-b-back before the Lightbringer destroyed the cloudlayer. Didn’t really work out. We were f-f-fine just being friends.”

All three pegasi drifted off into silence for a moment, the conversation seemingly over. Eventually, Firestreak of all ponies decided to speak up. “I lost a pony I cared about once too. I met him, say… ten years ago now?” She paused, looking deep into the writhing flames and chuckling slightly to herself. “His name was Commander Flamestroke. If the name didn’t give it away, the two of us were a match made in heaven. He used to be a Tartarusfire trooper like me, that’s where we met, before he got promoted anyway.”

Vapour dared glance up and look at her, the tears in his eyes subsided somewhat. “O-oh? What happened to him?”

“Dead. Killed during the siege of Dashite City two years back. His body was never recovered from the wreckage of his Raptor,” Firestreak sighed, leaning back and looking up at the roof above us. “Might have been the first time I ever truly cried over somepony. Didn’t cry when my dad passed, nor my brother, but Flamestroke’s death hit me bad.”

“I’m sorry,” Icewind said lamely, though her voice seemed to lack remorse towards the reminiscing Tartarusfire trooper. I supposed the two of them had grown far too detached for any real bond to form between them. “I worked under Flamestroke back when I was a soldier. He was a good commander.”

Firestreak smirked. “Heh, yeah. One of the best,” she glanced over at Icewind her eyes hidden behind her visor, obscuring whatever expression she might have had. “Well? What about you?”

Icewind hesitated. “What about me?”

Firestreak rolled her eyes. “Vapour and I just gave the stories of ponies we’ve lost. Now it’s your turn, ground lover.”

Icewind scowled at the comment. “Please refrain from calling me that.”

Firestreak rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Just tell us a story while I don’t actively hate you.”

Sighing, Icewind looked up at the ceiling, her expression lost in thought. “There was this one pony. Back when… when I was, uh… Out of employment with the Enclave.”

“When you w-were still a Dashite?” Vapour asked curiously, his stuttering voice peaking with interest.

The question made Icewind wince. “Uh. Yeah. Back then.”

“I don’t think I-I-I’ve ever actually heard the story about how you went Dashite,” Vapour confessed. Icewind winced again, though it was clear to me Vapour had no malicious intentions with his questions.

“Well… It’s a long story. You probably don’t want to hear it,” Icewind deflected. When it was clear no pony had any desire to object to the tale, she sighed. “Fine. It was about five years ago. Before the Enclave came down from the clouds. I was on a reconnaissance mission. A traitor named Calamity had been spotted out in a nearby town called New Appaloosa. We got a message from command telling us to take him out..”

“I remember Calamity,” I grunted, breaking my silence and speaking up for the first time since we had entered the abandoned grocery store. All my subordinates turned their heads to look over at me as my voice rumbled out. “I recall him being one of the few ponies with an aim that could rival my own.”

Icewind nodded. “They don’t call him deadshot for no reason. And it was for that reason that you can probably guess why the mission didn’t go well,” She leaned back, returning her attention to Firestreak and Vapour. “My team was shot down. Not one of his shots missed its mark. One of his shots hit my wing, downing me,” Her wings ruffled slightly at her sides and she traced the scar on her face with her fore hoof. “His second shot grazed my face. Only thing that kept his second shot from blowing out my brains was that hitting a free falling pegasus is mighty difficult.”

Vapour looked about for a moment, trying to make sense of the story. “S-s-so how d-did you become a Dashite then?”

Icewind fixed him with a stern glare. “I failed to kill my target and I was grounded on the surface. The Enclave doesn’t let ponies back up into the clouds for failure,” she turned away, her face downcast, her pink eyes obscured by dark shadows. “When I woke up on the surface, there was this pony, an earth pony mare named Ceder. She took care of me. Patched me up, kept me safe while I recovered. She didn’t care that I was Enclave. She just saw that I needed help and helped me.”

Firestreak made a loud gagging noise. “Ew. You fell in love with a ground dweller? Fuckin’ hell Icy, do you have literally no shame?”

“You asked for the story,” Icewind shot back, growling at the Tartarusfire Trooper. At Firestreaks smug smirk, she quickly averted her gaze back to the flickering flames. “Anyway, she was nice. I liked her. She was from a settlement out by the ruins of a place once called Rainbow Falls, and had gone out exploring the wasteland when she found me. After I was healed, and since the Enclave wouldn’t take me back, I decided to go exploring with her. We looked out for each other. Things were good.”

“W-What happened?” Vapour asked, scooting a little closer to the fire. His tears were all but gone now, his mind enraptured by the story.

Icewind’s face fell. “She was killed by raiders. It was… messy…” She closed her eyes, taking a long, slow breath. When her eyes opened again, there was a strange melancholy to them. “When the Lightbringer destroyed the cloud layer, the Enclave was desperate for recruits. They couldn’t bring wastelanders into their army, and most of the pegasi had either gone Dashite or been killed in the battle for Fillydelphia. So when Colonel Thunderbolt found me, broken and alone in the wasteland, he let me rejoin… at a cost of course…” her body shifted, the tips of her wings rubbing up against the brand on her flank as a painful memory crossed her mind.

“But w-why join back up?” Vapour questioned slowly, his eyes lingering on Icewinds branded flank for a second. “After all that happened on the surface, why join us again?”

Icewind sighed. “Cedar showed me that there are good ponies down here. But she also showed me that being a good pony doesn’t take you far in the wasteland. I watched the pony I love get ripped apart by raiders in the most vile, violent way imaginable. I saw first hoof that the Enclave was right. There is no home for us below the clouds. All that awaits ponies down here is death.”

“And I thought Horrigan over there was grim all the time,” Firestreak chuckled darkly, pointing at me from across the room with a hoof.

“What happened to the r-r-raiders?” Vapour pushed, his eyes not wanting to look up from his hooves. “Did you kill them?”

Icewind shook her head. “They got away. As far as I know they’re still out there. It’s not like it is above the clouds; down here, there is no justice. Good ponies die, and bad ponies get what they want. That’s how the wasteland works.”

There was another long moment of silence between them as they all thought that over. After a long moment, Vapour looked up at me. “W-well? W-what about y-you Horrigan?”

I turned my head to look back at them with one of my glowing, glass eyes. “What?”

Vapour gulped. “What’s your story? You l-lost somepony too, right?”

“Why?” I rumbled back, my glass eyes burning into him.

Vapout Trail recoil. “I, um… I-I-I-I Thought that it might be n-n-nice to include you…” He shrank away more as I continued to stare at him. “O-o-or not. T-that's fine too.”

Firestreak rolled onto her back, looking up at me with upside down eyes through the large campfire. “Come on, Horrigan. Tell us about Skylight.”

I cast a glance at Icewind, looking for orders. The icy blue pegasus just rolled her eyes at me. “Tell us about Skylight before your accident, Horrigan. That’s an order.”

Nodding, I turned and trotted over to them, sitting down next to the fire. The whole building shook as I dropped to my haunches. “We met as foals,” I started bluntly, my eyes staring into the fire and refusing to make eye contact with the other three pegasi. “We… cared about each other… I think those are the right words for it.”

Firestreak snickered. “Oh? The big monstrosity of metal and flesh actually has feelings? I was beginning to wonder.”

I glowered at her. She was wrong. I didn’t care about ponies. Not anymore. “Perhaps once,” I grunted dismissively. “But that was a long time ago…”

<-=======oo0 0oo=======->

I sat on a high flying cloud, looking down at the group of pegasus colts playing ball a few feet below me. I had no intention of joining them, but sitting around doing nothing had gotten boring. I watched as one pegasus colt kicked at the orange ball, sending it shooting through the air and dropping into an open hoop. The rest of the colts cheered.

“Watcha doin’ up here?” A voice piped up, making me roll over to look up at the pony who had flew up behind me. She was a young filly, maybe only a year younger than myself, with a yellow mane and white coat. She cocked her eyebrow at my dumbfounded expression. “Don’tcha wanna go play with them?”

I shook my head. “They aren’t interesting enough for me,” I grunted back. I rolled back onto my front and looking away from the small filly and back down at the pegasi colts below. “They just throw a ball around all day.”

The filly snickered at me. “Right. They totally aren’t interesting enough for you. That’s why you’re up here watching them and not off doing something else, huh?”

I shot her a glare. “I was bored,” I rebutted, though I gave her a small smirk.

Flapping her wings a little, the pegasus filly dropped down and roughly landed on the small cloud beside me. Now up close, I saw that she was a goof few inches shorter than me. She looked down at the cloud field below before eventually looking back up at me. “Well, what about me? Am I interesting enough to hang out with?”

I looked her over, one eyebrow raised. I had to admit, this odd encounter was defiantly interesting. Even still... “I don’t even know you?” I pushed, fixing her with a hard look.

In response, the filly just smiled at me, showing off her white teeth. “My name’s Skylight,” The filly announced proudly, extending her hoof for a hoof shake. “What’s yours?”

Skeptically, I took her hoof and shook it. “Prance Horrigan.”

Skylight's face lit up like a heart-warming tree. “Ooooo! I like the name Prance. It’s really pretty.”

I grumped. “I’m not pretty.”

Skylight stuck her tongue out at me, wiggling her eyebrows a little. “I don’t know. You look kinda pretty to me,” She paused for a second, waiting for a reaction. She never got one. “Well? Do you want to hang out with me or what?”

“Most ponies my age don’t want to hang out with me. Why would you?” I questioned suspiciously. When she didn’t immediately respond, I narrowed my eyes at her. “Well?”

“Cause you looked lonely,” She finally shot back. her words cut deeply into me and I forced myself to look away from her. She was wrong, I wasn't lonely! I was just... just... I didn't need other ponies. Skylight didn't take my flinching expression as her cue to stop and kept going. “And it looked like you could use a friend. A-and I could use a friend too.”

That caught me off guard. I hesitated, looking back over at her. “What… what would we even do?” I had never hung out with any pony before.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Play pretend?” There were a few gasps from below, drawing out attention down to the colts below us. They had stopped their game, their eyes turned skyward as a large shadow passed overhead. Raising our own gaze, we saw the hulking form of an Enclave Raptor fly overhead, its immense form blotting out the sun above for a moment. Skylights eyes lit up again at the sight of the massive battleship and she gave a playful smirk, looking back at me as an idea crossed her mind. “We could play Enclave soldiers! We can pretend to be brave soldiers fighting those wasteland savages below the clouds like the pegasi in that ship! We could have out own Raptor and protect the all the pegasi with it!”

“I’m going to be a real Enclave soldier when I grow up,” I told her factually, my eyes still fixated on the large Enclave Raptor. I was unsure about this whole idea, but I had to admit that it had begun to catch my interest. I had never played pretend before either; my imagination was admittedly quite lacking, but the idea of getting to be a cool power armoured soldier was enticing.

“Then this would be the perfect practice!” Skylight insisted, reaching out and hoisting me up to my hooves. “Come on! It’ll be fun! Pleeeaaase!”

I finally gave a sigh of defeat as she gave me a wide eyed, puppy dog-like look. “Fine. We can play this pretend thing. Perhaps it could be fun after all…”

<-=======oo0 0oo=======->

“Daww, aren’t you just adorable,” Firestreak snickered at me, interrupting my story. “You act all tough and heartless, but you’re just a big softy under all that metal and muscle, aren’t you?”

“Suggest that again and I will turn you to ash,” I growled back flatly, my glass eyes glowing ominously in the dancing firelight. Firestreak opened her mouth to give a snarky response, only to quickly shut it, a small tremor racing down her spine. Clearly she saw the look in my eye that told her I was very much not joking.

“Is that why you joined the Enclave? Because you and Skylight played soldiers?” Vapour Trail asked curiously, looking up at me.

I gave a small grunt. “No. I wanted to join the Enclave long before then,” I responded. “My father was a soldier. Died in the line of duty when I was very young. I wanted to aid the Enclave where he failed. And of course, there was what happened to my mother… Skylight and I’s ambitions only added to the fire.”

“Oh, we’re getting metaphors out of you too, now,” Firestreak remarked. “You’re a lot smarter than you make yourself out to be half the time. And a decent talker when you need to be.”

I snorted, a burst of steam escaping the ventilators on my grafted on Enclave helmet. “Sure.”

Icewind looked at me curiously, as if she was sizing me up. “Well? What happened next? Between you and Skylight?”

I just glared at her disdainfully. “Does it matter? Why should you care?” I countered. I didn’t really appreciate all these questions about my past. Questions meant I had to think, and thinking meant I might question things. And I never question orders.

“Because,” Icewind soothed back, giving me a hard look. “I want to know you. We all do. We’re all going to be working together a lot. Hell, we’ve already had to work together a lot, yet I hardly know the first thing about you. You always just stand there silently and shoot what I tell you to shoot. I want to know who Prance Horrigan really is, and clearly the only way to get that from you is to order you to open up. So keep talking. That’s an order.”

I huffed. I didn’t like it, but I obeyed. I always obeyed. “Very well… We were close friends, Skylight and I. Life for a long time was… nice… Until the Night my mother was murdered…”

<-=======oo0 0oo=======->

“We’re the Grand Pegasus Enclave!” Skylight roared, rearing up on her short hooves. “And we’re going to save the wasteland from you- You vile savages!”

We were facing off against five stuffed ponies toys. They had once been plushies of Enclave soldiers, though we had since modified them to look like vile Earth ponies. Their coats were mud soaked and patchy and stupid, evil looking expressions had been scrawled across their face in black marker. They’re bodies showed off an impressive amount of wear and tear from the numerous beatings we had given them. One of them had had their leg violently ripped off in an earlier game, though it had been lazily stitched back on the night before.

“Yeah! Surrender now, savage scum! Before we need to obliterate you,” I growled. Even back then, my voice was deeper than most colts my age. “We’re not going to ask you twice!”

The stuffies, of course, gave no reply.

Skylight fluttered her small wings, lifting off into the air. “Oh no! Prance! They’re using their evil mutant mind powers on us!”

I gave a low growl. “Oh no they don’t!” I lunged forwards, knocking one of them off their place on my bed and onto the floor with a small plop. “It’s over Mutie! Time to die!”

I never had the chance to attack the fallen stuffie, as a loud booming noise shook the whole house. I staggered to my side, my wings flapping as I was suddenly thrown of cliter. Skylight dropped to the ground beside me, her hooves sinking a little into the cloud floor to try and secure herself.

“W-what was that?” Skylight asked, her head darting around as if expecting the answer to her question to jump out at her.

I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t know, only for the door to my bedroom to burst open, my mother rushing into the room. “You two! Under the bed! Now!” She urged us, panic in her voice.

A shiver raced down my spine. I had never heard her sound so scared in my life. “Mom? What’s happening!?” I asked, fluttering my wings and flapping over to her.

Instead of responding, she just pushed me back towards the bed. “Just do what I say Prance, right now! Go!” She practically threw me under the bed before wrapping a trembling Skylight up in her wings and placing her under the bed with me. “Now you two be quiet. You understand? Don’t make a noise. And don’t come out of hiding. No matter what you hear. You stay out of sight. Promise me that Horrigan!”

“I-I promise,” sputtered, not understanding in the slightest what was going on. “But mom! What’s going on out there?”

Another loud boom rang out. I heard the sound of screams echoing from the city outside. I could see flashes of light and the dancing of firelight outside my window from my spot under the bed. My mother flinched, her eyes clenching shut and tears dripping down her face, her breath was coming out in panicked pants. “Just stay hidden. It’s all going to be okay. I love you...”

Then she spun around and rushed out, slamming the door to my room shut behind her. I screamed as another loud boom shook the house, this one sounding closer than the last. I scrambled to chase after her, only for Skylight’s warm hooves to wrap around me and pull me back under the bed.

Skylight sobbed, burying her face into the fluff of my chest, her whole body shaking. “P-prance, I'm scared! What’s happening?”

Boom!

The house shook as I heard the sound of the front door being slammed open. I heard the sound of shouting and rushing hooves. I could hear my mothers voice shouting something, though I couldn’t make out her words.

A loud gunshot rang out. I heard my mother scream, her wails followed by a loud thud of a body hitting the floor. Her screams went dead at the sound of a second gunshot.

My whole body went cold. I could feel myself trembling against Skylight's body, tears racing down my face.

The sound of hootsteps echoed up the stairs. I heard rough, gravelly voices, stallions, muttering back and forth to each other. I saw shadows passing through the hallway outside from my hiding spot under the bed.

“Check through the rooms. See if we missed somepony!” a gruff voice shouted. Skylight and I jumped as we heard the door across the hall burst open with a slam.

“This room’s clear!” Another voice shouted back. Their voices were getting closer.

The sound of another door slamming open shook the house. I flinched, curling up closer against Skylight. My vision had gone almost completely blurry from tears. There was a loud smash as the intruders shattered one of my mothers prized vases.

“Clear!”

The door to my room burst open. I saw multiple sets of hooves rush into the room, each one clad in a dark suit of nightmarish Enclave power armour. The ponies began ripping the room apart, throwing stuffies and blankets across the room. I saw one of my plushies crushed under hoof, its already falling apart frame torn to tatters by the heavy metal plating.

Skylight and I pushed ourselves back from the edge of the bed, shaking as we tried to curl up into as small of a ball as possible.

One of the ponies stopped in front of our bed. My blood ran cold as I saw the pony begin to crunch down, their eyes peering in at us. “Hey! I found some ponies!”

Hooves reached down and grasped at us. Skylight shrieked as a pair of strong hooves grasped her around the midsection, yanking her violently out from the bed. She thrashed her hooves, trying desperately to break free from the vice-like grip. She dragged her hooves across the floor, futilely trying to find purchase in the surface to pull against the intruders grip.

I gave a scream of rage, grabbing onto her hind hooves and trying frantically to pull her back under the bed with me. A pony reached under the bed and slapped me across the face for my efforts, slamming my head against the bottom of the bed; helpless to do anything but watch as they pulled Skylight away.

A second later, another pair of hooves reached out, wrapping around me as well and reefing me out from under the bed. I screamed, biting at the hooves to try and fight them off.

“Fucker!” The large pony holding me cussed, his hoof flashing out and slapping me roughly, forcing me to collapse to the ground. “The fucking shit bit me!”

I scramble to my hooves, rushing for Skylight, only for another pony to jump on me, pinning me to the ground.

“Let me go! Let me go!” Skylight shouted, panic rising up in her voice. One of the stallions slapped her, reducing her pleas to little more than frightened whimpers.

“Their just fucking children!” One of the ponies was shouting at the others. In the craze, I was having trouble telling which it was.

“Doesn’t matter! Boss says we fuck them all up! Show the Enclave we mean business!” Another was shouting. Somepony yanked me up by the mane, violently pulling at my scalp and making more tears leak from my eyes.

The pony holding Skylight slammed her roughly against the wall. I saw blood splatter the surface from where her skin split. Skylight screamed, frantically reefing herself back and forth as she tried to escape. A small pool formed around her hooves, the hide between her hind legs damp as the small filly wet herself in fear.

“You fucking bitch!” The pony holding her spat, giving her a hard kick in the chest. “You’re fucking pissing on me!”

“Just cut off the cunts head!” Another roared. “We’ll put their heads on fucking pikes outside their house. That’ll leave a fucking message!”

One of the ponies drew a long machete, its razor sharp blade glinting in the firelight that spilled through the open window. The large buck wrestling with Skylight pinned her down, slamming her body over my bedside table and holding her neck out for the machete to strike.

I flapped my wings and bucked the pony holding me in the face. I could feel the ponies nose break under my hooves, blood spurting across my coat. His grip loosened on me, allowing me to temporarily wiggle free from his grasp and once more rush for Skylight.

Blam!

A beam of magical energy lanced through my leg. Dropping me to the ground. Blood pooled around my leg. I screamed out, waving my hooves frantically to try and get the ponies away from Skylight. Another rough kick to the chest quickly shut me up.

The pegasus with the machete reared up above Skylight, the large blade raised and ready to swing down and lop her screaming head from her body. The pony had the audacity to look her in the eyes as he readied himself to strike, a grisly smile across his lips.

Blam!

Another beam of energy lanced out, this time fired from a novasurge rifle. The blast pulped the head of the machete wielding pony, skull fragments and brain matter splattering the walls of my room.

The rest of the ponies looked up, their eyes wide. Five more beams of energy from the powerful novasurge rifle lanced through the room, blasting at the walls. One of the shots pierced the chest of the pony looming over me, dropping their body down beside me, dead; their wide eyes staring out at me vacantly.

“Fuck! We got Enclave here! Tak-” The pony was cut off as a beam of energy burst through his throat, sending him collapsing to the ground, his words coming out as a muffled gurgle as he drowned in his own blood.

I desperately crawled forwards, pushing myself towards where Skylight had curled up in a ball. The large ponies had all but forgotten about us, their attention focused on the ponies that were shooting at them through the cloud walls. I wrapped my hooves around Skylight’s trembling body tightly, pulling her close, my own body shaking and my eyes shut tight as I tried to mentally block out all the gunfire.

Another pony fell dead beside us. Skylight shrieked as their blood gathered around our hooves, staining out hide red.

A large, black shape flashed through the window, its armoured form slamming into one of the ponies. The ponies' spine snapped as the metal shape rammed into them.

I looked up, my eyes locking with the eyes of one of our attackers. They were shambling towards us, one of their legs blasted open and oozing blood. They raised their magical energy rifle in their mouth, pointing it at us. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

Blam!

A beam of energy blast through the ponies head. Instead of their head exploding open like the first pony had, however, their whole body burst apart, dissolving into glittering ash. The ash scattered into the air, fluttering upwards before slowly sprinkling downwards towards the ground.

My eyes widened as I took in our savior. The writhing firelight almost silhouetting their impressive form, beams of crimson light streaking out from behind them and the flittering ash before them making their already gleaming armour seem almost otherworldly.

They were an Enclave soldier, their whole body clad in a heavy suit of insectoid Enclave power armour. Two twin Novasurge rifles had been secured to their battle saddle and they had an imposing, metal, scorpion-like tail that swayed back and forth behind them. Their head was covered by their impressive Enclave helmet, their eyes glowing a deep, vibrant yellow. The Enclave insignia was emblazoned proudly on their shoulder pad; a capital E circled by stars.

I felt my jaw drop open. There was only one word that could truly describe the pony that stood before me. They were awesome.

“You ponies stay here,” The Enclave soldier ordered us, giving both of us a salute. His voice was strong and commanding. I felt safe simply by hearing it. “Obey and everything will be alright.”

I could do little else but nod dumbly as the armoured pegasus’ wings flared open, beams of golden firelight catching in his feathers and casting magnificent shadows across the wall. He turned from us, his legs bending and his muscles rippling before he took off into the air, flashing out the window and into the firefight beyond.

Skylight and I lay there for a long moment, staring at the window he had just left out of. Eventually, I slowly dragged her back under my bed, the two of us cuddling close to each other as we waited for the sound of gunfire and screams from outside to calm down. We wouldn’t say another word for hours.

<-=======oo0 0oo=======->

I glared into the twisting lights of the campfire, my voice trailing off as I ran out of things to say. All my subordinates looked up at me, unsure what to say themselves. Eventually, it was Icewind that broke the silence. “I’m… I’m sorry Horrigan. That’s awful.”

“It taught me a valuable lesson,” I replied bluntly. “Those who are weak do not survive. Those who oppose the Enclave deserve death. And to those who do not obey, death will soon follow.”

“W-what did those p-p-ponies want?” Vapour Trail asked, his eyes distant.

“They wanted to show the Enclave that life above the clouds was unsustainable,” Firestreak answered for me with a snort. “That was back during the cloud seeding rebellion? Right? Some… thirty years back now? It would have been before your time, Vapour. I was just a filly when it happened.”

“I remember reading about that,” Icewind nodded thoughtfully. “A bunch of pegasi wanted to convince the Enclave to go back below the clouds. They slaughtered whole towns just to send a message. Most of the time the Enclave just ignored them, but then they tried to launch an attack on Neighvarro. That caught the Enclave’s attention quick. Their regime didn’t last a month after that.”

Firestreak gave a small grunt. “Huh. Well no wonder even the heartless Prance Horrigan had feelings for this Skylight. I’d form a pretty big attachment if I went through that with somepony.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I rumbled, shooting her comment down. “Skylight is dead now. She was killed in the battle for Friendship city,” I glanced over at Icewind, but she gave no indication that she was going to call me out on my lie.

“I guess we've all lost somepony to the wasteland then, huh,” Vapour sighed. It might have been the first time I’d ever heard the small pegasus not stutter.

Icewind gave a grim nod. “There’s a reason the Enclave stayed above the clouds. Down here, in the ash and desolation, the wasteland eventually takes everything from you. To love is to set yourself up for loss,” She curled up, closing her eyes. “Now get some sleep. We need to be ready to find those Dashites in the morning. We leave at 5.”

“I’ll take first watch,” I grunted, pulling myself back to my hooves and lumbering over to the doorway, my red eyes once more scanning the quiet wasteland streets outside.

Icewind nodded. “Sure. Wake me in two hours and I’ll relieve you of your position.”

Quietly, all three of my subordinates curled up and promptly fell asleep. I turned my back to them, my gaze focus on my EFS as I watched for dangers.

I saw her move on my EFS before I heard her.

I shifted my head slightly, turning to look down at Icewind as she dragged herself over from where she had been sleeping and sitting herself down beside me. The crackling campfire had long since gone out, leaving the only light in the hollowed structure to be the pale beams of moonlight and the dark red glow of my bulbous eyes.

“You never woke me up,” Icewind grunted factually, her eyes looking up at the moon above us. “I said to wake me in two hours to relieve you. It's almost morning.”

I nodded. “I don’t need to sleep. Haven’t since my accident. You do,” I answered her simply. “You will need your strength if we are to find the Dashites tomorrow.”

Icewind sighed. “Horrigan, can I ask you something. And I want you to answer honestly,” I looked down at her silently. Icewind took my silence as her cue to continue. “When we catch up with those Dashites… are you going to be able to kill them?”

“Dashites belong dead,” Was all I bothered to say in response.

Icewind raised an eyebrow at me. “And what about Skylight? Does she deserve to be dead?” I paused, not daring to answer the question. I cast my gaze away, looking once more the the monolithic ruins of Manehattan. “Horrigan?”

“Is the Enclave ordering her execution?” I asked, my voice lacking any form of inflection. Icewind gave me a slow nod in response, her eyes sad. I didn't dare meet her gaze, unable to stand her wide, searching eyes. “Then yes. I’ll kill her. I obey.”

At that, the two of us just sat in silence, staring out at the wasteland as a dark cloud passed over the moon, casting the ruined streets of Manehattan into darkness.

Author's Note

Fallout: Equestrian belongs to Kkat

Hope you have a great day!

Chapter V: Persistence and Defiance

“Third town, and still no sign of the Dashite traitors,” Firestreak grunted, coming in for a landing in front of us.

We were currently positioned at the top of a large ruined skyscraper, monitoring the cracked streets and air for any sign of Skylight and her Dashite companions. So far we had been unsuccessful. We had been searching for the better half of the day, and the sun was already beginning to set beyond the jagged Manehattan skyline.

“They couldn’t have gone far,” Icewind growled back at the Tartarus Fire Trooper, her eyes narrowing slightly as she swept her gaze across the street below. “Not with one of them in critical condition.”

“Perhaps they went looking for shelter with the Applejack Rangers in Fetlock?” Firestreak suggested. “We weren’t far from there.”

“If they did, that will complicate things,” Icewind mused. “The Enclave is not in a position to make an attack against Stable 29.”

Firestreak brushed her concern off with a wing. “Uh, hello? Are you forgetting we’ve got muscles on our side?” She gestured lazily to me with her armored tail. “Horrigan can just go rip the whole fucking Stable door off.”

“It’s still risky, but I suppose we can’t rule it out,” Icewind sighed. She turned, pointing a hoof at Vapour Trail. “Alright, I want you to head into Fetlock. See if you can find any signs of the Dashites having sought cover with the Rangers there… I feel like this goes without saying, but stay hidden. Don't engage unless absolutely necessary.”

Vapour gave a quick salute and took off into the air, flying out across the ruined city before starting to arch down towards the bombed subrubs of Fetlock in the distance. Vapour had seemed more determined and quiet since he had awoken. I suspected it had something to do with Lightning's death. Were I a smarter pony, maybe I would have understood.

“And what do you want of me?” I rumbled, my eyes shifting from Vapour to lock on Icewind.

“We still have two more settlements on our list to check out,” Icewind affirmed, pulling out a list she had jotted down the night before. “I’ll check out Friendship City. My Dashite brand should allow me to look around there without any unwanted attention. You and Firestreak will scout out the second location. Firestreak, you’re in charge. Don’t make me regret that.”

Firestreak gave her a smug looking grin before fitting her Tartarus Fire helmet over her face. “I would never,”

Icewind just glowered at her. “And try not to start any fights. The last thing we need is another settlement wiped off the map.”

Firestreak just scoffed. “Why should it matter if we wipe clean another blight off the face of the wasteland? The Enlcave’ll just do it later when the time comes.”

“Because…” Icewind shot back. “The Enclave’s already got a lot of heat on it from the stunt you pulled in Stable Town. If we pull something like that again, we’re going to have the whole wasteland breathing down our necks.”

“Fine, fine,” Firestreak sighed, huffing a little. Clearly put out at the idea of not being allowed to attack the town.

Icewing turned from Firestreak to face me once more, signaling for me to follow her. “Horrigan, before you go, can I have a word with you in private?” I nodded, following her a few feet away from Firestreak until we were out of her earshot. Icewind glanced around for a second before sighing. “Horrigan. You’re sure that if you meet Skylight again, you’ll have what it takes to kill her? I know what it’s like to care for somepony and if she-”

“Skylight means nothing to me,” I groused bluntly. “Not anymore. Not if the Enclave wants her dead.”

Icewind just gave me a sad look. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly thought better of it and shook the idea from her head. “Very well. Do what must be done. If you manage to get a visual on those Dashites, I want you to contact me. We cannot allow them to slip through our grasp again. Colonel Thunderbolt is counting on us.”

“Understood,” I replied flatly.

Icewind looked me over for a second longer as if expecting to find something on me. She didn’t seem to find whatever it was she was looking for. “Alright… Get going. We’ll all meet up soon.”

With a quick salute, I turned and began making my way back over to Firestreak. Firestreak turned to me as she saw me trotting back to her, giving me a hoof signal to move out. “Come Horrigan. We’ve got some Dashites to hunt.”

Firestreak and I landed on the roof of a building overlooking the settlement Icewind had directed us towards. The settlement wasn’t anything special, just a small fishing town that had been built into the ruins of the old Manehattan ferry terminal. I could see a few wood and scrap metal docks that had been built over the water that led to a collection of houses made from old, prewar boats all connected together with an intricate collection of catwalks and ziplines. A large, junk wall had been built around the outside of the ramshackle town, ponies dressed in metal enforced diving suits standing sentinel out front.

“Ugh, of course Icewind would send us to some dirty fishing town,” Firestreak grumbled, scanning the area below for any signs of the Dashites. I didn’t bother commenting on that. I didn’t care where she sent us. I just did as I was told. “I doubt we’re going to be able to walk around in there without being detected. Not with your big ass anyway. Can you use those fancy little eyes of yours? See if you can spot those damn traitors?”

I grunted in acknowledgement, activating the thermo settings on my helmet and scanning the area. Almost immediately, hundreds of red splots seeped into my vision as my mechanically enhanced eyes began picking up the heat signatures of the ponies below. I spent a few minutes just sitting there, looking over each and every house.

“Mostly earth ponies,” I informed her flatly. Most of them just seemed to be simple fishermen too, though I noticed a fair amount were patrolling the different docks and catwalks.

“Any signs of a hospital down there?” Firestreak pushed. She strained her neck a little to try and see what I could, though it didn’t help her much. “If those traitors really are going to seek medical help for their comrade, that’s where they’ll go.”

I frowned a little beneath my grafted helmet as I searched for the building she requested. It didn’t take me long. The center of the fishing town held what appeared to be a large wreckage of a cargo ship, and upon rolling my eyes across it, I picked up dozens of ponies sleeping in beds within. Deactivating my thermo vision, I spotted a couple ponies in lab coats rushing across the top of the deck into the ship below, each carrying a medical bag of some sorts. Even without my thermo vision on, my cybernetically enhanced vision could make out most of the ponies there in relatively decent detail.

“The large ship in the middle,” I pointed out to her in my rumbling tone. “No signs of the Dashites though.”

“Damn. looks like this town might be a bust…” Firestreak groaned. “Come on. Hopefully Icewind or Vapour is having more luck than-”

“Hold,” I grunted, my eyes narrowing as I watched as one of the doctors on the large ship slinked away from the rest and start heading across the docks to a large sewer pipe that looked as if it had once deposited sewage into the water. The pony glanced back and forth nervously for a moment before ducking into the pipe and out of sight.

Firestreak waited for a long second, just looking up at me in annoyance as I stood there in silence, watching the doctor disappear into the pipe. After a long moment, she gave out a loud, irritated growl. “Well? What the fuck is it?”

I ignored her for a second, clicking my thermo vision back on. I turned away from the small town, my eyes sweeping over the surrounding streets. A second later, I found what I was looking for. The trail was vague and only the smallest reminisce of heat remained, but I spotted a collection of red heat marks left behind by hoofsteps along one of the streets that led into an open sewage drain. Turning my thermo vision off revealed the faint trail of blood that accompanied the hoof steps.

“They’re hiding in the sewers,” I rumbled, narrowing my eyes at the trail of blood. “A doctor from the town is providing them with healing supplies.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” Firestreak gaped. “What are you now? A fucking detective?” I just stared back at her with my unblinking red gaze. “Gah, fine. We’ll check the sewers!” She groaned, letting her wings flare out at her sides and taking to the air.

I let my own wings snap open, following after her as we glided down to the street below. I landed with a loud thud, the asphalt cracking beneath my heavy armored hooves. A radroach scuttled out from under a broken down wagon when it heard us, only to turn around and run back into cover at the sight of me.

“Well fuck me you are smarter than you look,” Firesteak commented, dipping the tip of her armoured hoof into one of the small splatters of blood along the road. She turned, tromping over to the sewer grate and pulling it open with a small grunt. “Come on. Let’s see what we’re dealing with. I can’t wait to sear the flesh of those Dashite traitors bones.”

“Should we not inform Icewind first,” I interjected, sticking out my hoof to stop her before Firestreak could move to lower herself into the sewer. “She ordered that I inform her if we get a visual on the Dashites.”

Firestreak growled at the remark. “No. Forget that Dashite bitch. We go in now or risk losing these fuckers again. Besides, we don’t have a visual, do we?”

My eyes narrowed slightly at her from behind my visor. “Should we not at least send our commander a messa-”

“Icewind put me in command here, and you will obey!” Firestreak snapped. At that word, I went dead silent, awaiting whatever she was going to say next. “We don’t need Icewind. We go in now. Let her aimlessly scour Friendship City. Who knows, maybe the bitch’ll find something. Now follow me and don’t question my actions again.”

I remained silent as we began moving into the sewers.

Fitting into the sewer was difficult, even for Firestreak. It took her a few seconds to wiggle her way into the tight opening with her bulky power armour before she managed to successfully drop down into the darkness below. It was even harder for me. After a few moments of struggling, I just gave up trying to be subtle and blasted the small opening apart with a blast from my tesla cannon. Firestreak gave a shrill shriek as debris from the ceiling above her began raining down into the sewer above her.

“A little warning before you do that next time you fucking asshole!” Firestreak scolded, taking a step back as another piece of the ceiling collapsed down, nearly crushing her. “And be quiet! Are you trying to give us away?”

“Understood,” I monotone, accepting the order. I dropped down next to her in the dark tunnel. There was a small splash as my hooves sunk into the knee deep water that submerged the tunnel floor. Well, knee deep for Firestreak. The sludge water only rose up to my fetlocks.

The tunnel was dark, even with a large chunk of the ceiling broken. I doubted most ponies would be able to see very far with their naked eye alone. Black sludge clung to the curved walls and a thick torrent of murky water sloshed down the centre.

“This was clever,” Firestreak remared, trudging her way through the slightly radioactive filth that swirled around our hooves. The bulbous lights on her Enclave helmet flicked on, illuminating the hallway before us slightly with a yellowy glow. “Credit where it’s due, those Dashites have some brains. I doubt anypony would have thought to check down here for them.”

Up ahead, I could make out a section of the tunnel that split off in two directions. I tried to pinpoint which way the Dashites might have gone, but the constant flow of rushing water had long since removed any signs of hoofprints of blood.

“Fuck. You go that way,” Firestreak commanded, pointing down the tunnel to the right. “We’ll cover more ground if we split up.”

I gave a curt nod, but otherwise remained silent as I began trotting down the indicated tunnel. I could hear Firestreak moving into the opposing passage behind me, her metal clad hooves making small slurping splashes as she trudged through the filth. The tunnel was much darker without Firestreak’s helmet lights to see by, but the glowing red lights that made up my cybernetic eyes did a decent job of cutting through the gloom, filling the dank sewer with a hellish, red glow. I saw a few red bars scuttle around on my EFS, though from the speed they were moving, I could assume they were nothing more than radroaches.

After a few moments of attempting to silently move through the sewers, I heard the faint sound of hushed whispers echoing from around the corner ahead of me. I paused, immediately cutting the glowing red lights of my helmet's eyes and slinking up to the corner. As I got closer, the words began to become more clear.

“-We need to get out of the city as soon as we can. I doubt those Enclave bastards are going to just give up. Especially after we killed one of their own,” I heard the first voice say. I recognized the voice immediately as the one male Dashite we had been tracking. What had their name been? Plasma Charge? I wasn’t good with remembering names.

“I know… but who knows how long it’ll be ‘till Tailchaser is stable enough to move,” I froze as I heard that voice. It was the one voice I could never forget.

I shifted myself slightly so just the tip of one of my eyes could peak around the corner. As I suspected, Plasma Charge and Skylight stood in the dimly lit tunnel, both of them standing knee deep in muck as they whispered back and forth. Behind them, I could see a flickering light of a campfire that looked to have been set up in the centre of a small room that hadn’t been filled with gunk. Likely some sort of maintenance room from before the war. I couldn’t see much of what was happening in the room, but I could see a few shadows moving across the wall from the writhing firelight, a clear sign that the other dashites and likely the doctor helping them were within.

I narrowed my gaze on them for a moment, letting my tesla cannon charge up at my side. It would be so easy to kill them right now while they were unprepared. I crouched down into a more battle ready stance, preparing myself for the massive wave of force that was soon to shoot from my gun. I held for a moment, glaring at Skylight.

“Even still…” Plasma Charge sighed. “We have to get back and report to the Stable Mare. She’s going to want to hear about this monster the Enclave has with them.”

I hesitated. They knew about this Stable Mare that was causing all sorts of problems for the Enclave. They could have valuable information. I let my tesla cannon die down. Perhaps killing them outright would not be the best course of action. Not yet.

“He isn’t a monster!” Skylight snapped, raising her voice. Her wings ruffled at her sides uncomfortably. “Prance is a good pony, really. The Enclave’s done something to him!”

“That much is obvious,” Plasma Charge scowled. “I don’t care who you think that freak is Sky, but what I do know is that we currently have a massive, power armoured, cybernetically enhanced, alicorn trying to kill us. All of us together hardly even put a dent in that things armour back there and Tailchaser almost died!” His harsh tone dropped into something a little more sympathetic sounding. “Whoever this Prance Horrigan was to you before is gone. You can see that, right? The Enclave turned him into a monster and we need to put him down.”

Skylight just stared at him for a second before shaking her head definitely. “No… No, he’s still in there. I know he is. He said my name. Back at the apartment building, he said my name. He remembers me. That’s proof there’s something left of Prance. Proof we can save him. I just know it.”

Plasma Charge just sighed. “Maybe… But right now we have more important things to deal with. This attack on us is just proof that the Enclave is getting ready to make their move. We need to be ready for that, and if Horrigan gets in our way, we’re going to need to deal with him…”

Skylight just remained silent, staring at him for a long moment before looking away. “I'll- maybe… Why don't we continue this conversation once we're out of the city?”

Plasma Charge gave her a sad look ever so similar to the look Icewind had given me before turning and starting to trot back to the maintenance room. “Sure... Come on. Lets go check on Tailchaser. She should be waking up soon.”

“I’ll be with you in a minute alone,” Skylight responded glumbly. “I just want to have a moment to think about things…”

“Alright… Take your time… We’ll be here if you need us,” And with that, Plasma Charge disappeared into the maintenance room.

Skylight stood alone in the tunnel for a long moment before groaning and slumping against the wall, dropping down to her haunches and placing her face in her hooves. “Damn it Prance… What do things need to be so damn complicated…” I winced, momentarily thinking she was talking to me, before realizing she had only been muttering to herself.

Looking down, I picked up what looked to be some piece of prewar garbage that had been carried along by the current of rushing water. I looked it over for a second before glancing at Skylight, a small plan forming in my mind. I took a step back, concealing myself fully behind the wall before tossing the small piece of trash against the wall beside me.

The effect was immediate. Skylight instantly sprang to her hooves, her head snapping to look in my direction. She took on a battlestance, her novasurge rifles glowing slightly at her sides as her eyes sweeped the tunnel back and forth. “Hello?” She called out in a hushed tone.

I didn’t answer. I just stood back, watching her silently through the wall with my cybernetic vision. I had to admit, I was impressed at how fast Skylight’s reflexes had gotten since I had seen her last. Clearly she had been training hard.

Slowly, Skylight began slinking her way towards the corner of the tunnel, her wings half unfurled as if preparing to take flight at any moment. She crept closer and closer to the corner. I could feel the bulging muscles in my legs tensing as she grew closer to me. My eyes narrowed at her, my jaw clenching tightly.

Skylight paused just at the threshold of the corner, breathing lightly as if waiting for something to jump out at her. It never did. A moment passed. Then another. After a few more seconds, Skylight took a step forwards, emerging into the side tunnel.

I lunged forwards, my hooves moving far faster than she had time to react to. I yanked her backwards, pushing her up against the side of the tunnel wall. My bladed tail flashed out, quickly slicing her novasurge rifles from her battle saddle and dropping them into the sludge with a quiet splash. Skylight’s mouth opened wide to scream, but my free hoof swung up, clamping tight against her mouth.

“Scream and you die,” I scowled in as low a voice as possible. Skylight stared up at me in horror for a moment, eyes wide, before giving a timid nod. Hesitantly, I pulled away, letting her gasp for breath.

“Prance… you’re- you’re here…” Skylight gasped in a hushed voice.

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t blast you ash right now,” I rumbled, the end of my massive tesla cannon glowing dangerously.

Skylight cringed away from the glowing end of the massive weapon, trying to fold her wings over her face to give herself some form of cover. “B-because… We’re friends… We’ve always looked out for each other. Prance, please… We've known each other since we were foals.”

Those words made me pause. Friends? Is that what we were? Perhaps once upon a time we had been. But could we still be? After everything? After she had betrayed the Enclave?

Slowly, I let my tesla cannons die down. “Start talking,” I ordered. “How are you still alive? The Enclave told me you were dead.”

Skylight gave a nervous nod, trying to pull herself away from the wall a little. I didn’t let her, keeping one hoof out, pinning her down. “After the Enclave destroyed Canterlot Castle, I was stationed aboard the Raptor Altostus. We'd heard rumours that Friendship City was harbouring a fugitive Dashite, so went to deal with them. But when we got there… things… things didn’t go the way we planned. The Enclave started killing innocent ponies. I saw them kill foals, I-” Skylight had to stop and take a deep breath as she began to hyperventilate a little. “At some point, my commander, Ice Breaker, had enough. She refused to keep killing innocent ponies. Then one of our own Raptors turned on us and began firing. Only a few pegasi managed to escape the crash,” She paused again, looking up at me with a stern expression I had never imagined to see on her face. “The Enclave killed their own ponies, just because they refused to gun down helpless innocents.”

“You’re lying,” I snarled, refusing to accept that. “The Enclave looks after their own. They’re the only hope for the wasteland. They wouldn’t do that.”

Skylight shook her head. “Be in denial all you want, Prance, but the Enclave isn’t here to help the ponies of the wasteland. They never were. I had to find that out the hard way.”

“No. You’ll see. The Enclave only wants to help,” In insisted in my low, rumbling voice. “Come with me. I can prove it.”

Skylight tried to pull herself away from me again, glowering. Once more, I only pinned her down harder. “No. I won’t go back to them. I have friends here, with the Dashites, that actually care about me. If I go back to the Enclave, I’ll just be executed at best, and at worst…” Her face took on a grim look. “At worst I’ll be branded… I don’t want to lose my cutie mark, Prance.”

I remembered the day she got her cutie mark too, how happy she had been. She had been almost twelve years old at the time, a late bloomer. She had won the Enclave flyers derby, beating the second place winner by quite a few seconds. Her face had lit up like a hearth's warming tree when the mark had appeared, a single ray of sunlight breaking through dark overcast clouds. I wasn’t really smart enough to know what exactly it meant, but the image seemed to really make her happy. That was all that mattered to me back then. Maybe it still was.

To be honest, it was nice to know she cared about her cutie mark. I had never cared much for my own, an image of clouds and wings topped with a pair of eyes that gazed out from the shelter of an arch. The symbol of the Enclave. To me, it was just another part of obeying the Enclave. An inevitability.

Now that I thought about it though, I suppose my cutie mark was another thing I had lost in my transformation. Now my flank was obscured by grafted metal plates. For some strange reason, that brought me a strange sort of comfort.

After a moment of thought, I gave a nod. “Then it would appear we are at an impasse. I cannot let you go, but you refuse to come with me.”

An idea seemed to spark up in Skylight’s eyes. She glanced behind her for a second, before returning her gaze to me. “You could always come with us, Prance. Help us stop the Enclave…”

I growled at her. “You know full well that isn’t an option.”

Skylight flinched back at the aggression in my tone. “Aright, then… just- come with me for a moment. Let me introduce you to my friends. Maybe you’ll see that we aren’t as bad as the Enclave made us out to be.”

“Negotiate with Traitors?” I scoffed, glaring off at the tunnel that lead down to the maintenance room.

“Not negotiate. Talk,” Skylight insisted. “I promise. They’re good ponies.”

“I don’t talk to traitors,” I shot back, narrowing my eyes behind my visor.

“You’re talking to me, aren’t you?” Skylight retorted. “And as far as your Enclave is concerned, I’m a traitor.”

“You’re different.”

“Am I?”

I hesitated at that. Finally, I pulled myself away from her and let her stand on her own. “Very well. I will… Talk… to these Dashite traitors of yours. Then I will judge them.”

I could see a wave of relief and hope seem to flood Skylight’s eyes. “Thank you Prance! Really! I promise, you won’t regret this.”

“I had better not,” I groused, slowly following her as she scooped up her rifle and began leading me around the corner and to the remains of the maintenance room.

Skylight paused briefly as we neared the entrance, turning back and giving me a worried look. “Perhaps it’s best if you stay here for a second. Let me calm them down a bit before they see you.”

All the muscles in my neck tensed at that. “So you can warn them and escape? I don’t think so.”

To her credit, Skylight looked almost appalled at the idea. “No. I just- I promise. We won’t try to run. You have my word.”

After a moment of thought, I gave a nod. I wasn’t sure if I trusted the word of a Dashite, but I trusted Skylight, and that was all that mattered at the moment. “Very well. But try anything, and I will kill all of you,” I affirmed.

Skylight gave a small nod and gulp before darting into the maintenance room. There were a few seconds of silence, followed by a hoof full of hushed whispers and a few angry sounding growls, then a few more seconds of silence.

After what felt like a few minutes, I heard Skylight call out. “Prance, you can come in now!”

I had to keep my head bowed to get through the doorway of the maintenance room. Inside was much like I had expected. A small fire had been built in the centre of the room, casting the walls in a warm, flickering glow and creating looming looking shadows across most of the surfaces. The concrete walls were lined with metal shelving that at one point in history had housed an assortment of mechanics tools. Now the shelves had been mostly scavenged clean, though a few recently placed medical supplies did fill one shelf.

At the back of the room, I saw the wounded shape of Tailchaser curled up on a dirty looking medical bed that appeared to have been dragged through the sewers all the way here. They were awake right now, looking up at me with horror filled eyes.

Aside from Tailchaser and Skylight, three other ponies all stood around the medical bed, each one of them glaring at me with a mix of fear, apprehension and hate, their legs bent into a battle stance and their weapons ready to fire at a moment's notice. The first one was Plasma Charge, who had taken to standing directly in front of Tailchaser, scowling at me through his visor. The second pony was the Dashite I remember being called Misty, who had taken up a similar stance to her companion, though seemed much less certain. Her leg had been wrapped up in some sort of gause, clearly an attempt to heal her leg after I had broken it in our last fight. The final pony was the same earth pony doctor I had seen enter the sewers ahead of me. They gave me a horrified stare as I entered, though they seemed to try and stay focused on mending the massive tesla cannon wound on Tailchaser’s chest.

“Alright. You’ve brought him here… What now?” Plasma Charge spat, glaring at me. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t blast him full of holes this very instant for what he did to Tailchaser.”

“I could ask you the same thing,” I growled back, flaring my wings a little and letting my tesla cannon build up at my side.

Skylight quickly pushed her way between the two of us. “Both of you, put your weapons away!” She ordered, glowering at both of us. “Please. This doesn’t have to be violent.”

“I dunno know, Sky,” Misty stammered, her gaze still locked on me. “I mean, this is the pony that did that to Tailchaser,” She gestured over to the gaping hole on Tailchasers chest as if it wasn’t obvious.

“And we killed one of theirs!” Skylight shot back. “Please. We can come to some kind of accord without needing to kill each other.”

I glared at all of them for a long moment, my blood red eyes flicking back and forth from Plasma Charge to Misty as I waited for them to drop their weapons. After a long moment, both of them did. I waited a second longer, making sure none of them were going to attack, before retracting my tesla cannon back into the metal bulk of my power armor.

I could visibly see Skylight go limp with relief as the tension in the room seemed to dissipate a little. Not fully, but enough that it didn't feel like some pony was about to start shooting at any given moment. “There. Was that so hard?”

“I’m not yet convinced,” Plasma Charge grunted. “How do we know this freak isn’t going to lead his Enclave buddies right to us?” His eyes narrowed at me even more. “The Enclave is probably scouring the rest of these tunnels right now as we speak.”

I paused. Perhaps I could use this as an opportunity to figure things out. “No. I came alone,” I lied, gritting my teeth slightly behind my visor.

A small cough drew our gaze to the back of the room, where Tailchaser was trying to push herself into a propped up position. The doctor quickly pushed them back onto their back. “Hey. We all trust Skylight, don’t we?” Tailchaser said. Her voice sounded raspy and weak, so unlike the voice I had briefly heard when I had first crossed paths with these Dashites. “If she trusts this thing, then we should as well, right?”

I saw the muscles in Misty’s shoulders unclench a little as she looked over at Tailchaser. “This thing is the thing that hurt you,” She said flatly. “And you think we should just trust it because Skylight knew them before the Enclave came down from the clouds?”

Tailchaser gave her a shaky smile. “They were just doing what they were told. We all used to be a part of the Enclave. We all know what it's like. I don’t blame them,” She turned her head and looked up at me with their blurry eyes. To my surprise, she gave me a thin, shaky smile. “That was a nice shot by the way. You gave Plasma Charge a run for his bits.”

Plasma Charge huffed. “Yeah right. Easy to hit a target when your gun is that big.”

“You’re just jealous you aren’t the best shot in the room anymore,” Misty nickered, giving him a small bump on the shoulder. Plasma Charge just rolled his eyes, but he gave a small smile in return.

I kept my eyes locked on the prone form of Tailchaser. “You would forgive me? After I shot you?” Forgiveness? When was the last time I had been sincerely forgiven for anything? I couldn’t remember.

Tailchaser snickered. “Depends. You planning on shooting me again, big guy?”

I didn’t respond to her, partly because I was still considering shooting everypony in the room and being done with it all, but something in the back of my mind was holding me back. What was it? Regret? No, that was stupid. Regret was for the weak. Objective? Yes, that was it. Information. These ponies knew things Colonel Thunderbolt would want.

“I may have come alone, but the Enclave won’t be far behind me,” I blurted, a sinking feeling forming in my stomach. “Given an hour, they will likely be swarming these tunnels. I suggest you all leave now while you have the chance.”

Skylight’s face lit up at that. “You’re- you’re helping us?”

I grunted in response. “Just this once.”

Misty scowled. “Damn, if that's true, then we probably won't have long.”

"I'd be surprised if it's not true," Plasma Charge grunted, narrowing his eyes at me again. "Either he's lying and the Enclave's already here, or he's not and they will be shortly. Either way, we need to get out of here," He turned to the doctor. “Is Tail in a good enough position to walk?”

The doctor gave a grim nod. “Only barely. I would recommend having her do as little physical activity as possible though.”

“We can carry her then,” Plasma Charge said, moving up by Tailchasers side and bending down a little so that Tailchaser could more easily climb onto his back. Misty stepped up beside him to help support that pegasus’ weight.

“Come on. We've got to go,” Skylight urged, dumping what supplies they had left out into her saddle bags and reattaching her rifle to her armours battle saddle. “Prance, we need a way out of here that'll get us past the Enclave?”

I felt that sinking feeling in my stomach twist and knot until it felt like a knife stabbing deep into my hide. “Yes… Follow me,” Every word that slid from my mouth made that incorporeal knife dig itself deeping into my flesh.

Slowly, I began leading them out of the maintenance room and out into the sewage tunnel. I began retracing my steps, back to the entrance I had come from. Our going was slow. Every few minutes, Plasma Charge had to stop to rest as the weight of Tailchaser and her heavy power armour bore down on him.

Each and every step we took felt like I was descending downwards into a pit that I would not be able to scale again. The last few moments kept replaying over and over in my mind. Skylights hope that I might join her, her joy when I agreed to talk to her companions, Tailchasers forgiveness. All of those thoughts seemed to be banging against the inside of my brain, ordering me to turn around. Screaming for me to tell them all the truth. Telling me it wasn’t too late to change all of this. But I ignored those orders. I had different orders to adhere to.

Eventually, we came to the part of the tunnel that branched off into two separate passages. The Dashites immediately began making their way towards the tunnel that led to the entrance Firestreak and I had come through, but I quickly put a wing out, stopping them.

“No. We-” I hesitated, looking for the right words. “The Enclave has set camp over there. Go that way, you will die.”

I turned, gesturing for them to go down the second tunnel. Misty raised her eyebrow at the gesture. “That tunnel heads into town.”

I nodded, thinking fast. “Exactly. The Enclave isn't welcome that way.”

Nodding, the four Dashites and the earth pony doctor began trudging down the indicated tunnel. I took up the rear behind them, my eyes sweeping back and forth as we moved along. This tunnel was darker than the rest, even with the red glow of my glass eyes, it was almost pitch black. We could only see up to a few inches in front of our faces.

After a moment of walking, I felt a small tug at my side. I looked down to see Skylight smiling up at me. “Hey… I, uh… I just wanted to say thank you. For giving us a chance.”

The knife in my stomach gave a final twist, burrowing itself in deep. I looked away from her, unable to meet her gaze. “Don’t thank me yet.”

Two glowing yellow lights cut through the gloom of the tunnel ahead of us. Everypony froze as the sinister glare of the lights began moving forwards, stepping into the crimson light and revealing Firestreak’s intimidating suit of Tartarus Fire Power armour.

Plasma Charge reeled back at the sight of the Enclave pegasus, his novasurge rifle glowing. “Shit! This is a trap!”

“Well well well. Look what the cat dragged in,” Firestreak cooed, slowly stalking closer to us, her glowing gaze flicking back and forth between the Dashites. Small plumes of fire burst to life at the tips of her flamers, causing dark smoke to swirl around her metal clad face. “I had my doubts about you Horrigan, but you always seem to deliver!”

All of the Dashites took a nervous step back. I saw Misty glaring daggers at Skylight. “We never should have trusted that monster! What do you think of your friend now?!”

“Prance… You didn’t…” Skylight breathed, her eyes fixed on me. Her expression was filled with a painful mix of hate and betrayal. I’m not sure which of those emotions hurt me the most.

“The Enclave has ordered your execution. And I will obey,” I rumbled bluntly, taking a step forward to close off any chance of them escaping from the way we came.

“Indeed,” Firestreak smirked. And with that, she lunged forwards, her flamers spewing jets of fire.

All the Dashites scattered, diving apart as the stream of flame scorched at the tunnel walls. Plasma Charge sagged in the air slightly, trying to stay aloft in the close quarters while carrying another pegasus on his back.

My tail lashed forwards, slamming into Misty and sending her crashing violently into the murky gunk on the floor. She sputtered as the foul sludge filled her mouth before quickly rolling aside as I stomped down at her with one of my huge hooves.

I heard Firestreak cackling as she pounced on Skylight, knocking her to the tunnel floor. Her bladed tail flipped up over her head, its sharp point aiming down at Skylight’s neck. There was a loud fwoosh sound as Firestreak ignited the blade at the end of her tail, causing flames to writhe from the end of the deadly appendage.

Skylight kicked up with her hind hooves, trying to push Firestreak off of her. Firestreak just laughed, bating her hooves aside and going in for the strike. Before the blade could slash through Skylight’s neck, Plasma Charge lunged forwards, still carrying Tailchaser on his back. He slammed his hooves into Firestreak’s side, sending her staggering back and giving Skylight just enough room to rush back to her hooves.

I whipped around as Misty shot back into the air and fired a volley of blasts in my direction. Avoiding the shots with my size in such close proximity was near impossible, but thankfully the beams of searing energy did little against my impressively strong armor.

I took a step back, my tesla cannon charging up for just a second before unleashing its powerful arch of blue energy through the tunnel. Misty gave a loud yell as she was forced to swerve out of the way, nearly being turned to ash as my powerful blast came inches away from her head. She had only just begun to straighten herself when I flashed out with my hooves, slamming into her chest and ramming her against the side of the wall.

The doctor had begun racing for the far side of the tunnel as fast as he could, frantically trying to get to the exit. Firestreak scowled, her eyes catching on him as he madly rushed away.

“Oh no you dont!” She shouted, kicking Plasma Charge away with a hoof and rushing after the doctor. Her flamers burst to life, dousing the fleeing doctor in a wave of napalm induced fire. The doctor screamed as the flames raced across his body, burning away his flesh. He dropped to the floor, trying to put out the fire in the mucky water, but before he could, Firestreak advanced on him, pulling him from the sludge and letting her flamers wash over him.

Plasma Charge gave a scream of rage and rushed her, only for Firestreak to knock him away with a swipe of her segmented tail. The smell of burnt hair and sizzling flesh filled the air as the doctor writhed and screamed as his insides were boiled alive. Then, after a few seconds of thrashing, the pony went still in Firestreaks grip. Cackling, Firestreak tossed the charred corpse to the ground, where the body was consumed by the rushing water.

“You monster!” Plasma Charge was yelling. “He didn’t even do anything to you!”

“He aided traitors!” Firestreak nickered. “A crime punishable by death!” And with that she launched herself back at him, her flamers roaring once more.

Misty dodged another blast from my tesla cannon, doing a quick loop in the air, only for my tail to catch them upside the back of the head and send them crashing down once more. I moved to crush her, only for Skylight to jump between us, her hooves outstretched as if hoping to shield Misty from my assault.

“Prance, stop! Please!” She begged, her eyes wide. “You’re better than this! I know you are!”

“Then you don’t know me at all!” I spat. I jumped forwards and battered Skylight aside with a hoof, sending her flying to the side, her head cracking hard against the cold wall.

I spun around, my tail slamming hard into Misty and sending her skidding back while my tesla cannon honed in on Plasma Charge and Tailchaser as they frantically tried to avoid being roasted alive by Firestreaks flamers. With a loud crackle of energy my hulking cannon fired, an arching beam of powerful, searing light lancing out towards them. I heard Tailchaser give Plasma Charge a warning shout, but they weren’t fast enough.

The blast struck the side of Tailchaser’s head, instantly blasting apart the skull and sending gore and brain fragments scattering across the tunnel. Her screams died in her throat as her body sagged and fell limp to the ground. Blood, pitch black in the dim lighting, splattered across the curved walls in messy strokes. The shockwave of the blast slammed into Plasma Charge, knocking him to the ground, the back of his power armor ripped open and smoking where the lethal energy had scored his hide.

“Tail!” Misty was screaming, frantically rushing up to where the crumpled form of the now headless Dashite lay. Misty scooped her up in her hooves, hugging her close as if unable to accept that the headless corpse before her that had once been her friend was dead. She glared up at me, rage in her tear filled eyes not all that different from the rage I had seen in Vapour’s eyes the night before.”You- You beast! She forgave you! She forgave you and you fucking killed her!”

I stared at the limp body in Misty’s hooves for a moment, before shaking my head. It had to be done, I silently told myself. They gave me no choice.

“Guys! We need to go!” Plasma Charge shouted, staggering back to his hooves and taking to the air, dashing down the tunnel towards the darkness that presumably led out into the city.

“What about Tail! We can’t just leave her here!” Misty sobbed back, trying to drag both herself and Tailchaser’s limp form back to their hooves.

“Mist, she’s dead! We need to go!” Skylight begged, stumbling over to her and pushing her forwards, her wings already outstretched and preparing to flash after Plasma Charge.

“Horrigan! After them!” Firestreak howled, her flamers flaring with firelight as she poured a constant stream of fire after the fleeing traitors.

I bent my legs, each and every muscle in my body momentarily tensing before I kicked off, my wings shooting out at my sides as I shot after the Dashites, Firestreak close behind me. I shot through the air for a moment, the bladed edges of my wings scraping against the curved walls before I dropped back down to my hooves, continuing to pursue the pegasi at top speed, my larger than normal wingspan making flying in the tight space of the sewer impossible.

Even on hoof, I began gaining on the Dashites fast, the muscles in my legs rippling with each and every step. I heard Misty give a scream of fight as she glanced back, making out my huge, lumbering form and glowing red eyes as I powered towards her.

The Dashites took a tight turn down a side tunnel, temporarily zipping out of my line of sight. I spun around the corner after them, my hulking form slamming against the side of the wall as I tried to rush through the small corridor. Sparks shot out from my sides as my metal armour scratched against the cold walls.

Up ahead I saw light. A large circular opening in the tunnel leads out into the fishing town beyond, clearly the sewage deposit pipe I had seen the Doctor enter earlier. At the sight of the exit, the Dashites began flapping their wings harder, desperately trying to make it out before I could reach them.

I snarled, puffs of steam rising from beneath my helmet. I charged forwards, each step of my hooves shaking the tunnel around us.

“Get out now! Go GO!” Plasma Charge ordered, swooping out into the open air. Misty followed close behind him, followed shortly by Skylight, who glanced back at me quickly before shaking her head and soaring out.

My hooves came to a screeching halt at the threshold of the tunnel entrance, my gaze staring out at the city beyond as the Dashites rapidly flew out over the ramshackle boats.

“Horrigan! What are you doing!” Firestreak shouted, enraged. She flew up next to me, glowering. “Get out there and chase them! We cannot let them escape again!”

“They’ve made it into the town,” I rumbled uncertainly. “Icewind said that we can’t-”

“Fuck that cunt Icewind!” Firestreak bellowed. “She put me in charge and I order you to chase them! Now! Obey!”

Obey…

With a roar, I thundered forwards, my wings shooting open as I soared up after the Dashites. I heard gasps and screams of fear as the ponies in the town below saw my massive, monstrous form burst from the tunnel and shoot out over their small town.

Skylight looked behind her just in time to see me crash into her from behind, sending her flailing as she was sent crashing into the deck of the large cargo ship that made up the centre of the city. Screaming ponies desperately scampered out of the way as my tesla cannon flared with light, sending crackling beams of light lancing down at the city below, blasting large holes through the hull of the ship. Skylight rolled aside, only narrowly avoiding two of the shots as they nearly turned her to glittering ash.

I felt a pair of strong hooves slam into the back of my head as Plasma Charge rammed into me with all his strength, sending me reeling through the air for a second before I caught myself. I glared up at him, my glowing red eyes locking with his.

“I’m going to make you pay for what you did to Tail,” Plasma Charge growled, his voice deep and filled with loathing.

“You’re welcome to try,” I monotone back, keeping his level glare.

I saw the tips of Plasma Charge’s novasurge rifle being to charge up, only for a jet of flame to surge around him from the side as Firestreak shot towards him, flamers spewing burning napalm. Plasma Charge shrieked in pain, thrashing back and forth in the air as he tried to put out the writhing flames, but the oxygen only made the flames grow. Desperately, he tucked his wings at his side and shot down into a nosedive towards the water below.

“Horrigan! You take that Dashite!” Firestreak ordered, gesturing to where Skylight was still trying to pull herself up off the deck of the ship below us. Firestreak turned to glare at Misty who had begun diving down to help Plasma Charge. “I’ll deal with those pests!”

Nodding, I angled myself into a steep dive as I shot towards where Skylight had begun to righten herself on the ship. Skylight looked up with just enough time to yelp and dive out of the way as my hooves slammed down into the ship deck, my powerful, armoured hooves denting large craters into the ship's surface.

I whipped around, one hoof ramming Skylight roughly across the back of the head while my tail shot out and coiled tightly around her neck. Skylight struggled, beating frantically at the cybernetic tail with her hooves as she tried to pull free from its constrictive grasp.

“You should never have turned your back on the Enclave,” I growled at her, flicking my tail around so that she hung suspended before me.

Skylight snarled between gasping breaths. “And you should have never come back!”

The novasurge rifle at her side flared with prismatic light as she sent a beam of energy slashing out and across my face. I howled with pain, staggering back as the shot slashed through the glass covering of my eyes and blasted apart a chunk of my face. I could feel the sickening feeling of my flesh and hide quickly slithering around atop my skull as my extensive cybernetics and hydra filled blood stitched my flesh back together over the wound.

With a growl, I violently whipped my tail backwards, sending Skylight flying through the air and crashing through one of the walls of the ship and into the room beyond. I heard the ponies inside the ship screaming and rushing for cover as I charged into the hull after her. I let them run. I only had one target.

Skylight coughed as she slowly pulled herself from the rubble of the collapsed desk she had fallen into, one of her fore hooves reaching up to wipe away the smear of blood that trickled down her muzzle. Her legs trembled as she tried to pull herself up to her hooves, her whole body covered in deep cuts and bruises, even through the power armour she wore.

Bits of metal crunched under my hooves as I strode through the smoking hole in the wall that Skylight had been slammed though. My red eyes bore into her as I loomed above her, the last bits of my flesh knitting itself back together behind the shattered eyepiece of my helmet.

“I trusted you!” Skylight shouted, spitting a wad of blood from her mouth. Her right leg gave out from under her and she collapsed to the ground. “I actually fucking trusted you!”

“You knew it had to be this way,” I retorted with a huff.

“No it doesn’t!” She screamed back, her expression manic and her eyes red as tears began to drip down her face. “Fuck you Horrigan! It doesn’t! You’re just to fucking caught up with your fucking Enclave and your fucking obedience! You’re to fucking stupid to see what’s right in front of you! You- You fucking monster! Fuck you! Fuck you!”

I felt an icy feeling creeping around my heart at her words. Each and every word that escaped her lips felt like a bullet to the chest. She thought I was a monster? After everything we had been through together over the years? Maybe I was. If that's what she thought then I would be the fucking monster.

Beside me, the form of Plasma Charge came crashing through the wall beside me. He tried to push himself up to his hooves only to collapse back to the floor. Firestreak stalked into the room behind them, smugly, her flaming, bladed tail swaying back and forth behind her menacingly.

“Where is the other,” I snarled, briefly turning away from Skylight’s collapsed form.

“Escaped,” Firestreak spat. “But don’t worry. We’ll catch her. She won’t make it far in the wasteland on her own.”

I glance down at the two fallen Dashites for a second before glaring back at Firestreak. “Signal Icewind. Tell her we’ve captured two of the Dashites.”

“We should just kill them now instead,” Firestreak sneered in response, looming over Plasma Charge and pressing the tip of her bladed tail against his neck. “It’s no less than they deserve for what they did to Lightning.”

“No,” I rumbled, not daring to look back at Skylight despite every facet of my mind begging me to look her in the eye. “These traitors have information that Thunderbolt might want. We take them back to the oil rig. There the Colonel can decide what to do with them.”

Firestreak scowled, glaring daggers at the Dashites before retracting her tail. “Very well. You are all lucky Horrigan is so merciful,” She looked out the gaping hole in the wall at the town beyond where I could see dozens of ponies beginning to rally together for the attack they expected to come. “And what about the rest of the town? As much as I hate Icewind, she is right about one thing. We don’t need more enemies.”

I looked out at the ponies in the distance readying their weapons. After a long moment, I turned and looked down and met Skylight's hateful gaze. “You think I’m a monster…” I growled at her in a low, scathing tone that sent shivers shooting down all of their spines. “You have seen nothing!” I snapped my head away from her, glaring back at Firestreak. “Those ponies mean nothing. This is just another town to raze to the fucking ground.”

Icewind glowered down at the two Dashites chained up on the ground before her. Vapour stood a step behind her, doing his best not to simply shoot them down on the spot.

“We aren’t going to tell you anything,” Plasma Charge was declaring, spitting a wad of spittle in Icewinds direction. Icewind easily stepped out of the way. “You are your big mutant fuck can go fuck yourselves!”

Icewind just pulled herself away and snarled at Firestreak and I. “You were supposed to contact me the moment you had a visual. And what the fuck happened to not attacking the fucking settlement!” She looked off in the distance to where the huge pillars of smoke still billowed out above the skyline. What had once been a small fishing town, we had left as little more than a smouldering crater.

Firestreak snickered, waltzing up beside her and giving her a smug grin. “Well we didn’t need you, did we. Horrigan and I had everything covered. And we decided to make sure there were no loose ends that needed tying up.”

Icewind just scowled. “Perhaps had you listened to my instructions, we might have been able to intercept the last Dashite. Or did you forget that you let one of them escape.”

Firestreak just scowled. “She won’t make it far. I’ve already sent a message to Colonel Thunderbolt. Soon dozens of troopers will be out searching every inch of the wasteland for that traitor,” At Icewind’s silence, Firestreak nickered. “What’s the matter, Icy? Worried this will make you look bad in front of the Colonel? Not a good look to have your team complete the objective without your assistance.”

After a long moment of just glaring at Firestreak, Icewind huffed and turned away from her with an irritated flick of her tail, ignoring her taunt. She turned to face me, her brave expression faltering slightly before she forced a stern frown back onto her face. “Do not mistake this as a victory, Horrigan. This is all far from over.”

“I did what needed to be done,” I said bluntly, not daring to look at where Skylight glared hatefully at me from the ground. “I obey.”

I always obeyed.

Icewind's scowl faded to a sadder looking expression. “Indeed,” She glanced over at Skylights curled up form out of the corner of her eye. With a shake of her head, she turned away, looking up at Vapour. “Alright, send word to Colonel Thunderbolt. We’re returning to the oil rig. And we have prisoners...”

Author's Note

Sorry this chapter took so long. Life's been busy and I try to rotate between writing my other FO:E fics between each chapter, and that fic has long freaking chapters.

Hope you all enjoyed and have a great day.

Fallout: Equestrian belongs to Kkat

Chapter VI: The Punishment for Treason

“Good morning, children. I’m afraid I have bad news… That Enclave abomination I mentioned a few days back, well it struck again. Just five hours ago, the Enclave launched an attack on a small fishing town on the outskirts of Manehattan. Many of the ponies there managed to flee into the sewer systems and into the surrounding streets, but the town itself is now all but gone. Nothing but a smouldering pile of rubble remains. Ponies have already begun t’ sift through the rubble in search of the dead and a few have even made a promise to rebuild, but it’s going t’ take them a long time…

“Ponies, this new monster the Enclave has with them, this nightmare of metal and flesh, it is not something we can ignore. We’ve dealt with the Enclave before, we all know how merciless they can be. While I pray for all your safety out there, I also implore you t’ stand up and fight that good fight. The time is coming for us t’ stand together once again and show the Grand Pegasus Enclave that the Wasteland will not be so easily cowed. If you know or have seen anything that you think might help ponies take down this abomination, I suggest you come forward with it. Celestia knows we're going to need all the help we can get...

“Now I know it can be hard to find hope in dark times like these, but I encourage you to stay strong. We are not alone in our fight against the Enclave. I’ve recently received an audio transmission I think you all outta listen to. It’s from the wasteland's newest Stable Mare hero and is intended for the gosh darn Enclave. And if any of you Enclave bastards are out there listening in… You better be afraid… Now listen to this…”

“Pegasi of the Enclave! Your actions are inexcusable. I will not stand by while you slaughter good and innocent ponies. Know that you have made an enemy in me and that I will not rest until you have been stopped and my friends have been rescued. This is not a warning. This is a promise.”

“Well that was our wasteland heroine everypony. Quite bold, ain't she? Now, please, stay safe out there children. This is DJ Pon3, telling you the truth, no matter how bad it hurts… And now, some music…”

I watched as four Enclave soldiers swooped in and began dragging Skylight and Plasma Charge away in chains, leading them both in opposite directions. Skylight didn’t bother to look back at me as she was hauled off and out of sight.

We had landed on the oil rig, accompanied by a small squadron of Enclave troops that had been patrolling the outside of the rig. A lot more pegasi seemed to have gathered around the oil rig in our absence. Clearly Colonel Thunderbolt had been busy rebuilding the Enclaves forces. I was surprised to even see an Enclave Raptor hovering menacingly overhead.

“Can you believe that Stable mare piece of shit?” Firestreak was chuckling as Vapour turned off his radio beside her. “I mean, who the fuck does she think she is? One of the fucking Power Ponies? Oh, your actions are inexcusable! She makes me fucking sick.”

“S-she scares me,” Vapour admitted somewhat sheepishly. “I’ve heard she’s taken out whole squadrons of Enclave by herself. I also heard she once blew the head clean off a Hellhound with a single bullet.”

Firestreak just rolled her eyes. “You scare too easily. What’s a single Stable Dweller mare supposed to do against the might of the Enclave?”

Icewind looked over at her and gave a low growl. “Oh, yes. How could somepony like that ever hope to defeat us,” She cooed in a sarcastic drawl. “It’s not like that’s ever happened before…”

Firestreak glanced up at the clear, blue, cloudless sky above for a moment before huffing. “Fine. I get your point.”

Trotting forwards, Icewind began leading us down into the oil rig. “Come. We need to meet with the Colonel. There will be much to discuss.”

I followed after them all in silence as we descended into the depths of the oil rig. The sickening feeling that had begun forming in my gut back in the sewers had failed to fully go away. I tried desperately to forget it, but it continued to consume my thoughts. The incorporeal knife continued to dig its bloody blade deeper into the flesh.

What else could I have done? I mentally scowled at myself. Replaying my fight with Skylight in my mind. There was no other way. I had to betray Skylight. She was a traitor. It’s just how things had to be. After all… I was a monster…

I glared at the cold, steel walls of the oil rig around me as we walked, for the first time in my life wishing I could be anywhere but with the Enclave. After a moment, my eyes narrowed at the walls slightly. “Wait… Where are we going?” I grunted, realizing that the tunnel we were in was not the tunnel that led to Colonel Thunderbolt's office like I had been expecting.

“Colonel Thunderbolt will be meeting us in the interrogation wing,” Icewind replied swiftly, her tone eluding that she had little interest in commenting on that question further. She turned her head slightly, looking back at me with one of her pink eyes. “You brought those Dashites here because you claim they have information that we want. Well… It’s time to see how true that really is.”

We made our way into a long hallway deep in the depths of the oil rig that was lined with small, steel rooms, clearly intended to be cells. Large windows made of one way glass were inset into the walls, allowing the ponies stationed in the hallway to see into the cells unseen with ease. I glanced into a few of the cells as we passed by them, making out the battered and broken forms of a few wasteland savages that lay chained up inside. To my surprise, I even saw a pegasus laying prone in one cell, her back turned away and her head hung low, sending her disheveled mane into her face.

Colonel Thunderbolt stood stoically in the centre of the hallway, looking through a very specific window. One of his ears twitched slightly at our approach, but he otherwise remained unmoving as we made our way slowly up to him.

“I am pleased that the Dashites have been captured,” Thunderbolt said coyly, not looking away from the one way glass. “If what your report claims is true, it is likely these traitors will have a great deal of information that will be of use to us.”

“There is still one of them at large, sir,” Icewind began, taking a small step forwards.

“So I’ve heard,” Thunderbolt noted, his voice suddenly sounding a little less forgiving. “But they will be caught. I have dozens of ponies out searching for them as we speak. If they really are working with that Stable mare, then it is paramount they are dealt with swiftly.”

“Colonel, if I may… I think we need to talk about Firestreak’s behaviour on the field,” Icewind started, casting Firestreak a stern glare. “Once again, she directly disobeyed my orders and because of her actions, half the wasteland is after our throats-”

“-And she managed to deal with three of the four Dashites. No thanks to you, I hear,” Thunderbolt interrupted, his voice hard. “I am well aware of what has transpired. We will discuss all of that later. But until then…” He raised a hoof and tapped the glass in front of him twice. “We have plenty of information to extract from this one here.”

I turned my gaze to the window, making out the form of Skylight inside. She had been chained tightly to the floor, each chain clamped around her taut and keeping her imoble in the centre of the room. I saw her wince slightly at the sound of Thunderbolt tapping on the window, but she gave no sign she could see us through the thick glass.

“Of course, the Dashite has already been identified…” Thunderbolt continued, turning his gaze from the glass for the first time to rest his cold eyes on me. “And I must say Horrigan. I am impressed. I had my doubts about you when I learned of your connection to Skylight, but for you to learn she is alive and still bring her in… Well, you truly have proven yourself a loyal member of the Enclave.”

I saw both Firestreak and Vapour give me curious looks at the mention of Skylight’s name. Clearly the two of them were finally putting two and two together on who this Dashite actually was.

“Colonel…” I started slowly, uncertain if I was in a place to speak up. At the Colonel’s kind nod, I continued. “You told me Skylight was dead... Why?”

“A test,” Thunderbolt replied curtly. “To see how loyal you really were. You passed.”

“You knew?” I rumbled. I could feel my brow knotting beneath my helmet and shattered eyepiece. My gut clenched and I felt a strange unease building in me that I was not accustomed to. “You knew Skylight was still alive.”

Colonel Thunderbolt frowned at me, clearly trying to decipher my monotone expression. “I did, Horrigan. Now fly steady,” I glared at him for a long moment before stepping back in line with Firestreak and Vapour and giving a quick salute. Both of them gave me nervous glances, but said nothing. I could see the muscles in Thunderbolt’s shoulders unclench a little at the motion. Thunderbolt turned to face Icewind. “Now, Icewind. If you would be so kind as to accompany me,” He gestured to the doorway leading into the cell.

Icewind gave a solemn nod. “Of course Colonel.”

Silently, the two of them trotted into the cell. I moved to follow them, only for Colonel Thunderbolt to put out a wing, stopping me. “No,” Thunderbolt ordered. “I feel it is best if you wait outside,” I backed down immediately.

I watched from the window as the two of them moved in and stood on either side of Skylight. Skylight glared up at them, but otherwise remained silent.

“So, that’s your little marefriend,” Firestreak nickered behind me after a few minutes of awkward silence. I glanced back to see her and Vapour staring at me. “She’s cute. I see why you liked her.”

“Firestreak, m-maybe we sh-shouldn’t provoke him,” Vapour stuttered, gulping as my glowing, red gaze flickered over to stare down at them.

Firestreak just scowled. “I disagree,” She strode forwards, prodding me on the chest with one of her armoured hooves. “You may have Colonel Thunderbolt convinced, but I am not so easily swayed. Back in the Manehattan sewers, you were leading those Dashites somewhere. I think you were trying to get them to safety once you found out your little marefriend was one of them.”

I just glared at her, silent. Not dignifying her question with a response.

Firestreak huffed. “And now that I think about it, those Dashites managed to escape you when we first met them too. I know you well enough now to know ponies don’t just fucking escape you. If you had wanted them dead, they would be,” Her lips twisted into a thin sneer. “You’ve been protecting those traitors. Haven’t you?”

“Firestreak, stop. T-this is s-stupid,” Vapour interjected, trying to move between the two of us. Firestreak just pushed him back with a swipe of her tail.

“No. No, I don’t think it is,” She spat. “Well, Horrigan? What is it? You been trying to protect that bitch?”

“Skylight means nothing to me anymore,” I finally growled. Even as the words escaped my mouth, I knew they were a lie.

“Then prove it,” Firestreak hissed. She pushed past me, pushing open the door to the cell.

At the sound of the door sliding open, Thunderbolt and Icewind looked up at her sharply. “Firestreak, what is the meaning of this interruption?” Thunderbolt scowled, his wings flaring at his sides a little.

“Skylight needs to be branded like the Dashiti filth she is,” Firestreak declared with a snarl. “And I think Horrigan should do it. Prove to all of us once and for all that he is past Skylight.”

I could see Skylight’s eyes shoot wide with horror. Even Icewind visibly flinched at the mention of being branded.

“We have more pressing matters to deal with right now than having her branded,” Icewind deflected. “That can wait.”

Thunderbolt was silent for a second before letting a small smile settle across his face. “No, I think Firestreak is correct. Perhaps that is just the incentive we need to make her talk. Horrigan!” At my name, I lumbered in behind Firestreak, my eyes looking everywhere around the room except where Skylight lay trembling, staring up at me in abject terror. “How would you like to brand your first Dashite?”

I stared hard at Thunderbolt, not daring to speak. Perhaps if I stayed silent, he would change his mind.

“Colonel, this is entirely unnecessary,” Icewind insisted, taking a small step away from everypony.

“If you do not have the stomach for this, Icewind, then I suggest you leave the room,” Thunderbolt replied coolly. “I understand that your… disposition… may make this difficult for you. But the Enclave must do what is necessary.”

Icewind glanced back and forth between all of us for a moment before huffing and pushing her way past Firestreak to the door. She paused slightly as she stalked up beside me. She hesitated, looking up at me before whispering in a voice that only I could hear. “Don’t fuck this up, Horrigan,” They she stormed out of the room.

Thunderbolt and Firestreak watched her leave, their eyes following her out until long after she had left our line of sight. Firestreak had a notably smug smile etched across her face the whole time.

“Interesting,” Thunderbolt muttered. “Perhaps it is not Horrigans loyalty that needs testing,” He thought silently to himself for a second before shaking his head and giving me a kindly smile. “Well Horrigan? Are you ready?” He swept a hoof to the side, gesturing to a long, branding iron hanging on one wall, the branding head depicting a lightning bolt protruding from a large cloud.

Slowly, I let my horn ignite and wrap the branding iron in my magical aura. I pulled it off the wall, pulling it forwards so that it hung suspended in the air before me.

“H-horrigan…” I looked down to see Skylight starring up at me in terror, tears already streaming down her dirty face. “Please… Don’t do this.”

I could feel my heart sinking into my chest as my magic pressed down on the small button built into the handle of the branding iron. Almost immediately, the end began to glow red hot. I looked down at Skylight, thankful for the helmet that hid the flurry of emotions that were flashing across my face. “I’m sorry Skylight. But the Enclave has commanded, and I obey…”

Skylight jerked against her chains as I began walking closer, desperately trying to break free. The chains held fast, forcefully keeping her in position as I drew closer and closer.

“Stop! Wait! No! Please!” Skylight begged, trying to yank her head back to break free. The collar and chain around her neck pulled taut, violently snapping her back into place. “Horrigan! Please! I’ll do anything! J-just please… not like this… Please not like this…”

My magic began twisting the branding iron in the air, shifting it to hover over her cutie mark. It was a beautiful cutie mark, it really was. A ray of light shining through clouds. I could remember her smile so clearly when she had first earned it as a filly. I had to force myself to look away.

“Horrigan,” Colonel Thunderbolt cooed, his voice oozing its way into my ears. “It’s time to do what must be done… Obey.”

I looked up one more time, locking my eyes with Skylights. I had never seen so much fear in someponies eyes as I did right then.

“H-horrigan… please… I loved you… Don’t do this…”

I couldn’t do this…

I shouldn’t do this…

Not to her…

Never to her…

“Obey.”

…

I obeyed…

I took a step back, looking down at Skylight’s flank. Where once a beautiful image of a ray of sunlight shining through storm clouds had once been, lay only a sizzling brand. I forced myself to look away, unable to look at Skylights shaking form any longer.

I looked behind me where Colonel Thunderbolt and Firestreak stood back watching us. At some point, another Enclave trooper had entered the room and was in the process of whispering something to Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt gave the trooper a thankful nod before dismissing him and returning his attention to me.

“You’ve done well,” Colonel Thunderbolt told me, striding up beside me and looking over the Dashite brand with grim amusement. He glanced back at Firestreak. “Are you satisfied?”

Firestreak gave a smug grin. “I am. Thank you.”

With a nod, Thunderbolt turned back to look down at Skylight. “Now, you are going to tell us what you know about this Stable mare.”

Skylight just trembled, her tear filled eyes refusing to look anywhere but at the brand seared into her flank. She gave a small shake of her head, more tears dripping down her face. “I- I’ll never tell you… None of us will.”

Thunderbolt sighed, straightening up a little. “I’m afraid you put too much faith in your friends, traitor.”

Skylight's eyes widened a little at the remark. “W-what are you t-talking about?”

“Your fellow Dashite, Plasma Charge, I believe their name was? They’ve already told us everything,” Thunderbolt smirked. “We know where your Dashites have been hiding. We know you are aware of our plans to raid the MOA hub. We even know your plan, simple as it is, to beat us to it.”

Skylight whimpered, trying to push herself away from him despite the chains holding her in place. “N-no… You’re lying! Plasma wouldn’t betray us like that!”

“You would be surprised how persuasive our torture methods can be,” Thunderbolt said, almost sympathetically. “He cracked after only a few minutes.”

“Wh-what did you do to him!” Skylight gasped, her already terrified face filling with even more horror. “I-If he’s told you everything then please… just let him go…”

“I’m afraid that will be impossible,” Thunderbolt countered. “In fact, Plasma Charge has already been executed. We put him down not a minute ago.”

Skylight’s whole body went as still as a statue. “W-what…”

Thunderbolt turned, looking off at somepony that none of us could see through the mirror-like window. “Bring him in!”

At his command, two Enclave pegasus marched into the room, dragging a limp form behind them. They came to a stop, dropping the smoking body down in front of Skylight who tried to push herself away from the corpse with a frightening scream.

The body was covered in dozens of cuts and burns, their cutie mark completely unrecognizable from the Dashite brand that had been burned into it. Their face was mangled by the bullet wound that had blown out one side of their head, but it was still clearly recognizable in the bright, clinical light of the prison cell.

“Plasma…” Skylight breathed, her breath hitching as she stared at the slumped corpse of her friend. A new wave of tremors raced through her and she had to bite back a scream of rage.

“This is the punishment for treason,” Colonel Thunderbolt informed Skylight factually. “This is the fate that awaits those that turn their back on the Enclave,” He leaned in close, his breath rasping slightly across Skylight’s face. “Now. Tell me something worth my time, or you’ll meet the same fate.”

Skylight scowled at him, blinking back tears. “Go fuck yourself. The Stable mare is going to stop you!”

Thunderbolt recoiled slightly, looking down on her with faux pity. “If that is how you want to be, so be it,” He turned, stalking out of the room. “We’ll make an example out of you, Skylight. You will be publicly executed before the whole of the Enclave. You will become a martyr for our cause,” He paused at the threshold of the doorway, glancing back at Firestreak and I. “You two. I want you to report to my office in ten minutes. It’s time I finally let you in on what the Enclave is planning.”

And with that, he swept from the room, the two other Enclave troopers trailing close behind him.

Firestreak smiled at me for a moment. “Well then, Horrigan. Consider your loyalty to me proven,” Then she too stalked out of the room to join Vapour outside.

I stood there a moment, alone, looking out the door after her before I turned and slowly knelt down next to Skylight. For a long moment, neither of us spoke, not knowing what to say. Finally, feeling frustration growing in my gut, I let a growl escape my lips. “You should have known this was going to happen,” But I didn’t know if I was talking to her or to myself.

Without another word, I pulled myself up and stormed out, leaving Skylight to weep in the centre of the room as the steel door slammed shut behind me.

I stood at attention in Colonel Thunderbolt's office ten minutes later. Icewind stood next to me, her fore hooves propped up on his desk as she looked over the large stack of schematics that had been splayed out across its surface. Behind me, Firestreak and Vapour stood silently, each flanked by a few Enclave troopers I didn’t recognize.

Thunderbolt paced back and forth before us, clearly deep in thought. After a moment, he came to a stop and pivoted to look us all over, his expression calm and collected. “Rumours have been circulating the oil rig as of late. Rumours that the Enclave is gearing up for something big. That we have a plan to get back on top. These rumours are not unfounded,” He gestured towards Icewind with a wing. “Commander Icewind, if you wouldn’t mind filling everypony in on what we have been working on?”

Icewind nodded, pulling her gaze away from the schematics on the desk. “The Enclave spent almost two hundred years trying to get inside the S.P.P. Hub in Neighvarro, to no success. However, since the news that Princess Celestia herself is inside of the hub got out, we’ve been working on a device that utilizes dragon magic to teleport us into the building directly,” she tapped a hoof down on one of the pages, depicting an image of a large looking device built around some sort of elevated platform. “The device's purpose should be pretty self explanatory. We intend to launch a full siege on the Single Pegasus Project and reclaim it as our own before the terrorist the Lightbringer even knows what’s coming.”

Firestreak raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Wait. You’re talking about bringing back the whole fucking cloudlayer? Re-establishing the Enclave into what it was!”

Colonel Thunderbolt gave a stern nod. “Indeed. And we have full faith that the device will work, but there’s a catch…”

“We can’t activate the damn thing. Not without an immensely powerful power source,” Icewind elaborated, picking up for him. “Which is where the MOA hub comes in. Just last week, I, along with Horrigan and the rest of my squad, retrieved data files from Stable 13 detailing the location of a secret MOA hub the ministries built during the war. We believe the facility was used by Rainbow Dash to create prototypes for many of her projects, including A megaspell reactor module. The only one that we know of to have survived the great war.”

“Then what the fuck are we waiting for?” Firestreak scowled. “If we can get the cloudlayer back, we need to do it, and now!”

“It won’t be as easy as just storming the hub,” Icewind shot back at her with a scowl. “All our research suggests that the hub is heavily guarded by extensive security systems. Not to mention the area is home to a particularly large band of raiders that have been causing us unprecedented trouble.”

“And if that Dashite was telling the truth, we’re going to have to deal with that Stable Dweller bitch and her Dashite companions,” An Enclave trooper I didn’t know spoke up behind me.

“Precisely why this mission can wait no longer,” Thunderbolt said flatly. He turned, addressing a large pegasus clad in an Enclave commander uniform I didn’t recognize. “Commander Shipbreaker, did your squad have any luck finding the Stable mare?”

Shipbreaker shook his head. “We followed the coordinates Plasma Charge gave us, but it looks like the campsite had been abandoned, and recently.”

“They likely abandoned their base as soon as they found out their allies were taken hostage,” Icewind grunted. She cast a small scowl at Firestreak. “It sounds like that Dashite that got away turned out to be trouble for us after all.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Thunderbolt interjected. “What does matter, is that we cannot let the Stable mare and her Dashites get their hooves on the megaspell reactor module before us. Which means we are going to need to act quickly. We will be sending an elite team out to the MOA Hub at first light tomorrow to retrieve the objective. As Icewind and her squad have been primarily involved in this, they will be leading the expedition.”

Icewind gave a curt nod. “Understood. My team and I will-”

Thunderbolt held up a hoof, silencing her. “However, under recent circumstances, I have decided to change up the leadership. Commander Firestreak will be leading this mission.”

Icewind’s eyebrows rose. “Commander?” She glanced back at Firestreak who was in the middle of giving her a smug smile. She whipped her head back around to look at Thunderbolt, her expression suddenly panicked. “Colonel, I assure you. I am perfectly capable of leading th-”

“It has come to my attention that the Dashites managed to escape you while under your command, and that it was not until Firestreak took control, that they were apprehended,” Colonel Thunderbolt drawled coldy, his hard glare cutting into Icewind. “Furthermore, your… connection… to Dashites has made me question your ability to do what must be done. As such, I am currently removing your rank as Commander until further notice.”

Icewind’s eyes looked practically frantic as she looked around at the dozens of Enclave soldiers that had now all turned their gaze on her. I could feel her practically shrink under all of their intense stares. Her tail instinctively flicked up, coiling around her flank as if trying to hide the already concealed Dashite brand emblazoned upon it. “Colonel, please. I would strongly advise against-”

“That’s enough, soldier,” Firestreak barked, her voice filled with a sick amusement.

Icewind cast her a long, hard, hateful glare for a moment before nodding and taking a step back. “Of course… Commander…” She practically had to spit the last word out between gritted teeth.

Firestreak just gave Icewind a smug smile in return, stepping up beside her and pushing her back a little bit. Icewind looked like she was going to hold her ground, but instead she just dropped her head and took up a position behind her.

Thunderbolt watched the exchange silently for a moment before standing up a little straighter. “Thank you for your understanding, Icewind. We will discuss returning you to your post once the cloudlayer has been returned to us. You are all dismissed. Horrigan, if I could have a minute with you alone.”

I gave a nod of acknowledgement as everypony else began filtering out of the room. I watched Icewind cast Firestreak a hateful glare, but she didn’t say anything further. After a few moments of waiting for everypony to leave, I took a small step towards Thunderbolts desk. “You wanted to talk to me, Colonel?”

“Indeed,” Thunderbolt replied, sitting down at his desk. He slumped against the back of his chair for a moment, his eyes suddenly looking very tired. “Do you know how hard it is to run the Enclave, Horrigan?” I shook my head. I had never been a leader. I obeyed. At my response, Thunderbolt continued. “It’s hard. Ever since the Lightbringer took away the great cloudlayer, the Enclave has been struggling. I fear that is no secret. I am all that remains of the Enclave high council, our protection from the wasteland has been obliterated and many of our ponies have either been killed or become Dashites… So you understand why this mission is so important, correct?”

I nodded sternly. “The cloudlayer must be returned.”

Colonel Thunderbolt’s tired expression took on a more satisfied look. “I’m glad you understand. I feel I need not explain to you further the necessity that no pony gets in our way. No matter how important they are to us.”

My brows furrowed behind my helmet at his words. “Colonel, if you are referring to Skylight, then-”

Thunderbolt raised a hoof to silence me. “Don’t worry. You have proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that she is beneath you… no. I was referring to your now ex-commander, Icewind.”

I paused. Icewind wouldn’t betray us. Would she? “I don’t believe I follow.”

Thunderbolt sighed. “As I am sure you have learned, Icewind was once a Dashite like those that oppose us. Now I am not suggesting that Icewind intends to betray us, she has proven a useful and loyal asset to me time and time again, but I suspect there may be limits to her loyalty. Limits that may be tested in the coming mission,” Thunderbolt paused, glancing down at the array of schematics layen out across his desk. “There is a… secondary objective… that we intend to procure at the MOA hub. At the moment, you do not need the details, only Firestreak and I are currently in a position to know, but rest assured that it is absolutely necessary for the Enclaves survival. Unfortunately, I have my doubts that Icewind will so simply stand by while we procure this objective… Are you understanding what I’m asking of you?”

“You want me to keep Icewind in line?” I asked simply.

Thunderbolt nodded. “I am. You two seem to have worked well together on the field. I want you to keep her in check. Convince her when the time comes that it is necessary for our survival. And if she does not back down… I need you to do what must be done and put her down. We must not be slowed. Not this close to victory. Do you understand?”

I gave a slow, mechanical nod. “I understand.”

“Good. Now report to the medical wing. I think you’ve earned some rest and a fix up before we have that Dashite executed. I see your helmet was damaged on the field,” Thunderbolt smiled, leaning back in his chair once more. I reached up, tracing the broken pieces of glass where Skylight had blasted my helmet, the words she had said to me as she fired her nova surge rile into my face echoing in my mind. I nodded and turned to leave, only for Thunderbolt to call out to me again. “Oh, and Horrigan. If you do well, there might be a promotion in this for you. I’m sure you are itching to become Enclave Secret Service once again.”

I paused, letting those words fill my mind. “Thank you Colonel,” I grunted, before turning fully and trotting out of the room. Colonel Thunderbolt watched me leave before the door finally slid shut behind me, blocking me from his line of sight.

I spent a long while just standing in the hallway, glaring at the steel walls around me. After a moment of just glaring, I had to force back a loud growl that began building up in my throat. The burning desire to growl suddenly churned and twisted into an agonizing need to scream.

I violently shook my head, marching away from the Colonel’s office and down the hall towards my own quarters. After a few minutes of storming through the empty halls of the oil rig, I pushed my way into my room, slamming the metal door shut behind me. I seethed in the centre of the room, glowering at the cold, barren walls around me.

With a booming roar of rage, I lunged forwards, slamming my hooves against the far wall of my chamber. The steel walls crumpled beneath my hooves like paper, indenting the wall a good foot. I reeled back, glaring hatefully at the ruined wall. I could feel more and more rage and hate building up in me. I tried to steady myself and take a deep breath, but a flash of agony like hatred flared through my mind, inciting another roar and pounding of my hooves against the wall. I rammed my armoured hoof into the wall over and over, each strike caving the wall in more and more. Over and over my hoof fell, the broken shards of metal slicing into the flesh on my legs and ripping off long strips of hide, blood rolling down my leg and dripping around my hooves.

I pulled back from the wall again, my shoulders heaving and my breath coming out in ragged, rasping pants. The hide around the deep cuts on my leg twisted and squirmed, instantly patching itself back together. I spent another moment just staring at the wall before my rage finally began to simmer down and was replaced with a wave of confusion. What the fuck was I even angery at? I had done exactly as I was told. I had served the Enclave perfectly. I might even get a promotion. I had everything I could ever want… Didn't I?

Head still throbbing, I turned my back on the battered down wall and stormed out of my room, heading for the medical wing as I had been instructed. I shook my head, trying to shake whatever strange thoughts had consumed my mind.

If my purpose was to serve the Enclave, then why the fuck did everything feel so wrong…?

Chapter VII: A Reason for Doubt

I let my head rest against the cold back of the medical bed and tried my best not to squirm as the Enclave doctor looming above me slowly pried the welded-on metal helmet from my head. I had always had a remarkably high pain threshold, even before my encounter with the Goddess that had turned me into the abomination I was now, but even I had trouble with the immense amount of pain searing through my skull.

After a long moment, I felt the final bit of metal pry away from my flesh, long metal spikes inside the helmet slowly sliding their way out of my cranium. For the first time in a long while, I felt blood bubbling from the wounds. The doctor had removed the hydra pumping through my veins to complete the procedure.

Outside my helmet was a strange experience. I had spent so long within it that I had forgotten just how good it felt to be able to fully move my jaw. The world lacked the red tint I had grown so accustomed to and even the air felt cleaner, or at least as clean as it could be with multiple tubes pumping oxygen into me that had been shoved up my muzzle to keep me breathing without my helmet.

I lay there unmoving, simply paying attention to the now alien feeling of my blood and the slow methodical beeping of the electrocardiogram as the Doctor turned the two halves of my helmet around in her hooves, inspecting the blasted open part of the visor where Skylight had shot me. “Interesting damage…” The doctor commented coyly, giving me a smug looking smirk. “They would have needed to have gotten remarkably close to damage the glass like this.”

I just continued to glare up at the ceiling. I had no desire to think or talk about Skylight at the moment.

The Doctor just chuckled to themselves. “You are quite the anomaly to me, Horrigan. There is so much I have learned in your time under my care. So much more I wish I could extract… If given the time.”

I turned my head slightly to glare at her. I caught a small glimpse of my reflection in the mirror behind her as I did, making out the ghastly look of my withered, scarred flesh and bloodshot eyes. Most of the skin on my face had been burned away, revealing the deformed muscle beneath, and the flesh that remained had mutated into hideous, pussy patches. I felt a shiver pass through me at the sight. I was even more of a monster beneath the insidious mask that had become my new face.

“You are the one that turned me into this?” I rumbled, gesturing to my body and turning my blurry gaze to her in an attempt to pry my vision away from the horrifying sight of myself. Without the helmet, my voice sounded far less imposing. Much scratcher and strained for breath.

The Doctor chuckled. “The Goddess did a lot of the heavy lifting, but yes, I did. You were a bit of a pet project of mine over the last two years,” she turned and placed the broken helmet down on her desk before picking up a replacement helmet from beside her. “The original design for a lot of your augmentation came from an old colleague of mine, Doctor Pestilence, though I have improved greatly upon his designs, don’t you think?”

She leaned over and began fastening the new helmet over my head once again. I held still, letting the metal plates fall into place around me. I winced as I felt the metal spikes once more slide beneath my flesh and poke at my brain and spine and the searing heat as the doctor began grafting the helmet to my face once more. Dark panes of red glass obscure my vision, returning my world into a constant state of crimson.

“I’ll tell you what,” The doctor grinned, finally pulling away from me as the helmet fully clicked into place. “Since you’ve been such a good test subject for me these past two years, how about I get you a little parting gift?”

She reached behind her and pulled out some sort of blinking, mechanical device on the end of a drill. I looked it over skeptically, trying to discern what it actually was. “What is it?”

“Stealth-buck,” They cooed. “Gives you the ability to turn invisible for a short time,” The doctors grin turned into a sly, almost sinister smile. “Perhaps giving this to you isn’t the smartest idea, but to be honest, I just want to see what will happen.”

I gave her an emotionless nod and shifted my head as directed as she began drilling into my skull. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head as they drill was inserted, followed by an intense hammering sensation as the device was implanted into my brain. A second later, there was a loud slurping sound as the drill slid back out. Blood burbled out of the hole for a second before my body patched the wound back up.

"This Stealth-buck is special in the sense that it recharges. You should be able to get at least once charge a day out of it," The doctor leaned back and gave a long sigh. “Oh, how I would have loved to have experimented on you more; see what other little gadgets I could stick in you, but Thunderbolt needed you on the field. I confess that I had my reservations about you. Every test I ran suggested that you were not mentally or physically stable enough for the strain of duty, but Thunderbolt was insistent. Clearly he saw something that I did not.”

“Or he was desperate,” A voice spoke up from the other side of the room. Both of us looked over to see the door to the medical chamber slide shut behind Icewind as she trotted into the room to greet us. “Doctor Knife Slit. Do you mind if I have a moment alone with Prance Horrigan?”

Knife Slit’s eyes narrowed. “Ahh, the Dashite. I’m sure whatever your business with Horrigan is, it can be said to me as well,” She took a few steps towards Icewind, her muzzle moving inches away from her face. “I heard you got demoted. Pity. You don’t control anypony anymore, do you? I wonder… How long do you think you’ll last?”

I could see Icewind visibly gulp, though she kept her gaze locked on the doctor. “A temporary setback. I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern,” She retorted in a scathing tone. “Now if you wouldn’t mind…” She gestured to the door with a wing.

Doctor Knife Slit glanced back and forth from Icewind to the door for a few seconds before scoffing. “Very well. I was done with Horrigan anyway,” she took a few steps, heading for the exit before she paused and glanced back at Icewind. “Your days are numbered Dashite. I look forward to watching you get spayed. Maybe when the Enclave is done with you, I’ll get to experiment on your body as well,” and with that, she stalked from the room.

The moment Knife Slit was out of sight, Icewind let the knotted muscles in her shoulder relax. I could see her whole body go limp with relief as she took a long, deep breath.

“What do you need,” I grumbled, hauling myself up off the medical bed. My head spun slightly as my body adjusted to the feeling of having chems pumped back into it once more.

Icewind took a moment, taking deep breaths and checking to make sure Knife Slit was truly gone. “Thunderbolt kept you behind for a moment in that meeting. I need to know what he told you,” She ordered bluntly, turning around to face me more directly.

I narrowed my eyes at her from behind my newly affixed helmet. “Why? If Thunderbolt felt you should know, he would have told you directly.”

Icewind growled at me. “Come on Horrigan, I need you to give me something. I’m practically walking around fucking naked right now. I need-” She paused, catching herself. “I think Thunderbolt made a mistake and for all our sakes I need to correct it, but I need to know what we’re really up against when we arrive at the MOA hub.”

I paused for a second, thinking that over. I knew I couldn’t tell her what Thunderbolt had told me, that much I was certain. Mostly on the account that it had essentially boiled down to me killing her if she got in the Enclaves way. After a second of deliberation, I just grunted. “If you wish to aid the Enclave, report to your commanding officer. They will give you the details you’re privy to.”

I took a step towards the door to pass her, only for Icewind to jump in front of me, blocking my exit. There was a strange look in her eye I had never seen in her before, a deep and terrified desperation. “Horrigan, listen to me. Please. I survived in the Enclave as long as I have as a Dashite because the rank Thunderbolt gave me protected me. Do you understand what I’m saying? They’re going to skin me alive right now if I don’t do something! Firestreak is going to find a way to have me crucified. I need something. Anything you can give me! I’m begging you.”

I scowled. “Perhaps you should have considered that before turning your back on the Enclave.”

Icewind’s pleading eyes turned into a growl. “I never turned my back on the Enclave. The Enclave turned its back on me. And what did I do? I flew right back to them and helped them rebuild themselves from the literal ground up when no pony in the fucking wasteland would!” her lips curled back to show her teeth as she snarled. “The Enclave didn’t pin me down when they seared my cutie mark off, I let them. I let them as a sign of obedience! If anything, my brand is proof that I am more loyal to the Enclave than any other fucking pegasus on this oil rig!”

“The Enclave would never turn on us so long as we obey,” I countered bluntly, garling down at her. Why the hell did she not get that?

“Really? Getting shot in the line of duty was me disobeying the Enclave? Skylight refusing to kill innocent foals in Friendship City is a crime worthy of being branded? Are you even listening to yourself right now?” Icewind hissed at me, flaring her wings out a little. “These aren’t the actions of traitors! These are the actions of ponies that are trying to make the world a better fucking place and the only thing getting in our way right now is you!”

“If you wanted to make the world better, you would fly steady and do what is demanded of you, and you will do so if you don’t want to be branded a second time, traitor,” I shot back venomously. There was a long pause as each of our words from the short exchange settled over the room like a fog. After a long moment, something Icewind said sparked up in my mind, insisting me to break the silence. “How did you know Skylight refused to kill innocent foals in Friendship City? I don’t believe that information was ever presented to you.”

Icewind hesitated, taking a small step away from me. “Horrigan, you need to listen to me. I love the Enclave. I believe that the Enclave is the best hope for the wasteland, I really do. You know I do. But even the Enclave has its faults. Some orders are best ignored.”

“You are avoiding the question,” I rumbled, advancing on her, my glass eyes glowing a dangerous looking red. “How did you know about Skylight’s role at Friendship City?”

Icewind took another step back, stealing herself as she stared up at me. “The Enclave keeps records of each troop they deploy on missions. As a commander- when I was a commander of the Enclave, I had access to those records. Skylight was on the raptor Altostus during the attack,” Icewind bit her lip for a second as she hesitated on how to proceed. “When- uh- when I rejoined the Enclave, I had to prove myself. I did so by hunting down the surviving Dashites of the battle for Friendship City. Skylight was on my list.”

I took a long moment to digest what she just said. “So you knew as well,” I growled, my gaze burning into her. “You knew Skylight was still alive, and you lied to me.”

“I lied because Thunderbolt told me to lie!” She snapped back. “When you first broke out of your bindings and went on a fucking rampage through the oil rig, no pony knew how to fucking react! We didn’t know what you would do if you found out your childhood best friend had gone Dashite! I followed my orders! I obeyed! Surely, if nothing else, you can understand that. Isn’t that what you fucking do? Obey!”

I could feel all my joints lock up at the question. I had to suddenly resist the urge to deploy my tesla cannon and vaporize Icewind on the spot. “I could have dealt with it better if I had known,” I seethed, gritting my teeth. “I could have followed orders better.”

Icewind scoffed. “Follow orders better? I’d say you did a pretty damn good job at following orders, Horrigan. And where did that get you? Huh? A pretty promise of a promotion and your marefriend branded and on the chopping block,” She took a step back, looking me over with a look of both interest and disdain. “You realize you’ve signed Skylight's death warrant, right? She dies tonight because of you? And to think she trusted you…”

“Are you suggesting I should have betrayed the Enclave,” I growled back, though I could feel a hollow feeling forming in my gut at her words. For the first time since I met her, Icewind was beginning to sound a lot less like a member of the Enclave and a lot more like a Dashite.

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Icewind huffed, finally turning away from me and stalking out the doorway of the medical chamber. “Just making you think for yourself,” She paused for a moment, turning her head slightly to look back at me. “I haven’t been able to make sense of you, Prance Horrigan. Not since we met. Everytime I think I figure out your angle, you do something that makes me question you all over again. I just hope that for the sake of your own soul, you’ve figured yourself out better than I have.”

Without saying another word, she trotted off down the hallway, the door sliding shut behind her. I stood in the centre of the room for a long moment, thinking everything she had said through my head over and over until my head hurt. When the pounding in my head became unbearable, I gave a loud roar and slammed my hooves down on the medical bed, violently snapping it in two and sending it crashing to the floor. I stood there a minute longer, just heaving and staring at the broken pieces of the bed, trying to quell the swelling rage in my chest.

Finally, I growled to myself and stormed out of the medical wing with a huff. What did Icewind know anyway? I would show her. She’d see. I knew exactly who I was. Right?

I stood at attention as Firestreak slowly stalked back and forth in front of the group of assembled Enclave troopers. She was still clad in her imposing suit of Enclave Tartarus power armour, though I quickly noticed a Enclave commander band had been fastened around her fore hoof, signifying her new rank.

We were all standing on the large, exterior landing platform of the Hippocampus oil rig. A heavy rain had begun to beat down upon us, slicking the surface. The night sky had been obscured by dark overcast clouds and a harsh wind had begun to blow in from the east.

Firestreak had called all of us out for a quick debriefing on the mission to come. Tension had begun to spread throughout the oil rig since the reveal of the mission, and with each hour that passed, the tension seemed to grow ever thicker. Every pony knew just how important this mission was for the Enclave, and Firestreak was clearly taking on a brunt of the pressure. Her movements seemed to have become more sporadic, almost twitchy with nervous energy. Her voice, what had once been somewhat snide and calculating, had devolved into more frantic, fanatical ramblings.

To my right, I saw Icewind standing at attention, no longer in her commander uniform, but in a jet black suit of Enclave power armour. She was looking forwards, clearly avoiding my gaze. Vapour Trail stood beside her, shivering slightly as the cold rain chilled his armour. The other dozen power armour clad pegasi around us I did not recognize.

“You all know the mission,” Firestreak was saying, her gaze sweeping back and forth among us. “The Enclave has never tolerated failure, and neither will I. Fail me, and I’ll have you branded. Do you understand?”

“Yes, mam’,” replied the chorus of voices as the assembled troopers gave an affirmative response.

Firestreak gave a borderline unhinged chuckle. “Good… Now, we find it likely that the Stable mare terrorist that many of you have heard rumours about will be there. I have been told to inform you to not take this individual lightly. She might not be the Lightbringer, but she has proven a deadly opponent on multiple occasions and-”

I tuned Firestreaks lecture out as a small blip appeared on my built in EFS, drawing my attention away. I turned my head, trying to spot what I had noticed, but the blip had disappeared just as fast as it had appeared and there was no sign of anything within sight. I narrowed my gaze, my eyes sweeping back and forth as I tried to spot whatever that had been amongst the rainstorm.

“-For too long now, we pegasi have been forced below the clouds by ponies that should have no control over the skies,” Firestreak continued, continuing to pace back and forth. “But soon all of that will change. As the sun rises, we are going to make the Enclave proud-”

I tried to listen back in, but another blip on the edge of my EFS reverted my attention once more to the skies around the oil rig. I was certain of it now; someone was deliberately trying very hard to stay just out of range of EFS. I shifted my gaze in the direction of the blip, only to catch a split second of feathers flashing through the air as a small pegasus dipped low and out of sight.

I felt my breath slow. I had only seen her for a fraction of a second, but that had been all the time I needed to recognize the pegasus mare. I made a move to follow them, but paused, casting a quick glance at Firestreak and the pegasi around me. This wasn’t the time. Not yet.

Instead, I turned back and listened as Firestreak prattled on, doing my best to seem as unassuming as possible.

“-Now get back to your posts. We leave in three hours,” Firestreak ordered all of us, her debriefing coming to a somewhat abrupt close. She turned and gave me a sly grin through her helmet. “And make sure to be present for the execution. I think that is going to be something we all need to see.”

Firestreak turned and marched off, followed shortly by the rest of the squadron as they began breaking off and heading back to their posts. I waited around for a moment, watching everypony leave before opening up my large wings and taking off into the air, heading silently in the direction of the pegasus I had seen.

It didn’t take long for their tag to pop up on my EFS again. I was flying low beneath the main platform of the oil rig, weaving back and forth between the large metal poles that kept it suspended a few hundred feet above the water. The massive structure of the rig above me cast the area around me into almost complete darkness, save for a few small safety lights that lined the collection of catwalks and the occasional crash of lighting.

A small flash of movement caused me to pull up behind one of the huge supports, my massive hooves touching down on a small section of scaffolding that lined the structure. I waited for a moment, keeping hidden before peeking my head around the pillar and once more scanning the area.

Only a few feet from me, I could see the Dashite, Misty Cloud, I think her name had been, bunkering down against a large pillar on an opposing catwalk, her wings fluffed out to shield her from the rain. She glanced up at the looming structure of the oil rig above, pushing herself up against the cold metal as much as she could in an attempt to stay hidden. Clearly she had heard something approaching, but it didn’t look like she had spotted me yet. She was heaving and out of breath; her wing feathers and mane ruffled and knotted and beads of sweat dripped down her already rain soaked brow. Clearly she had flown a long way through the storm to get here.

Thinking quickly, I began slinking my way around the catwalks, doing my best to keep out of her line of sight. I wasn’t the most stealthy of ponies, not with my immense size and heavily armoured hooves, but the darkness of the night mixed with the howling wind and beating rain seemed to cover most of my approach.

After a few minutes of advancing towards her unseen, I moved up behind the large pillar Misty was bunkering behind. I paused for a moment, checking to make sure she still hadn’t heard me yet. There didn’t seem to be any sign that my approach had been noticed. I heard Misty whisper something under her breath and the sound of shifting hide against metal as she began moving again, this time around the pillar in the direction I was. I tensed the muscles in my legs, waiting for her to come around the corner.

The second I saw movement, I pounced, my hooves sweeping out faster than she could react and knocking the nova surge rifle strapped to her side away and across the catwalk. My segmented, bladed tail flashed out next, catching the dashite in the chest and slamming her violently against the wall. She let loose a loud gasp of surprise, but before she could scream, I lunged forwards, clamping my hoof tightly over her muzzle.

Misty looked up in terror as I loomed over her. She struggled, trying to break free from my grip, but I held her fast. My large tesla cannon popped out of my side, aiming down at her and glowing a dangerous looking vibrant blue.

“Scream and you die,” I told the Dashite, scowling a little as I slowly pulled my hoof away from her. The instance I wasn’t directly grappling her, Misty dove towards where her gun had fallen, her hooves outstretched to grasp onto it. Once again, my tail slammed into her, knocking her to the side long before she had a chance to reach it.

A gasp of breath was violently pushed from Misty’s lungs as she was slammed into the metal wall again. She staggered back to her hooves, spinning to face me as I pushed myself between her and her weapon, blocking off any hope of her reaching it. “I’m going to kill you for what you did!” Misty hissed at me, taking a shaky step back. “Do you hear me?! I’m going to fucking kill you!”

“Are you here to rescue Skylight?” I drawled back in response, my voice hiding any signs of my intentions.

Misty spat at me. “What do you care?” Her eyes darted about, clearly trying to find a way past me and to her gun. I saw her glance over the railing, clearly trying to gauge if she would be able to outfly me.

“Do not make me ask you again,” I growled, taking a step towards her. “Are you here to rescue Skylight?”

Misty clearly tried to put on a brave face as she stared me down. “Yes. And I don’t intend on leaving here until I’ve gotten Skylight and Plasma Charge out of the grasp of monsters like you!”

She dove for her weapon again, this time trying to slide between my legs. My fore hoof swung up, ramming her across the front of the head and sending her sailing backwards and crashing into the floor of the catwalk. I could feel the whole platform tremble as she collided into it with a heavy thud. She looked up at me, blood dripping from her muzzle where I had struck her.

I began trotting forwards, my blood red eyes cutting beams of crimson through the pouring rain. “Plasma Charge is dead,” I told her flatly, reaching out and pinning her down easily with a hoof. “He was executed shortly after being taken into custody.”

I could feel Misty’s whole body go still beneath my hoof at those words. She looked up at me in aghast horror, her eyes wide. “No. No, that’s not true. Plasma Charge is fine and I’m going to get him out of here and-”

“Plasma Charge is dead,” I repeated bluntly, cutting her off. I could feel a chill run through her as the words settled into her like a knife. “But Skylight still has a chance…”

Hesitantly, I withdrew my hoof again, letting her get back to her hooves. She stared at me for a long moment, clearly trying to work out my angle before hauling herself back up. She glanced over at her fallen weapon before once more making a quick dash for it. Unlike before, I made no move to stop her.

“What the fuck is your game?” She snapped hastily, quickly spinning back around to face me as she strapped her gun back onto her side. She took a few steps back, trying to put distance between me and her. “No, I mean really? What the fuck are you actually playing at?”

I paused, not really knowing the answer myself. Nothing made sense right now. Instead, I just continued with the one train of thought I was having that did make sense to me. “You are never going to make it through the oil rig alive,” I informed her, keeping my glowing eyes trained on her rifle. “You’re going to need somepony on the inside to get her out for you.”

There was a long second where Misty just stared at me, dumbfounded, trying to read my expression through my fully enclosed helmet. “And I suppose you are suggesting yourself?”

“Yes.”

Misty just shook her head in disbelief. “What the actual fuck Horrigan? We all trusted you once against our better judgement for Skylight and you fucking betrayed us! Two of us are dead because of you and now you’re trying to tell me you’re on our side? What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“I never said I was on your side!” I roared, my eyes burning into her. My wings flared out, rage swelling in my gut. “I don’t side with traitors. I said I would help save Skylight. Just this once. There is a very big difference.”

Misty scrunched her eyes as if to imply that there wasn’t. “And why should I even trust you?” Misty retorted, her eyes glancing over me as if trying to spot a hidden weapon aside from the massive Tesla cannon aimed at her head. “After what you did, why the fuck should I ever trust a single thing you fucking say?”

“Because what other choice do you have?” I responded flatly, leaving no room for debate. “Either you trust me, or you die. Take your pick.”

Misty hesitated for a long moment, clearly weighing her options. She clearly didn't seem to like the outcome she came to. Finally, she raised her head to look back up at me. “Fine. I’ll work with you, but don’t think that I'll trust you for a second. You’re going to have to do a lot more than just words for me to trust you again.”

“Good. Then you aren’t stupid,” I nickered, turning away from her. “There is an abandoned landing pad on the easternmost side of the rig. Meet me there in one hour. Be discreet. The Enclave cannot know about this.”

Misty gave me a stern nod as I flapped my wings and began to take off from the catwalk. Before I made it far, Misty called out, halting me. “Horrigan,” I looked back at her, one eyebrow raised beneath my visor. “If you betray us again. I will kill you. That’s a promise.”

I gave her a grim nod. “You’re welcome to try.”

Not bothering to say anything further, I soared off, flashing back to the deck of the oil rig. There was work to be done.

My first stop had been the armoury. I had quickly slipped in undetected and snagged a standard Enclave Novasurge rifle. If I was found out, I was going to have to kill whomever spotted me, and the damage from my weaponry was far too recognizable.

I glared at the security camera suspended from the ceiling above me as I walked past. It had shifted to train its gaze on me. The whole oil rig was filled with security measures like these. Getting past them was going to be a trick. After a moment, the camera shifted away, looking down the other side of the hallway.

I grunted to myself before continuing on down the hallway. I made sure the security camera saw me walking down the turn to the right before ducking around another corner and out of its line of sight. I paused for a movement, listening carefully to the mechanical whirring of the security camera as it slowly came to a stop and went silent. A second passed before I heard the whirring start up again as the camera began shifting to look down the other hall.

Pushing myself back around the corner, I quickly skirted down the hallway, just out of the camera’s field of view before ducking down the hallway to the left and heading towards the security sector of the oil rig. I paused only a moment outside the closed doorway to the surveillance room. I glanced one last time at another security camera on the ceiling that was facing away from me, before taking a deep breath and activating the stealth-buck that I had only just recently had implanted into my head.

For a second, I thought nothing had happened, only for a small chill to pass through me a second later. I glanced down, watching as my whole body began to shimmer and turn translucent. It wasn’t a perfect invisibility, but it would be next to impossible to spot if I wasn’t moving and if the pony didn’t know what to look for.

Stealing myself, I moved to the left side of the sliding door leading into the security office. I reached back, readying the Novasurge rifle before firing two blasts down the hall in the other direction. The effect was almost immediate. I could hear the pony stationed inside the security room give a yelp of surprise, followed by the clamouring of hoofsteps as they scrambled to the door. A second later, the door slid open, revealing a small white pegasus mare with a long scar on her neck, poke her head out the doorway and glance in the direction of the blasts I had fired. She gave a small gulp before beginning to walk down the hallway, her weapons drawn and her eyes darting back and forth as she looked for the cause of the gunshots.

Her eyes landed on the two black sear marks in the wall before quickly whipping around and staring at where I was standing. Or rather, she stared at where I would have been standing had I not immediately moved into the surveillance room behind her seconds before the sliding door automatically slid shut once again.

My eyes immediately darted around as I made out the dozens of different monitors covering the wall, each one showing a different section of the oil rig through the many surveillance cameras. My eyes shifted to look at the security cameras surveying the holding cells. On one screen, I spotted Skylight, her body still held taut by the many chains anchored into the walls of her cell. Her head was bowed and her once beautiful mane hung over her face.

I reached out, pausing the feed. With luck, this would all be over before anypony realized what I had done.

I began to turn to leave, only for my eyes to catch on one screen displaying the abandoned landing pad I had told Misty to meet me at. On the screen, I could see Misty pacing back and forth nervously, her rifle drawn and ready to fire at the first sign of danger. I felt myself curse under my breath. So they were monitoring there after all.

I began to reach out to pause that feed as well, only for the door behind me to abruptly slide open, making way for the scared, white coated mare to trot back in, looking a little confused. I took a slow step back, doing my best to silently move my large, translucent bulk out of her way as she trotted past me. The room wasn’t overly large, and I had to cram most of my body against the wall to keep from her rubbing against me.

With a grunt, the mare slumped back down into her seat. “Boredom is making me fuckin’ jumpy,” The mare muttered to herself, bending down and pulling out a bottle of wild pegasus whisky that she had hidden under the desk and taking a quick swig before placing it down on the desk. “Probably just a bunch of rookies dicking off with their guns.”

Narrowing my gaze at the assortment of buttons that sat in front of the mare, I let my invisible, segmented, mechanical tail slowly uncurl and begin arching in the air above the mare's head. I hesitated for a moment as the long blade came to a rest directly by the mare's neck. It would be so easy to kill her now and get out of here.

But I had to make sure this couldn’t all be traced back to me. The Enclave could never know.

My scorpion-like tail continued to extend over her, arching down to her left and gently tapping one of the keys in front of her, pausing the video feed of the abandoned landing pad. The mare’s head twitched in the direction of the button as the small clicking noise rang out, her ears sticking straight up. Her eyes darted around, clearly trying to spot what had caused the small noise. A second later, she rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the screens, clearly not seeing anything.

I glanced over at the closed, metal door leading out of the security room. I could easily get out, but opening the door would likely tip the mare off that something was wrong.

My eyes darted over to the mares whiskey bottle as she began lazily reaching for it. The second her hoof came in contact with the bottle, I let my tail swish out, knocking the bottle to the floor and sending it rolling towards the door.

The mare gave a loud, “Fuck!” before pushing herself up and trotting over to the fallen bottle, doing her best to avoid stepping in the spilt whiskey across the floor. “I need to stop being so fucking clumsy.”

The metal door slid open by proximity as the mare bent down to scoop up the fallen bottle. Gritting my teeth, I shifted past her, ducking back out into the hallway, still very much invisible. I could hear the mare give a small eep as her head darted around, clearly having felt something large move past her, but by then it was too late, I was already out and down the hallway.

A few moments later, I stood outside Skylight's cell, watching her motionless form through the one way glass. After a moment, I let the invisibility drop, shimmering back into view. I took a deep breath before reaching out and activating the controls for the doorway, sliding it open.

Skylight jerked her head up at the sound of the door, glaring at me as I trotted back in. Her eyes narrowed the moment she recognized me, her expression a mix of hate and betrayal.

For a long moment, the two of us just stood there, staring at each other, not knowing how to begin or what to say. Eventually, Skylight dropped her head back down, staring down at the floor in defeat. “Why couldn’t you have just stayed dead?” She breathed, her mane obscuring most of her face from me. I could see her body tremble as she forced back tears. “Why couldn’t you have just died and let me live with the stupid little lie in my head that you had been a good pony?” She looked back up at me, her tear filled eyes demanding answers to questions I didn’t even know how to begin with. “Why?”

I stared at her for a moment longer, my eyes looking over every inch of her being. My eyes came to rest for a brief moment on the brand that adorned her flank before I forced myself to look away from it and back into her eyes. “I am a good pony,” I responded lamely. “I obey.”

“No,” Skylight said simply. “You’re a good soldier. There’s a very big difference.”

I hesitated, not sure how to respond to that. Was there a difference? If so, I certainly didn’t know what it was. I shook that thought from my mind. We had bigger things to deal with at the moment. “You will be executed within the hour,” I told her factually, taking a few steps into the cell and looming above her. “Soon the Enclave will crush anything that remains of this rebellion you and this Stable mare have started. The Enclave cannot be stopped. Not anymore.”

Skylight took a shuddering breath at my words. I could see the fear in her eyes. Fear for her own life, certainly, but there was more to it than that. She was afraid of something far greater. Curious, was it me, or the idea of failure and what that implied?

“Then please, leave me to my death,” She finally sighed, a strange sense of finality settling over her words. “Haunt me no longer, Horrigan. At least grant me that one wish. That when I die, I don’t need to look my oldest friend in the eyes and only see the monster that lived beneath their flesh.”

“The Goddess turned me into this,” I justified, never letting my gaze drop from hers. The goddess had made me the monster that I am. Why couldn’t she see that? I wasn’t the one to blame for any of this.

Skylight almost growled in response. “No, the Goddess mutated you, the Enclave turned you into an abomination, but you turned yourself into the monster, Horrigan. You did this to yourself,” she finally pulled her gaze away from mine, staring up at the ceiling. “And the worst part is I think you were always like this. I was just to fucking stupid and blinded to see it,” she took a deep breath before once more forcing herself to look at me, but her gaze had become far off and distant, as if she wasn’t able to fully see me before her. “I loved you, Prance Horrigan. I really did, but like everything else, you fucked that up too.”

I felt my gut twist at the words. Deep down, suppressed behind the constant pounding in my head that told me to obey, I had already known. But it was too late for that now. “I know…” I replied slowly. “I think I always have,” I slowly began moving around her, my eyes lingering on the chains that held her to the wall.

There was a small huffing sound as Skylight somberly laughed to herself. “I figured. You were always observant… if a little dense,” Skylight gave a small chuckle. It wasn’t a happy-sounding laugh, but one filled with almost thirty years of sorrow, though despite it all, there was at least a little mirth to it. Not a second later, her sad smile faded away as a flash of intense emotional agony seemed to flash itself across her face. “This is torture, Horrigan. What you’re doing… please… I can’t take us being like this. Just leave me alone. I don’t think I can bear this talk any longer…”

I glanced at the one way glass, staring disdainfully at my sinister reflection. The monster in the mirror stared back, unblinking, void of any signs of emotion. It truly was a horrifying sight, a metallic nightmare of malice. “Yes. The time for talking between us is over,” I agreed, painfully looking away from my reflection. “I will never betray the Enclave, Skylight. Not like you. But know that I loved you as well. Or whatever that actually amounts to now,” I raised a hoof and placed it gently on the top of the metal clasp holding some of Skylight's many chains to the wall before pressing down, snapping the metal chain from the wall.

Skylight abruptly jerked back, her body suddenly granted the ability to move as half the chains suspending her went slack. She looked up at me with wide eyes, her expression a flurry of surprise and conflicted confusion. “Prance? What are you doing?”

I shifted my position and snapped the second set of chains, freeing Skylight completely. She pushed herself away from me, shoving her back up against the wall as if expecting me to pounce on her and attack. I turned to her, my red eyes burrowing into her as she cowered. “We do not have much time. They will be coming for you soon. Follow.”

I led Skylight along down a side hallway, ducking out of view of a few Enclave soldiers as they marched past. Skylight trailed along behind me in a suit of Enclave Power armour we had managed to scavenge from the armoury.

“Prance, what is going on?” Skylight hissed, placing the dark, insectoid helmet over her head and pulling up alongside me as another squadron of Enclave troops stormed past. “Why are you-”

I cut her off with a swipe of my wing, the muscles in my legs tensing as I heard more heavily armoured hoofsteps approaching from down a side hall. I shifted my weight, pulling us into another hallway. My eyes glanced up, making out the shape of another security camera above us. Thankfully, it was currently facing away. A second later, the sound of hoofsteps began to fade as the armoured Enclave soldiers marched off in a different direction.

“Follow,” I instructed her again, more sternly this time as I began to make my way down the next hallway. “Misty is waiting for you outside.”

I could practically feel Skylight’s eyes widen in surprise at that. “Wait, you’re working with- but…” Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of everything. She quickened her pace, quickly pushing herself in front of me to block my path. “Horrigan, I want answers! Right now! You betrayed me! You got two of my best friends in the whole world killed and… and then you branded me as a fucking Dashite! You can’t just do that to me and then turn around and say you're on my side! What is-”

“I am not on your side,” I growled, keeping my voice low in fear of any nearby Enclave personnel. “I serve the Enclave, and you are a fool for betraying them.”

Skylight took a step back, glaring up at me definitely. “Then what the fuck are you doing?” At my silence, she pushed further. “You realise what you’re doing right now is treason, don’t you? If the Enclave ever found out about this, you would be branded and executed just as they would have had me.”

I scowled, though I wasn’t sure if it was at her or at myself. “I don’t understand many things in life, Skylight. I never have. I live my life by four virtues: duty, honour, courage and obedience. I obey, and when I have no orders to follow, I will kill. But you…” I let my words trail off as I looked the small pegasus over, trying to figure her out in my head. “What is happening to you feels wrong, and I don’t know why. And I hate not knowing why.”

“Because it is!” Skylight insisted. “You have to understand that! Everything the Enclave tells you is a lie!”

I stomped my hoof and snorted, a burst of steam escaping the ventilator on my helmet. “I don’t understand. I know you. Better than any pony in Equestria. You love the Enclave. How could you turn your back on them like this? How could you have turned your back on me?”

“I thought you were dead!” Skylight shot back. “And yes, I did love the Enclave. Loved. But that was before I was ordered to gun down innocent foals. Before I watched them slaughter hundreds of civilians for no reason other than their own selfish gains... Then when I defected, I began to learn about other things as well. Things far worse than anything I saw the Enclave do in Friendship City.”

“Like what?” I rumbled dangerously.

“I was there that night, remember? When those monsters broke into your home and murdered your mother… When those monsters tried to murder us…” Skylight breathed, her voice shaky. She watched me over cautiously, her eyes darting back and forth to try and gauge my reaction. I could feel every muscle in my body lock up at the mention of that night. “But that night was a lie, Horrigan. All of it was. Do you really think the Cloud Seeding Rebellion was real? Do you really think the Enclave would have allowed a regime like that to exist for that long unchallenged?”

“What are you implying?” I could feel my breath coming out in slow heaves. “Those monsters were trying to abolish the Enclave. They were trying to spread chaos and prove life above the clouds was unstable.”

“No, they were trying to villainize the idea of returning below the clouds!” Skylight retorted, taking an advancing step towards me. “Don’t you get it?! There was no Cloud Seeding Rebellion, not really! The Enclave made it up! They hired ponies to burn whole towns to the ground to keep ponies in line. Your mother was slaughtered like a pig so the Enclave could look good, and it fucking worked!”

“Enough!” I roared, my hooves slamming down heavily on the ground in front of me and making the whole hallway shake. Skylight stumbled and had to violently flap her wings at her sides to keep from losing her balance. “The Enclave saved our lives! We owe them everything!”

“We owe them nothing!” Skylight spat. “The Enclave didn't save your life! Look at yourself, Horrigan. Take a good long fucking look. And not just at what you look like. Who the fuck even are you outside of serving the Enclave? Cause I don’t fucking know anymore. That doesn’t sound like you’re really living at all.”

I rose up to my full height, towering over her. I glowered at her from beneath my blood red, glass eyes, trying to find some sort of read on her. Find anything that told me she might be lying, but her face was stone cold. “How did you find this out about the Cloud Seeding Rebellion,” I finally asked in a low, scathing tone.

“Plasma Charge,” Skylight said, her face suddenly filling with a mournful expression. “His father was a part of the Enclave division that organized it. It was the original reason he went Dashite.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, I heard more hoofsteps approaching from down the hall. I scowled to myself, before pushing Skylight aside and beginning to walk forwards. “Follow,” I ordered her. “Look normal.”

Skylight’s ears twitched, picking up the noise as well. She gave me a nod, falling in step behind me as we slowly began walking down the hall as if we belonged there. I rounded the corner to find two Enclave ponies approaching me, both in their full suits of insectoid-looking power armour, sans their helmets. I recognized the two ponies at once.

“Horrigan,” Icewind greeted stoically, slowing to a stop a few paces away from us. Vapour Trail came to a stop beside her, his head looking both Skylight and I over curiously. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Aren’t you supposed to be topside preparing for the mission?”

“Aren’t both of you?” I pointed out in turn, glaring at each of them. I could feel more than see Skylight slowly trying to shift out of their view behind my large bulk. She might have been obscured by Enclave power armour, but I highly doubted the disguise would hold up under inspection.

“F-firestreak wanted us to g-get the prisoner for execution,” Vapour stuttered. “She w-wanted Icewind to be the one to have her executed,” I could see a chill pass through both Skylight and Icewind at Lightning’s statement.

Icewind’s eyes flicked over to Skylight for a second. I could see her wings twitch slightly as a look of recognition cross over her face before getting concealed once more behind an icy demeanour. She turned to Vapour, giving him a signal with her wing. “You go on ahead and secure the prisoner. I need to have a word in private with Horrigan.”

Vapour gave her a quick salute. “G-got it mam’.”

“I’m not your commander anymore!” Icewind called after him as Vapour began trotting off down the hall in the direction of the prison. She sighed once he was out of sight, slumping a little. She glanced up at me, a bit of a smug smile splayed across her face. “Only an hour ago, I told you to figure out who the hell you were. I’ll be honest. I didn’t expect this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I responded in a low, intimidating rumble, daring her to suggest anything further.

“And I recommend you keep it that way,” she smirked, taking a few steps closer to me. “Do not forget what I told you, Prance Horrigan. Don’t fuck this up,” she turned slightly, her gaze shifting to the disguised form of Skylight. “As you were, soldier,” She said smugly, before turning and heading off down the hallway after Vapour. “I’d suggest you both move quickly. Things are about to get very interesting.”

Though the sun had just begun to crest the horizon, the rain refused to let up and was still beating down heavily upon the abandoned section of the oil rig when Skylight and I hauled ourselves out and into the open air. The moment Misty saw us emerging, she sprung forwards, tackling Skylight to the ground in a big hug. The two pulled apart after a moment, laughing.

“Thank the goddess. I thought I had lost you for good!” Misty exclaimed, a weight clearly having been lifted from her shoulders.

Skylight smiled at first, but her smile quickly faded. “Mist… Plasma Charge… they-”

“I know,” Misty said, her own face falling. “Horrigan already told me,” she took a moment to settle her emotions before she let a smile return to her face. “But I’m just glad to have you back.”

I took a step towards them, my wings unfurling slightly. “You are not out of this yet. Not while you are still on the Enclave oil rig,” I informed them. “I give them less than a minute until they realize you’ve escaped, assuming they haven't already. You’ve seen what the Enclave will do just to kill one Dashite. Don’t think they won’t do the same for you.”

Skylight turned back to look at me, a strange look of confliction on her face. “And what about you? What are you going to do now?”

“I will do what I have always done,” I asserted. “Do not think that anything has changed. I will carry out my objective to secure the survival of the Enclave.”

“And when they find out you let me go? What then?” She pushed, taking another step forwards.

“They won’t find out,” I responded bluntly.

“We know what the Enclave is planning, Horrigan. We want to stop it. We want to save the wasteland. Make it a better place than it was when we entered it…” Skylight said, trying to keep as headstrong a posture as she could before me. She paused, looking me over curiously. “I'll be honest, I don’t think I can ever trust you again, not after what you did, but…” She hesitated for only a short moment before extending her hoof to me. “If you join us… We could try and help you… I know there is more to you than just the monster of metal and flesh you think you’ve become. We could try and make the wasteland better together?”

I took a step back, my glowing eyes shinning beams of crimson through the heavy rain. “I saved you, Skylight. But our time together has come to a close,” I let my wings fully unfurl, splaying out on either side of me and causing droplets of rainwater to shoot out in all directions. “Don’t show up at the MOA hub tomorrow, or things will end very differently between us.”

Skylight shook her head, taking a small step back of her own. “You know I can’t do that, Prance.”

“Then pray our paths don't cross,” I rumbled. “Because if we meet again, I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand?”

Skylight gave me a slow nod. “I do…” She turned, facing off towards the raging ocean and the small city of Manehattan on the horizon. "Goodbye Horrigan..." In unison, the two Dashites extended their wings out and shot off into the rain, catching one of the stronger currents of wind and flashing out and away from the oil rig.

I watched them soar off for a long moment before turning away and walking back into the oil rig. I had only made it halfway to the top deck, when Vapour Trail came rushing down the hallway towards me.

“Horrigan. W-we’ve got a p-problem!” He said, his voice coming out in frantic pants. “Skylight’s escaped! F-Firestreak is furious!”

I gave him a grim nod. “Take me there.”

“What do you mean there is no security footage!” Firestreak howled, glaring at the smaller, white pegasus that had been in charge of monitoring the security camera surveillance. Firestreak had stormed straight to the surveillance room the moment she had learned of Skylight’s escape. Icewind, Vapour and I had all crowded into the room behind her, looming over the trembling security mare.

“I-I don’t know what happened!” The mare was pleading, cowering before Firestreak. “Somepony must have tampered with the footage.”

“They would have had to have snuck into her directly and manually tampered with the camera’s,” Icewind frowned, looking the many monitors over. She cast me a quick sideways glance, but I ignored her. “There is no other way to activate the security systems.”

“I th-think I found the intruder,” Vapour piped up, eyeing the terminal screen showing the footage of the abandoned platform. The paused, flickering image of Misty Cloud still clearly visible on the screen. “L-looks like t-that Dashite that got away must have come back to rescue her companion.”

“Seems like that Dashite was more trouble than you thought,” Icewind bit at Firestreak.

Firestreak was practically fuming. She glowered at Icewind before her head snapped to stare down at the security mare. “Your stupidity may have just cost the Enclave dearly!” her hoof flew out, slamming into the mare’s chest and throwing her violently against the wall. The mare whimpered, scuttling back in an attempt to evade the larger mare’s wrath. “You are to report to the Colonel immediately. Go soldier, now!”

The small mare gave a yelp as Firestreak snapped at her, making a desperate dash for the door. Firestreak growled after her as she rushed out, her shoulder rising and falling with each of her manic breaths. Once the security mare was out of sight, Firestreak turned to all of us, glaring at us through her imposing helmet. “I want all of you on the top deck! If the Dashites are free, then they will be heading straight for the MOA hub. We cannot not allow them to get to the megaspell reactor module first! We leave immediately!”

Following her command, we pushed our way to the top deck of the oil rig, where we found a large gathering of Enclave soldiers awaiting us. Firestreak pushed to the front, her segmented, bladed tail sweeping back and forth as she split the crowd in two.

“Ponies of the Enclave!” Firestreak began, whipping around to face the crowd as Icewind, Vapour and I came to a stop amongst the assembled ponies. “There is no time to wait on ceremony. The Stable mare and her treacherous Dashites are heading for the MOA hub. They hope to cut us off and secure the objective for their own twisted and vile plans. It is up to us to ensure that we get there first! Now, get out there and-”

“Hold for just a moment, Firestreak,” The stately voice Colonel Thunderbolt spoke up, rising above even the din of the pounding rain. The whole crowd turned to see the Colonel trotting towards us, four fully armoured Enclave soldiers marching at his side. My eyes instantly landed on a small pegasus mare being dragged along beside them, a black sack over their head and a thick leash tied around their neck. Colonel Thunderbolt came to a stop in front of the assembly, stepping up atop a platform to look down upon the group. The Enclave soldiers accompanying him stood behind him, tossing the bound mare down before him. “I believe I promised an execution before you all depart. And I am a pony of my word.”

I furrowed my brow, focusing on the bound mare. For a terrifying moment, I could have sworn it was Skylight, that the Enclave had already caught her again. She had the same frame, and same white hide. Her cutie mark had been branded off, though hers looked remarkably recent. But the real tell that something was off was the thin scar that poked out from under the sack over her head and trailed down her neck.

Thunderbolt reached into his dark trenchcoat and slowly pulled out the pistol he kept strapped to his side. He raised it up for a moment, making sure every pony could clearly see the weapon before lowering it and placing it against the back of the mare's head. The mare’s squirming body went still as she felt the cold touch of the gun barrel press against her.

“There are many evils in the wasteland,” Thunderbolt told us, his eyes shifting to make contact with each and every one of us. “Steel Rangers, raiders, mutant abominations. But there is one evil that the wasteland cultivates beyond any other… You all know what I speak of.”

“Dashites!” Came the resounding roar from the ponies below him.

“Indeed,” Thunderbolt affirmed, his hoof tightening slightly on the trigger of his gun. “And what is the punishment for being a Dashite?”

“Death!”

Blam!

Blood splattered across the platform as a single shot from the bullet burst out, blowing out the mare's brains. The mare’s limp body slumped to the ground, blood oozing from the stump that had once been her head. Thunderbolt looked the corpse over for a moment, his face a mask of emotionless indifference, before he stepped over the body to address us all more directly.

“These traitors… Dashites. They are unwell. Sick in the mind… They cannot be reasoned with,” Thunderbolt told us. “Do not let these metally twisted individuals get between us and what must be done to rebuild Equestria. Make the Enclave proud. Prove to us, that the Enclave will hold steadfast against evil,” a stern smile settled across Thunderbolts face as he stomped one hoof on the ground and raised his wing to the storm above. “All hail the Grand Pegasus Enclave!”

Each and every pegasus straightened up in unison, one wing extending to their brows as the loud sound of stomping filled the howling winds like an orchestra of war drums. “HAIL THE ENCLAVE!”

Thunderbolt slowly made his way down from the platform, his personal guards dragging off the body of the dead mare. Thunderbolt paused as he passed me, his eyes never looking in my direction. "That mare is dead because she failed me, Horrigan," Thunderbolt said simply, his jaw clenching slightly. “If you fail me, or I learn you had anything to do with Skylight's escape, then you are a dead pony. Do you understand?”

I kept my gaze forward, not daring to look him in the eye. Not daring to let him see the unsettling sense of unease that had begun to wash over me. “I understand completely, Colonel.”

“Good,” The Colonel said, sliding his pistol back into his coat. “Now ready yourself. It’s time to truly prove your loyalty.”

"Of course..." I felt a strange hole opening up in my gut, but my next words forced themselves out my mouth on their own free will. “All hail the Enclave.”

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait, but here it is, chapter 7! hope you all enjoyed!

Chapter IX: Past the Point of No Return

At what point does determination and dedication cease being the foundations of self actualization? At what point do they become a crutch; Used simply as a means of keeping one afloat when they know no other way? And at what point can one forgo that crutch in exchange for other, more progressive virtues? But more importantly, at what point must one reject the imposed ideals of others that demand rectification of the very virtues they uphold?

Those that live in blind faith will tell you that the key to existence is to let go of the fear of what you cannot control or understand and give yourself to the belief that those above us will not lead us astray. Those that live without that faith will insist blind faith instils foolhardiness and the damnation of ignorant bliss.

For everyone, at some point or another, they will need to make a choice. To stand by what they know and double down on the security of ignorant fanaticism, or to take that harrowing leap into the arms of the unknowable and confront the possibility that their faith and unwavering dedication had always been to their determent.

For me, the Enclave had always been the foundations of who I was. I served. I always had. But as we began to descend into the bowels of the dark, icy depths of the MOA Hub, salvation laying before us and the knowledge that Skylight, among other ponies, were not far behind, I knew that such a mental confrontation was fast approaching. I only hoped that when the time came for me to make my choice, that I would be strong enough to face it.

Some problems you can't muscle your way through.

The doorway into the hidden MOA Hub had opened up into a long, metal tunnel only just wide enough for most ponies to walk two by two. I, on the other hoof, took up the whole hallway and was forced to walk single file. Every surface glistened with a thin layer of frost and long icicles descended down from the ceiling. I had to shift my weight around a few times to avoid bashing my head into some of the lower hanging ice spears.

A few bodies littered the frozen ground, skeletal and clearly having been there since the great war. Clearly this place had not been intended to survive balefire. A few of the skeletons had been fused to the walls by thick chunks of ice, fleshless limbs sticking out at us at odd angles as if the walls themselves were trying to grasp at us.

In front of me, Vapour shivered, looking at one corpse that only had its back half locked in ice. The front half had long since decayed, leaving behind nothing but frosted over white bone, while the back half still contained mummified flesh.

The farther in we got, the more the skeletal corpses began to change, shifting from white bone picked clean and preserved by the ice, to withered corpses who’s coatless flesh had taken on an icy blue colour. I noticed many of them seemed to have be twisted and mutated into strange, abomination-like forms, with multiple limbs and mangled bone structures. Curiously, a few had both wings and a horn, though none of them seemed to be true alicorns, only weird mutant echoes of one. I stepped over one of the shrivelled bodies, watching it carefully as its lifeless eyes stared up at the ceiling, its mouth open in an eternal scream. Clearly some ponies hadn’t been killed outright by the balefire blast. Some had died slowly, freezing to death and in agonizing pain as the ambient radiation did its work.

“The fuck are these? Ghouls?” The Enclave troopers behind me asked, observing one of the mutated, shrivelled pony bodies.

“If they are, I’ve never seen any like them,” Icewind muttered, narrowing her eyes at their blue coloured flesh and grotesque limbs.

“Th-think they’re s-still alive?” Vapour asked nervously, giving one of the corpses a wide berth as we continued on down the tunnel.

“Unlikely,” Firestreak huffed. “Even mutant filth like ghouls can freeze to death. Besides, I’m not getting any life signals on my EFS. Are you?” She paused for a second, clearly reading something on the inside of her HUD. “The Megaspell Reactor Module should be two levels down,” She informed us. “Expect heavy resistance from the security systems down here.”

I gave an affirmative nod, shifting to face down another hallway as we reached a turn in the tunnel. We passed a few frozen, disheveled rooms that looked to have once been offices, though they didn’t seem to be of any relevance to us.

We came to a stop at a closed steel door that had been locked with a terminal inset into the wall beside it. Icewind quickly pulled herself up to it, hacking away at the terminal as lines of flickering green code began to scroll across the screens cracked surface. A few moments later, she gave a nicker of victory as the terminal beeped and allowed her access.

"Let's see here..." She muttered to herself, scrolling through a couple of the files on the terminal. "Looks like there was some sort of test lab down a hallway to our right. Some sort of IMP experiment," She informed us reading over the files.

"Wasn't IMP being worked on by the m-ministry of Arcane Technology?" Vapour asked, craning his neck to look over Icewinds shoulder at the screen.

Icewind shrugged. "Supposedly, but I'm not going to argue with the terminal."

"Any mention of what the project was?" Firestreak asked, stepping up beside her. Her voice was filled with an intense interest that I had not expected from her.

Icewind shook her head. "This is a door terminal, not a data log. That's pretty much all there is," She paused, reading over the lines of text on the screen. "Actually, it looks like the experiments were later moved to a more secure section of the facility. No clue why though," She pushed a button on the terminal and the steel door slid open, revealing the dark, sloping hallway beyond. Even with all our headlamps activated, we couldn't make out the end of it.

"Come along," Firestreak ordered, taking point as we began trotting down the new hall. She glanced back at Icewind. "Do you think you can lead us to the testing lab?"

Icewind gave her a confused glance. "Is it of any relevance to the mission?"

Firestreak gave her a smug smirk. "I'm just curious."

Sighing, Icewind began leading us down a side tunnel, peeking through a few doors before finally finding one with a flickering sign above it reading: IMP Testing Area. She pushed open the door carefully, her eyes darting back and forth for any security systems. So far, we had seen nothing.

When it was clear that nothing was going to jump out and start shooing at us, she pushed the door open the rest of the way and trotted in, making way for the rest of us to enter the chamber. The laboratory was a mess. Long dead corpses lay strewn about the room, many missing limbs and large chunks of flesh. Crystallized blood splattered the walls and a large containment unit lay busted open, it's glass casing having completely shattered. A single desk had been shoved into the corner, a cracked terminal resting on top still humming away despite the cold.

"The fuck happened in here," The Enclave solder I still didn't know the name of muttered, glancing about.

"Not sure," Firestreak responded, trotting over and pulling open the terminal. Her eyes glazed over the screen for a few seconds before nodding and pulling herself away. "Alright, there is nothing here that we need."

Icewind scowled as Firestreak stalked past her and back out into the hallway. "Seriously? You made me drag us to this stupid lab and that's it?"

Firestreak shrugged. "You were right. No relevance to the mission. I just wanted to sate my curiosity," She pushed past Icewind, ordering the rest of us to follow.

I moved to follow after her, when Vapour Trail's voice caught my attention. "Hey Icewind, look at this."

I turned my head to see the two pegasus looking over one of the entries on the terminal. Clearly Vapour had taken to looking over the terminal once Firestreak was done with it.

"The most recent strand of the formula has proved to be far too effective," Icewind read aloud, her eyes sweeping the screen. "I have requested to have all future tests on the formula be conducted in a more secure level of the facility, and Rainbow Dash agreed. The last thing we need is this stuff getting into the facilities airflow. One bottle of Sparkle~Cola is all it would take for this miracle serum to become a disaster. I'll report my findings on the formulas properties tomorrow after a good nights rest. I'm fucking exhausted."

"What do you think that m-means?" Vapour asked, looking up from the terminal to address Icewind more directly.

"Doubt we'll get to find out," Icewind sighed, pointing to something on the screen. "This terminal entry was dates only 26 hours before the bombs fell. I doubt whomever this pony was ever got the chance to record his findings," She glanced down at the mangled corpse of the pony that lay a few feet away from them. "Or leave the room for that matter."

"I suggest we speed this up," I rumbled, pulling their attention over to me. "We still have much work to do."

Moving back out into the hallways, we quickly caught up with Firestreak and the other Enclave soldier, trotting behind them as they rounded another turn in the tunnel. At the end of the new hall, I could see a large set of stairs leading down into the floor below. Almost immediately, my EFS locked onto four hostile signatures as four turrets popped down from the roof and swivelled to aim at us.

Boom!

My tesla cannon fired off a streak of cracking blue energy before the turrets had a chance to fire, its first shot decimating two of the turrets in a single blow. The whole hallway shook as the blast ripped metal from the walls, icicles shaking and a few of the larger ones breaking off and slamming to the floor violently. The Enclave troopers behind me had to swerve out of the way as one icicle suddenly dropped down atop him, almost impaling his head.

“Shit! Hold your fire! Too much force will turn this tunnel into a death trap!” Icewind shouted, ducking into one of the side offices for cover as the two remaining turrets began to open fire on us.

I grunted as I flared my wings as far open as the tunnel would allow me and pushed myself between the turrets and my squad, turning myself into a pony shield as the turrets poured a stream of fire towards us. I felt the bullets slash through my body, ripping open large wounds in my sides.

“Firestreak! C-can you m-melt the ice!?” Vapour asked, pushing himself up next to Icewind. “Make it so it w-we won’t get impaled if we fire our guns?!”

“That’s a lot of fucking ice to melt! And I’m a little low on flamer fuel after my fight with the Maulwurf!” Firestreak shot back, her head darting about as she tried to assess the situation. “I’ve only got enough left for one fight!”

There was a loud beeping sound as six more turrets popped down from the ceiling, this time behind us. I heard the Enclave troopers give off a shout of warning, blasting up and destroying one with his Novesurge rifle before he was forced to dive for cover.

As the sound of gunfire continued to echo down the halls, a new noise began to make its way into my cybernetic ears. At first it started as just a faint scratching sound, but then it began to grow as more and more scratching noises began to join in on its haunting chorus. Wails began to billow down from the hallway we’d come from, a high pitched and tortured cry. I turned my head, watching as some of the frozen corpses began pulling themselves from the ground, their mangled hooves twisting in awkward angles as they shuffled towards us.

“What the fuck!” The Enclave pony I didn’t know shouted, whipping around and firing a few blasts of magical energy into one of the approaching ghouls. “I thought you said those things were dead!?”

“I thought they fucking were!” Firestreak shouted back, taking to the air and doing a quick spin to avoid being shot down by the turrets. She hesitated for a moment, looking down at the shambling horde of ghouls as more began spilling into the hallway behind us. “I’m still not picking any life signs up on my HUD!?”

“Well they’re clearly fucking walking!” Icewind hissed, her rifle blowing the head off one of the ghouls. Its head burst apart upon impact as if it had been frozen in liquid nitrogen.

One of the frozen ghouls lunged forward with shocking speed, grappling onto the back of the Enclave troopers beside me, its jagged teeth gnawing at the metal power armour that enclosed them. Three more rushed me, their hooves lashing at my sides and cutting deep gouges into the exposed parts of my hide. I knocked one to the side with a rough swing of my fore hoof, crushing its throat and causing it to gasp desperately on the ground as it tried to draw air through its broken throat.

Vapour ducked back behind the doorway as the two turrets by the stairwell peppered the wall beside him with gunfire. He dipped back out, trying to aim a shot at the turret, only to be forced back as a frozen ghoul began flailing at him.

More blasts from the turrets made their way past my defenses, piercing my hide. I grit my teeth as the feeling of my flesh patching itself together began to itch its way across my body. “Enough of this,” My horn flared, shooting beams of light at the two turrets in front of me. They exploded in a burst of shrapnel as the deadly beams lashed through them.

The tunnel shook again as the turrets detonated, more icicles dropping down from the ceiling. I gave a loud howl of pain as one particularly large icicle skewered my left wing, ripping through flesh and feathers and pinning it to the ground.

I scowled, violently ripping my wing from the ground with a loud fleshy, tearing sound. Blood splattered against the white, ice coated walls and I could feel the liquid crimson dripping down my body begin to crystallize in the subzero temperature of the hallway.

“Into the stairwell!” I roared, knocking the two ghouls still grasping to my form off and maneuvering myself to face towards the five turrets behind me that were still firing round after round of bullets into my body. Whatever programming these turrets had been given, they had clearly addressed me as the primary threat. They were right.

My subordinates didn’t need to be told twice. They scampered around my massive hooves, making a push for the large entryway into the stairwell, swerving to and fro as dozens of frozen ghouls viciously swiped at them. I backed up a little, following them slightly as more turret fire ripped through my flesh. I glanced back, watching as the last of them darted down the stairwell and out of sight.

All my hairs stood on end as I aimed my tesla cannon up at the ceiling, sending a massive burst of energy out and obliterating the six turrets above us. With a blinding flash of light and tesla energy, I saw cracks begin shooting across the roof. The tunnel shook, more and more jagged icicles slamming downwards as they were shook free from the icy roof. A few ghouls gave loud howls of pain as they were pinned to the ground, crushed beneath the falling ice.

I staggered backwards, trying to keep my hoofing as I felt the entire hallway lurch to the side, the frozen ground slick beneath my hooves. I ducked to my right, narrowly avoiding another chunk of the roof as it collapsed down on me.

More ghouls were beginning to round the corner, attracted by the loud commotion. A few of the closer ones began to rush forwards, throwing their bodies at me, hooves outstretched and maws gaping as if hoping to devour my immense form whole.

I rammed into the first two with my hooves, sending them flying back and crashing into the group charging in behind them. A second later, I let my horn flare to life, blasting blast after blast into the ceiling above the ghouls. I felt the hallway shake more and more with each blast, more and more cracks spider webbing across the frozen, metal surface. One of the ghouls looked up just in time to see one particularly large crack shoot out above them before the whole ceiling collapsed down atop them.

I jumped backwards, trying to reach the door as the roof behind me exploded, metal and ice raining down as a landslide of rock and snow began surging into the tunnel. Massive chunks of ice crashed down onto the ghouls, crushing them and burying the few that hadn’t already been crushed alive.

With one last push of my legs, I threw my whole body forwards, slamming myself into the open doorframe leading into the stairwell. Rock and debris continued to rain down behind me, filling my ears with the booming cacophony of destruction. After a few seconds, I looked up, making out the now fully blocked off and collapsed hallway.

Wincing slightly, I pulled myself up and turned to face the steep set of stairs. I let my red eyes light up, illuminating the otherwise pitch black descent into the lower parts of the Hub. The rest of my subordinates were nowhere in sight.

I began trotting forwards, careful not to slip on the thick sheet of ice that coated the steps. At the bottom of the stairs, I saw a large doorway that had been left ajar, leading out into what appeared to be a larger chamber. Stepping out, I saw my team gathered in the middle of the room, surveying what appeared to be a large octagonal antichamber with the image of a lightning bolt emerging from a stormcloud with dark wings lining the back engraved on the floor. Like the hallway from before, it was covered in a thick layer of ice and frost and icicles hung from the almost cave-like ceiling above. The walls seemed more damaged, large chunks of the chamber having already caved in hundreds of years ago.

Shifting my gaze over to my companions, I noted that they were gathered around the long since burnt out remnants of a campfire and the desecrated remains of five pegasus ponies, their prewar clothing tattered and corroded. Firestreak shifted to look up at me as I slowly pulled myself through the entryway and into the chamber. “Oh good. You survived,” She smirked, gesturing for me to join up with them in the centre of the room.

“Are you surprised?” I mused back, tromping over to stand beside them and awaited further instructions.

Firestreak gave me an amused smirk through her helmet. “Admittedly… no.”

"I h-heard a loud crash?" Vapour asked nervously, glancing at the doorway I had just walked through. "What h-happened up there?"

"Collapsed the tunnel," I replied bluntly, not bothering to elaborate.

Vapours eyes darted from the door to me, then over to Firestreak. "Is that going to make getting out of her a problem?"

Firestreak shook her head. "According to the files we procured, there are multiple passageways connecting the two floors," She gestured over to three other side tunnels that seemed to lead to ascending sets of stairs. "Getting out of here won't be the problem. It's going to be trying to predict where our enemies are going to come from..." she turned back to face Icewind who was currently reading through an old looking journal of some sort that she had picked up off one of the corpses. A few of the ice coated pages seemed to crumble away at her touch. “Well? Get anything?”

Icewind shrugged. “Looks like these ponies got locked down here after the bombs fell and froze to death,” She said, her eyes sweeping over the faded lines of text. “Looks like they were stuck down here for almost two weeks before the cold and hunger overcame them.”

“Oh no. How very unfortunate,” Firestreak drawled sardonically, rolling her eyes. “What about dangers? Did they mention anything about what else we might find down there? I had anticipated the turrets, but I don’t like how those ghouls got the jump on us.”

Icewind flipped another page in the journal, skimming through it as fast as she could. “Well the good news is that they seemed to think those ghouls were exclusively on the top floor,” She noted, tapping a line of poorly scrawled text. “It looks like you were right. Those weren’t normal ghouls. Some sort of pre-war experiment with IMP. Likely the cause of the devastation we saw in the laboratory upstairs. Seems they were looking into how to use IMP to remove radiation contamination and the damage to the facility from the balefire bombs let the test subjects out of their cell.”

“Future dangers, Icewind, get to it!” Firestreak snapped, huffing a little, clearly impatient. “I need to know what lies on the floor below!”

Icewind scanned a few more lines, occasionally going back and reading a sentence again as she tried to decipher the weathered text. “It doesn’t say, it only says that everypony that went down there didn’t come back.”

“Damn. Then we should prepare for the worst and assume that whatever’s down there is still a threat, even two hundred years later,” Firestreak grunted. She looked back up at me. “Horrigan, you’re taking front again.”

I gave another nod. “Understood.”

We began making our way down another side tunnel, leading deeper into the facility. Unlike before, we seemed to be descending at a steep slant. Parts of the tunnel had completely collapsed in on themselves, forcing us to double back and find alternative paths through the facility.

Eventually, we came to the stairs leading down to the bottom floor, only to find it completely blocked off by rubble. Twisted, frozen over skeletal limbs of ponies that had been caught in the collapse jutted out from the debris, as if they had been trying to claw their way to the surface, only for their body to finally give out. Vapour shuttered as he glanced nervously at the broken, protruding limbs. Beside him, Firestreak gave a loud growl as she glared at the collapsed stairwell.

“Damn, W-we’re going t-to need to find another way down,” Vapour stated, kicking at the rubble with his armoured hoof a little. He turned, glancing up at me. “Do you think you can blow a hole in the floor like you did in the donut shop?”

Firestreak raised a hoof, stopping me before I could follow through on the request. “Not unless you want Horrigan to bring this whole place down on top of us,” she looked around, once more reading off the files downloaded into her HUD before pointing down a side hall. “There is an elevator down that way. I doubt it’s functional, but we can probably fly down the shaft.”

I nodded, turning and marching in the aforementioned direction. It didn’t take us long to find the elevator shaft. As Firestreak had predicted, it was completely non operational. I tensed my muscles as I grabbed onto the sliding metal doorway and pried it open. There was a loud screech as the two metal doors slid apart, sparks shooting out around me as I made way for us to enter the shaft.

“The Megaspell Reactor Module should be in the chamber directly beneath us,” Firestreak informed us, letting her wings shoot open. “But likely so will whatever dangers lay in the depths of the facility. According to the files we reclaimed from Stable 13, the bottom floor was where Rainbow Dash kept her most top secret experiments. It will be very well guarded.”

One at a time, we began leaping into the broken elevator shaft. It was a tight fight for me, my wings being too large to fully open within the confined space. Eventually, I gave up on trying to fly and just let myself drop down to the bottom floor. The whole shaft shook violently as my metal hooves impacted with the ground, but thankfully, nothing seemed to collapse.

“Stay on guard,” Firestreak ordered us, her wings beating at her sides as she came in for a landing beside me. “I’m detecting hostiles.”

I activated my thermo vision, scanning the room beyond for any signs of life. Immediately, I picked up on a few signatures. The first was the glowing red outline of some large machine a few rooms away, likely the Megaspell Reactor Module we were searching for. The other four signatures I picked up were smaller and cylindrical in shape, roughly the size of a ponies hoof. And they were moving...

“There is something in the next chamber,” I informed them, my eyes following the four shifting shapes through the walls.

“Any idea what they are?” Icewind asked, readying her Novasurge rifle.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out what they were through the wall. “I’m uncertain,” I admitted. “The heat signatures don’t appear to be pony or even mutie in shape. I suspect some form of robot. I seem to have just picked up the heat signature from their energy source. I cannot determine their actual shape.”

“Then let’s deal with them now,” Firestreak ordered, readying her own weapons. “The longer we wait, the more time that Stable mare and her Dashites have to catch up with us.”

Giving a quick signal of understanding, I turned to the closed doorway leading out of the elevator shaft. I reared back for a moment, before slamming forwards, sending the two pieces of the doorway flying outwards with a loud bang.

Immediately, I heard a loud whirring sound as the four massive Ultra-Sentinels in the middle of the room spun on their gargantuan tank-like treds and locked in on us, the hulking rocket launchers built into each of them making a loud clunking noise as their rockets clicked into place. The large robots were almost tank like in appearance, each one standing almost 9 feet in the air. They were each equipped with two massive arm-like energy cannons on each side and a massive rocket launcher protruded from what one could only consider a shoulder. They were painted a pale cyan blue in colour with rainbow streaks running down many of the metal plating that comprised their armour, clearly designed to resemble the minister mare who developed them, though the paint had long since begun to peel away, revealing the frost covered steel beneath.

Firestreak gave a loud shout of worry from beside me as all four fired off their massive rocket launchers towards us in unison. “Scatter!”

I dove to the side, fire exploding out behind me as the rockets detonated, rocking the chamber and threatening to collapse the whole facility down atop us. I heard the Enclave troopers I didn’t know give a scream of pain as the explosives tore through his body, blasting apart his hind legs and leaving him thrashing on the floor in pain, blood seeping from her mangled body.

My wings burst open as I shot up into the air, my mechanical eyes darting back and forth as I tried to assess the situation. Thankfully, the chamber was large enough to allow for flight, with a remarkably high ceiling. Below me, I could see my team darting back and forth in the air, blasting away at the massive machines with their rifles while doing their best not to be ripped to shreds as the Ultra-Sentinels unleashed a torrent of rainbow coloured beams in their directions from the large energy cannons on their sides.

I snapped my wings together and dove downwards, my hooves flashing out and slamming down atop one of the Sentinels, simultaneously letting my tesla cannon fire off an arching beam of crackling energy into another one across the room. The blast from my cannon ripped the arm off of the sentinel, sending chunks of metal and circuitry bursting out like shrapnel. Beneath me, I felt the metal plating of the Ultra-Sentinel dent, but the large robot seemed to just shrug it off, whipping around and throwing me from it’s back.

Across from me, Icewind flashed through the air, her Novesurge rifle blasting shot after shot into the assailing robots. Most of her shots refracted harmlessly off its impressive armor, but one shot seemed to make its mark, blasting out some of the circuitry within. She gave a loud yelp and had to duck backwards as one of the Ultra-Sentinels suddenly rushed at her, its arm-like energy cannons swinging and attempting to ram her to the ground.

I pulled myself up, shaking off the flecks of ice that clung to my coat and feathers before snarling and letting my Tesla cannon charge up again. The Sentinel that had thrown me to the side spun around to face me, another rocket clicking into place. Not waiting to let it fire, I sent a blast of energy careening towards it, blasting apart a section of its metal plating. The Sentinel lurched back, its rocket going wide as its whole body was sent reeling.

Firestreak ducked out of the way as the rocket I sent off course detonated near her, nearly blowing off one of her wings. “Hey! Watch it! Some of us are a little more fragile!”

“Horrigan! The fusion cores!” Icewind shouted, drawing my attention over to her as she dipped and weaved through the air. “Aim for those!”

I nodded, reactivating my thermo vision. Immediately, the same small cylinders of heat I had seen before popped up in my vision, outlining the four fusion cores lying exposed on each of the Ultra-Sentinels backs. Dodging another torrent of rainbow coloured blasts from the nearest Sentinel, I let my horn flare with life, sending out four blazing beams of glowing green energy. The beams weaved through the air, wrapping around the room to face behind the Sentinels before plunging into their backs, skewering the fusion cores.

{{Error… Error… System malfunction}} One of the Ultra-Sentinels began beeping, its body trembling as I poured another round of energy into its body. I flapped my wings, lifting myself up into the air as all four of the large tank-like robots began to shake, their metal heating up and beginning to glow a bright orange. {{Overload detected. Initiating destruction}}

“Shit, they’re going to blow!” Firestreak shouted, her wings flapping as she dove for a doorway at the far side of the room. “Get out now!”

“What about Lemonheart!” Vapour shouted, nervously glancing down at the still struggling form of the Enclave pegasus that had had his lower half decimated in the initial blast. They were still desperately clinging to life, dragging their mangled form towards the far doorway, trailing blood and entrails behind them.

“Leave them! That’s an order!” Firestreak shouted back, quickly ducking through the door and out of sight. Vapour and Icewind exchanged a quick, knowing glance before quickly following behind her.

I hesitated for a moment, glancing back and forth between the rapidly beeping Ultra-Sentinels and the doorway. Finally, I dared to look over at the badly wounded Enclave soldier, still desperately trying to make it to safety. He wasn’t going to make it in time.

“Please… He-help me…” he gasped, blood trickling out from under his helmet.

“You served the Enclave well,” I rumbled, taking a step back towards the doorway. “But I have my orders.”

I quickly pulled away from him, leaving him alone in the room as I ducked into the doorway and into the room beyond. Icewind was waiting on the other side of the door for me and quickly pushed a button on a terminal the moment I was through, slamming the door shut. Not a second later, I could feel the whole facility shake as a booming explosion echoed around us. Flames licked at the sides of the doorway and bits of dust and debris collapsed down around us as the walls shook.

A moment later, there was silence. My EFS picked up no signs of life in the previous chamber.

“Fuck… I feel like every room just gets darker,” Firestreak muttered from behind me, surveying the new chamber.

I turned around to try to make out the new room. Even with our power armour headlamps on, the chamber was remarkably dark. The red glow from my eyes illuminated a large blinking device in the centre of the chamber. Long wires trialed off from the machine, leading into the shadows of the room beyond and multiple pistons silently continued to pump, even after all these years. A small metal cylinder protruded from the centre of the device, ringed by a small circle of blinking green lights.

“Looks like we hit the jackpot,” Firestreak smirked, flapping her wings a little and swooping over to the device. She pushed a button on the side of the machine, watching with satisfaction as the metal clamps around the cylinder released with a hiss of steam before reaching forwards and removing the cylinder from the machine.

“That’s the Balefire Reactor Module?” Vapour asked, looking the small cylinder in Firestreaks hoof over curiously. It’s so small.”

“It is,” Firestreak soothed, looking the small device over greedily before placing it gently within her saddlebag. “Don’t let its size fool you though. This thing could power a whole city for near hundred years alone.”

“And should be powerful enough to fuel our teleportation device into the Single Pegasus Project,” Icewind added. “Now come on. We need to go. The longer we wait around, the more time the Stable Mare has to catch up.”

Firestreak held up a hoof, signaling for Icewind to slow down. “Not yet. We aren’t done here.”

Icewind snarled. “What do you mean we aren’t done here? We have what we want.”

“There’s a secondary objective,” I rumbled stoically, recounting the small piece of information that Thunderbolt had told me the day before.

Icewind glanced at me in confusion. “A secondary objective? What?”

“Vapour, go see if you can turn the lights in here on,” Firestreak ordered, turning away from Icewind and I for a moment. Vapour gave a quick salute before swooping off into the darkness. Firestreak returned her attention to us. “There is something else here in this facility that is necessary for the Enclave’s prolonged victory. Without it, history will only repeat.”

“Prolonged victory? Is reclaiming the sky and the cloudlayer not good enough?” Icewind asked, still clearly confused as to what Firestreak was alluding to.

Firestreak gave a smug shake of her head, her eyes darting back and forth behind her visor as she began reading some files that she popped up on her HUD. “We underestimated the ponies of the wasteland the first time. Our victory was assured, and yet a single mare managed to destroy our forces, obliterate the cloudlayer and disband a majority of the Enclave. That cannot be allowed to happen again. Now that the ponies of the wasteland have had a taste of the sun, if it were to be taken away again, they would fight back. And that is not something the Enclave is currently in a position to combat.”

“F-found it!” Vapour’s voice shouted from the darkness of the chamber. A second later, there was a loud humming sound as dozens of overhead lights flickered to life, filling the room with a clinical white glow.

Now with the lights buzzing away, we could make out the massive walls of the chamber. Dozens upon dozens of looming metal silos lined the walls, each one connected to the centre device by long wires. Large metal apertures were built into the roof of the chamber, each one directly above the many silos.

I saw both Icewind and Vapour give gasps of surprise as they looked up at the imposing, monolithic towers around them. Icewind seemed to shrink back, her eyes turning to pinpricks beneath her helmet. “This isn’t just a facility is it…? This is a fucking megaspell missile silo…” She whipped back around to glare at Firestreak, her awe rapidly changing to horror. “This is the secondary objective! There are… Goddesses, there are enough megaspells stored down here to wipe out Equestria a second time!”

I glanced down at Firestreak myself, only to see the same surprise reflected in her eyes. “I… no... We had no idea these were down here…” Firestreak breathed. “The files from Stable 13 said nothing about…” She cut herself off, staring up at the massive missile silos around us. I counted at least fifty at a quick glance, but there were possibly more, hidden elsewhere within the facility. “Vapour! Can we redirect these to be activatable from the oil rig!?” There was a noticeable excitement rising in her voice.

Vapour glanced around nervously, rubbing his forehooves together as if he was unsure if he should answer or not. “I-I s-suppose we could, y-y-yeah… But w-we wouldn’t u-u-use these, right?”

Firestreak just ushered him towards the central machine. “Irrelevant. This kind of firepower would give the Enclave a level of leverage we haven’t had since…” She paused again, her mind racing as she tried to remember the last time the Enclave had held such an advantage. “Ever, I suppose. Now get to work! I want the override for these in the hooves of colonel Thunderbolt immediately!”

Icewind quickly pushed her way in front of them, wedging herself in the way of their path to the central device. “No. We leave these here! Thunderbolt doesn’t know about these, and he doesn’t need to. These megaspells can do no good!”

“Step aside Icewind. Do not make me ask you twice,” Firestreak growled, the tip of her flamer flickering to life.

Icewind stepped back, but she didn’t move out of the way. She glanced past Firestreak at Vapour, holding his gaze for a second. “Vapour, listen to me. This cannot end well for anypony and you know it.”

“You’re beginning to sound an awful lot like a Dashite again,” Firestreak hissed, taking another step forward. “You’ve been on thin ice all day Icy. Don’t give me a reason to have you branded a second time.”

“Icewind. Step aside,” I rumbled, glaring down at her from where I stood a few steps away.

Her resolve seemed to crumble under my intense glare. She took a deep breath before finally stepping back, letting Firestreak and Vapour pass. She glanced over at me, her expression hollow.

“Vapour, redirect the overrides to the oil rig. Horrigan, Icy, We still have an objective to secure. Follow me,” Firestreak ordered, leaving Vapour to do his job as she continued to lead us further and further into the massive chamber.

Icewind and I walked side by side behind her as we stalked forwards. I looked down at Icewind, watching her carefully as she trudged along with her head held low, her eyes darting back and forth as we continued to pass missile silo after missile silo. I could see worry and doubt flickering across her face, even through the enclosed helmet.

Finally, Firestreak came to a stop at a small door that led off into a side office. When the door proved to be locked, she bashed it open with a loud kick from her armoured hooves.

Inside was nothing particularly extravagant. A simple, frost covered desk lay on its side against one wall, two of its legs broken and a single, office chair lay crooked in the centre of the room. Against the far wall, locked behind a pane of glass, was some sort of green, alchemical substance contained within a strong looking glass vial. The golden label plastered to its side read: ‘IMP Dash-13’.

“The fuck is that?” Icewind asked, trotting over and peering through the glass pane at the green substance. “Some sort of improved IMP sample?” She glanced back at Firestreak. "This is what they were working on upstairs, wasn't it? That's why you were so interested."

“IMP Dash-13,” Firestreak informed her, ignoring the second half of her question and grinning at the small vial of sloshing fluid. She tapped a few keys on a terminal beside the glass, causing the pane to slide away with a loud hiss, leaving the small vial exposed. “Developed by the Ministry of Awesome in secret close to the end of the war as a failsafe in the event of balefire annihilation. It was ultimately developed to rid the entire world of pony-based mutants, regardless of the degree of mutation. To separate and cleanse Equestria of the pony-made atrocities that had, even back then, begun to litter the landscape. Fortunately for us, the project was never fully completed, leaving it in a state where any pony with even the smallest traces of radiation that isn’t inoculated to the virus will die several hours after contact.”

I saw Icewind’s eyes narrow behind her visor. “That could wipe out all life in the wasteland if in the wrong hooves… Colonel Thunderbolt approved of this?”

“He suggested it,” Firestreak retorted calmly. “The wasteland has proven that they won’t back down without a fight. Bringing back the cloudlayer is just the beginning. Doctor knife Slit has been working on a device to dispense the virus into the air, letting Equestria’s jet streams take care of transmission; given enough time, these air currents will carry the virus across the globe. Within a few years, we could see Equestria removed completely of radiation and taint. Free of mutant abominations. We’re going to save the world, Icewind.”

“By killing every creature on the surface…” Icewind breathed back, disbelief in her voice. “That’s insane and you know it!”

Firestreak sneered, her excited tone suddenly shifting to a much more imposing one. “There is only one way we will ever truly have peace in our time.”

Silence followed. There was a tense moment where no pony moved. I let my eyes shift back and forth from Icewind to Firestreak. I could see their bodies shifting, their eyes locked in a tense staring contest to see who would back down first. Even through her armour, I could see every muscle in Icewinds body locking up and tensing.

Finally, Icewind gave a long, deep sigh, her muscles relaxing. “You know I can’t let that happen…”

Faster than my eyes could follow, Icewind shot forwards, her hind hooves kicking into Firestreak’s face as her head snapped forwards, her mouth clamping down tight around the small vial. She beat her wings hard, pushing off from the wall and making a dash for the exit of the room.

Firestreak roared, her flamer spewing a blazing stream of flaming napalm. She whipped around, rushing after Icewind. “Horrigan! Stop her!”

I lurched into motion, my powerful hooves pounding against the frost coated ground as I lunged after Icewind. Icewind gave a loud yelp, swerving in the air to avoid a strike from one of my massive hooves as I tried to bat her out of the air.

The burning blast of fire shot past me as Firestreak dove after us, the searing heat catching the tips of Icewind’s wing feathers ablaze. Icewind abruptly shot upwards above us, swooping out into the massive missile silo area, her body spinning rapidly in the air to put out the flames.

I shot up into the air after her, my horn bursting to life as I sent a lasso of energy out towards the fleeing pegasus. Icewind thrashed in the air as she felt the tendrils of energy coil around her, but she could do little as I magically ripped her from the air and sent her hurtling back towards the ground. She managed to wriggle herself around and free her wings just fast enough to slow her descent before she slammed into the floor. I heard a loud crunch as one of her fore hooves snapped under her as she collided with the ground.

Before Firestreak or I could close in on her, Icewind stumbled back to her hooves, gritting her teeth against the pain and making another dash for the far side of the room. Her broken forehoof buckled and she cantered to the side, desperate to stay upright.

“Firestreak, I m-managed to redirect the megaspell cont-trols to the Enclave oil rig and-” Vapour Trail started, only to pull up short, his eyes widening as he saw Icewind staggering towards him, Firestreak and I in close pursuit.

Firestreak flashed above my head, shooting over where Icewind was still limping for the exit and slammed down beside Vapour, her imposing, power armoured form shifting to block Icewind off from her escape. “Halt traitor!” She spat, her voice a strange combination of disdain and smug amusement. “Relinquish the vial or die a Dashite!”

Icewind staggered to a stop, her eyes frantically glancing back and forth between the three of us. Her gaze settled on Vapour, who was still staring at her with wide eyes, confusion sprawled across his face. “They’re trying to wipe out life in the wasteland, Vapour!” Icewind spat out desperately. “They’re going to kill everypony!”

“Silence, traitor!” Firestreak seethed. “I should have known you were going to do this. Once a Dashite, always a Dashite!”

“I did more for the Enclave than you ever will!” Icewind screamed back. I could hear the tears forming in her eye in the inflection of her voice. Her whole body trembled as she took a step back from the two Enclave ponies. “I gave up everything for the Enclave! Everything! My life! My cutie mark! I knew the Enclave sometimes pushed the boundaries of right and wrong, but I still let them brand me because I truly believed what they were doing, despite its faults, was for the betterment of pony kind! But this!” She held up the small vial of green fluid before gesturing to the collection of megaspell silos around us. “This is taking it too far! It has to stop!”

“I-Icewind…” Vapour started, worry prevalent in his eyes. “D-Don’t do this. I’m sure the Enclave knows what they’re doing. We just need to t-t-trust in their plan, like they always told us t-to.”

Icewind stared at him for a long moment, her eyes flicking over him, clearly trying to get a solid read on him. “The Enclave knows damn well what it’s doing, Vapour,” she spun around and looked at me, giving me a clear view of the terrified look in her eyes. “Horrigan, please. Don’t let them do this. Skylight gave up everything because she realized what the Enclave was doing was wrong. You want your proof that she was right? You want proof the Enclave was more than willing to manufacture the Cloud Seeding Rebellion to boost their own image? Here’s your fucking proof.”

I stared down at her for a long moment, letting her words filter through me. Finally, I took an advancing step forward, looming over her. “I was ordered to put you down if you got in the way of the objective. Stand down or die.”

I could see Icewind’s whole body go slack at my words. She stared up at me defiantly, her ears folded back against her skull. “So I suppose you’ve decided who you really are then, Horrigan? Just the lapdog of the Enclave?”

I gave a loud snort, causing a burst of steam to escape my helmet's ventilator. “I serve. I always have.”

“My patience is up, Dashite,” Firestreak snarled, her flamer shooting out a small burst of flame, searing the air inches in front of Icewinds face. “Your time is up. Horrigan, kill h-”

She was cut off as the intercom on her helmet gave a loud beep. “Commander! We’ve got a problem!” A voice cracked to life over the radio. I recognized the static filled voice as the voice of the Enclave soldier Firestreak had left guard at the entrance to the facility.

“This is a bad time,” Firestreak scowled, placing her hoof on her helmet's intercom. “What is it, Honeydew?”

“It’s the Stable mare and her Dashites! They’re here and-” Their voice cut out for a second as the sound of shouting and gunfire filled the intercom. “I can’t stop.. Fuck! Prepare for a fight! They’re coming your way!” There was a loud bang of a rifle on the other end of the intercom before it cut to static and went dead.

Firestreak grit her teeth, her eyes darting back and forth. “Shit… not now!” Her head snapped to the side, pointing at Vapour. “Vapour, you’re with me. We cannot let the Stable Mare and her Dashites prevent us from leaving with our objectives. Horrigan, kill Icewind,” With that, Firestreak flapped her wings and shot up into the air, swooping out of the room.

Vapour hesitated for a second, looking from Firestreak to Icewind. Finally, he gave Icewind a concerned look. “Please be safe. Don’t make the wrong choice,” He muttered, his voice so low even my enhanced hearing almost didn’t pick it up. Then he kicked off into the air and followed after Firestreak.

Icewind watched him leave for a second before slowly shifting back around to face me, cautiously backing away. “Horrigan, you don’t have to do this. What the Enclave is doing is wrong and you know it!”

“The Enclave has ordered your execution,” I replied bluntly, ignoring her plea. “And I will obey!”

Icewind barely had time to jump out of the way as my hulking tesla cannon flared with light and sent a beam of explosive energy hurtling towards her. She gave a loud gasp of pain as she landed roughly on her injured leg, before flapping her wings and shooting up into the air.

“Horrigan, please! I know you’re better than this!” She shouted down, doing an abrupt swerve in the air as I sent another blast chasing after her.

Instead of responding, I shot up into the air towards her. The ground cratered under the immense strength of my hooves as I kicked off from the ground. I flashed towards her, my large hooves ramming into her chest and sending her careening to the side. Icewind’s body slammed hard against the side of one of the missile silos, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. She looked up just in time to see me send another searing blast of arching tesla energy her way. She frantically beat her wings, dashing out of the way of the blast as the massive shockwave of energy crashed into the silo.

“Careful you idiot! One wrong move and you could cause this whole place to blow sky high!” She snapped back at me, dipping to the side as another violent swing of my hoof nearly crushed in her skull.

I lurched to the side, intercepting her mid air as she tried to swoop around me. My bulk collided with her, sending both of us rapidly spiralling towards the ground. Icewind kicked off of my chest, her wings shooting open as she tried to make another beeline for the exit. Before she could get far, my bladed tail flashed out, coiling around her midsection and slamming her roughly against the ground.

She twisted around in my tails constrictive grip, her saddle mounted nova-surge rifle flaring with prismatic light as she sent several beams of burning magical energy slashing across my body. I scowled, taking the hits as I swung my hoof forwards, cracking her heavily across the head in an attempt to pummel her into submission.

“Give me the virus,” I growled, my tail lurching backwards and hoisting Icewind up into the air.

“Go fuck yourself Horrigan,” Icewind shot back as one of her hind hooves squirmed their way out of the grip of my tail, giving her enough wiggle room to kick off from me again and break free of my grapple.

I scowled, thundering forward as Icewind shot back up into the air, the pounding of my hooves causing the whole chamber to tremble. I saw Icewind twist around in the air, aiming herself to face me just long enough to send five more beams of prismatic energy directly at my face, the flaring blasts repeatedly bursting against my visor.

I veered to the side, my vision blinded with the searing lights of the blasts. I thrashed blindly in the air, hoping to strike her down before she made it to the door. My hooves met only empty air. Feeling fury building up inside me, I let loose a booming roar of rage. My tesla cannon flared with light as I began blinding blasting around me, sending crackling bolts of magical energy flashing in every direction. I could feel the powerful ripples of the explosive shockwaves as each blast detonated.

Somewhere in front of me, I heard Icewind give a loud yelp of pain. I shook my head as my vision began to clear, spotting Icewind collapsed against the doorway, painfully dragging herself back to her hooves. She had avoided a direct hit from my tesla cannon, but the coinciding shockwave had knocked her from the air, the left side of her power armour steaming and ripped apart where the rippling wave of force had slammed into her. Her helmet had been tossed aside, revealing her blue hide and messed up, multi-toned mane.

She glared back at me, a trickle of blood dripping down the side of her bruised face. She spat a wad of blood from her mouth and pulled herself back up to face me, the vial of IMP Dash-13 held tight in her hoof.

“Alright Horrigan, this is how this is going to go. I can’t beat you. I’m not stupid enough to think I even have a chance, so you’re going to let me go or I’m going to smash this! Then the Enclave can say goodbye to their precious little genocide serum,” Icewind scowled. She placed the vial on the ground and raised her hoof, poising it to slam down and shatter the vial at a moments notice. “Something tells me that your mutated body isn’t going to be a very big fan of an airborne virus designed to eradicate mutations. I reckon we would both be dead within the hour.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I shot back, taking a step forward.

In response, Icewind lurched downwards with her hoof slightly, making me pause. “Try me.”

I flinched slightly at the motion, my eyes transfixed on the small vial resting below her hoof. “Why did you have to go Dashite, Icewind,” I spat, glaring daggers at her. “We could have simply secured the objective as we were ordered to and left. This didn’t need to get complicated.”

“I had hoped the Enclave was better than this,” Icewind hissed back. “Clearly I was mistaken. Just use your head, Horrigan. It doesn’t take a fucking scientist to see that all of this is wrong. You’re always saying that the Enclave has Equestria’s best interests at heart. Does this really seem like the best thing for pony kind? Genocide?!” she gestured to the small vial beneath her.

A resounding boom echoed down from the floor above signalling that Firestreak and Vapour had most likely engaged the Stable mare and her companions in combat. I glanced upwards, my thoughts briefly shifting to Skylight. With any luck, she had taken my advice and didn’t come.

I returned my gaze to Icewind, my eyes narrowing as I took another step forward. “We would be saving ponies from the filth of the wasteland. I’m sure Colonel Thunderbolt knows what he’s doing. He would never needlessly put the lives of innocent ponies in danger.”

“Listen to yourself. You’re just justifying what the Enclave does with no consideration for if what you’re saying is actually true. What if you’re wrong? What if Thunderbolt has been lying to you just like the Enclave lied to you about the Cloud Seeding Rebellion?”

“We don’t know that they lied!” I shot back, anger rising in my voice. Just the mention of the rebellion caused pangs of rage to course through my body. “Perhaps Skylight was wrong. Perhaps she misunderstood the information. And so what if the Enclave did create the rebellion?! They were right to villainies going below the clouds, weren’t they! We went below the clouds and look at what happened!”

Icewind’s hard glare softened somewhat as she looked at me with her sad, distant gaze. “Do you really believe that Horrigan? You would support the Enclave, even if you knew they killed your own mother?”

I could feel my body trembling as the implications of the question washed over me. Duty, honor, courage, obedience… at what point does virtue change to vice. For the first time since I had awoken in my new body, I was thankful for the icy helmet that obscured my face, because the last thing that I wanted was for Icewind to see the tears that streaked my face.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said sternly, taking a final step towards Icewind, my trepidation shifting into a steely resolve. I could hide the tears, but I couldn’t hide the tremble in my voice. “My mother is gone. There is no undoing what has been done.”

Faster than Icewind could react, my horn flared to life and a burst of magic erupted around the glass vial. Icewind reacted too slow, slamming her hoof down only for her strike to rebound off my powerful magical barrier, sending her skidding backwards a few steps. My magical aura scooped up the vial, sending it hurtling and spinning through the air towards me until it came to a rest in front of my face.

“No!” Icewind’s scream echoed throughout the chamber as she madly dashed towards me, stumbling on her broken leg, her hooves outstretched to grab onto the vial.

Before she could make it far, my tesla cannon flared, sending an arching blast of light straight into her chest. The blast exploded against her body, ripping apart the front of her armour and sending her limp from flying back several feet through the doorway into the smaller chamber beyond. I felt a spray of blood splatter across my visor as the front half of her torso was blasted open.

I stood there for a moment, heaving, staring into the darkness that her body had been thrown into, before returning my gaze to the small vial. It had to be done… my thoughts echoed inside my head. There is no going back.

I popped a small metal compartment open on the side of my armour and slid the vial snuggly into it before letting it slide shut once more. Stealing myself, I strode out of the missile silo chamber, my blood red vision sweeping back and forth as I tried to locate Icewind’s mangled corpse.

My eyes landed on the smoldering remains of Icewind’s power armour, one side dented inwards and the front half ripped to shreds. It lay in a large pool of blood, black in the dim lighting of the chamber. I reached a hoof out, rolling the steaming armour over. It was empty.

My head shot up, glancing around the room. Immediately, my enhanced vision picked up on the trail of blood leading from the abandoned armour to the broken down elevator shaft. Scowling, I charged forwards, the large pauldrons on my shoulders crashing against the sides of the elevator entryway and smashing them apart. I let my wings open up in the confined space, jump upwards through the shaft towards the second floor. My hoof caught onto the ledge of the floor above, allowing me to hoist the rest of my body upwards.

As soon as I scrambled my way onto the second floor, my thermo vision clicked in, illuminating the still warm trail of blood that trailed across the floor. Scowling, I prowled forwards, my eyes sweeping back and forth as I stayed alert for any traps or ambushes Icewind might have hastily through together.

I rounded another corner, my glowing eyes the only light cutting through the thick gloom. I saw the trail of blood shift from moving down the main hallway into one of the side rooms. My advanced EFS quickly locked onto a single target inside the small room, curled up in one of the corners, clearly trying to tend to their rather serious wounds.

I felt a grim smile that I in no way felt etch its way across my face. “Found you,” My tesla cannon began to charge up, locking in on my target through the wall.

“Horrigan…”

My rapidly beating heart went still. I whipped around, suddenly coming face to face with Skylight as she stood behind me in the hallway, her magical energy rifle already aimed and ready to fire at me at a moment's notice. I felt my whole body lock up as I stared down at her, my mind temporarily going blank. Breathing suddenly became hard. She took a nervous step back under my intense glare, but she didn’t seem to back down.

“You shouldn’t be here,” I rumbled, my blood red eyes burning into hers. I took a step away from the room Icewind was hiding behind, advancing towards Skylight. “I told you not to come. Whatever you hope to accomplish here, I assure you, you will fail. There is no stopping the Enclave. Not anymore.”

“I told you I couldn’t do that,” She said back, her voice quiet. “We can’t let the Enclave reestablish the cloud layer. Even if that means I’m going to have to go through you.”

I took a deep breath, trying to settle my racing nerves. “I made you a promise... Had you heeded my advice, you might have survived. But that chance has come and gone. Time to die…”

Before I could fire off a blast from my cannon, a loud clinking sound echoed down the hallway behind me. I turned my head just in time to see a small metal apple with a bright blue band on it rolling down the hallway to stop between my hooves.

“Sorry Horrigan,” Skylight muttered, taking another step back. “But I figured you’d say that.”

Boom!

Skylight dove backwards as a massive jolt of electricity surged up around me and the EMP grenade detonated between my hooves. My power armour locked up and I felt all of the cybernetics in my body temporarily shut down. I gave a roar of rage, desperately thrashing about as I tried to break free from the sudden paralysis, but to my growing horror, my body failed to move.

Out of the corner of my vision, I saw the Dashite Misty Cloud fluttering down the hallway out of the darkness, a sash of EMP grenades dangling from her chest. “Looks like you were right, Sky. EMP grenades lock him down.”

I gave another bellowing roar, violently trying to slam my body towards them. I felt my knee jerk slightly and I managed to lunge forwards a step before the locking mechanisms on my armour clamped shut again, immobilizing me once more.

Skylight and Misty Cloud jumped back at my sudden advance, keeping their guns trained on me. “Alright, what’s the plan, Skylight?”

“We need to get to the bottom floor. We have to stop them before they get their hooves on the Balefire Reactor Module.”

A hollow laugh built up in my throat at her words. “You’re too late for that,” I growled between clenched teeth. “We have what we came for. Now all you and your mutie bastard friends are going to face the consequences of opposing the Enclave.”

“The Balefire Reactor isn’t your biggest concern,” Another voice rasped from behind me. Both the Dashites looked over to see Icewind shakily pulling herself from the side room, her hoof held tightly to her chest to stop the stream of blood that poured down her front and her body leaning heavily against the wall for support. “It’s what Horrigan has on him that you’ve really got to fear.”

Both Dashites immediately shifted their weapons to aim at Icewind, their expressions a mix of shock and fear, but Icewind quickly raised her one free hoof in surrender. “I’m on your guys’ side. Trust me. The Enclave is planning to unleash a virus on the wasteland. We need to get that vial off of Horrigan before he gets it back to the oil rig.”

“Traitor!” I roared, using every last ounce of strength I had to lurch to the side again. My body managed to shift a few feet towards Icewind, making her flinch backwards. I could feel a burning sense of betrayal broiling inside of me. How dare Icewind turn on me like this! After everything the Enclave had done for her! “You will pay for betraying the Enclave!”

“I already paid that price,” Icewind shot back, steeling herself as she trotted over to my side and pried open the metal side compartment I had stored the IMP Dash-13 virus within. “And I have no intention of letting everypony in the wasteland pay that price as well.”

“Sorry Horrigan. I wish this could have gone differently,” Skylight told me sadly, watching me closely as Icewind extracted the vial. “But you knew it had to be this way.”

I felt the electric tension keeping my bladed tail taut slacken. A grim snarl formed on my peeled lips. “Indeed.”

My tail abruptly lashed out, slashing Icewind across the side. She gave a loud shout of pain, staggering back from the force of the impact, the vial of IMP now tight in her grasp.

“Shit!” Misty swore, stumbling backwards and frantically reaching for another EMP grenade. At the same moment, I felt my hooves break free from the suspension and I dove forwards, my whole body ramming violently into Misty, sending her staggering backwards.

I whipped around, my fore hooves flashing upwards through the air to deflect a shot from one of Skylights’ blasts as she took to the air, sending beams of deadly light down towards me. My horn glowed, wrapping her wings in an aura of my magic and tensing, causing her to sag in the air and crash down violently to the ground.

Icewind fired another blast of energy into my side, by I weathered the shot, lunging forwards and ramming her against the wall, my tesla cannon aimed at her head. “You are going to give me the vial!”

Misty Cloud hammered into me from the side, allowing Icewind to break free and duck out of the way as my tesla cannon blasted an explosive beam of energy into the wall where her head had been, bursting open the concrete structure and sending pieces of debris flying in every direction. I reeled on Misty, my hooves slamming against her sides and knocking her back, only for Skylight to dive at me, the beams of her Magical energy rifle slashing away at the exposed hide on my fore hooves.

My tail flashed out, batting Skylight to the side as I dove for Icewind again. Before I could reach her, Misty tossed another EMP grenade, the metal explosive clattering and tumbling across the floor in my direction. I jumped back, my horn flaring as I erected a magical barrier between myself and the explosive.

The Dashites scattered as the apple grenade bounded back towards them. Skylight dove at Misty, wrapping her arms around her front and sending the two of them tumbling down the hall and out of range of the EMP before it could lock up their own armour. The hall flared with light as the grenade detonated, bolts of electricity crackling out and racing up the walls.

With a howl of anger, my horn pulsed again, sending the created magical barrier slamming towards the Dashites. The powerful field of magical energy rammed into Icewind, sending her sprawling across the floor. Skylight lunged out of the way, ducking into one of the side rooms as the wall of force crashed towards her.

Another round of magical energy blasts scored my hide as Misty pulled herself back to her hooves, her rifle flaring as she tried to find some weak spot in my defences. I powered towards her, my hooves thundering loudly against the floor and my eyes flashing dangerously in the darkness. She ducked under the first swing of my hoof, only for my lashing tail to collide heavily with her chest, sending her flailing to the ground with a resounding thud.

I whipped around just in time to see Icewind and Skylight take to the air, swerving back and forth to avoid the lethal slashes of my tail. My vision locked in on Icewind again, my tesla cannon charging up to blast her from the air.

Icewind abruptly lurched to her right, narrowly avoiding the blast as the arching tesla energy blasted into the ceiling, blowing a hole in the roof leading to the floor above. I dove backwards as the rock and debris from the top floor began crashing down towards me, sending massive chunks of frozen cement slamming into the ground. I felt the whole facility shake as the detonation threatened to collapse the whole structure.

Skylight rammed her armoured hooves against the back of my head, causing me to stagger forwards. My tail swung at her, its long, bladed end rending open the side of her armour and slashing a long gash into her flesh. She dove backwards, trying to avoid another strike from the bladed tail, only for my whole body to whirl around and ram into her, pinning her to the floor with my powerful fore hooves.

“Skylight!” Misty Cloud screamed, staggering back towards me, blasting shot after shot into my hide as I loomed over Skylight. “Let her go!”

I placed my massive hoof atop Skylight’s head, readying to crush her skull flat. “Allow me to show you what happens to those that betray the Enclave. Goodbye, Skylight.”

The tortured wail of the ghoul alerted me to its presence before it collided with me. I glanced up, my eyes catching with the pale eyes of one of the frozen ghouls from the floor above as it thrust itself through the hole I had blasted into the ceiling and slammed against my head in a manic frenzy of slashing limbs. I stepped back, my body lurching as I tried to throw the ghoul from my body.

More howls of pain began echoing down from above as dozens of ghouls began spilling through the hole in the roof and down towards us. A few ghouls sporting mangled and mutilated looking wings and horns began smashing open new holes in the ceiling, making way for more and more ghouls to flood in.

Skylight staggered away from me, her magical energy rifle blasting the head off one of the rushing ghouls as she scampered over to Misty and Icewind. “We need to get going! Now!”

Icewind nodded, spinning around and taking off down the hallway. “This way! Come on!”

“NO! You aren’t going anywhere!” I boomed, throwing the ghoul off my back and clearing my path of ghouls by blasting through with an explosive shot from my tesla cannon. I lurched forwards, knocking jittering ghouls out of my way with my hooves and I charged.

More ghouls began to pour in from above, piling into the hallway. More howls of anguish began rising up from around me as I charged after the fleeing Dashites, becoming a strange melody of horror.

I rounded a corner in the hallway after the Dashites, my heavy form skidding across the slick ground and crashing into the steel wall. The tunnel shook, a few of the large icicles on the roof crashing down and impaling some of the ghouls within the surging horde. A few ghouls jumped at me as I slowed down to steady myself, only to be crushed beneath my hulking hooves, their frail forms shattering like glass. I only had one target.

I aimed up a shot at Icewind, my tesla cannon flaring with light. The deadly beam flashed out, missing Icewind my inches, but landing close enough that the coinciding shockwave sent her sailing forwards, her grip on the vial of IMP slackening and sending the vial skidding across the floor.

I saw Skylight pivot and race for the fallen glass tube, her hooves outstretched. My magic was faster. I scooped the vial up in my magical aura, sending it spinning through the air back towards me. Misty Cloud’s wings buzzed as she shot past Skylight, her mouth clamping tight around the vial mid air as I pulled it towards me.

Another frozen ghoul rushed us, this time their hooves frantically slashing at Misty Cloud. Skylight rushed forwards, her rifle blasting the head off the ghoul as she pulled Misty back to safety.

I scowled, storming forwards. My tail swung at Misty, hoping to knock the vial from her grasp. She dodged out of the way, darting down another side hall, Icewind and Skylight close behind.

Not letting them get too far ahead of me, I tucked my head against my chest in preparation for impact and slammed into the wall, smashing my way through a side office and back out into the hallway in front of them. The three Dashites pulled up short as I burst into the hallway before them, my impressive form towering well above their heads.

“There is no escape,” I told them, my blood red eyes the only thing they could see in the darkness of the tunnel. “Now give me the vial.”

“You’ll have to kill me!” Icewind snapped.

“That will soon be easily accomplished,” I retorted, my massive cannon glowing a sinister blue.

More howls signalled the arrival of the ghouls as they began spilling into the hallway behind them, while others began surging through the hole I had smashed through the wall. The three Dashites glanced at each other for a moment before lunging towards me, diving past me and trying to make it too the far side of the tunnel.

My fore hoof swung out, catching Misty Cloud in the chest and ramming her against the wall. My tail lurched forwards, the razor sharp blade at its end slashing across her face and cutting one side of her mouth open into a macabre smile. Misty screamed in pain, the vial dropping from her mouth before being scooped up in the shimmering aura of my magic.

I pushed her backwards as I lurched off from the wall, my tail swinging violently and slashing aside a group of ghouls that charged at me as I began sprinting for the far side of the hall. Up ahead, I could see the doorway that opened up into the larger anti chamber at the entrance of the second floor.

A loud scream began to rise up from behind me as dozens of frozen ghouls began clambering onto Misty Cloud, their rotting teeth digging deep into her flesh. I saw Skylight spin around at her cries of pain, rapidly rushing back towards the swarm of ghouls to save her friend.

With a growl, I lunged into Skylight grappling her with my large form and tossing her forwards, throwing her from the tunnel and into the larger chamber beyond. She hit the ground hard, skidding across the slick floor to lay in a small heap in the centre of the chamber.

Icewind rolled across the ground as another ghoul swiped at her, its jagged, icy hoof whistling above her head. She swerved to the right to avoid another, only for one of my fore hooves to slash out and ram her across the head. Icewind was sent tumbling head over hoof down the hallway, her wings flapping awkwardly as she tried to lift herself off into the air.

I broke through the doorway of the tunnel into the large chamber, one of my hind hooves crushing one of the ghouls flat below me. Icewind staggered back to her hooves beside me, looking up with only just enough time to catch my tail flashing towards her before it slammed across her chest, sending her hurtling through the air where she collided hard against the far wall. Her head bounced against the rough surface before she dropped to the floor, unmoving.

“Misty!” I looked up to see Skylight make a dash for the hallways again, where beyond Misty Cloud continued to thrash back and forth, desperately throwing ghoul after ghoul off of her as the swarm rapidly began to overtake her, gnarled hooves prying her armour from her body and rotting teeth peeling the flesh from her hide. I pushed my way in front of Skylight, one of my hooves bashing out and clobbering her to the ground. I could feel Skylight desperately beating her hooves against mine as she tried to break free from my grip and go help her friend, her voice filling with desperation. “No! Please! I have to save her! She’s all I have left! Horrigan! Please! Not again!”

I gave a loud huff, looking back at the tunnel where the ghouls continued to swarm over Misty Cloud, ripping her body apart piece by piece as she violently struggled to pull herself to safety. For a quick moment, my eyes locked with the struggling Dashite. She looked back at me, horror prevalent in her eyes.

“You fought well,” I grunted, watching as another ghoul managed to dig its teeth into her flesh.

“Horrigan… no… Please…” I felt Skylight whimper against my hoof. “Please no… Not her too…”

Not daring to look Skylight in the eye, my horn flared and a beam of light shot out, bursting against the top of the entryway. The whole chamber shook as cracks raced along walls. The roof of the hallway split and a massive landslide of rubble and broken cement collapsed down across the entryway, sealing us off from the hallway and the ghouls within it. Even through the rubble, I could still hear Misty Cloud's cries as the ghouls began tearing into her more, pulling her limb for limb.

“No!” Skylight screamed, tears streaking her face as she pushed away from me and charged at the collapsed hallway entrance. She dropped to her knees, her hooves frantically digging at the rubble, desperately trying to clear the path.

Misty Clouds screams abruptly went silent, being replaced with the triumphant sound of frenzied ghouls and the tearing of flesh as they tore into the new meal. Skylight's whole body went still, her eyes locked on the wreckage between her and the corpse of her friend. Her shoulder heaved, her breath coming out in slow, pained pants. I saw tears drip across the stonework.

I loomed above her, my glowing eyes spotlighting her in the darkness of the chamber as she wept. I stood there for a long moment, just looking down at her. Slowly, I placed the IMP formula back into my side compartment.

Silence endured.

“Just kill me,” Skylight's scratchy voice finally spoke up, distant and resigned. She turned, looking up at me with her tear filled eyes. “Just kill me, Horrigan... I’m done…”

I didn’t move. I just remained standing there, glaring at her through the gloom.

I saw Skylight's despair abruptly evaporate into rage. She pulled herself to her hooves, charging towards me, fury in her eyes. “I said I’m done, Horrigan! Finished! Why won’t you just fucking kill-”

She was cut off as my hoof swung out and slammed her against the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. She gasped, spitting up blood as she dragged herself away from me. I began stalking towards where she had fallen, towering above her, my wings splayed out at my sides.

Skylight came to a stop, resting once more against the collapsed entryway to the hall. She stared down at her fore hooves, noticing that they had begun to tremble uncontrollably. “How can one pony lose so much,” She sobbed, pushing aside a tear that rolled down her face. “It shouldn’t be allowed,” She turned her face back to look at me once more, her expression defiant. “So finish the job… You’ve taken everything I ever had. My family, my cutie mark, my best friend… My life’s the only thing left for you to take.”

There was a loud clunking sound as my tesla cannon thunked into place, leveling with her head. Skylight flinched back as she came face to face with the glowing end of the massive cannon, but she didn’t bother trying to move out of the way. The muscles in my body tensed as I charged up the deadly weapon.

My eyes caught with hers. I held her gaze for a moment, not daring to look away, knowing this was the last time I would ever get to look into her verdant eyes. There was a sorrow in her eyes beyond any that I had seen before. So much betrayal and heartbreak. It pained me to know that I had been the cause of most of it. I wondered if she could glean anything within the glassy, lifeless eyes of my helmet, or if they were as soulless as I knew them to be.

I opened my mouth to say something to her. Some final remark that would justify everything. That would prove to her that she should never have betrayed me. That the Enclave truly was were she belonged. That we truly were going to save the wasteland. But no words came to mind. Just as Skylight had lost everything, I realized so too had I.

The clattering sound of metal across the ground dropped my gaze to the floor, where another apple grenade had rolled to a stop between my hind hooves, this one marked with a dark crimson band.

Boom!

I only barely had time to lunge to the side when the area I had been standing exploded in a burst of fire and shrapnel. I hit the ground, my armour scraping against the rugged surface. I looked up, making out Icewind frantically pulling Skylight from the ground and pushing her towards the exit.

“Come on! We need to go! Now!” Icewind shouted, ushering Skylight along.

I roared, clambering back to my hooves. My tesla cannon began charging up at my sides, SATS beeping to life on my HUD.

“H-Horrigan? What's g-going on?” out of the corner of my eye, I saw Vapour Trail stumbling into the room, his helmet missing and a large gash oozing blood across his brow.

I ignored him, my attention focused on the two Dashites. SATS locked in on Icewind and Skylight. 100% chance to hit. In the magically induced frozen state of SATS, I could see Skylight staring back at me, her eyes locked with mine. I had been here before, but this time, I didn’t hesitate.

Blam!

A powerful, arching blast of tesla blue light streaked forwards, crackling through the air towards the Dashites. I heard the pounding of hooves and Vapour Trail screaming as he charged forwards, throwing himself between Icewind and the blast.

Boom!

The chamber was filled with sparking energy as the lethal blast exploded against Vapour's body. Vapour was sent tumbling across the room. The lower half of his body ripped free from his torso, blood splattering across the icy walls in messy strokes. He hit the ground, rolling across the floor and lying still, his breath fading.

I stood there for a moment, eyes wide beneath my helmet, staring blankly between Vapours crumpled form and Icewind and Skylight as they dipped through the doorway and out of sight. After a long moment, I growled to myself. “Damn it.”

I hauled myself over to where Vapour Trail had fallen, looking him over. His entire lower half had been blown apart, his back half trailing sinewy strands of flesh and entrails. Blood burbled from his mouth and most of his hide had been burned away. He had managed to drag himself a few inches before fully collapsing.

“Why did you get in the way,” I monotone, looking down at the small pegasus as he lay before me, gasping.

Vapour let a small, pained laugh escape his blood soaked lips. “I-I g-guess I just d-didn’t want to see Icew-wind d-d-die…” He gave me a sad looking smile as he rolled onto his back, looking down at his decimated lower half. He grimaced, tears welling in his eyes. “Oh shit… Th-that’s not good…”

“Hold still,” I grunted, kneeling down beside him. “I’ll find a healing potion.”

Vapour’s fore hooves reached out and grabbed onto me before I could pull away. His grip was weak and I could have easily overpowered him, but I stalled. “Won’t d-do any g-good,” He gasped, his face scrunching as the shock began to subside and the real pain began to sink in. There was a strange determination glinting in his eyes. “Horrigan… I want- I want you t-to l-listen to m-me…”

I nodded, slowly sinking back into a kneeling position beside him.

“It isn’t to l-l-late for you t-to fix this,” He sputtered, his grip tightening ever so slightly around my hoof. “And I know it’s not too late for Icewind either… P-please… remember that…”

I scowled. “Icewind is a traitor.”

“So are you…” He nickered almost smugly. He closed his eyes, his breath slowing. “I’m not s-s-stupid Prance… I know w-who f-f-freed Skylight from her cell,” He looked back up at me, tears glistening on his cheeks. “Fix this Prance… Promise me that.”

“I don’t even know what you want me to fix,” I rumbled, lowering my head to hear him better. His voice was fading.

Vapour gave me a smile. “I’ll l-let you decide that…” Vapour’s body stilled and for a moment I thought he had faded entirely. When he did speak again, his voice sounded far away, as if he wasn’t really in the room anymore. “I want a proper pegasus funeral, Prance… I want to be in the sun… I want to be with Lighting again…”

I gave him a small nod, watching as the last bits of life drained from the small pegasus’ eyes.

For a long moment, I just sat there in the dark, staring at the lifeless corpse of Vapour Trail. His words bounced around inside my mind as I tried to make any sense of them. Fix this? Fix what? The situation with the Dashites? The wasteland itself? I considered continuing to give chase to Icewind and Skylight. Perhaps killing them would fix whatever problem Vapour had been referring to. But I decided against it. It would have been pointless to do so at this point. By now they would have made it out of the MOA Hub and out into open air.

Firestreak stumbled into the chamber a few minutes later, her armour singed and battered. She looked over at me, her eyes landing on the broken form of Vapour. “Fuck…” She muttered, stumbling her way over. She stared down at the limp body, her hooves trembling in rage. "fuck... damn it. Fuck," She looked back up at me, her eyes hard and determined. “Come, Horrigan. We need to go. Now!”

“What happened with the Stable mare,” I groused, pulling myself back up to my hooves as my commander approached. I had to force my gaze away from Vapours broken form.

“The bitch killed Honeydew and escaped, but we still have what we came for,” She held up the small, cylindrical Balefire Reactor in her hoof. “Now we need to get back to the Raptor before the Stable mare regroups with her Dashites and comes back for round two,” I nodded, moving to gently scoop up Vapour's prone body, but Firestreak stopped me. “Leave him. We don’t have time. The longer we stay, the more chances they have to ambush us.”

I hesitated, looking down at Vapour's body. His dying words had been to be in the sun one last time. To be with Lighting.

“Orders are orders,” I finally told the corpse, turning away and following behind Firestreak as she raced out of the MOA hub and back out into the bitting snowstorm, leaving Vapour's body behind in the cold, sunless hole beneath the ground.

Author's Note

Oh boy, did Horrigan ever mess up this time or what?

Only two chapters left my friends! Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and have a great day!

Chapter X: Apotheosis of the Enclave

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Semantics. Potion. Please.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Icewind scrunched up her muzzle. “Blue?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Skylight let out a loud gasp. “What?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I remained silent beside her.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You two really have been busy.”

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

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

“It’s not your fault.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I did not.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Night had fully fallen at last.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Duty, Honor, Courage,

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

Obedience.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Logs, Coronel Thunderbolt

>Prance Horrigan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Logs, Coronel Thunderbolt

>Cloud Seeding Rebellion

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

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

>File Deleted

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Logs, Knife Slit

>Prance Horrigan: Complication

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

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

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

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

Logs, Knife Slit

>Prance Horrigan: Memory Deletion and Failsafe

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Logs, Knife Slit

>IMP Dash-13: Completion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Stable mare and her Dashites were here…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Author's Note

One Chapter left...

Chapter XI: Prance Horrigan

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!

Epilogue: The Truth Behind the Mask

“Goooood mornin’ wasteland! You’re listening to your favourite disk jockey, your master of ceremonies, the one an’ only, DJ Pon3! An’ have I got a lot of news t' report!

“Now I know a lot of you out there have been keeping your eyes on the sky these past few weeks, watching out for the gosh darn Enclave an’ their monster of the wasteland, a pony I have come t’ understand was named Prance Horrigan. An’ you’ve all been watching out for good reason. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like the Enclave had been planning something big! Apparently they were developing some sort of IMP virus that was going to wipe out all life in the wasteland. I know, I know, I can’t make this shit up! But it doesn’t stop there, oh no! I just got word they managed to acquire a stockpile of active Megaspells an' were readying t' launch them across the wasteland!

“But ponies, before you go running about in a panic, screamin’ about the end times and hoarding up on food as you hunker down in your bunker, listen close, because I’m not here tonight t’ tell you ‘bout the end of the world. Quite the opposite. I’m happy t' announce that the all mighty Enclave was not only stopped, but blown sky fuckin’ high!

“You see children, that new Stable mare hero I’ve been telling you all about, the one fighting that good fight an’ followin’ in the hoof steps of everyponies favourite lightbringer, rallied a small army around her three days ago an’ laid siege against the Enclaves main base of operations; an oil rig just off the cost of Manehattan. It sounds like it was a hell of a fight, an’ yes, that massive bright light y'all saw on the horizon was indeed the oil rig going up in a big ol’ megaspell explosion. Sounds like the Enclave got blown up by the very same megaspells they had been planning to drop on all of us! Talk about poetic irony! I don’t know what it is about these stable mares, but they love setting balefire bombs off right where the Enclave least expects it. So send out a thanks to your local wasteland heroines and remember just why we’re all safe for another day.

“Now, unfortunately, this is where the news starts t’ get a little sad. I’m still collecting all the details and accounts I can on the incident, and I’m hoping t’ be able t’ paint a clearer picture for all my faithful listeners sometime in the comin’ weeks, but from what I understand, it doesn’t sound like our stable friend made it out of the blast alive. I know, the wasteland is a cruel place, and we’ve all watched more heroes succumb to its violence than we can count, but I’m not here to tell you hope is lost. These are real ponies out there right now children, fighting a fight that not all that long ago, we didn’t think we could win. The lightbringer showed us a path that was worth walkin’, and I’ve seen more and more ponies these past two years rise t' meet that challenge than ever before. The good fight is a slow fight, children, an' we don’t always get t' make it out alive, but that’s what makes it the good fight. It’s what separates us from ponies like the Enclave. Ponies like the monstrous Prance Horrigan an' his superiors. There’s no fast way to get rid of all the bad in the world, but if we all stand together, follow in the example of ponies like the lightbringer an’ our fallen Stable mare hero, we can push that bad away. We can make the world better. Not perfect, but better. An’ maybe, when our time has come an’ gone, our children can have peace in their time.

“But is the Enclave really gone for good, I hear you all asking. Well, I don’t think I can give you a definitive answer as of yet. Last I heard, a single Enclave Raptor was spotted flying away from the oil rig, heading west. Where are they going? Appaloosa? Las Pegasus? And how many ponies were onboard? A dozen? A hundred? Do we got a whole Enclave army packed away in that one little air craft like a can of sardines that we’re going t’ have t’ worry about? Unlikely, but only time will tell. At the very least, it’s going t’ be a long time before the Enclave can garner enough strength t’ attempt another stunt like this.

“Now, I hesitate t' mention this, as the accounts I’ve gathered on the subject are finicky at best, but from what ponies have been tellin’ me, it sounds like Prance Horrigan, that nightmare of metal and flesh himself, was amongst the casualties of the ponies that died in the oil rig explosion! Hallelujah ponies! Our mighty Stable mare champion of the wastes may be gone, but she left us with one hell of a parting gift. Thank you Stable mare, your service has not gone unnoticed! It’s been a long time since we’ve seen something as awful and irredeemable as Prance Horrigan stalking the wastes, so I know I’ll rest better at night, knowing that monster is gone for good.

“In other news, the ponies of Libertalia are slowly recovering from their near death encounter with the terrifying Prance Horrigan. Already, the small settlement is beginning to rebuild. I was fortunate enough to have a quick chat with the mayor of the fine settlement, mayor Seawater, an’ he seems confident the town will be livable once more within the month, thanks t’ the unexpected collaboration the settlers have fostered with the Applejack Rangers in the light of the battle against the Enclave. Mayor Seawater is even thinking of expanding; mentioned something ‘bout a floating city that can actually sail around the Celestial Sea. Imagine that. The ingenuity of pony kind never ceases t’ amaze me.

“The wasteland is a changing landscape these days, children. We’ve watched it transform from a lifeless husk of land to one filled with violence, regression and hatred, but we’ve also seen it change for the better too. Despite all the bad you’re seeing out there children, know that though it comes at a cost, it comes with something we haven’t seen in hundreds of years as well. Hope. So rise up with us brothers. Stand beside us sisters. Hold steadfast and loyal t’ those closest t’ you. The lightbringer showed us the light at the end of the tunnel, an’ now it’s all our duty t’ reach it together. T’ honour those that have fallen before us t’ clear that path, such as our wayward stable mare hero, an’ to find courage in a world where it seems like the darkness will never end.

Icewind tucked her wings against her side as she gently dove down towards the crumbling bits of slag that jutted from the crashing waves like shattered ribs. Beside her, Skylight scanned the waters, her narrowed eyes sweeping back and forth behind her visor as she searched for any signs of life.

After a long moment, they swooped down, their hooves reaching out as they came for a landing on a large chunk of metal. One of the only remaining sections of the Enclave’s oil rig. There was a hollow ringing across the expanse as their metal power armoured hooves touched down on the darkened, half melted platform of metal and brine.

“You’re not going to find anything,” Icewind muttered, helping as Skylight began combing through the rubble, lifting blackened slabs of metal aside with the enhanced strength of her insectoid power armour. Even with the power armour, their geiger counters were clicking away ominously.

“I know,” Skylight sighed, still pushing through the rubble. “But I need to at least check. He deserves that much.”

“Does he?”

Skylight didn’t respond, simply turning her back and continuing to dig. After a second of watching her, Icewind gave a sigh of her own and moved to help lift aside a larger chunk of what she could only assume had once been a wall.

They dug for hours, combing through what little pieces of wreckage they could find, the sun sinking lower and lower towards the horizon. The oil rig had been completely decimated. Very little remained.

It wasn’t until they sun had almost disappeared from sight, the last few beams of sunlight filling the clear sky with twilight, that Skylight spoke. “I think I found something!”

Icewind rushed over to her, helping to push aside a collapsed section of roofing. Skylight reached forwards, her hooves gingerly pulling a large hunk of black metal from the debris and setting it down in front of them.

The slag was near unrecognizable; the raw power of the megaspell having warped its shape nearly completely, but the two large, bulbous glass eyes remained, still tinted that sinister red.

“You think it’s his?” Icewind asked, looking over the helmet cautiously. “Could have belonged to anypony.”

“It’s his,” Skylight breathed, sitting down and staring at the helmet. “I know it is.”

The two of them sat there, staring at the remains of the helmet for a long while. The sky went dark above them, the final rays of sunlight clearing the sky and giving way to the twinkling stars above.

“Did… Did he ever talk about me?” Skylight asked, stumbling over her words a little. “During your time with him?”

Icewind nickered. “Oh, constantly. You were one of the first things he asked about when he first broke free,” She hesitated for a second, thinking back to her very first encounter with Horrigan. “There was a tone in his voice when he asked about you… When we told him you had died in the battle for Friendship City… It wasn’t quite fear. More like a forlorn longing. A sadness that only those who have experienced true loss could possibly even begin to understand. Colonel Thunderbolt never saw it. I don’t think he could have if he tried. I only saw it in him twice.”

Skylight raised her eyebrows a little. “When was the other?”

Icewind went awfully quiet for a moment, listening to the howling breeze that ripped across the sea and the heavy crashing of waves on the crumbling slag of the oil rig. “When he branded you…”

“Oh…”

“I think that was the tipping point for him. He became more withdrawn. Started asking questions he hadn’t before,” Icewind noted solemnly. “That was when I really started to get a good look at what lay behind those emotionless, glassy red eyes.”

After a long moment of silence, Skylight spoke up again. “Tell me about Prance Horrigan?”

Icewind glanced over at her, one eyebrow cocked behind her visor. “You’re probably more suited for that than me. I didn’t know him for very long.”

Skylight shook her head sadly. “I never got to know him, not like you did. I only ever got to see the delusions I had of him, or of the monster he became. I never saw the truth behind the mask.”

Thinking, Icewind leaned back a little, looking up at the stars. “Prance Horrigan… Was complicated,” She chuckled to herself, closing her eyes. “At first glance he was a brute. Big, violent, dumb, stubborn. But he was so much more than that. Intuitive. Few ponies in the Enclave ever really saw that. There was so much going on inside his brain that we’ll probably never get to know… And he had regrets. He hid that well, but you could see it. If you looked real close. In the tensing of his hooves, in the brief hesitations before action where previously he showed none,” Icewind paused again, opening her eyes to stare at the warped helmet before her. “And he was loyal. Most of all he was loyal.”

“To the Enclave,” Skylight sighed.

“No.”

Skylight looked up, surprised. Her eyes looking Icewind up and down as she tried to put meaning to her blunt proclamation. “What do you mean, no?”

“If Prance Horrigan was loyal to the Enclave, then they would have won,” Icewind said simply, a small smile on her lips. “No. Prance Horrigan wasn’t loyal to anypony. Not you, not me, and certainly not the Enclave. He was loyal to an idea. To his virtues. He was loyal to what he thought was right. It just took him a long time to see where those virtues really fell.”

“Duty, Honour, Courage and Obedience,” Skylight breathed, echoing the words she had heard Prance say hundreds of times throughout her life. She looked away, taking in the desolation around them. “Do you think… At the end of it all… He felt that he lived up to those virtues?”

Icewind smiled, pulling herself up to her hooves and offering a hoof down to help pull Skylight up with her. “More than that, I think he finally got the chance to live. So yeah. I think Prance Horrigan found some form of happiness in his final moments.”

Skylight took Icewind’s hoof and hauled herself back up, her wings flexing as she prepared to once more take flight. Before she could lift off, Icewind spoke up again, stopping her. “Sky, can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to. It’s somewhat personal.”

Skylight gave her a grim nod, letting her wings settle back down at her sides. “Uh, sure. Of course.”

Icewind hesitated, her hooves shuffling slightly. “Do you love him?”

Skylight stared back at her with wide eyes, her mouth twitching. “Icewind, what kind of fucking question is that? Horrigan’s gone. What does it matter?”

“Prance Horrigan doesn’t matter. You’re right. He’s gone. This is about you. Did you forgive him?”

“What? That’s not even the same question!”

“Did you forgive him? For all the things that he did? For your cutie mark? For your friends?”

Skylight went painfully silent, staring off at the crashing waves lit only by the pale moonlight and twinkling stars. “Love and forgiveness are far from the same thing, Icewind. Yes, I loved him. I don’t think I could have ever stopped.”

“But you didn’t forgive him?”

“What does it matter!?”

“Clearly it matters! Prance Horrigan is gone, Skylight! You deserve to be happy and you aren’t letting yourself! You need to move on!”

“I can move on! I can!”

“Then did you forgive him?”

“How could I?” Skylight snapped, whipping around to glare at Icewind, her tone low and even. “No. I haven’t forgiven him for what he’s done. I never will. Not for Plasma Charge, not for Misty Cloud, not for Tailchaser, and not for me,” She turned her head, looking back at her flank where her seared off cutie mark sat concealed beneath her power armour. “There’s a part of me that’s glad he’s gone. Prance Horrigan was a monster! Complicated, loyal and regretful, certainly, but a monster! I cannot forgive that! I won't! I- I-”

As if the words had suddenly ripped all the strength out of her, Skylight collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face. She looked up, her blurry vision staring into the hollow eyes of the helmet. After a second, she ripped her gaze away, looking up pleadingly at Icewind. “I want it to stop hurting Icewind. I want to move on. Why does he keep hurting me? Even after death? Why can’t I just be free of him?”

Icewind knelt back down, placing a hoof around her and holding her close. “It’ll probably always hurt. But it will get better. And if it doesn’t, we’ll face it together.”

“Thank you…” Skylight stifled, one hoof rubbing the tears from her eyes. She gave Icewind a smile, allowing her to help pull her back up. “Thank you for being there. I know I’m a bit of a mess.”

Icewind gave her a soft smile in return. “We’re all a bit of a mess. That’s what manipulation does. But we’re survivors, Sky. We’re the ponies they couldn’t hold down,” She glanced behind her, looking out at the small lights of Manehattan in the distance. “Now come on. There is still a lot of work to be done.”

Skylight nodded, watching as Icewind swooped off into the distance. She turned, looking one last time at the mangled remains of the helmet. She stepped forwards, placing her hoof gently on its cold surface. “Rest well, Prance Horrigan.”

Her wings opened wide as Skylight shot off into the brisk night air, leaving the oil rig and the lone helmet behind.

Fallout: Equestria - Prance Horrigan

The End

Author's Note

Thank you all so much for reading! It truly means the world to me. I hope you all enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Let me know your thoughts and opinions down below! And of course, have a great day!

Chapter VIII: Duty, Honour, Courage, Obedience

“We’ll be arriving at the MOA hub in twenty minutes,” The pilot of the Raptor called out, glancing back at us from their place at the cockpit of the airship.

We were currently soaring over a chunk of irradiated wasteland that had once been a place called the crystal mountains. Apparently, since the bombs, the weather up north had gotten exponentially worse. The whole world below had been covered in a thick layer of white and the air was filled with an almost opaque snowfall. The violent winds of the storm from the morning before had clearly followed us and I could feel the Raptor shuddering beneath my hooves as it tried to stay aloft in the whipping currents.

Firestreak gave the pilot a nod, before beckoning the rest of us over to the large table where she stood. I quickly tromped over to her and gathered around the table, followed closely by both Icewind and Vapour. Across from us, stood three other Enclave troopers that had also been sent on this mission, though I didn’t recognize any of them.

“We are expecting heavy resistance upon our arrival, so ready yourselves,” Firestreak told us bluntly, securing her large flamer to her side.

“The Stable mare… You think her and her Dashites fuckers got there first?” One of the troopers I didn’t know scowled.

Firestreak shrugged. “Hard to say. They likely had a head start, but from what we understand, the Stable mare can only travel on hoof, which means we will likely have covered ground faster. With luck we’ll beat them, but expect us to arrive at similar times regardless. But no, we anticipate something else. Vapour Trail, tell them.”

Vapour straightened up a little at the mention of his name. “Th-there’s a gang of raiders that have m-made their camp around the secret entrance to the hub. Our p-previous attempts to enter the facility have been so far blocked by them.”

“We can’t get past a couple of raiders? Seriously?” Another trooper scoffed. “I’ve killed hundreds of raiders in my time below the clouds. This is going to be fucking easy!”

“Don’t be so sure of yourself,” Firestreak hissed. “Some of our best soldiers have died to these fiends already.”

“They’re one of the more notorious wasteland raider g-gangs,” Vapour stuttered, nodding along to Firestreak. “They call themselves t-t-the Chain-link Gang. Started off relatively small according to our sources, but grew dramatically in numbers when Fillydelphia fell and a bunch of Redeye Slavers went looking for a new gang.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Icewind’s body go rigid for a moment, her whole face going pale. Firestreak’s head flicked over to her at the motion, looking her over curiously. “Got something to add, Dashite? Know these raiders?”

Icewind just gave her a grim nod. “Yeah…I’ve met them before…” She took a shaky breath, clearly unsure if she wanted to speak her thoughts out loud, Clearly, her thoughts got the better of her. “They’re the raiders that killed Cedar…”

Firestreak cocked her head to the side for a second, clearly trying to place the name. Vapour recognized it immediately. “T-the m-mare you loved when you were below the clouds?”

Icewind flinched again, but nodded. “That’s the one.”

“Well, then today is your lucky fucking day,” Firesteak chuckled ominously. “Cause it looks like today you’re going to finally get some vengeance.”

“What are we to expect inside the hub?” The trooper I hadn’t heard speak yet grunted in a low rumble, forcing the conversation back on track. “Basic security measures?”

“It’s hard t-to say for sure,” Vapour continued. “The Ministry of Aw-awesome underwent pretty extensive lengths to keep any and all information ab-b-bout the hub and its contents secret. But there is a good chance there is going to be some pretty impressive security systems. Our best guess is sentry bots, but who knows w-what else t-they might have.”

“It’s the main reason we brought along Horrigan,” Firestreak smiled, gesturing over to my large bulk. “We have full faith that whatever dangers lay within the hub, he will be able to dispatch,” She stomped her hoof, taking a step back from the table. “That will be all for now. Prepare yourselves. We’re in for a hell of a fight. All hail the Enclave.”

All the ponies around the table snapped their wings up into a sharp salute. “Hail!”

As the group broke off, I watched as Icewind slunk off to stare out the window by herself, her face still the ghostly pale it had been when she had first heard the raider's gang name. After a second of deliberation, I trotted over to her.

“You seem distraught,” I grunted. It seemed obvious, but I was never good at starting conversations.

Icewind glanced over at me in surprise, likely more out of the fact that I had consciously engaged in a conversation than actually being surprised by my presence. I was hardly stealthy. “Uh, yeah… I guess I am.”

I could feel my brow furrow beneath my helmet at her words. I stood there for a long moment, just trying to figure out how to continue. Social interaction… why the fuck was that so diffcult? “...Is it about the raiders?”

I saw a small smirk etch its way onto Icewinds face. “Are you concerned about me? I didn’t think you had that kind of emotion in you,” She drawled playfully, her eyes searching for some sort of reaction out of me. I gave her none. A second later, her smug demeanor shifted to a slightly less happy one. “Fuck, you’re hard to read. Yes. It’s the raiders…” She turned back, looking out the windows again as the snow covered crystal mountains below raced by. “I never thought I’d see them again, let alone fight them.”

“You don’t seem happy about it,” I noted flatly, trying to decipher her mood in my head. My head had already begun to hurt from all the thinking.

Icewind glared at me with a scowl that I had not anticipated from the question. “Should I be?”

“You have a chance to avenge Cedar,” I pointed out, as if that was all the explanation she needed.

“She’ll still be dead and the world will still be no better than it was before,” Icewind huffed. “Killing the raiders will do nothing for her or the world. There are always more raiders.”

I paused for a second, thinking her words over. There was something I wanted to ask her, though I could find no clear segway to talk about it. Finally, reaffirming the fact that I simply wasn’t good at conversations in my mind, I decided to just jump right into it. “What do you know about the Cloud Seeding Rebellion?” I asked abruptly, my voice lowering slightly so that the other pegasi around us wouldn’t hear what I was saying.

Icewind’s ears perked up a little in surprise at the sudden and unexpected shift in the conversation. “The Cloud seeding Rebellion? Not much admittedly. I was fairly young when it was happening and thankfully the town I grew up in never got attacked. You’d know better, with what, uh… with what happened to your mom and all…” She grimaced and trailed off, not wanting to continue that train of thought. Instead, she refocused on the question, thinking it over for a long moment, trying to organize everything she knew about it in her head. “Group of pegasi terrorists wanted to prove life above the clouds was unsustainable. Killed a bunch of ponies, but got wiped out after a failed attack on Neighvarro, I think? They’re plan didn’t work much. If anything it only bolstered most pegasi’s support for the Enclave. Why?”

“Do you think the Enclave had anything to do with it?” I pushed, taking a small step closer, the remaining stubs of my ears folding flat against my skull beneath my helmet.

“No, the rebellion was an attempt to overthrow the-” Icewind froze, my words settling in her mind. She looked up at me curiously, her eyes suddenly filled with a very unexpected interest. The edges of her mouth twisted, holding back the faintest of smug smiles. “Are you asking if the Enclave staged the rebellion?”

I gave a hesitant nod, not daring to answer that question out loud. To admit to that would be treason. “Is that possible?”

Icewind stared up at me for a long moment, clearly surprised that I would have even suggested such a thing. “I mean… It would make sense,” she nodded, biting at her lip a little. “The Enclave benefited the most from the rebellion, and there was an influx of ponies joining the army afterwards. If there’s one way to make ponies support a government, it’s to make them hate the opposition more.”

A painful knot formed in my gut at those words. I suddenly felt like I was sinking, an overwhelming feeling of unease creeping its way across my spine. “So it is possible?” I asked again, narrowing my eyes.

“I mean, sure, but- This is all just speculation. If the Cloud Seeding Rebellion really was a political move orchestrated by the Enclave, then it’s very likely that every piece of evidence has been long since destroyed,” She cocked her head to the side, looking me over carefully. “Why are you asking this Horrigan? It’s not like you to question the Enclave.”

“It doesn’t matter,” I deflected bluntly. I paused for a moment, trying to figure out what my stance even was on this whole ordeal. “There is no way to know for sure?”

Icewind shook her head. “Probably not. That wouldn’t be the kind of information the Enclave would want getting out, even to their top commanders…” She turned back to the window, watching as the Raptor began to descend slightly towards the snow covered ground below. “But if you asked me, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance they had some part to play in it, yeah,” Icewind paused, her eyes still transfixed forwards. "Horrigan, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

I shrugged. "I asked one of you. It's only fair."

Icewind seemed to smirk at my very logistical form of thinking. "I suppose it is..." She hesitated for a moment, thinking her words over. "What are we?"

I frowned, unsure what exactly she was asking. "What do you mean?"

"The two of us. What are we?" Icewind elaborated. "Friends? Enemies? What exactly are we to each other?"

I could feel my frown deepen as I tried to wrap my mind around the question. Fuck, thinking was hard. "I suppose that all depends on if you stay in line," I responded flatly. "Don't cross the Enclave, do your duty and prove your obedience."

Through her reflection, I could see Icewind's face harden. "Of course. Do not think my demotion has changed anything. I serve the Enclave. I always have..." her face relaxed slightly and she raised her hoof to the window, pressing it against the cold glass. "So I suppose you don't have time for friends then. Too busy with your duty to the Enclave."

I gave a stern nod. "I live to play my part in the Enclaves plan."

"It's strange. I don't understand you, Horrigan. I've told you that much before. Every time I think you make sense you do something that makes me question everything I know," Icewind sighed, before finally turning and facing me directly. "But in spite of all that, I still find myself considering you a friend. Whatever that actually means amongst ponies in the Enclave."

"I don't need friends," I asserted, shuffling awkwardly. "Friendship is a distraction."

"What about Skylight?"

I felt my body stiffen slightly at the mention of her name. "Skylight is an unexpected complication. She means nothing to me now. Not anymore."

"We both know that's not true."

I growled at her, her words cutting into me deep. "Clearly you do not understand me, just as you say. I live my life by four virtues, Icewind. Duty, Honour, Courage and Obedience. Those that oppose those virtues die," I took a step forwards, my eyes boring down on her. "You will see soon enough. I don't have friends. I do not have weaknesses. And if Skylight opposes me, she will die. I have branded her already. I have no reservations about finishing the job."

There was a loud beep from above us, followed almost immediately by the Raptor’s large hull shaking as the airship hit a patch of turbulence in its descent. “Brace yourselves! We’re here!” The pilot shouted back to us, their voice raising to be heard over the howling winds.

“Horrigan!” I looked away from Icewind to see Firestreak racing towards the deployment hanger at the back of the Raptor. “On my command, I want you, Icewind and Vapour to begin the assault!” She shouted. “We’ll supply you with coverfire from the skies. We’re not going to give these raiders a chance to fight back.”

I gave a nod, shifting to the back of the Raptor and readying myself to leap from the aircraft the second the hanger opened up. I glanced back at Icewind for a brief moment, my peeled lips curing back beneath my dark helmet. "Soon you will see."

“Ready yourselves!” Firestreak shouted as Icewind and Vapour pulled up next to us, their wings flaring out as they prepared to launch themselves from the Raptor. “This is where shit gets real!”

“Commander, the hub entrance is in sight!” The pilot shouted back. I could feel the Raptor shift in the air beneath my hooves. “Fifty feet ahead of us and closing!”

“Good! Open the hanger!”

There was a loud hiss of steam followed by the sound and feeling of whipping winds as the large deployment hanger at the back of the ship lurched open. Immediately, I shot my wings out, catching the currents and flashing out of the Raptor and into open air, my two companions soaring out behind me.

The biting wind slashed at my exposed hide like knives and the thick layer of snowfall obscured most of my vision. I angled down, icicles forming on my massive wings as I shot towards the ground. I could see a green marker pop up on my built-in HUD, locating the entrance of the MOA hub somewhere below me. Almost immediately my EFS began locking onto multiple hostile targets surrounding the marker, their forms completely obscured by the blizzard.

Gritting my teeth, I snapped my wings against my side and plunged into a sharp nosedive. I could feel bits of ice forming along my wings as I plummeted and I had to do a quick spin in the air to break the frozen flecks free. My tesla cannon flared at my side, honing in on hostile nearest to me. There was a surge of static energy that coursed through me followed by a blinding blue flash of light as I fired, the shockwave of the gun blasting apart the curtain of white. The blinding blizzard cleared just long enough for me to see my arching beam of tesla energy blast apart half of a raider's torso, their gaping mouth releasing a pained, feral scream, blood burbling from their lips, before my hooves cashed down into their back, shattering what little remained of his spine. Snow and blood burst up around me as I slammed into the ground, the cement beneath cracking under the immense power of my landing.

I looked up, taking in the ice covered city landscape around me. Snow blanketed the cracked roads in a thick layer of white and the many frost coated buildings that lined the streets had long since collapsed in on themselves, now being little more than looming piles of debris. A large wall of scrap metal and rubble had been built around one of the few still standing structures, which appeared to be some sort of old, prewar donut shop. The donut shop, clearly designed to be a cheerful looking place in its heyday, was now a grisly looking raider camp. Mangled corpses had been strung up around the premises on long, rusting pikes and rows of turrets lined the protective outer junk wall.

“Fuck, we got Enclave incoming!” I heard a raider shout from atop the wall, blasting off a few shots into the air as Icewind and Vapour Trail began blasting beams down towards them. A second later, they saw the massive shape of our Raptor lurch around in the sky above them, emerging from the curtain of blinding white snow as one of its huge cannons shifted to aim down at the raider camp. “Shit, they got a fucking airship!”

“Forget the airship! What the fuck is that thing!” I heard another raider shouting as a few of the raiders on the wall turned to look at me, their eyes wide with horror as they began to make out my hulking, silhouetted form in the howling snowstorm.

I lifted my head to glare up at them, my glowing, red eyes lighting up the falling snow. All my hairs stood on end as my tesla cannon charged up once again, crackling with deadly energy. “Hello, Muties. Time to die…”

Boom!

My tesla cannon roared, a searing beam of blue energy lancing through the top of the wall. The energy exploded into a blast of flashing blue flame and arcing electricity as it made contact. I heard screams of pain get abruptly cut short as four raiders were instantly vaporized in the blast.

I powered forwards, each stomp of my hooves shaking the city street. I heard screams and felt the feeling of bullets cutting into my hide, but I ignored it, ramming the whole of my body against the wall and smashing my way through. Shards of metal and plywood exploding out like shrapnel as I burst through.

The sound of clicking machinery warned me of the ring of turrets atop the donut shop seconds before they fired, spewing a constant stream of gunfire down on me from above. I gave out a booming roar as the bullets pierced into me, rage filling me as I felt the sensation of blood gushing down my legs. I whipped around and let my horn ignite, overglow bursting from my horn as I reached out with my magic and sent dozens of beams of light slashing out and piercing into the turrets. A second later, I let another burst of magic travel through those beams, bursting the turrets apart in a shower of sparks.

Behind me, Icewind and Vapour touched down atop the now smoking wall, their Nova-surge rifles flaring with prismatic light as they shot down raider after raider, their bodies silhouetted by the flames of my attacks. There was a loud, crackling boom as the Raptor overhead fired off a blast of fuchsia energy into a cluster of raiders, sending limbs flailing in all directions.

“Give them hell boys!” A raider was shouting from the top of the donut shop. I glanced up, making out a large raider in a suit of scavenged power armour on the roof. His helmet-less head showed off his dark burgundy, scar covered hide and mangy brown and black mane. From the way the other raiders reacted to his commands, I suspected he was the leader. Several more raiders began gathering around him on the roof, rushing forwards and firing down at me with their guns.

I snarled, charging towards them at full speed. At the last possible second, I clenched my muscles and leapt up, clearing the roof and landing atop the donut shop next to the raiders in a single bound.

There was a moment of silence as the group of raiders around me ceased their fire and just stared at me slack jawed as I slowly began to pull myself up to my full height before them, towering a good five feet above the tallest raider in the crowd.

“Oh son of a bitch…” One of the raiders swore, staggering back as they craned their neck up to look at me, their eyes wide with fear. I turned my crimson gaze, glaring down at him menacingly. “This is going to fucking suck…”

My hoof slammed into his skull, crushing it immediately. I whipped around, the blade on the end of my tail slicing through another raider's neck and sending him collapsing to the ground, gasping for breath as he clawed at his throat, blood burbling over his hooves. Another raider was impaled on my horn, my head jerking upwards and reefing him from his hooves, suspending him for a moment in the air before I shook my head and tossed his mangled corpse aside.

I felt a sharp pain as a raider rushed at me from behind, sinking a large machete between two plates of my armour and into the flesh beneath. I howled, spinning around to face them and ramming my hooves into their chest. I felt ribs snap as the force sent the raider collapsing to the ground, gasping in pain. I let my tesla cannon charge before sending another flaring beam lancing out, disintegrating the raiders head where he lay.

Icewind took off into the air somewhere behind me, blasting a few holes into the body of one of the raiders assailing her. She swerved in the air, barely avoiding a shot that pinged off her power armour. Beside her, Vapour fired off a shot of his own, his blast turning another raider into a sludgy pulp.

Another raider was crushed under my hooves as I slammed down on them, shattering their ribcage. I turned, my tail lashing out and coiling around the neck of another raider as they tried to pour a stream of bullets into my body. I hoisted them up into the air, watching in amusement as they struggled to draw breath into their constricted windpipe, before flinging them to the side, skewering their thrashing body on one of the many rusting spikes that decorated the raider camp.

I turned, my glowing red eyes settling on the raider boss in power armour. I saw him visibly tremble as our gazes met, taking a worried step back. “Oh fuck…” He staggered back as I began clomping towards him, his hooves frantically grasping for a large horn that hung at his side before blowing into it, a loud, bellowing sound booming out from it. “Let it out! Let it out fucking now!”

I heard a few manic screams, followed by the clanking of chains. I glanced back, making out the shape of a few raiders yanking on icy chains through the snow. I watched as the chains seemed to pull taut as a large metal door on some sort of cage began to swing open.

I held for a moment, waiting for something to emerge from the cage. Then, slowly, a rumbling noise began to emanate from within. I took a step away from the raider boss, striding to the top of the roof as I watched the beast within slowly begin to emerge.

The mutant monstrosity was the first thing I had seen that was larger than I was. It pulled its hulking, bulbus form forwards on a pair of massive, fur covered forearms that ended in a set of massive, curved claws and its hind hooves, significantly smaller in size, dug into the cement beneath it as if it were butter. Its body was covered in a thick layer of patchy, blue fur and beneath it, I could see pus filled bulging welting on its mutated flesh. Its head, massive in size, had a set of glowing yellow, jaundiced eyes and a writhing mass of slimy tentacles squirmed from above its mouth. Its maw held what appeared to be massive teeth, each the size of a pony and its lolling tongue flicked back and forth as it salivated.

My eyes dropped down to look at the thick, metal collar around the muties neck. After a second of staring at it, I watched as the collar gave a loud zap, sending a jolt of electricity sparking through the beast and working it up into a frenzied rage.

“What in t-t-the fuck is th-that?” Vapour blurted, landing next to me and staring in horror at the huge beast as it ripped its way across the raider camp towards us.

“Dread Maulwurf,” Icewind scowled, her eyes following the massive creature. “half-bear, half-mole, half-raging-pile-of-claws.”

“T-that doesn’t even s-s-sound like a real thing!” Vapour shot back.

“Well you tell it that,” Icewind snapped, flapping her wings and pulling back up into the air. She glanced behind her, making out the raider boss as he rushed towards a hatch in the roof and down into the donut shop below. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some unfinished business to attend to.”

I bent my legs and leapt off the top of the building. The sensation of freefall lasted only seconds before I slammed back down onto the street below, the concrete cracked and cratered beneath my hooves at the impact. I saw the Maulwurf snap its head to look at me, its deadly eyes glaring right at me before it unleashed an ear piercing howl of rage and began charging towards me.

My tesla cannon charged up, the familiar sensation of all my hairs standing on end washing over my body as my EFS locked in on the charging Maulwurf. There was a resounding pushback of force as my cannon fired, sending a blazing beam of energy flashing towards the raging creature. The blast slammed into the Maulwurf, blinding, blue light flaring in every direction.

Then the Maulwurf howled and continued charging, seemingly unfazed by the blast. I blinked, staring in genuine surprise as the beast shrugged off a blast I had seen vaporize dozens of ponies.

“Well fuck.”

The Maulwurf rammed into me, sending me stumbling backwards. My body slammed into the side of the wall, knocking the breath from my lungs. I staggered, warning alerts flashing across my built-in HUD as I pulled myself back up and I turned back to face the Maulwurf. I caught sight of it with just enough time to flap my wings and leap to the side as the hulking beast slammed towards me again, crashing past me into the wall and smashing through.

I shot up into the air, my EFS targeting the monstrosity as it whipped back around to take another slash at me. My cannon fired again, blasting two more beams directly into the top of the monster's head. The Maulwurf was slammed into the ground by the blasts, one of its massive teeth chipping as its head was smashed against the concrete. It raised its gaze to glower at me, its maw unhinging as it let loose another roar. I could feel my eardrums rupture from the piercing sound of the creatures' screams, blood leaking from my ears and dripping down the inside of my helmet before the Hydra in my blood patched my wounds back together.

The Maulwurf braced its hind legs and leapt up, its massive claws snatching out and snagging one of my wings. I gave a loud grunt of pain as I was yanked downwards, crashing into the ground beside it. I raised my head, just barely spotting the Maulwurf before it lunged at me again, its claws slashing at my exposed underbelly. I whipped my tail up, batting the beast claws to the side before staggering back to my hooves.

The Raptor in the air above us swung around for a second blast, sending another searing beam slashing across the battlefield. I had to step back as the powerful beam slashed across the ground past me, searing off a few of the Maulwurf’s writhing tentacles as it came to lunge at me again.

“Why won’t you die?” I grunted as I dipped out of the way from another of the monster's violent swings. I swung back around, my fore hooves slamming hard into the back of the Maulwurf’s head. The Maulwurf just growled at me and lashed at me with its claws, ripping a deep gash through my hoof that my body immediately began to regenerate.

Vapour flashed past me, his Nova Surge rifle blasting searing burn marks into the Maulwurf’s hide. He gave a loud “Eep!” of fear and had to swerve out of the way as the Maulwurf leapt into the air, swiping at him with its massive claws. “Horrigan, do you have a p-plan t-to take this thing out?!”

I glanced up at Vapour with a scowl. “No,” I ducked aside again as the Maulwurf swung its claws in a large arch at me, the deadly swipe missing me by inches and digging a five foot groove into the cement. “I’m not used to things not dying when I hit them.”

The Maulwurf’s collar gave off another zap, whipping the beast up into a bigger rage. It howled, swiping at me manically with a frenzy of flailing claws. I deflect the swings with my tail, knocking the claws aside and taking the opportunity to follow it up with a hoof strike to the creature's neck.

I felt a sharp pain bolt through me as my hoof came in contact with the still sparking collar, the contact of my metal armour to the electrical surface causing a large surge of energy to burst out and slam into me, sending me staggering back a few paces. I caught myself quickly, rightening myself and glaring at the large mutant with sudden curiosity.

“Interesting,” I grunted, readying myself for the Maulwurf’s next attack as it spun back around to face me.

“W-what is?” Vapour asked over the howling storm, hovering a few feet away from me. “You come up with something?”

“Something,” I rumbled, my eyes locking in on the creature's shock collar before glancing down at its massive claws as it ripped a large chunk out of the ground. I let my tesla cannon charge up again, preparing to fire. “Go fly directly beside its head. Aim for the neck. Steer clear of the jaws.”

Vapour gawked at me. “Are y-you c-crazy!? I’m n-not getting close to that th-thing!” In response, I whipped my head up and glowered at him. Vapour managed to hold my gaze for a full second before gulping. “Th-this is crazy…”

Vapour flapped his wings and shot towards the Maulwurf. The beast looked up, snarling at him as he hovered a few inches to the left of the beast's face. With a roar of rage, the Maulwurf swung up at him, intent on ripping him apart with its massive claws.

“Oh shit!” Vapour shrieked, zipping out of the way of the strike at the last possible second. The Maulwurf’s claws missed him by mere inches, instead slashing into the thick metal of its shock collar. At the same moment, I fired off a blast from my tesla cannon, the sparking blue beam of light lancing forwards and colliding with the Maulwurf’s neck.

There was a loud zap, followed by a burst of sparks and blinding flash of light as the electrical currents surged through the beast's claws and down its whole body. The Maulwurf was sent flying back as a massive wave of energy burst from around its neck, dark smoke billowing off its body, its limbs twitching painfully as bits of electricity pulsed through its form.

There was a small clunking sound as the metal collar around the creature's neck clattered to the ground, its side ripped open by the beast's huge claws and it's circuitry fried from my blast. The Maulwurf took a moment, pulling itself back to its mutated claws and glaring down at the sparking collar in the snow before raising its tentacle filled face and glaring at me.

“You’re welcome,” I quipped dryly, my eyes boring into it and daring it to back down.

With a howl of rage, the Maulwurf spun around and charged back towards the raider camp. It dashed through one of the smoking holes in the walls before slipping out of sight. I heard screams of fear and pain begin rising from beyond the wall as the beast began ripping into its previous masters.

“How the h-heck did you know th-that was going to work?” Vapour asked, flittering back over to me.

“I admittedly was trying to make him electrocute himself,” I noted flatly. “This was an unexpected outcome.”

“Well it worked,” Vapour smirked with smug satisfaction, watching as another mangled raider body was tossed into the air from behind the wall as the Maulwurf continued its rampage. “I s-suppose there's a lesson to be learned through this. That not all problems should be solved with violence or…”

Vapour trailed off as he noticed me glaring at him. “Did you just try to turn this into some sort of morality lesson?” I snarled, snorting and causing a burst of steam to escape my ventilators.

Vapour shuffled his hooves in the air uncomfortably. “I… Uh… n-no…” He glanced behind him nervously and back at the ruins of the donut shop. “Hey, would you look at that, Icewind n-needs us inside,” he managed to sputter before swooping away from me and towards the raider camp.

I nodded and went to follow when a small glint of light caught my eye. I shifted my head, glancing up at the rooftop of one of the ruined skyscrapers. Almost immediately, my thermo vision picked up three pony shapes huddled down atop it, watching me from a distance. The central pony had a large sniper up close to their face and seemed to be tracking me carefully with its scope.

I squinted, trying to make out their features better from this distance. It was difficult with the howling snowstorm between us, but I could just make out the dark blue Stable Jumpsuit the central pony was wearing beneath their set of cobbled leather and metal armour. I felt myself instinctively growl. The Stable mare was here.

My eyes shifted over to the other two pony forms. Immediately, I felt my growl recede and morph into a sinking dread as I made out the two forms of pegasi clad in dark black Enclave power armour. “Skylight…”

Damn her. I had told her not to come.

I let my wings burst open on instinct, my legs tensing as I prepared to fly up towards them. A few of my hairs stood on end as my tesla cannon began to build up at my side.

“H-horrigan, come on!” Vapour shouted back to me. I shifted my head to look at him, seeing him waiting for me a few feet away from the entrance to the donut shop. I glanced back up at the roof, my eyes darting back and forth to try and relocate the three ponies, but to my chagrin, they were gone.

“Fuck,” I scowled under my breath, picking up off the ground with a few flaps of my wings and swooping across the snowy ruins towards Vapour. Things were about to get a lot more complicated.

Inside the donut shop was a massacre. Pony corpses littered the floors, each body mutilated a new and ghastly way. A few bodies hung from meat hooks, swaying softly in the breeze, blood dripping from their hooves into puddles of crimson that pooled on the frost covered floor. Cages filled with rusting spikes lined the walls, many holding the remains of ponies that had been skinned alive. I noticed that a hoof full of ponies seemed to have been eaten alive as well, their bodies carved open by a multitude of jagged bite marks.

Vapour shuddered as he stared at the room of corpses. His eyes lingered on the body of a small foal that had been slit from neck to pelvis and hung from the ceiling, his intestines dangling from his suspended body like macabre windchimes. “W-what kind of m-monsters would do this…”

“Wasteland mutie bastards,” I grunted, scanning the room for any sign of Icewind or the raider boss she had followed in. “This is why the Enclave is the only hope for the wasteland.”

“Why do you think Rainbow Dash chose to hide her hub beneath a d-donut shop?” Vapour asked, forcing his gaze away from the colt and looking up at a big sign that hung over the small shops till reading: Donut Joe’s.

“Doesn’t matter,” I responded flatly, shifting my gaze around the room and activating my thermo vision. Immediately, I spotted two heat signatures darting back and forth below us. “They’re downstairs.”

“There’s no staircase,” Vapour pointed out, glancing around. "Think there's a secret entrance somewhere?”

I felt a small smile creep its way across my lips, unseen from behind my stoic metal helmet. “Probably.”

Before Vapour could say or do anything further, My tesla cannon flared to life and blasted a hole straight through the floor. Vapour gave a loud yelp as he pushed off the ground with his wings as the floor crumbled and collapsed beneath us, dropping us down to the floor below.

The first thing I saw as I landed heavily in the hidden chamber beneath Donut Joes was the power armoured raider doing everything he could to avoid being turned to ash as an enraged Icewind sent blast after blast of magical energy after him. The next thing I noticed was the massive, closed steel door inset into the right of the chamber. Likely the entrance to the MOA Hub. It would appear we had found the hub after all.

There was a loud sounding, “Shit!” as the raider boss jumped to the side to avoid the falling rubbled and looked up to see me now looming over him. He took a step back, glancing behind him as Icewind and Vapour cut him off from behind. “Enclave really ain’t fuckin’ around this time, are they?”

Instead of answering, I let my tail flash out, catching him square in the chest and sending him slamming against the wall, the sharp blade ripping open a hole in the front of his armour. He gave a loud, rasping cough as all the air was violently pushed from his lungs. Icewind flew over and landed next to me scowling at the Raider as he crumpled to the floor.

“He’s all yours,” I grunted to Icewind, gesturing to the collapsed raider.

Icewind hissed. “Good,” Her novasurge rifle flared and sent a beam of prismatic light slashing through the raiders' forehoof. The raider boss screamed, squirming as the blast seared its way through his power armour and into the flesh beneath. Icewind advanced on him, her eyes a storm of rage I had never seen from her before.

Icewind reached down, her hoof pushing up against the raider's neck as she hoisted him up and held him pinned against the wall, glaring into his fearful eyes. “What do you know about this place,” Icewind spat, tilting her head slightly towards the massive steel door behind me. “Tell me something good or I’ll make you wish my big friend here had killed you.”

“I don’t know fucking anything!” The raider scowled, writhing a little as he tried to break free from her grip. Icewind scowled and slammed his head against the wall, keeping him in place. “We just fuckin’ found it here. We couldn’t get past the fuckin’ door. Grenades don’t blow it down. Even tried a balefire egg. Door’s fuckin’ sealed fuckin’ shut-”

Icewind rammed his head against the wall again, causing him to grunt in pain. “I said tell me something good!” her rifle flared again, blasting a hole through another of his hooves. The raider screamed, desperately trying to thrash about and break free, but Icewind held him in place. “Try again! Tell me something I don’t know!”

The raider gave another scream as Icewind’s bladed tail impaled itself through one of his hind legs. “I don’t know! I don’t fuckin’ know!” the raider squirmed blood pouring down his leg. He glared hatefully at Icewind, a look of desperation across his face. Then the look of desperation melted away as he caught sight of her eyes behind her insectoid-like helmet. “Wait… I know you. Don’t I?”

I could see icewind’s body lock up a little at the question. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The raider’s mouth twisted into a sinister smirk. “I do. You were that pegasus bitch we captured a few years back. I could never forget that look in your eyes. I liked that marefriend of yours too. I enjoyed listening to her scream as I plucked out her eyes and fed them to you.”

“That’s enough!” Icewind roared, gripping her hooves tighter to the raider's neck for a second before throwing him violently to the floor. Immediately, he began desperately trying to crawl away, but she lunged on top of him, flipping him over and wrapping her hooves around his throat before ramming his head against the debris-covered ground over and over and over again. “You do not get to talk to me about Cedar!” she roared, rearing up and slashing her bladed tale across his exposed face, cutting away a large chunk of flesh across his cheek. Her Novasurge rifle fired off a beam of light into his gut, causing another scream of pain and blood to burble from his mouth and start spilling down his front.

Icewind raised her still smoking Novasurge rifle up and hovered it over his face, its metal tip still burning bright red hot from the magical energy blast. “Get off to pain, do you?” Icewind seethed, pushing his face down against the ground with her hoof. “Let's see if you can get off to this!” she shoved the blazing tip of her rifle down against his face, pushing it up against his eye socket. There was a loud sizzling as the searing metal made the eye bubble and pop, viscous ooze dripping down his screaming face.

“I-Icewind, I think that’s enough,” Vapour stammered, his breath catching as he watched the horrific scene. When Icewind refused to answer, he raised his voice. “Icewind, S-stop! We’re the Enclave! W-we’re b-better than this!”

Icewind froze. She shifted her head to look at Vapour, though she kept her burning rifle tip deeply lodged in the writhing raiders eye socket. “The fuck are you talking about Vapour? I mean, where the actual fuck have you been to think the Enclave doesn’t do shit like this on the daily?”

Vapour took a timid step back. “Please Icewind. I like to think we’re better than the ponies down here. The Enclave aren’t raiders, right?”

Icewind hesitated for a moment, glancing over at me as I watched the scene unfold with my stoic, unblinking, glassy gaze. After a moment she just huffed, pushing herself away from the raider and letting him lay on the ground, gasping for breath. “Fine. Hurting him won’t fix anything anyway. Cedar will still be dead. And there are always more raiders…” she trailed off, glaring disdainfully at the Enclave insignia emblazoned on her armour before forcing her gaze away and nodding to me. “Horrgian, if you will.”

Without responding, I trotted over and placed my hoof on the raider's head before pressing down, crushing his skull flat. Their body continued to thrash for a few more seconds, blood and viscera seeping out around my hoof before the raider finally went limp and died. Vapour shivered as he watched the raider go still but otherwise remained silent.

“Good work,” I heard Firestreak speak up from above us. I glanced up to see the Tartarus Fire trooper standing at the precipice of the massive hole I had blasted into the floor above, looking down at us through her imposing helmet. A second later, the three other Enclave troopers swooped into the building and landed in a defensive formation behind her. Firestreak glanced over at the closed steel door. “And it would appear we have gotten here before the Dashites and their Stable fuck leader. Good”

“And where the fuck were you,” Icewind scowled. “Where was your cover from the fucking sky?! You fired maybe two shots from that raptor!”

Firestreak nickered. “You three clearly had it covered,” she glanced back at her three compatriots for a second before sighing. “Besides, we’ve dealt with the rest of the raiders outside, and the Maulwurf won’t be an issue anymore.”

“You killed that Maulwurf?” Vapour asked as Firestreak began flapping her wings down to join us. “How?”

Firestreak growled at herself and shuttered a little. “Way more napalm than I’m usually comfortable using.”

“And the Stable mare and their companions?” I rumbled, my eyes flicking to the entryway behind her. I saw Icewind cast me a curious look at the question. “What about them?”

“As mentioned, still no sign,” Firestreak affirmed, landing in front of me and tucking her wings in at her sides. I bit down on my tongue to resist the overpowering impulse to say anything further on the subject. “But we still shouldn’t take any chances,” She turned to Icewind. “You still have the files we secured from Stable 13?”

“You have those… Commander,” Icewind monotone back aggressively, gritting her teeth at the last word and staring back with a clear lack of enthusiasm.

“Oh that’s right, I do,” Firestreak chuckled smugly, waltzing her way over to the steel door.

Now with the tension of combat dissipated, I could make out a small terminal inset into the wall beside the doorway. Firestreak pulled herself up to it and paused for a second, clearly reading something on the inside of her HUD before beginning to tap away at the terminal.

I glanced over at Icewind as I waited, spotting her taking a few steps away from the group to look at a rusted, spike filled cage that had been knocked over and shoved against the corner of the room. Slowly, I trotted up to her, my eyes flicking back and forth as I tried to make sense of the scene.

Icewind reached her wing out, brushing a few of her feathers against the skeletal hoof of a long dead corpse that lay mangled within the cage. I paused, standing a few feet behind her, unsure what to say.

“Is th-that… uh… Is that Cedar?” Vapour spoke up nervously. I glanced down to spot the smaller pegasus standing beside me. Watching over the scene with a sad expression.

“No,” Icewind muttered, not daring to turn and look at either of us. “I buried Ceder after they... they… I managed to do that much for her… It’s just this cage. This was the cage we were kept in,” she forced her gaze away, glaring at the roof. “She always said she had wanted to be returned to the earth after death…”

Vapour was silent for a moment before shuddering slightly. “I want a proper pegasus f-funeral when I die,” He said, looking upwards himself. “I want to be with Lighting again when th-this is all done.”

Icewinds face softened a little at the request. “Yeah. I’m sure we can make that happen. But for now, let’s all just try to stay alive. It's all we can do.”

wordlessly, I stepped forwards and placed my large fore hoof against the cage. I braced myself for a moment before pushing down, crushing the rusting bars together. There was a loud creak as the metal bent and collapsed in on itself, rendering the cage unusable. “There,” I grunted, stepping back. “No pony will be kept in there again.”

To my surprise, Icewind looked up at me and gave a genuine smiled. “Hah, thank you. That was… kind. Thanks.”

“Sure.”

Her expression darkened a little. “Horrigan… That comment you made to Firestreak… About the Stable mare and- You didn’t see her… did you?”

I glanced away from her and towards the door, my eyes narrowing. Skylight had been with them, I was sure of it. I looked back down at Icewind, my expression hidden behind my helmet. “No.”

The look on Icewind’s face suggested she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push it.

I turned my head as the sound of metal on metal began to resound around the chamber. Across the room, there was a loud hiss of steam as the massive door jerked open, revealing the pitch black tunnel inside, leading deeper into the depths below.

“There we go,” Firestreak huffed, turning back to us, the lights built into her helmet's bulbous eyes flickering to life and illuminating the area before her in a pale yellow glow, revealing a long metal tunnel descending deep into the earth, it's walls and floor covered in a thick layer of ice. “Horrigan, you take point. Honeydew, you stay here. Signal me if there is any sign of the Stable mare or her Dashite lackeys."

I nodded, moving to the entrance and cautiously stepping in. Immediately, I could feel the air shift to an even colder temperature and I had to brace myself to keep from sliding as my metal clad hoof came in contact with the sloped, ice slicked tunnel floor. I let my glass eyes glow brighter, filling the hallway with a sinister looking red glow.

Firestreak padded up beside me, a small flame flickering to life at the end of her flamer. She glanced around for a moment, clearly making sure the coast was clear herself. "Alright team, let’s move out!”

And with that, we began making our way into the depths, deep beneath the rock and snow. Despite myself, I felt a small spark of excitement begin rising up inside me with each step. We were so close now. So close to being able to bring back the cloud layer. So close to returning the Enclave to its rightful place in the sky. But as I walked, deeper and deeper into the tunnel, I felt another feeling begin to rise up in me as well. For the first time since I had awoken as this nightmarish abomination of metal and flesh, I felt fear. Not fear of what lay before me in the recesses of the MOA hub, but of the uncertainty of the world when I emerged from it, and the truth of what I was going to have to do when Skylight caught up.

I let my eyes close for a moment, taking a long deep breath as I remembered the image of the three ponies watching me from the top of the ruined skyscraper. "Don't follow us down, Skylight," I muttered under my breath, keeping my voice low enough so that only I could hear. "I made you a promise I intend to keep. Follow me down here, and I will kill you..."