Act 2: Finale 1/2: Our Darkest Hours...

I carefully placed my hat on my head, making sure it didn’t interfere with my eyepatch. My coat fit perfectly, and my blade was sharpened. My single medal hung on the right side of my uniform. I was ready.

“Mr. Steam, the executioners table is ready. The crowd is waiting…” Said Arden, and I turned towards him, my single eyes facing him. I could barely see inside the dark, dank room, but I was sure he could see me.

“Open the door. Let’s get this over with,” I said silently, checking my single pistol, my execution weapon.

The massive door in front of me slowly pulled upwards, revealing the execution grounds. Crowds of ponies surrounded the single mare in the middle. The crowd roared as I approached the courtyards center. The massive trees, the green bushes, the serene peacefulness of the scene did not match the courtyards use. Bright aqua flowers that reminded me of Lyra flew in the air, as I grew closer to the mare. I stopped about ten tail-lengths in front of her, and I sighed.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” I muttered, and I raised a single hoof in the air. The crowd stopped chattering, and I lowered my hoof.

“My fellow Equestrians! I greet you today on more solemn terms. Before you, I have a traitor of Equestria, a conspirator with the Equine spy master!” I shouted, turning 360, to let my words pierce everypony’s ears. “We now bring her to justice, just as they would bring us to justice!”

The crowd roared, as I lit the magical water holder on the steam pistol. I looked around one more time. Nopony from the high court was here. The keepers of harmony were spared this event, and neither Lyra or my daughter was here. Just me, a bunch of ponies, and a pistol. I aimed at the mare, who was binded down to the wood planks in front of me. Very slowly, I pulled on the trigger, releasing a small siphon of steam from the back of the gun, notifying me that the weapon had fully charged.

There was nothing more than a single high pitched whistle, as the gun fired, sending a green blast of flesh melting steam into the mare’s cranium, melting right through the bone, killing her instantly. Her boiling blood splattered onto my uniform, as she slumped over limply. Blood boiled out of the clean hole in the back of her head, and poured onto the ground. The guards quickly scooped the body up, and receded back into the dungeon at the other end of the execution grounds. I simply dropped the steam pistol, and walked back to where I had come from, the crowd still screaming.

As I entered the room, and the door was safely closed behind me, I slumped down, and sighed deeply. I felt disgusted with myself. Utterly terrible. I had just killed Diamond. My partner. My friend. My lover at some points. Now, I killed her for the enjoyment for a crowd and for god and country.

“You did good, Shadow. You definitely look better,” Said Arden, walking down to me, his white overcoat contrasting the baby blue of his fur. His eyes, hidden by glasses were an odd shade of purple, and his mane matched.

“Yeah, fuck you,” I simply said, standing up.

“No need to be angry. Tonight is the gala, and we don’t want to be grumpy for that, do we?” Arden stated sharply, adjusting his coat. “Besides, we need to get you to PonyVille to do a little errand for Twilight Sparkle.”

“Rest of the week off my flank, I’ve done more work this week than in the past two months,” I say, and Arden simply scoffs, levitating me a flintlock pistol and ball. “What do I need to do?”

“Apparently, Spike needs a lift and an escort. You’ll be the escort,” Said Arden, as we walked out of the dark room, and into one of the many regal halls of the Castle. Everything looked the same since Pillows had taken leave, and the new Janitor had taken his place. Everything was bland. No bits and bobs. No little parodies of artifacts. No mustaches drawn on statues. Just… Bland.

I continued to walk with Arden, as he babbled on about how I had handled the situation well. I didn’t care much. I just hoped to be home in time for dinner and a dance with my lovely new partner. I could barely stop thinking about her, and when I did, it was usually replaced by Daring Do. We turned the corner into one of the bigger halls, and I noted we were near the armory. As we walked down, I could hear the hum of a Diesel Car, a new innovation by Fluer. Co. Who would ever think a fashionista would create a fast ass car?

We turned the corner once again, and there was the garage. The diesel car was sitting there, its putrid fumes making my nose curl back in disgust. Arden motioned for me to get into the passenger seat, and I hopped into the black car.

“So, are you glad that tonight is the gala?” asked Arden, as he got into the back of the car.

“Doesn’t really matter to me. Just means that if I dance good, I’ll get a sweet little piece of ass tonight,” I said, looking around the car. Multiple cigarette butts, gasmasks, and what looked like a gatling gun sitting next to Arden.

“Well, I wish I had that luxury. Cigarette?” asked Arden, levitating out a Dragon’s Breath cigarette.

“Nah. I don’t smoke,” I simply said, leaning back in my chair.

“Won’t be the cancer that kills you,” muttered the driver, a lean, black stallion with red eyes.

“Excuse me?” I asked, and the driver waved it off, smiling.

“Nothing, sir. Just jesting.”

I snorted, as the car jerked to life, and we sped out of the castle, into the secret tunnel that came out the other side of the mountain the Canterlot rested upon.

“So, you have any plans after… this?” asked Arden, and I shook my head slightly, as we came into the light of the early morning.

“Can’t say I do. Maybe finish the war, then go into contracting?” I said half-heartedly, and Arden nodded.

“I guess, since you weren’t born to do this, you can just switch jobs anytime you want,” Arden said.

We bended the mountain, revealing the mountain below us. We were moving at a huge trot at the moment, so fast that I was getting slightly worried. We crossed onto solid ground, and I let out a slight sigh. As we continued onwards, I heard Arden say something worriedly to the driver. The driver nods, and then takes a sharp turn, heading towards a small pond.

“Stopping for a quick drink, are we?” I asked, and Arden shook his head anxiously.

“Ray, knock him out,” Said the driver, and I raised an eyebrow.

“Who the fuck is Ray?” I asked, when suddenly, Arden brought his hooves around my neck. I felt an amazing amount of strength coming off the slender pony, so much that I almost gave up. Suddenly, the sound of a attack blimp sounded overhead, and then, more diesel cars, these one trucks.

“Cloak! He’s not giving up!” Shouted Arden/Ray, as he slowly strangled me. Cloak, apparently the driver, just angrily drew a pistol, and bailed out of the car. We were heading straight for the pond, when a hail of armor piercing gatling gun rounds tore apart the inside of the car, sending flames and gore splattered everywhere. Ray had literally been demolished, and a round had pierced through my stomach. I spat up blood all over the windshield, as we barreled towards the pond.

“Fuck!” I screamed, bracing for impact. As the car hit the water, I was flung forward, into the windscreen glass. My advanced regeneration was already rebuilding the small stomach and skin around my wound, but I had bigger problems.

The car was sealed tight, but even through the water, and thick steel, I could hear the battle going on outside. I grabbed my pistol, and aimed it at the window, taking a single shot.

Water exploded inside, sending me tumbling towards the back of the diesel car. More gunfire outside, and telltale signs of bodies in the pond started to show, starting off with the thick whisps of purplish blood sinking deeper into the water. I swam upwards into the surface, to be greeted by the flames of multiple destroyed cars, and the sound of a Assault Blimp spinning out of control. I pulled myself out of the water, only to be greeted by a worse sight.

Cloak, and a young looking pony walking slowly over to me, surrounded by smoke. Cloak now had a mask on, and was breathing heavily. The pony beside him walked over to me quickly, and then delivered a hard stomp to my head. The last thing I remember was the feeling of steel coming down upon me.

“Ah… I was wondering when you would awake.” A voice from above me boomed down, as I gained consciousness. In my dizzying state, I couldn’t make out the voice, only that it was muffled and male. “You were out quite a long time, maybe 5 hours.”

I looked up, my eyes blurred by a sticky red liquid, likely blood. I saw that I was hanging over what looked like a blimps turbines, which was pushing up a steady stream of air up into my nether regions. I was entangled in a bunch of chains, which were so deeply embedded into my coat I could feel them crushing my ribs. I looked up, to see the two figures above me. The black pony was wearing a massive gas mask, and an air backpack. The smaller pony ran off, leaving me alone with who I presumed to be Cloak.

“This is the amazing Royal Protector? Easily overtaken by a vampony?” Said Cloak, his booming voice coming down. I could hear the equine accent thick in his voice, as I was slowly pulled to the top with the chains connected to me. As I was pulled, I realized I couldn’t feel my lower legs.

My back was broken.

The vampony pulled me up to his eye level, then flung me across the turbine room, smashing me through more chains and barrels. I groaned painfully, as he flipped me over, his red eyes visible through the gas mask.

“You’re lucky, White Steam. You can’t look me directly in the eye due to my breathing apparatus. Captain Walker got a lucky shot off, and hit my lung.” The black pony walked off, as I lay on the ground immobilized. “In less than 5 hours, Canterlot will be overtaken by our Warships, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

“Who the fuck are you, anyway?” I asked through gritted teeth, and the black pony turned towards me, his heavy breathing edged with anger.

“I am the one who will deliver you to Aftlan.” The black pony pulled some rope out, and tied it around my forelegs, attaching it to the wall.

“Oh, great. You’re a fucking Equine.”

I got a slap to my face for my troubles, as the ponies breathing got heavier. “You’re a murderer and a weakling. Even your own spymaster turned on your nation!”

“Never trusted that fuck.” I was trying to get him riled up. Hopefully, the Equestrian Military already had an idea that the Equines were on the way.

“The Equestrian Military will suspect nothing, if that is what you’re hoping. We are disguised as a freighter. It will be to late by the time they realize they are under attack. Their precious princesses, the Elements, and your daughter will all be dead.”

The mention of Daring Do caused a flame to be lit inside me. I jerked at him, fast enough to grab his ear in my mouth. I bit down hard, and pulled, tearing the muscle from the head. Blood splattered across me, as the pony pulled away, delivering a swift kick to my face. He tore off my eyepatch, revealing the sunken and scarred patch of furless skin that replaced my socket.

“You’re angry. You should be. Everything you know and love will be dead soon.” The pony touched the knob that was once his ear, and turned away.

"So, tell me Shadow: Why did you kill her?" asked the Vampony, solemnly, pacing around me.

"I was ordered to," I said, trying to form words around my swollen tongue and cheek.

"You weren't ordered to, Shadow: You killed her on your own accord. One of your only friends, dead by your hoof. I think that makes you a monster," The vampony continued, his breathing muffled. "I was wondering what would break first... Your spirit... or your body."

I couldn't deny it: My back was broken to hell. It would take a few hours to regenerate. And this fuckers plan was in full effect. In those few hours it would take to heal, he would have flattened Canterlot and the surrounding cities, all because of me.

"Think, Whitey: Think of all the ponies you could have saved by just dying..." The vampony said emotionlessly, as he kneeled in front of me. "I wonder what your final hours will be like."

"Well, they'll start off simple: By killing you."

“Funny. Last time I checked, I was in contro-.” The pony cut off, as he heard the sound of attack blimps.

“All crewmen, report to your stations, we are under attack by Equestrian Military, this is not a drill!”

The black vampony turned away, and ran out of the engine room, leaving me tied to a chain. I sighed, as I focused all my energy on repairing my wounds. I could feel my back replacing itself as he left.

5 minutes earlier…

Captain Fire Walker sat on the end of his new Attack Blimp. He could see the massive War-Blimp dressed as a freighter, flanked by even more. His cracked gasmask was half covered with blood from his head gash from crashing his previous attack blimp. He knew this was going to happen. Some Equine bastards would ruin the gala for everypony. Now it was up to him and a small ragtag group of his men that didn’t die to stop the blimp.

If it weren’t for their stupidity, they may have actually gotten away. But obviously they didn’t know that The Royal Protector had a massive magic signature that Walker’s unicorns could detect now that they had gotten used to it. All they had to do was put his signature into the steam-tracker, and voila, he knew where they were. Now, it was a matter of stopping them.

“Oi! Walker! Load the gun!” shouted one of the crew men, and Walker stood up, looking at the attack blimp. It was armored with steel plates, with an open canvas and engine room below. The massive wings propelled them at a quick speed, and the cannons mounted on the side fired special phosphorous rounds. But that wasn’t the end of the armaments.

Walked opened up a hatch on the front of the blimp, pulling out a state of the art machine-gun. It fired a 12.7 mm incendiary cartridge at nearly 1000 RPM. The barrel was circular, with a single barrel that had a flare so that it didn’t overheat. The Weapon had 2000 rounds inside of it, and plenty of extra ammo. The weapon, dubbed “The Solar Flare” was practically a Gatling gun that didn’t have any crank mechanism.

“All loaded Ink! Fire up the overdrive!” Shouted Walker, as the Attack Blimp lowered its sails, moving ever quicker. Walker slapped the action on The Solar Flare, and fixed the weapon on the massive blimp.

The attack ship came upon the blimp easily, and Walker pulled the safety out of the massive machine gun. He zeroed in on one of the massive turbines on the wing of the blimp, and unloaded the weapon into the protruding metal part.

Within mere seconds, flames and shrapnel had shrouded the massive wing, tearing it to shreds. The alarm blared loudly, as The Solar Flare’s destruction path moved down to the backside of the engineering loft, which was placed on the very top of the blimp. In nearly 5 seconds, the entire loft was completely destroyed, in its place a massive burning pile of metal and Equine warponies. Flames burned bright as the guns-blazing ship started to spam the freighter with incindeary cannonballs.

“Ink! Where is Shadow!” Shouted Walker from his position, his voice hard to hear over the gun.

“Looks like he’s inside the engine room! Right above the rear turbines!” Ink Spot shouted back, before a spray of blood covered him. The starboard side gunners head exploded like a watermelon, as the massive war blimp returned fire.

“Fuck! Bring us around the bottom! I’ll destroy the turbines, and we can get Shadow!” Shouted Walker, and Ink dipped down, his jet black mane flowing with the wind.

The came underneath the massive airship, giving them a good view of the turbines. The machine gunner aimed up at the spinning blades, and fired, destroying the blades until they were nothing but melting scrap metal. Slowly the ascended over the melting metal, until they reached a massive metal platform.

Chained to the wall was a limp looking figure, surrounded by burning sheet metal. His clothing was torn and bloodied, and the way his body was bent was evidence that his back was broken.

“Shit! Cross, cover me!” Shouted Walker, grabbing a musket and jumping off the attack blimp.

Almost immediately after he jumped off, Equine soldiers flooded out of the entrance to the engine room, and started hailing rounds at both the blimp and Walker. Taking cover behind some slowly melting metal, Walker watched as his crew was torn to shreds by bullets, then as the attack blimp smashed into the wall, sending flames and sparks spraying over the engine room.

“FUCK!” Shouted Walker, fighting back tears as he watched the engine room slowly go up in flames. But that wasn’t the only sound that filled the room.

Distracted by the scream of soldiers, Walker lifted his head over the cover to see a gruesome sight. Shadow had started to go work at the group of Equine soldiers, using their own weapons and idiocy to his advantage. By now, the carnage was coming to an end, and Walker got to watch Shadow execute two soldiers by smashing one’s brain out with the back end of the musket, then using the bayonet to stab the other in the stomach, just to fire a shot that tore the poor soldier’s spine in half.

I finished off the last soldier, and dropped him to the ground, then scanned the area. Apparently, the ship had been totaled by a single assault ship. Flames were going up the sides of the newly destroyed blimp, and the wreckage of the assault ship burned on the opposite side of the engine room.

“Shadow!” Shouted a voice, and I turned to look at a small piece of burning metal. There stood Walker, his half burned military suit covered in blood. He held a single musket, and was grinning like a moron.

“Well, look who decided to try and save my pitiful ass,” I simply stated, as he ran up to me.

“Shits been goin’ to hell man. First they try to kidnap you, then my whole crew goes up in flames. We need to get back to Canterlot. They don’t know they have an attack fleet on their way to take them down,” Walker said, and I raised my eyebrow.

“Fleet? Shit, I thought there was only one!” I said, and Walker shook his head.

“We saw ‘em on the way in. They’re planning on flattenin’ the whole of Canterlot,” Walker continued. “We need to blow up each of the ships.”

“They won’t get near Canterlot on my watch. We need to take out the head honcho is this operation, and I think we can deal with the rest,” I said, and I started running out of the engine room.

Walker followed behind me, as we walked into the destroyed and burning hallways of the blimp. Blood was splattered everywhere, and the sound of dying men filled my ears. Nothing too new to me. We continued on, until we reached the upper deck, which was completely engulfed in flames. Upon it, was a single air bike with a back mounted cannon.

“We’ll use that to escape. But first, lets deal with this blimp,” Walker said, practically reading my mind. Nighttime was slowly approaching, and soon the gala would be up in flames if we didn’t do something.

I ran into the bridge of the blimp, only to be greeted by 5 equine soldiers, their uniforms covered in urine and all of them dead. Blood was leaking out of small wounds in their necks, and the walls were splattered with gore. I ignored the scene, and ran over to the steering wheel, pushing the nose of the blimp down, and pushing it at full speed. According to the map, we were nowhere near a civilian settlement, so the blimp should go down without any harm done to anypony who didn’t need it.

I rushed back outside, and hopped on the back of the bike, the engine already turned on by Walker. We lifted from the deck of the burning ship, and flew onto the next one.

“This thing is loaded with HE bombs. Should be quite a bang if we can hit the wings and the back turbines. Then the bridge,” I said, and I heard Walker mumble with agreement.

The next blimp was a quite bit smaller. It was orange, and was moving in line with three other blimps. The final one- which I presumed was the flag ship,- was a massive tanker, probably a flying fortress. “We’ll hit the smaller ones first, take them out. Then we’ll have a straight shot to the big boy!” I shouted, and Walker started to speed toward the smaller ship.

The first was easy to take down. It took 4 shots, one to each wing, and one to the lower turbine, to deactivate it. The final shot was directed at the bridge, completely destroying it. We swooped in around it, then we were in range of the second blimp. I spammed this one, intent on making short work of it. Within seconds of firing, the blimp was going down in flames. The last one started to return fire, and I used the last of the cannon ball ammo on it, turning it into a flaming metal mess.

“Walker, drop me off on the big one. You need to get back to Canterlot to warn them!” I shouted to Walker, but he shook his head.

“Not this time, Shadow. I’m goin’ into the belly of the beast with you!” Shouted Walker, and I shook my head.

“You’re a crazy son-of-a-bitch, you know that?”

“Hell yeah! If I didn’t, how would I have gotten this job?”

We laughed as we flew towards the massive blimp, ready to face death at any moment.

Author's Note

Alrighty guys! Here it is! The finale of Act 2! Stick tight for a badass battle in the next chapter!