Bon Bon sat alone in her castle room, her white sword resting on the bed in front of her. The blade had been magically cleaned until it was spotless, yet in her eyes, it still sported the long red stain of Scootaloo’s blood.

They told her it was an accident, that it wasn’t her fault; but Bon Bon knew better. She could’ve done things differently, she could’ve done things better. But here she was, another successful mission at the cost of another part of her equinity.

The coffee machine beeped, pulling her out of her brooding with the scent of glorious caffeine. She walked up to it and took the cup from its holder, taking a sip and savoring the hot liquid.

“I need to thank the doctor for letting me keep my stomach,” She muttered to herself. The inner workings of her body were a mystery to her, but it worked.

Bon Bon sheathed her sword and downed the rest of the cup before heading out of her room. The winding hallways of Canterlot castle were starting to become second nature to her after so many visits, allowing her to find the way into the medical pavilion easily.

“Ah, Bon Bon, good to see you again,” Ocellus said when she entered the lab.

“Hi doc,” She answered.

“Are you all right?”

The changeling was looking at her with concerned eyes. Bon Bon didn’t need her pity, she just needed her to make her stronger and faster so she wouldn’t make any more mistakes.

“I’m fine,” She groaned.

“You know that’s not true…” Somepony said.

Bon Bon grabbed Ocellus by the shoulders and shook her harshly. The chitinous plates cracked slightly under the inequine strength of Bon Bon’s steel hooves.

“I said I’m fine!” She shouted.

“I- I didn’t say anything,” Came the shaky reply.

She let go of the doctor, dropping her view to the floor apologetically. Her mind had been playing more tricks on her than usual, but at least it had the decency to quiet down when she was fighting.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t sleep well last night” She lied.

“Don’t worry about it,” The changeling’s voice was clearly concerned.

Ocellus turned and trotted up to a large metal box that stood on one of the lab tables.

“Anyway, this is why I called you here,” She said, floating up the box.

“What’s in there?” Bon Bon asked curiously.

The changeling smiled and opened the box. Inside it were several black armor plates of varying sizes, in the middle of the box stood a red talisman and four metal hooves.

“It’s my half of our agreement. The hooves you’ve been collecting have been very useful, so I put in some extra hours and made you this new armor,” The doctor explained.

Bon Bon took one of the plates out, turning it in her hooves. It didn’t feel any heavier than her current set, but it had considerably more arcane symbols on the back side.

“What does it do?”

The changeling’s eyes lit up with glee, she was clearly proud of her work.

“After analyzing that… thing you fought, we discovered that it’s armor was selective. Whenever you attacked, it would predict where the attack would hit and armor that specific area instead of having all its armor at once!”

“That explains why it was so difficult to destroy,” Bon Bon commented, “So does this armor do that?”

“Unfortunately, no, but you can trigger a much stronger shield at will. It's not as efficient as the automaton’s, but if you time it correctly you should be able to take some big hits,”

She nodded at the changeling, that did seem like a good tool to have at her disposal.

“And the hooves are enchanted for enhanced mobility, you should be able to walk on practically anything!” Ocellus finished, exitedly.

“That’s great, doc, can you put them on now?”

“Yes, it should only take a minute,”

After a confirming nod from Bon Bon, the changeling’s horn lit up, enveloping her with magic. She felt her hooves leave the ground… and then leave her. The four steel hooves were carefully placed on the desk before their replacements were attached to her body.

The magic field wrapped around the plates that encased her body, slowly peeling them off and replacing them with the new ones. Ocellus placed her back on the ground before wrapping her crystal eye in her magic, altering its enchantments. A series of warnings flashed in her view for an instant before disappearing.

“All set, let's test it out,” The doctor said.

“Sure, how do I activate it?” Bon Bon asked, tilting her head.

“Just think about shielding up, it should activate,”

Bon Bon focused on herself, on the armor she was wearing. Her body started to feel warm and let off a green glow, emanating from the plates. She looked down at the pieces covering her legs, a bright magical field was coming from them. A warning flashed in her view, low energy. The glow died down as the bar in her eye dwindled to near nothing.

“Is it supposed to use that much energy?” She asked, concerned.

“Yes, I’m afraid. You’ll have to use it sparingly,” The changeling dropped her gaze.

“We’ll just have to see on my next mission,”

The changeling nodded and froze for a moment before looking up at her.

“Wait, did Yona not tell you yet?”

“Tell me what?” Bon Bon asked suspiciously.

“The queen sent an order, we have been told to stand down,”

The words hit her like a brick wall. What was the queen thinking! They had evidence of desperado’s misdeeds and even several of their identities, how could they just be ordered to stop?

“Why?” She asked, not really bothering to contain her anger.

“Because of that pegasus you saw, senator Biceps of Cloudsdale. Celestia said that she cannot condone any aggressive approaches on a government official,” The changeling explained.

This had to be a joke, clearly, Ocellus was pulling a prank on her. But the changeling’s face didn’t show anything that could be taken as a joke. Bon Bon was angry, she was furious! How could the glorious queen just sit by and let fillies get foalnapped while evil ponies made automatons for war?

“This is ridiculous! I’ll go speak to her at once!” She shouted, slamming her new hooves into the floor.

“Bon Bon! This is a direct royal order!” Ocellus shouted at her, but Bon Bon was already storming out of the lab.
She stomped through the halls of the castle towards the throne room, dead set on getting an explanation out of her queen. A pair of royal guards stood in her way, a pegasus and a unicorn. The armored ponies crossed their weapons to block her way.

“Halt! The queen is not taking visitors at this time!” The unicorn said.

“Agent Bon Bon, special operations!” She barked, causing the guards’ eyes to go wide.

“I uhh yes, sorry ma’am,” The pegasus guard said before stepping out of the way.

She burst through the doorway into the throne room. A tall vaulted ceiling rose above her, decorated in a similar fashion as the stained glass windows on the walls; each one displaying one of the queen’s victories.

Bon Bon stormed down the carpet towards the tall solar throne, bathed by the light that came into the great hall. The queen was sitting comfortably ahead of her, her attention consumed by a large portion of cake.

Despite her anger, Bon Bon’s rage was extinguished by the glory of the sun. The queen’s fiery mane gave off so much heat that Bon Bon could feel it despite being far away.

“Your majesty,” She said with a respectful bow.

Celestia placed the cake back on the small table next to her throne before turning to face her. The queen’s yellow eyes held a mixture of kindness and intrigue.

“Ah, Bon Bon, what brings you here?” Celestia asked, just a slight hint of the royal Canterlot voice.

“I want an explanation, your highness,”

The queen arched an eyebrow.

“An explanation for what?”

Rage filled Bon Bon, but it quickly burned away in the presence of her queen.

“I want to know why we were ordered not to intervene, don’t you know what we found?” She asked, making a big effort to remain calm.

The queen sighed and rose from her throne, her fiery mane flowing in an ethereal breeze. Celestia opened her wings, her entire body glowing brighter as her horn charged with bright yellow magic. In a flash, they were gone.

The world flashed back into existence around her. Bon Bon took in her surroundings and saw… a wasteland. Endless fields of ash and fire stretched out in every direction, the scent of sulfur was thick in the air. The queen stood next to her with a solemn expression, looking out on the field.

“Sorry for not warning you, I simply thought the matter demanded a more secluded location,” Celestia said.

“I understand,” Bon Bon replied with a slight bow.

“Do you know what this place is?”

Bon Bon looked at the wasteland that surrounded them, she did know this place… everypony knew this place.

“The scorched fields,” She replied, “This is where you banished Nightmare Moon once and for all,”

“It wasn’t always like this, it used to be quite a beautiful countryside,” Celestia said, her face contorted into an expression of deep sadness.

Her horn lit up and started to spew bright flames into the air, painting two ponies, a large alicorn with a smaller unicorn in front of her.

“All those years ago, I sent my dearest student, Twillight, to find the elements of harmony. But she failed, and Nightmare Moon returned to bring forth night eternal,” The queen said, the fiery silhouettes illustrating the story, “Once I realized that the elements were not an option, I was forced to fight her myself,”

The silhouettes shifted to show the queen battling against Nightmare Moon. Bon Bon already knew this story, it was recent history after all, but she knew better than to interrupt the queen when she spoke.

“We fought for five days in this very field, the Nightmare was strong, terribly strong. And I just couldn’t bring myself to harm my sister,” The images showed the alicorn of the night standing over a battered Celestia, “But that’s when I realized I had to atone for my mistakes, for not trying to help when I had the chance,”

Bon Bon looked at the queen, lifting an eyebrow. She was talking as if she could’ve saved Nightmare Moon. She tried to wipe the confused expression off her face, but the queen had already seen it. She didn’t say anything, instead letting out a deep sigh.

“You see, the last time I had to fight my sister, I banished her to the moon for a thousand years. I thought she would take that time to reflect on herself and come back reformed, but I was wrong. All I really did was let her hatred simmer until there was no way of possibly getting through to her,”

The ghostly images shifted again, now showing the queen, in all her glory, standing tall over the Nightmare. Her fiery mane and solar battle armor ready to fight back against the eternal night. But Bon Bon now knew the whole picture, it hadn’t been the grand battle of good against evil that she had been taught.

“In the end, I took it upon myself to right my wrongs, and I shed any concern over my true power. I didn’t banish Nightmare Moon, Bon Bon, I killed Luna, my sister,” The illusion collapsed after showing Celestia and the Nightmare… no, Luna, crash into each other.

A single tear rolled down the queen’s face, but it evaporated just as quickly as it had appeared.

“That is when I returned to Canterlot as you see me now. And with a heavy heart I realized that my little ponies no longer loved me, they were terrified of me,” Celestia spoke, turning to face Bon Bon once more, “They all worked and followed my rule, not out of devotion, but out of fear, and I couldn’t take it,”

“And you created the senate?” Bon Bon asked.

Celestia nodded.

“Indeed, I gave my power to the ponies of Equestria. So they could feel like they truly had a say in how our nation is run. But now it has become clear that it was a double edged sword,”

“So that’s why we can’t go after a senator? But we have proof!” She said, a bit too loudly.

“That is precisely why I asked you to stand down, senator Biceps will be investigated by the Equestrian court and tried accordingly. I don’t want you to go to Cloudsdale and start spilling more Equestrian blood in one of your frenzies,” The queen’s tone had become more severe, like a mother scolding a foal.

“But a trial could take months! Years, even! I would gladly go find the culprits and dispense divine justice!” She stomped.

Bon Bon could’ve sworn that the queen’s hair flared up for an instant, but it simmered down too fast to notice.

“Don’t be so quick to brandish your weapons, my little pony,” Celestia said coldly, if she was even capable of such a tone, “Taking any life leaves a deep mark, no matter how justified,”

The alicorn’s words conjured up the image of a certain orange filly in Bon Bon’s mind. She shook her head to rid herself of the memory before responding, trying to watch her tone.

“So it’s all up to some judge to take down this whole organization, huh?”

“That is true, but you’d be amazed at the effect a single pony can have,” Celestia said, returning to her softer voice.

“You are right, your majesty,” She bowed.

The queen gave her a warm smile before wrapping them in flames once more as the world faded away.

A black sky carriage barreled through the sky towards Cloudsdale drawn by a pair of green pegasi. Their wings’ rhythmic flapping would’ve put anypony into a peaceful sleep, but neither of the carriage’s occupants could sleep.

“Cloudsdale is on high alert after the recent attacks, their private guard is holding the city on lockdown,” Lyra said from her seat.

“Is that going to be an issue?” Bon Bon asked while she examined her sword.

“I don’t know,”

The pegasi twins broke through a thick cloud, revealing the city in the distance. Cloudsdale had grown exponentially in the last few years; their weather infrastructure had proven vital for the war effort, both in delaying the enemy and helping equestrian farmers.

From the skyline rose the black tower of the weather factory, it’s faucets sending out storm clouds in large gray chunks. Pegasi flew around the factory, sending out the weather to its final destination.

The city itself, however, seemed deserted. The streets were void of life save for a few black dots, probably guards.

“Ma’am, are you sure we can fly here?” One of the pegasus twins pulling the carriage asked her.

“I didn’t know it was this bad, try to get me closer,” Bon Bon responded.

The carriage flew towards the city. Before long a group of guards noticed them and flew up to them. The Cloudsdale guard armor shone with a light blue aura of magical protection.

“Unauthorized carriage, this area is off limits, turn back now,” The leading guard said, the stallion’s voice was amplified by magic.

“Ask if you can land on the outsides,” Bon Bon offered.

The twins reduced their speed slightly, flying alongside the guard formation. Seven pegasi flew in a V formation, their leader, a pearly white stallion, flew up to the twins.

“You need to turn back!” The guard ordered.

“We’re tired officers, can’t we land to catch our breath?” One of the twins asked.

The guard seemed to consider it, looking back at the carriage where Bon Bon and Lyra were. Fortunately the windows were too dark for them to be seen clearly.

“All right, you can stop and rest at the station,” The white pegasus conceded, “Follow me,”

The guards formed ahead of the carriage, flying in formation towards the guard station. Bon Bon started to formulate a plan when a sudden call distracted her. It was Yona.

“Bon Bon!” The yak bellowed, “What in tartarus is this?”

The yak was holding up the letter Bon Bon had left on her desk just earlier today. It seemed her ruse hadn’t lasted as long as she would’ve expected.

“I thought the title was pretty self-explanatory, Yona, it’s my resignation letter,” She replied calmly.

“You can’t just resign out of the blue! Why did…” The Yak stopped for a moment before her eyes went wide with rage, “I can see you on map! We were told to stand down, Bon Bon!”

“No, the agency was told to stand down,” She replied with a grin, “But I’m not in the agency anymore, am I?”

The Yak’s face contorted into a scowl filled with so much rage that Bon Bon was sure she would burst an artery.

“You need to turn back, now!” The yak ordered.

“No, Yona, I need to do this,” She answered before cutting the communication.

They were over Cloudsdale proper now; the cloud-like buildings passed by underneath like great white spires. Lyra looked out the window with a concerned expression.

“We can’t fight all those guards,” She said, “And I doubt even you could take on their entire station at once”

“Do you have any ideas?” Bon Bon asked.

“We can jump off the carriage and make our way to the factory on the rooftops,” The unicorn pointed at the factory for emphasis.

“And you’re sure they’re in there?”

Lyra nodded.

“Well then, out we go,” Bon Bon said as she kicked open the rear door of the carriage.

She made sure to drop a large bag of golden bits for the twins; they had earned it. The two ponies stood side by side at the open door, waiting for the next rooftop to pass by.

“Now!” Marked Lyra, and they jumped.

The rooftop felt… strange. The cloud was solid yet fluffy at the same time, like a particularly sturdy mattress. Bon Bon rolled to absorb more of the fall, but she realized it wasn’t necessary when the cloud itself stopped her. Lyra slammed into the rooftop with all four hooves, denting the cloud deeply where she landed.

Bon Bon looked east, towards the weather factory, that was where these bastards were hiding. She looked at the buildings that connected them to their target and started to walk.

They made their way over the buildings of Cloudsdale. Despite the city's barrenness it still held a majestic beauty, as if it were carved directly out of the sky.

They jumped to an adjacent building, crouching behind the edge to avoid being spotted by a small patrol of pegasi. When they passed, the pair rose to their hooves and looked out onto the city.

Bon Bon noticed the old weather factory on the edge of the city, a simple white building that used to generate all of Equestria’s weather. Years back, a new factory had been constructed to keep up with the extra output needed for defense.

According to Lyra’s fragmented memory, that same new factory was where desperado’s checks came from. And of course, it was where senator Biceps was last seen. Bon Bon had a lot to talk about with that senator.

They jumped to the next building. This one was clearly older, and the stained cloud that made up its roof deformed dangerously under their weight. They walked to the edge again, looking around for any patrols.

“Just three more buildings,” Lyra stated, pointing at their path.

“Are you sure the rooftops can hold us up?” Bon Bon asked.

“Yes, but I think we shouldn’t stay too close,” Lyra said before jumping onto the next roof.

Bon Bon followed suit, the older clouds of this area felt even squishier than before. Lyra made her way to the end of the building and immediately jumped back.

“Two patrols are coming this way, hide!” She said, alarmed.

But a quick glance revealed that there was nowhere to hide; the edges of the roof weren’t tall enough, and there were no chimneys. They were effectively sitting ducks.

“We’ll have to fight!” She shouted back, unsheathing her sword.

Lyra nodded before shifting her body back into combat mode. The magical plating shone brightly as she revved up her chainsaw.

The first patrol spotted them and immediately altered their course to head directly at them. The second patrol soon followed behind them, but one of the pegasi turned back and went in the opposite direction.

“That one is probably going to get reinforcements, we need to move!” Lyra shouted.

But moving would have to wait, for the patrol had finally reached their rooftop. All the pegasi were armed in the same way, a full suit of light armor and twin wing-blades, razor-sharp and magically reinforced.

Bon Bon lifted her sword to meet her first opponent, a light gray pegasus mare. The white sword clashed against the mare’s left-wing, but it was quickly forced back to parry a swipe from the other wing.

The guard flapped her wings to avoid being cut in half and let one of her comrades take her place, Bon Bon hated fighting pegasi.

Lyra seemed to be faring much better, one badly mangled pegasus already lay at her hooves. She was focused on dodging while swinging the chainsaw around with her magic.

A stallion dived at Bon Bon, forcing her to jump out of the way. But she hadn’t noticed that there was another guard behind her, and her carelessness earned her a small cut on her right leg.

But the pegasus’ blade caught on her armor, grounding her opponent for just enough time. Bon Bon spun her head back, stabbing the wide-eyed mare in the shoulder before giving her a strong buck. Her wing, still stuck in Bon Bon’s leg, broke with an audible crunch as the mare went flying over the edge of the building.

A scream coming from her right confirmed that Lyra had caught another one of the guards, that left just two more. The pegasi flew out of their reach and held their ground.

“Lyra, we need to leave!” Bon Bon said when she saw a large group of pegasi headed their way, she quickly put the sword back into her mouth.

“I think we can escape into a cloud pipe, I’ll mark the spot!” Came her reply, joined by a waypoint lighting up in her view.

But whenever they tried to reach the edge of the building the two pegasi dove at them to drive them back. Another cut hit Bon Bon’s cheek when the gray mare from earlier cut her off.

The reinforcements were getting closer and closer, eight… no, ten dozens. Lyra swung her chainsaw in a wide arc, forcing both of the surviving guards to fly away.

“Let’s go!” Lyra said before jumping off the side of the building.

Bon Bon took a deep breath and dived behind the unicorn. The pegasi behind them closed their wings and followed them down the side of the building.

Lyra placed her weapon into the arm on her back before going into a vertical spin. Bon Bon watched as the saw bit into the street below, cutting a pony-sized gash into the sidewalk.

Her armored friend disappeared into the cloud bank, and Bon Bon had a moment of panic, thinking her friend was falling to her doom. But she didn’t have much time to worry before she herself slammed into the sidewalk.

The cut in the street gave way under her weight, weakening the cloud just enough for her to slip through the crack and into the dark depths of Cloudsdale. Judging by the two hard impacts she heard above them, the two pegasi hadn’t been heavy enough to force the cloud apart.

Bon Bon lifted her gaze to see a black void, apparently, nopony had thought about installing a light inside… wherever this was.

“What is this place?” She asked aloud.

“This is one of the old weather factory’s transport pipes, it should be abandoned,” Came the echoey reply from somewhere in front of her.

“Does it connect to the new factory?”

“Fortunately, no, if it did we would be swimming through condensed storm clouds” Lyra responded.

Bon Bon drew her sword again, the dim white glow was hardly enough to illuminate the general outline of Lyra, but it was better than fumbling about in the darkness. She dropped the sword to her hoof to illuminate the stained, dense clouds of the walls. Lyra pointed ahead into the inky depths of the pipe.

“We need to head that way, there should be an old monitoring station that we can use to get back to the surface,” She explained.

“That’s as close as we can get?” Bon Bon asked.

“Yes, we’ll have to walk the last three blocks on the surface,”

Bon Bon nodded, unsure as to whether or not Lyra could see her. But she shook the thoughts of her friend out of her head, she needed to keep her mind clear. By the time she regained her senses, she heard Lyra’s cushioned hoofsteps heading down the pipe; and she followed.

They walked in silence for some time, it was pretty hard to keep track of how much you’ve been walking when your legs don’t grow tired and you can’t see the sun. But just when she was considering sheathing her sword and asking Lyra how much further they had to walk, she was stopped by a hoof on her chest. She dropped her sword to her hooves so she could talk.

“Turn on your talisman scanning, there are automatons up ahead,” Lyra whispered in her ear.

“Are they in the station?” Bon Bon whispered back.

She saw the dimly-lit silhouette of the unicorn nod slightly.

“Should we fight?” She whispered to the green mare.

“We don’t know what they are, what if they’re those metal pegasi things?”

Lyra had a point, there was no way they could fight one of those without light. Her crystal eye activated and pulsed out, revealing three talisman signatures in the open room ahead. Two of them were far away, but one was alarmingly close to the tunnel they had to enter through.

“Where is the exit?” Bon Bon whispered at Lyra.

“It’s in the middle, to the left, right behind the second signature,”

This was a difficult situation, and they were missing a lot of information to make an actual plan. A semblance of an idea formed in her head, however, but it depended completely on how loud her sword was.

She took the white blade back in her mouth and positioned the tip against the compressed clouds of the pipeline. The sword poked the cloud and didn’t let out any sound, much to her relief. She dug the weapon deeper into the cloud, feeling the softer cloud on the other side of the pipe wall.

“I have a plan, let me know if I make too much noise,” She whispered to Lyra, leaving the hilt of her sword sticking out of the wall.

She grabbed the weapon again and got to work on cutting a round hole into the curved pipe. The round chunk of cloud popped out of the rest with a muted thump. Just in case, she stood completely still to see if the automaton had heard it. But since the talisman didn’t move towards them, she let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

She turned back to see the softer cloud material that made up the underbelly of Cloudsdale. Leaving her sword on the side, she got to work on pulling out chunks of cloud from the hole to make it wider and deeper. Before long she had made a cavity large enough for two ponies, say what you want about buildings made of clouds, but they sure did allow for easy remodeling.

“Okay, here’s the plan, you go hide in there and I’ll kill the one next to the entrance. Then we’ll hide until they let their guard down again.

“Why would they simply forget they saw the destroyed automaton?” Lyra asked.

“Call it a hunch,” Bon Bon replied with a smile.

Lyra didn’t respond, instead, she turned and climbed into the hole, nodding at her.

Bon Bon nodded back and took her blade back into her mouth, walking slowly towards the closest talisman signature. Now that she was closer she could see that the talisman was small, just barely as high as her shoulder. Maybe it was one of those metal Spikes?

The room ahead was slightly lit up from two dim light bulbs, but it wasn’t enough for her to see her foe. Bon Bon lifted the sword until it was parallel to the talisman, and then she cut.

She found slight resistance right away, something had been standing just a short distance away from her head. The blade cut until it sliced the talisman in half, filling Bon Bon with a small power surge.

A horrid metallic scraping sound came from the automaton, the lights, which she now realized were actually the machine’s eyes, winked out as it fell. She didn’t have time to admire her handiwork, however, and she quickly jumped back into the pipeline to join Lyra.

After jumping into her makeshift hiding spot, she pulled the compressed cloud segment back to cover the entrance, entombing her and Lyra in the wall. Bon Bon looked through the wall at the two other talisman signatures that were standing where the one she had destroyed was.

The two shining triangles in her eyes stood completely still for a while, almost as if they were… thinking? One of the signatures then started moving back into the station, but it didn’t stop there, instead it started to go higher and higher, before finally disappearing from her eye.

“It went to get reinforcements,” Lyra stated.

“Damm it!” Bon Bon complained, “I was sure they would go back to their posts, maybe they’re a more advanced model?”

“Did you see what it was?” Lyra asked, adjusting herself in the cramped hiding space.

“No, but it was big. I don’t think it was a pegasus though, the talisman was too small,” Bon Bon said, but she fell quiet when she noticed the other talisman was standing right in front of the hiding spot entrance.

Lyra quietly picked up her chainsaw with her magic, not revving it, but holding it at the ready. Bon Bon held her sword up and pointed it towards the entrance, keeping her eye locked on the talisman.

In the dim white light, she saw the cover start to peel away slowly, pulled by a large steel hoof. A pair of glowing lights were hovering just behind the hoof, the automaton acted like a cat that just found a mouse.
Only this mouse had a magically enhanced sword in her mouth. Bon Bon lunged at the opening, stabbing directly through it and striking home. She heard the automaton collapse onto the floor of the pipe.

The two mares left the hiding spot, and when Bon Bon placed her sword near the pile of scrap on the floor, she saw that it was, in fact, a pegasus. Their increase in intelligence was alarming, especially since apparently Desperado had enough of them to make them guard an abandoned pipeline.

“We need to move before reinforcements arrive, the one that got away probably sounded an alarm,” Lyra said.

“You’re right, we should run to the factory as soon as we return to the surface, which way is it?” Bon Bon asked.

“It should be to the left once we climb up the stairs,” The green mare answered as she walked towards the station.

Bon Bon followed the mare until they reached the long stairwell that would take them back up. Already she could see the light seeping through the cloud hatch, but there was no clear sign of anypony waiting for them.

The sun hit Bon Bon’s eye without blinding her, one of the many perks of it being an enchanted crystal ball, and revealed the deserted streets of Cloudsdale. She jumped out with her sword at the ready and saw… nopony?

Lyra climbed out of the hatch and looked around for a bit before replacing her chainsaw onto the arm on her back. The unicorn closed her strange helmet and took a long look at her surroundings.

“There’s only one patrol between us and the factory, but I see several automatons in the city,” Lyra said, but when her gaze passed over Bon Bon, the helmet opened to reveal a concerned face, “Are you wounded?”

“W- what?” The question caught her off guard.

“You are bleeding,” The green mare pointed out, gesturing towards her with a hoof.

Bon Bon looked down at herself and saw that she was, in fact, covered in blood. Now that she had noticed, she realized how her face felt sticky, and when she touched it her hoof came away with a slick red coating.

She wasn’t wounded, it wasn’t her blood, but then whose? It couldn’t have been the guard from earlier, it wouldn’t have gotten on her face, but then how did-

Her train of thought was derailed when she heard a distinct charging sound, one she had heard not long ago.

“Lyra! Run!” She managed to shout before a green beam shot from somewhere downstreet.

With no time to dodge, Bon Bon did the only thing she could think of; she focused on protecting herself and triggered her specialized armor.

The shield flashed up just in time to stop the large green beam, but while the shield was remarkably good at stopping her from being incinerated, it did little to alleviate the force of the attack.

The world spun wildly as Bon Bon flew through the air before coming to a stop after slamming into a wall. Fortunately, the wall in question was made out of clouds and cushioned her hit.

She got back to her hooves and searched for the origin of the beam. Her eye darted over the scene until she picked out an overpass that was just ahead of them. On top of the cloud arches stood another changeling automaton flanked by several pegasi, both organic and metallic.

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” She cursed.

Lyra ran towards her and brandished her weapon, holding it with her magic.

“Our chances of getting out of here are slim,” The green mare said, making an ample display of her grasp over the obvious.

Bon Bon replied with a defiant growl. She launched herself forward to avoid a second green beam while she tried to formulate a plan. Her highest priority was disabling the changeling automaton, she just needed a way of pinning it down…

There it was! Her enemy was standing on an arch! All she had to do was slice the supports apart and it would come crashing down!

She ran faster towards the closest pillar. The pegasi and automatons started to dive at her, but she dodged and weaved through them with the grace of an acrobat jumping through hoops.

Behind her came the sounds of all the pegasi that missed their mark having a close encounter with Lyra’s chainsaw.

The white blade cut cleanly through the spupport pillar and… nothing happened. Of course nothing happened! It’s literally a cloud! Bon Bon had made a grave mistake.

But apparently fortune was on her side. The large automaton on top of the arch moved to peek over the railing, causing the severed pillar to give way and collapse the structure. Granted, it wasn’t the loud heavy crash she had envisioned, more like a gentle slide.

But it had fulfilled her objective, getting the alicorn on the ground level. She looked up to see that… the alicorn was in the exact same spot as it was before, flying over the place where the arch had been.

Why was she being so sloppy? She was supposed to be better than this! She was trained better than this! Then why couldn’t she stop messing up? Or… why couldn’t she shake the image of Scootalo from her head?

She was forced to snap out of her stupor when the automaton fired another heavy beam at her. She dodged and looked back to see Lyra struggling to stay out of the way of the three metal pegasi.

An idea popped into Bon Bon’s head. She ran to her friend quickly, dodging the smaller beams that the alicorn shot down at her.

She reached the first pegasus and stood still for a while, almost mockingly turning her back to the alicorn flying above. The pegasus threw a buck in her direction, but she slipped to the side and dodged almost without moving her hooves, she needed to stay as still as possible.

The sound of a magical discharge gave her the signal to jump as high as she could. A green beam hit the pegasus square in the side, immediately collapsing its magical shielding. Bon Bon spun in the air and angled her sword to cut her opponent in half, but she had an even better idea.

Making use of the new spell Ocellus had attached to her sword, she diabled the magical limiter and watched how her blade almost immediately went red hot. With a quick spin the white sword stabbed directly into the automaton’s chest, stabbing through its talisman.

Her plan was simple, she would take control of the pegasus and use it to crash into the changeling automaton. But her plans were wiped clean from her mind when a jet of warm blood spewed from the sides of her sword accompanied by the scent of burning flesh.

She couldn’t think about it for long, another beam was flying her way. Once more she was forced to raise her magical shield and block the attack, she saw how her power reserve dwindled to almost empty in a matter of seconds as she slammed into the ground.

One of the remaining pegasi dove at her, but she rolled out of the way and watched how it sunk both hooves into the spot her head had been an instant before. That was a new move.

These automatons weren’t upgraded versions, they were being piloted by somepony on the inside. To her great relief she noticed that the changeling automaton had stopped firing to avoid hitting the others.

Bon Bon focused on the pegasus in front of her, it wouldn’t be as predictable as they were before, but she still knew how to fight. She went into her fighting stance, preparing to attack.

The difference between this pegasus and the others became immediately apparent after the second strike hit its armor plates; they had nowhere near the same reaction time as their automated counterparts. The telegraphed attacks and complete lack of dodging evidenced that whoever was controlling the automaton was either not used to it or simply didn’t care about taking a few hits.

But they probably weren’t counting on fighting such a high quality weapon as her white sword. Bon Bon ducked under a wide wing swipe and cut upward, finally piercing the magical shielding and slicing the automaton in half.

The upper half of the pegasus slid onto the ground, revealing half of some strange mess of flesh inside it. It was far too small to be a pony… and Bon Bon had a suspicion that she knew exactly what it was.

“Bon Bon, move!” Lyra said, pushing her to the side.

The world seemed to enter slow motion. Her eye was locked on Lyra, who had apparently defeated her owh pegasus opponent judging by the red stains on her armor. But she could only look at her friend for an instant before she was encased in a green beam.

She watched in horror as Lyra flew down the street, pieces of armor flying off as she rolled through the clouds. Bon Bon turned to look at the changeling automaton with a furious glare.

Lyra’s chainsaw was at her feet, still revving despite not being in its owner’s grasp. Bon Bon kicked it up with fury and gave it a mighty buck before rolling out of the way of another beam.

The weapon spun wildly before hitting its mark, just below the alicorn’s wing joint. She had kicked it so violently that not even the automaton could react in time to shield its wing. Bon Bon smiled as she saw the wing and the rest of the changeling’s form drop from the sky.

Bon Bon sent a prayer of thank you to Celestia when the automaton slammed directly through the street, falling out of Cloudsdale onto the ground far below. She doubted it could survive that.

But she had more pressing matters to attend to. She turned and ran to where her friend had fallen, seeing the charred form of Lyra lying on the ground a little distance away.

She trotted over to the green mare and felt a wave of relief wash over her when she saw the unicorn was still moving. Bon Bon reached her friend and crouched beside her, trying to gauge the extent of her damag- wounds, her wounds.

The half that had taken the beam directly was badly scorched and warped, but her armor seemed to have absorbed a good portion of the attack. Lyra got up weakly and stood on three legs, her right rear leg wasn’t moving.

The green mare stood still a moment, her eyes lost in the distance, before speaking to Bon Bon.

“I can’t fight anymore, but I can still help you with scouting,”

“Are you sure you can keep going?” She asked her friend, concerned.

Lyra gave a weak nod.

“I’ll follow behind you, let’s go,”

Bon Bon looked at her friend as she dragged her wounded leg across the cloud street, limping towards the black tower of the weather factory.

They didn’t see anypony, but they were still alert. At any moment, they knew, a shielded automaton could dive and attack.

But the street was quiet, too quiet. This area was mainly filled with old houses and abandoned office buildings, the old heart of Cloudsdale. But through the boarded windows and dirty streets it seemed as if they had gone into a ruin rather than a city.

Eventually they reached their destination, the weather factory yard. The eerie sensation that they were being watched had only intensified as they walked.

The yard itself was beautiful, however, a central fountain dominated a roundabout, crowned with a statue of Celestia lifting the sun. Several trees stood in a circle around the central road in an impressive feat of pegasi engineering.

A large commemorative plaque stood proudly in front of the fountain reading ‘Cloudsdale advanced weather production plant, in Celestia we trust’.

“Here we are,” Bon Bon commented.

“Why are there no guards?” Lyra asked, looking around the plaza.

The green mare was right, this was wrong. All of the pegasi she had fought so far were wearing desperado armor, not to mention the automatons, but then… where were they now?

Her question was answered by four columns of thick green smoke rising out of the ground, forming a semicircle around the fountain.

Bon Bon reached back for her sword, but she hesitated when she realized the smoke wasn’t moving towards her, merely sitting on the cloud like a thick fog bank.

“Howdy there, Bon!” Said an accented voice from within the fog.

A giant applejack rose from the green mist, an illusion created by the warping smoke. She was wearing the same armor she had wore the last time they met.

“Don’t ya think yer bein’ a bit excessive? Ah would’ve quit after that little incident in Burrango,” The fog next to applejack warped and formed an illusion of Scootaloo.

“How dare you use her face?” She spat.

“Oh? Would y’all rather see one of the other fillies ya killed?” The large mare said, her expression inescrutable.

“What?” Bon Bon replied, shocked.

The ghastly figure of Scootaloo changed into four pegasus fillies, their expressions a mixture of pain and sadness.

“I’ve never seen those ponies before! What are you getting at?”

“Oh, mah bad!” Applejack replied, “Ya probably remember ‘em better like this,”

The fillies changed again, this time into four pegasi automatons. Two of them were cut in half, the long cut along their middle shining brighter than the smoke that made up the rest. Another one had a stab wound in the chest. But the most damning one of the group was the fourth, scorched plates and a stab in the back. They were the automatons she had fought.

Her suspicions were right, there had been somepony piloting them. And other pieces started to click in her mind, the life support system, the brains in the storage room…

“I’m going to kill every last one of you bastards,” Bon Bon growled at the apparition, “Every. Last. One!”

Applejack laughed.

“Then how are y’all any better?” The mare’s tone changed drastically from jovial to serious, “Yer just as bad as us, if not worse. You want to kill us all? Then why don’t ya start with her?”

The smoke parted to reveal a single pegasus mare, her coat was red and sported several burn scars. Bon Bon knew who she was. She was the pony she had encountered in Yakyakistan, the one whose friend she had killed.

“You!” The mare said, flaring out her bladed wings, her eyes were bloodshot and focused completely on Bon Bon.

“Go on then,” Continued Applejack, “Kill her like ya killed her best friend, like ya killed yours!”

The red mare flew at her with a roar, but Bon Bon couldn’t draw her sword, how could she?

A magically enhanced blade dug deep into her left foreleg. The mare turned and gave her a strong buck, sending her flying backward.

“Fight me!” She demanded, her mouth foaming, “Get up and fight me!”

Bon Bon refused to get back up, Applejack was right, she was just like the ponies she was fighting against. She turned over to face the sky, if only she had heeded the queen’s orders and stayed back. Maybe if she had done that her hooves wouldn’t be covered in the blood of foals.

“If you won’t fight then I’ll kill her!” The unstable pegasus said, pointing at the wounded Lyra with a wing.

She jumped to her feet as if she had been struck by lightning, drawing her sword to protect her friend. The red mare tried to lift her wing to block the white edge, but Bon Bon’s will to protect Lyra was stronger.

In one fell swoop, the pegasus lay decapitated next to a sobbing mare that was more metal than pony.

“Do ya see now?” Applejack asked, pacing around the smoke, “If there’s one thing ah hate, it’s liars… and you, Bon Bon, are lying to yerself,”

“I- I’m going to stop you,” She answered weakly.

The apparition threw her head back in laughter.

“Then be our guest, gate’s wide open,”

The smoke dissipated, leaving the ponies standing alone in the yard. As if to emphasize her misery, the factory started to spew black storm clouds that rained down onto the plaza.

“Bon Bon, are you…?” Lyra asked.

“I’m fine,” She lied.

“We should retreat, you aren’t well,”

A fiery rage lit in Bon Bon’s chest.

“I said I’m fine!” She shouted at her friend, “I need to get in there and kill the evil ponies!”

Her hooves trembled as she tried to sheathe her sword, causing her to miss the scabbard a couple of times. She tried to walk, but she felt as if her body had gained several tons.

A trembling hoof was forced forward, then another. And she slowly dragged herself towards the factory gates. She could see the orange farm pony standing at the door, waiting for her.

More steps. She ignored a call from Yona, probably trying to get her location.

More steps. The rain washed away the blood that covered her, but the slight red color clinged to her muzzle.

More steps. And she was almost in front of Applejack, her head full of so much noise that it became an unintelligible mess.

She fell to the ground, unable to stand anymore. And she watched the orange mare approach.

“Do ya see now?” She asked, “Is yer cause really the right one? Or is that just the lie ya tell yerself?”

Bon Bon wanted to reply, say something like ‘my cause doesn’t foalnap innocents!’ But she knew she couldn’t, that would just be hypocritical.

So she said nothing, earning a chuckle from Applejack. Then a booming voice filled her ears, coming from directly above.

“The monster hunter mare; facing a monster, too great to bear. How does it feel, pray tell; to look at the foals as they all fell?”

She shot her eye up to look for the voice’s owner. There she was, on one of the factory balconies stood proudly the last pony… or rather, zebra, she would’ve expected to find here. The terror of the evefree looked down on the yard, her strangely accented voice carried down by magical force.

“Despite your killing without a plan; I cannot say I’m not a fan,” The zebra said.

Bon Bon’s eyes went wide when she saw the zebra jump off the balcony. She fell limply through the air before slamming into the yard below.

But instead of a wet crunch, or even her going straight through the clouds, the zebra… shattered?

The impact scattered chunks all over the yard, but the pieces seemed too well-cut. Her suspicions were confirmed when a yellow haze wrapped around the segments, pulling them back together.

Before her eyes the zebra reassembled herself, the yellow magic joining all the pieces back together. Bon Bon noticed how the body separated at the black stripes that covered it, and the white segment in between looked like… birch bark?

Now that she thought about it, the yellow glow and the wood-like coat tugged at her memory. Something from her earliest years in the guard, back when she was a monster hunter… That’s it! A timberwolf! But how in Tartarus had this zebra managed to imitate one like that?

Bon Bon was still kneeling on the floor when the zebra started to approach her.

“Look at you now, the mighty paladin; wallowing in pity from slaying your pony kin. What did you expect when you picked up your sword? Or when you followed the orders of those to which you’re sworn?” She said in her strange tone.

“I expected to free Equestria from the enemies of harmony!” She spat back.

“There’s a pretty meme, exquisite indeed; but the innocents you’ve slain I’d hardly call freed,”

“I didn’t know who I was fighting, of course innocents get hurt when you set them up as your forced guards!” Bon Bon retorted.

The zebra walked around her, never taking her yellow glare off Bon Bon.

“That is the difference between you and me; your ideals keep you blind, but I can clearly see. The strong prey on the weak; in the same way a timberwolf gorges on meat,” Bon Bon’s face was pulled up by one of the zebra’s hooves, “You shouldn’t feel ashamed of the strength you possess; nor should you droop at your violent excess,”

The words were hitting Bon Bon harder than any blow could, they were hitting her spirit, her very essence. And the biggest impact came from one simple fact: the zebra was right. The strong did prey on the weak, that was why she stepped in to protect them… But did she?

Her mind filled with the images of the pegasus fillies, and the red mare, every single opponent she had defeated so far. Was there really no other choice? She was strong, very strong, but how could she protect the weak when she couldn’t even tell those she had to protect from those she was protecting them from?

That’s when it hit her, the solution to her anguish, it was so simple yet she hadn’t thought about it! All she had to do was embrace the truth.

“You know, I think you have a point,” She told the zebra, “Why keep fighting when I can’t tell who I’m fighting for from who I’m fighting against?”

“So you admit the flaws in your moral code? Or will you continue down this doomed road?” Her opponent asked, the condescension clear in her voice.

“No, I think you’ve shown me the real reason why I fight. I told myself it was to protect the weak, to defend harmony, but now I see the truth,” A burst of laughter cut off her words.

The zebra stepped back and signaled for a pair of guards that had been posted on the balcony above. The pegasi dove towards the ground and landed on either side of her. But despite their threatening presence, Bon Bon just couldn’t stop laughing.

“She’s gone mad,” Applejack commented from behind the Zebra, “Ah think ya broke her,”

Bon Bon howled with laughter, each chuckle sounding more and more deranged.

“Put her down, now!” The farm pony ordered.

The pegasi on her sides stabbed her through with their wing blades, each magical edge stabbing cleanly through her chest. Blood splashed onto the water below, the crimson mixing into the small puddles that accumulated on the compressed cloud.

“I fight…” Bon Bon continued as she concentrated on hery crystal eye, “For a cause…”

There it was, the deeper working of her artificial body, she focused on one specific spell, the one that inhibited how much pain her body was able to simulate. She turned it off and felt the world explode.

It was beautiful, the sheer agony that filled every last inch of her that wasn’t made of metal, finally a real sensation to counter the sheer nothingness she had felt until now.

The zebra and the orange earth pony stared at her, horrified. Bon Bon arched her head back and took out her sword, dropping it to her hoof and looking at her demented reflection.

“But that’s just the excuse… the excuse I use to hide the truth…” She said, her voice varying wildly in pitch.

The guards took out their wing blades and took a step back, looking amazed at the foe that refused to go down.

“And the truth is… I fight because I was born to kill!” Sweetie Drops concluded.

In a blur of beige and black accented by a white streak, Sweetie Drops bounced between the two pegasus guards, chopping them to bits before they got the chance to react.

The magic in their armor helped quell the blood loss, but she was too preoccupied enjoying the bliss of her artificial muscles pulling on her flesh and bones.

“Who’s next?” She asked, sitting on her haunches as she shook with laughter.

She pointed the blood soaked blade at Applejack as a challenge.

“Sure, ah beat y’all before, ah can do it again,” The orange mare said, but she was stopped by the zebra lifting a wooden hoof.

“Stay back; Applejack,” She commanded.

“Whut?” The farm pony tilted her head.

“The zebra wants to test out her ‘strong against weak’ theory, don’t you?” Sweetie Drops asked, her body buzzing with excitement.

“Makes sense tah me, should ah stay?” Applejack asked the zebra.

“Go check on the next stage; I’ll take care of this one’s rage,” Came the accented reply.

The orange mare simply nodded and turned back to head into the factory, leaving the pony and zebra standing outside under the warm rain.

“Guess you’re going to get chopped up first,” Sweetie Drops told her opponent, “Chop chop chop chop,”

“Although your insanity is clear to see; you still have no chance of defeating me!” The zebra shouted back, an ominous yellow glow flashing from her eyes.

Sweetie Drops laughed loudly before placing the sword back into her mouth. Her opponent charged at her with a battle cry, wooden claws extending from her hooves. She lurched forward with her sword, missing the zebra by just a bit and receiving a roundhouse kick to the face.

Another hoof slammed into her face when the zebra spun in the air, dazing her. She was forced to jump away to avoid a claw strike to the face, trying to swing her sword again but missing.

But her opponent didn’t let up, and she was very agile. A whirlwind of kicks rained on Sweetie Drops’ head and chest, this was getting annoying. A wooden claw sliced the side of her face, adding another small puddle of blood to the floor.

She sliced at the zebra, missing again… why did she keep missing? Another kick landed on her forehead, almost making her drop the white blade. Instead she tried to stab her rival, and… missed?

No, not missed, the sword went through the zebra, the stripes on her chest had parted with magic, avoiding her sword. So that was her secret.

Sweetie Drops switched tactics, doing a horizontal cut to bait the zebra into splitting, but intentionally following through on the miss to face the other way. A strong buck slammed into her opponent, sending her top half flying back in several chunks.

But the lower half apparently had a mind of its own, the two front legs flew back to join with the upper half, but the rear legs got to work on kicking Sweetie Drops again. Fortunately the legs didn’t have claws, allowing her to parry most of the attacks with her forelegs.

But the other half of the zebra wasn’t done, it flew at her, held up by magical force, and spun around to cut Sweetie apart. She was forced to roll out of the way to avoid more damage. Once more she repeated her tactic of throwing kicks instead of cuts, but no matter if she kicked the torso, or even kicked a whole leg off, the magic still held the zebra together.

An idea sparked in her mind, she dodged a spinning kick and stood on her rear legs, kicking out with her forelegs and striking the zebra in the head. Bullseye! Her theory had been correct, the head didn’t split into parts, it was all one piece. The impact seemed to stun her foe momentarily, leaving her wide open.
Sweetie Drops laughed around the hilt in her mouth as she sliced at the zebra’s chest. A direct hit, the scent of burned wood filled the air as her rival let out a scream. Before she could make a follow-up slice, however, a wooden hoof flew towards her chest, sending her flying backward.

“You are strong, that is true; but let’s see how you fare when I am out of view!” The zebra said, reattaching her foreleg before throwing out several glass vials from… somewhere.

Several explosions sounded around Sweetie Drops, flooding the yard with the same thick green smoke as before. She crouched into a fighting stance and waited.

A second passed, then another, and one more… where was she?

A hard hit slammed into her left side, she turned just in time to see the zebra rip her wooden claws out of her and jump back into the smoke. She turned to face where the attack had come from, but another hit struck her right side this time.

With a roar, Sweetie Drops slashed wildly at the smoke, hitting nothing. A wooden leg flew from somewhere to her left, kicking her legs out from under her. Her back slammed into the clouds below at the same time as the zebra jumped onto her chest, clawing wildly at her chest.

Her opponent jumped off her, planting a hard kick on her face as she did. Sweetie Drops jumped back, standing on her weak legs. She was heavily wounded and was losing blood fast, but she still felt booming with life, with the insatiable urge to cut this zebra apart.

The smoke had cleared, revealing her rival standing just a little distance away from her. She launched into a run, switching her sword’s limiter off in a flash of inspiration. The zebra separated her neck to avoid the first slash, but she wasn’t counting on Sweetie Drops letting the sword go and catching it in her forehoof.

She focused on her sword and on her target, moving the blade in a flurry of slashes. To her credit, the zebra did manage to split and move her segments out of the way, but there was one thing she couldn’t dodge: heat. After the flurry of cuts, Sweetie was forced back with a kick to the chest, but her opponent’s body had burst into flames.

The zebra howled and disassembled into a maelstrom, trying her best to extinguish the fire with the rain. She succeeded, but the attack had clearly done massive damage, her white segments were so charred that they looked almost as black as her stripes.

“Get back here!” Sweetie Drops shouted.

But her opponent had other plans, turning and running back towards the plaza.

“Coward!” She bellowed at the escaping zebra before placing the sword in her mouth and running after her.

She catched up just in front of the fountain, the charred zebra stood in the water, looking at Sweetie Drops with a wide grin.

“I will admit you know how to fight; but it will do you no good against nature’s might” She said.

Then the trees that surrounded them started to let off an ominous yellow glow before they started to creak and deform. Tentacles of wood shot out of the cloud around her, trapping her in place like a constrictor snake.

One of the trees wrapped around her muzzle, forcing her mouth to open and drop the white sword into the twisting wood. Her weakened body struggled against the wood, unable to make it yield. Her mind raced to form a plan, but nothing came, she was effectively trapped.

“Your recklessness had led you astray; but now we know I am strong, and you are the prey,” The zebra said, turning the blade in the wooden tentacle to aim at Sweetie Drops’ face.

The sword's heat was almost too much to bear, but one last idea came to her before the burning tip connected. Focusing as much as her rage allowed, she tried to trigger her magical shield.

The barrier activated just in time, deflecting the sword directly into the wooden tentacles holding her in place. The wood weakened enough to let her break free of her binds, throwing herself onto the tree that held her weapon.

Using her strong forelegs, she bent the tree until it snapped, grabbing the sword with her forehoof and slicing the last couple of trees apart. She fell to the floor, wounded and tired, but still turned to face the zebra again.

Her foe couldn’t hold her gaze for more than a moment and turned to flee once more, but Sweetie Drops was not going to stop until that zebra was dead. She arched her neck back and spun around violently, throwing the red-hot sword spinning through the air towards the fleeing enemy.

A direct hit, the sword cut horizontally through the desperate zebra, setting the segments it hit ablaze. A weak whine escaped from her as Sweetie Drops walked to retrieve her weapon.

The bloodshot eyes of the zebra focused on her, her pupils reduced to pinpricks.

“It seems the strong do prey on the weak,” She said as the sword transferred the magical energy it had absorbed into her, helping her wounds heal, “And you, are weak,”

“While I- I may fall here…” The zebra spoke weakly, “I’m glad I passed my ideals to you, my peer,”

Bon Bon looked down at her defeated foe, her last words resonating in her mind. Was she really like her? One of the ‘strong’ that hunted the ‘weak’? No… She wouldn’t allow herself to become just another killer. If she was going to be a killer, she would at least make sure to kill those who deserved it the most.

With renewed vigor, she turned to face the weather factory.

Author's Note

I am terribly sorry for the late upload, this last week had been very busy for me, leaving me with not enough tike to finish this chapter in a timely manner.

Anyhow, here it is, chapter four, let me know if I missed any errors during my admittedly rushed proofreading.

Next chapter should come out next Wednesday, this time around it should come out on-time.

Once more, sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy (somehow).