Fallout Equestria: The Ashlands Timeline

Wednesday, 11/2/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Slaver Camp

This was a bad idea. A terrible idea.

And an unfair idea. Not only did the plan hinge on Kamikaze acting the part, but she might be expected to sex up Midnight afterward to make it convincing. Kamikaze had had enough of Midnight since they got here, so she wasn't exactly up for being her personal body pillow.

Even after regaining most of her memories about their relationship, Kamikaze never wanted to see Midnight again. It seemed obvious that Midnight had Kamikaze re-programmed, which meant all Kamikaze’s affection for Midnight was forced upon her. Would she have betrayed Equestria without that? She’d like to think not.

But there was no way around this. Whether deceived or not, Kamikaze caused countless deaths. Without Kamikaze leading a rebellion, three major cities would have survived and Equestria would have recovered. Kamikaze would atone by saving as many ponies as she could, even if it meant further humiliating herself.

Despite their misgivings about holding the meeting inside the burned-out raider complex, Dyo assured them that Midnight would appreciate the ambiance. Midnight promised over the radio to allow them to explain themselves before she decided their fate. Calling her there willingly would count for a lot, but every little detail counted when dealing with somepony that unstable. Maybe they shouldn’t have cremated the gore after all, in fact.

The group remained in a clear area, bodies bare to display that they were unarmed. Horn restraints were placed on Starlight, Mercury, and Crimson to show their lack of ill-intent. Starlight put on a brave face, which Kamikaze hoped she could keep after what happened to her.

Solar and Mercury were on either side of Kamikaze. They placed Kamikaze in the most comfortable seat they could find to make it clear she was being looked after well. Solar had a bag with Spitfire’s parts inside it to prove that they were doing their best to fix her, open to show she wasn’t hiding anything. In her hooves, Solar had the Wingboner magazine with Kamikaze on the cover, hoping the gift would raise their chances with Midnight; she’d been very happy to get her magazine stack back from the raiders.

Dyo and Crimson were on either side of Starlight, Dyo looking scared poopless and Crimson seeming bored. Crimson was the only one other than Kamikaze that wasn’t standing, given her well-deserved injuries.

“What’s that?” commented Solar. “Is that a sprite-bot?”

Turning her head, Kamikaze spotted it. It hovered in the shadow of a rock cleft nearby. It hadn’t been noticeable because it wasn’t playing Skyla’s broadcast.

“Do you think it's Watcher?” Starlight asked. “I wonder how long it’s been watching us before we noticed.”.

“You know Midnight will blast you the moment she notices, right?” Kamikaze called over to it.

“A fair point,” Watcher said. So it was them.

The sprite-bot moved downward to hover as close to the ground as it could. It ceased hovering to land between two rocks, its camera pointing at where the meeting would occur but otherwise looking dead.

“We should…” Starlight started.

A loud bamf sound kept her from continuing as several bat guards and a smaller dragon, all in battle armor, teleported in around the compound. They mostly ignored the group at first, searching the compound for signs of trickery. If Midnight couldn’t fix her cloning facility quickly, she must have been wary of sending the twilicorns into a potential trap.

More bursts of energy followed a few minutes later as a dozen twilicorns teleported into the compound. Kamikaze hoped this didn't turn ugly, because there was no way they could head-shot that many, and who knew if headshots would even work on the real thing.

“Remain as you are,” one commanded as they approached. “Scouting!”

None of the team moved a muscle. Even Crimson made no snide comments. The twilicorns scanned them, though had visible trouble concentrating without looking at Kamikaze. She saw a longing in their eyes and felt sorry for them. They loved Kamikaze by design, but weren’t the ones that got to be with her.

While they searched, the dragon got closer to the group, rubbing one of his wings like it was hurt. It was hard to tell what he was up to at first, but he glanced awkwardly at Solar.

“H-hey…” the dragon squeaked at Solar.

Solar blinked. “Oh um…sorry about uh...tryin’ to blow you.“

“That’s really what you were trying?” Cinder froze, mouth agape.

Solar’s Freudian slip was probably on purpose, but she corrected. “Blow you UP, though I’m not against the other thing later!” Her wings sprang up, seeming to forget the situation they were in. “Not sorry that I got a face-full of crotch plate.”

“Uh, for my part, sorry about trying to bite too,” Cinder pulled his helmet up slightly, showing a blush, smiling mischievously when Solar seemed excitable. “I got angry and somehow forgot you had armor on, so I didn’t get to put my tongue where I wanted. I’m not against doing that later too…”

“Yeah I wasn’t a fan of being literally eaten, at least not lethally, but you could always do it to me figuratively later as a compromise!” Solar said while rubbing her wooden hoof with the other, and her wings practically throbbing.

“Solar…” Starlight warned.

“I was just helping with negotiations!” Solar claimed.

“I-I don’t mind,” Cinder stammered. “Anyway, if things do work out with a truce… I’ll definitely find you!”

The moment was ruined when a Twilicorn casually walked up, telekinetically shoving the smallish dragon aside effortlessly to check Solar’s bag. As he distanced himself a bit dejectedly, the Twilicorn arched an eyebrow at Solar, pointing a hoof at Spitfire’s head in the bag.

“Looks like somepony got kinky,” the Twilicorn said, whatever that meant. “Searching!”

“Ah, um,” Solar stammered, her wings rapidly deflating as she hid the magazine she held so that one of the twilicorns didn’t grab it before Midnight got there. “Spare parts we pried from a Cloudsdale pega-ghoul, I can transfer the wings to Kamikaze given the right equipment, and the head contains cybernetics with some codes I might need to do so.”

The twilicorn seemed satisfied with Solar’s answer. The group turned to form a circle around the group, facing outward. Horns glowing, they created a dome shield over their heads. The shield then condensed, darkening to hide them, the ambient sound of the wind outside the dome silencing. Midnight was no fool, and Kamikaze wondered if she was aware of potential spies like Watcher.

“And now we have to leave while our ‘divine mistress’ gets to have all the fun with our beloved,” grumbled one of the twilicorns. “Guarding!”

“I hope she doesn’t make us watch her buck later just for giggles,” sighed another. “Seems like something that bitch would do… searching.”

It was interesting to see them have a casual conversation, and that it involved a general peeved attitude towards Midnight. It wasn’t a conversation they got to hear a lot of though, as the twilicorns left the dome soon after to continue their duties.

Then she felt it. Without seeing or hearing her, they knew Midnight had teleported outside the dome. An unbearable dread fell over them, Dyo was outright in tears. Kamikaze tried to stay straight-faced, but it wasn’t easy.

Kamikaze remembered Midnight having an intimidating aura, but she’d gotten better at it. Everypony within the dome shivered in abject terror. Except Crimson, who was rolling her eyes back and biting her lip, though probably also in abject terror. Kamikaze suspected she feigned enjoyment as a defensive mechanism, but either way it was freakish.

The shield above them shimmered as Midnight’s form floated through it, landing in front of them hard enough to send dirt flying. The first few seconds of their meeting was only Midnight laughing at them like a comic book villain. Midnight probably designed this setup to intimidate them, and it worked because not a single one of them moved or spoke.

It was odd that while all the twilicorns took on a battle form, Midnight herself looked no different from Twilight other than being larger with a slightly different cutie mark. And of course, she wore Daybreaker’s pelt like a zebra shaman might wear a bear’s pelt. On her horn and head was a magitech coil like the one the twilicorn that attacked Stable 27 had.

She still had on the alicorn amulet as well. Kamikaze recognized the obsidian amulet with a red gem inset and the decorative horned head and wings at the top. One wouldn’t think that she’d need both of those magical enhancements at once, but perhaps the coil was less about magnifying power and more about circumventing enchantments, since they knew it could blast through magic-resistant materials. From the looks of it, she never took the amulet off; her fur was worn thin around her neck after years of having it on, more so than it seemed it should on a regenerator, as if it were caustic.

The pelt was held with a shimmering clasp in front, and Kamikaze realized it was a soul gem. Daybreaker’s gem? If it was, it was useless now. It’d been cut into slices and arranged decoratively on her neck piece as if to gloat that Midnight destroyed the last way to save her.

“I do love what you’ve done with the place,” Midnight started when she finished her villainous laughing fit. “I even found a griffon raider with a knife rammed up her happy place and her beak stuffed with somepony else's happy place. She was still barely alive, so I cast a spell on her to keep her that way longer. I’ll be taking her back with me, so who do I owe that amusing find?”

“That would be me,” Starlight stammered. Perhaps she thought admitting such an act would make Midnight more amiable to her, and it couldn’t hurt. Kamikaze supposed they forgot about the bodies on the hill when cleaning up.

“Classy,” Midnight and Crimson said together.

Then Crimson ducked when Midnight glared at her for saying the same thing.

“Nice… hat?” Crimson said when Midnight didn’t stop glaring.

“It’s a MAC cannon,” Midnight said, a chance to brag about it successfully shorting out the glare. “It stands for Mana Amplification Converter, an invention of my own design.”

“MAC cannon sounds like what Applejack’s brother might call his dick,” mused Crimson against her own best interest, then ducked lower when Midnight’s expression returned to a glare, though at least Midnight was smirking now.

“You have some nerve to summon me, Starlight Glimmer,” Midnight turned to Starlight, her tone devolving into pure malice. “Or the residue that was once Starlight Glimmer. Don’t think our shared affinity for knife-rape puts us on good terms.” After spitting out those words though, her tone shifted to gentle upon seeing Kamikaze. “Rainbow, my love, what have they done to you?”

“We did not do this to her,” Starlight tried to stammer bravely, but sounded more like she might break into tears.

Kamikaze tried to steady her own mind. Perhaps it was easier for her since Midnight wasn’t focusing the fear aura on Kamikaze, and she managed to sound strong. But would the bitter wife routine save the day?

“You did this to me,” Kamikaze said.

“What?” Midnight's eye twitched. It didn’t look as comical on her as it did when Twilight did it.

“I lost them fighting your clone that attacked Stable 27,” said Kamikaze. “Without Starlight, I’d be dead. She saved my life, despite our history.”

“A hollow act,” Midnight’s voice boomed. “She only saved you to garnish favor with me!”

“I had no idea,” said Starlight, pulling herself together. “Midnight. I had no way of knowing you’d reward me for saving Kamikaze. After all, I’d just seen who I thought was you trying to kill her.”

“You do not call me Midnight, you call me Her Divine Shadow!” Midnight corrected Starlight but took a deep breath to calm herself. She must have been showing unusual restraint for Kamikaze’s sake, who she turned to next. “Kamikaze, my love. Tell me truly. Are you being coerced? Say the word and I will smite them and take you home.”

Kamikaze started to claim the twilicorn tried to murder her directly, but stuttered. She could barely make it out, but across the shards left of her cybernetic eye printed “Directive Error: Never lie to an NLR officer.” Damn it. She’d have to word this carefully.

“Starlight saved me,” said Kamikaze, referring to Starlight casting a healing spell on her. She turned away as if she didn’t want to look at Midnight, hoping she didn’t see what printed across the eye. “Why do you think I didn’t go right to your castle? I realized you’d gone insane, that you only used me! Do you have any idea what that did to me?!” She shouted hard enough that her voice went hoarse.

“I didn’t know you were there,” said Midnight. “I swear. My likeness… it must have been defective! It shouldn’t have attacked you! I would never use you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Really?” asked Kamikaze. “What about ‘Directive Error: Never oppose an NLR officer’? Didn’t trust me enough? I almost died because of that directive!”

“What?” Midnight tilted her head.

“Every time I tried to attack your other self, I got an error and my body froze up!” Kamikaze said. “I had to smash my head against a power conductor to clear it long enough for me to take her out! I almost killed myself saving the stable that you were trying to blow up just to get one pony!”

Midnight’s eyes widened. Her aura died down a few more levels, though still very present. First rage, then shame, filled her eyes.

“I failed to protect you again,” Midnight said. “Forgive me.”

Midnight looked surprised by the information, but that made little sense. Who else would have done it? This had to be an act, right?

“I’ll consider forgiving you if you listen to what Starlight has to say,” Kamikaze said. “We heard about you losing the Mirror Pool, but no one here helped with that.” It was true as only Twilight and Maud took part in it; Kamikaze was glad it slipped through the lie filter.

“Very well,” Midnight’s gaze turned back to Starlight, piercing but no longer a death glare. “Who destroyed my facility?”

“All we did was rescue Crimson,” said Starlight. “Why would we leave only to go right back in? Trinity’s minion deceived us and used us as a distraction to attack their actual target.”

“Why were you there?” Midnight asked Crimson. “Did you believe I had a soul recycler after your former subjects destroyed your own? I”m still peeved at you for causing them to do that.”

So, she had been to Stable 27; Kamikaze feared asking what the result was, but at least it seemed she hadn’t blamed them directly for the soul recycler’s destruction.

“No,” said Crimson. She was calmer than the others there, but still guarded and sweating profusely. “I wanted to trade Kamikaze and Starlight’s locations for a room at the castle, but I felt guilty and left. Your twilicorns caught me on the way out.”

“You will not call the Divine Likenesses that,” Midnight growled. “And you felt guilty? Preposterous.” She turned to Kamikaze. “Is what she says true?”

“Yes,” said Kamikaze. She hoped the others had caught on to her limitation and would also word things carefully.

“You are a foal,” Midnight said to Crimson. “Had you given me the soul recycler before of your own free will, I would have rewarded you beyond imagination and you would still be in control of your stable, not even having to hide your sexier fetishes from them. Instead you had your stable play dead.”

Was Midnight that afraid of death that she so desperately wanted a soul recycler? She was almost immortal even without one, so it seemed odd. That wasn’t a question Kamikaze dare asked aloud though.

“Admit it though, it was creative,” said Crimson. She attempted to play off her own fear, but it was a pitiful attempt as her voice quivered more. “We allowed you to detect our reactor startup, faked an overload signal, and then cut transmissions to convince you it melted down.”

“There is no shame in being outsmarted by a clever opponent,” said Midnight. “Who was it that bested me? Not you, I’d wager.”

“You got me there,” admitted Crimson. “It was a smarty by the name of Sunburst that came up with the idea. I killed him for being a stallion with a good idea, if that makes you feel better.”

“You don’t say,” Midnight didn’t bother intimidating Crimson, probably knowing that the unicorn coped with that by becoming more annoying. She turned to Starlight instead. “I will listen to your explanation.”

“Thank you, Your Divine Shadow,” Starlight bowed before beginning. “A creature joined us as we arrived through the time portal. As we were confused and had temporary amnesia, she convinced us she was you from another timeline that would help us. We considered attacking the Mirror Pool when we were in Everfree, but my general pointed out it would cause more damage than good by tilting the war in favor of one far more fiendish.”

“This… Twilight,” continued Starlight. “Facilitated the attack on the Mirror Pool. We acquired her again and questioned her. With my skills, we received significant information about a planned attack by Trinity’s forces and new threats she has developed. Information I will give you regardless of whether you agree to our proposal, to prove I am not your enemy.”

“But you are my enemy,” said Midnight. “You and Trinity are the same.”

“We were once,” said Starlight. “But there is a reason I ripped out my soul gem before the change was complete. I saw myself becoming something that horrified me, and I don’t want that… thing… in charge of the wasteland, nor do I want to forcibly become one of her monstrosities. Now that I know more of the current world, I realize that it is not in my best interest for you to lose to her.”

“What information did you discover?” They had Midnight’s interest.

“The creature that deceived us was Trinity’s creation,” said Starlight. “She was to kill us afterward to protect Trinity’s interests. Not only did we discover this, but we also extracted details of a large-scale assault that Trinity has planned to finish you after the Mirror Pool’s destruction. They are amassing their forces in the Foal Mountains as we speak.”

“And where is this creature now?” Midnight asked.

“She escaped,” said Starlight. “But trust me, if I had my way, she would have died screaming.”

Midnight looked at Kamikaze.

“Yeah,” said Kamikaze. “Starlight wouldn’t hesitate to kill that Twilight in the worst way imaginable given the chance.” Kamikaze wasn’t positive, but believed it to be true, and that was enough for her to say it.

“And your rock soldiers that killed a Divine Likeness?” asked Midnight.

“I sent them ahead to Holder,” said Starlight. “Your Divine Shadow, I would like to point out that showing them mercy is a benefit to you. I’m sure you know how the ponies of Holder love the Pie sisters. They follow you now because of fear, but if they see their national heroes cooperate with you, many will serve you out of love.”

“I concede that point,” Midnight said and turned to Dyo. “I assume you are here to represent Holder?”

“I am,” Dyo squeaked, barely getting a sound out at all. “S-starlight wants to live there, her and her soldiers, which um… we’d only allow with your approval of course.”

“You have that approval then,” Midnight said after a brief pause.

“Thank you, Your Merciful Shadow,” said Starlight. “Though if I may be so bold… My general, Limestone, and another friend were sold to Tenwhinney Tower as a slave. While of course our cooperation doesn’t depend on it, I would be forever in your debt if you asked them to return them.”

“I forgot how dangerous Limestone was,” said Midnight. “But have remembered due to the dispatch of the dragons I sent for you, a plan I can only assume was engineered by her. I cannot trust you enough to take action to release a pony who might foil future plans.”

“Midnight, please,” Kamikaze said.

“No,” Midnight shook her head, but took a less harsh tone with Kamikaze. “I am sorry. As a favor to you, I will not interfere with attempts to save her, but I cannot do more; we are in a crisis and I cannot divert my attention.”

“I understand,” said Starlight. “What I want most is a truce. I’ve made peace with Kamikaze, I can make peace with you too. Our former conflicts are not as important as saving what’s left of Equestria from Trinity.”

“You are not making peace with me,” Midnight growled. “You are submitting in any way I desire: physically, mentally, sexually, anything I want. Complete servitude or death. These are your only choices.”

“F-forgive my poor wording,” Starlight nodded, stammering again. “We only wish to serve Your Divine Shadow.” She had begun to calm, but now quivered more than before.

'Don't worry,' Kamikaze assured Starlight through the PCB. 'She’ll be too interested in me to molest you any time soon.'

Kamikaze half-expected Midnight to detect the PCB, but she didn't appear to.

“We shall see,” Midnight said. “We will take you to Midnight Castle, where you will provide all the information you have obtained on your journey without hesitation, as well as any relevant information you have on the Ministry of Magitech facility. Afterward, if you have cooperated, I will teleport whichever of you desires to Holder, where you will encourage their loyalty on my behalf. I will even fix your broken ones, including growing back fur so you don’t look so delicious. If you do not cooperate, you will be my toys until I utterly break you. Understand?”

“We worship Your Shadow,” Starlight bowed.

As everypony else bowed, Kamikaze wanted to say she wished to go to Holder too, but it might ruin everything if she did. She at least hoped she got new limbs out of this.

“Um, Miss?” Solar said, then squeaked when Midnight’s gaze fell upon her.

“Did you just call me ‘Miss’?” Midnight growled.

“Um, Your Divine Shadow?” Solar ducked, looking as if she might start sobbing. “I’m an expert in magitech, if you want me to assist with repairs on Kamikaze. N-not that you need assistance I'm sure but...”

Solar’s panic reached critical, suddenly throwing the Wingboner magazine at Midnight as if as a defensive instinct. Midnight caught the magazine and arched an eyebrow, but didn’t look at it yet.

“You just want to get banged by bats,” muttered Crimson.

“From what I learned at Stable 27, I do not have a specialist that exceeds your knowledge,” said Midnight, seemingly unafraid to admit the weakness. “So you may assist. I will also allow you to get ‘banged’ by whichever of my soldiers you desire, so long as both they and you are not on duty.”

Midnight then looked at the magazine cover and froze, eyes widening slightly. “I’ve been looking for this issue forever… you may have just fully sold me on the deal, dirty whore that you are.”

“S-seriously?” Solar’s eyes brightened, face adopting a strange mix of arousal and abject terror.

“And you, as a pegasi, are welcome to remain there,” Midnight’s tone towards Solar turned more cordial, though her aura didn’t tone itself down. “No settlement will truly welcome you as I will. Someone of your intelligence would not be required to engage in battle directly, and would be kept quite comfortable.”

“Wow, you’re… not nearly as evil as ponies said,” Solar said, then looked like she regretted saying it that way. “Uh, I’ll think about it, but I promised to protect Mercury, so I have to be sure she’s safe.”

“I am more evil than ponies say,” Midnight growled, losing some of the brief good will on her face. “If you are loyal, you will never have to confirm that. I will also not begrudge you keeping your promise, but will still expect you to perform any needed repairs on Kamikaze in the future.”

“Of course, your Divine Shadowyness,” Solar barely got the words out.

“I’ll stay with you, Solar,” Mercury squeezed her words out as well, then stifled a scream when Midnight turned to her. “Um, c-can I ask what happened at Stable 27?”

“They cooperated,” said Midnight. “And in return, I accepted that they refused the Divine Likeness entry because of Minister Prose's lies. They will henceforth work for the glory of My Shadow. I have even provided them with a small shipment of orichalcum alloy and an engineer to fix their door, to show that I award obedience.”

Kamikaze couldn’t imagine what working for her glory entailed, but at least it didn’t include immediate death.

“Thank Break,” sighed Mercury. “Though I suppose I’m not welcome there anymore.”

“Thank who?” Midnight narrowed her eyes. “Are you thanking the very dead alicorn I am wearing?”

Mercury realized her mistake and shrank back, collapsing and too terrified to respond. Solar stepped shivering in front of Mercury, drawing an bemused expression from Midnight when she bravely poofed up her mostly-missing fur and feathers. Luckily amusement once again shorted out Midnight’s annoyance.

“Can we go home?” asked Kamikaze. The longer they stayed here, the more likely Midnight was to kill somepony over trivial miswording.

“You’re eager? Good,” Midnight smiled at Kamikaze, licking her lips. “Let’s go… read some books.”

“Careful not to get paper cuts,” smirked Crimson.

Crimson had no idea.

Thursday, 11/3/2287
POV: Kamikaze
Midnight Castle

Midnight hadn’t killed or molested any of her friends by the next day, that Kamikaze knew of. Though Fingers had been hung up, still alive, as wall art with the knife still where Starlight left it. It wasn’t undeserved, but Kamikaze was still not good with the situation.

Midnight sent most to Holder after questioning and a night at the castle. Only Kamikaze and Solar remained at Midnight Castle after that. Kamikaze couldn’t do much other than ride around on Midnight and occasionally let Solar scan or prod at her for science. At least Midnight made sure she was provided for well, and insisted on taking on all of her care.

Solar adapted as well as could be expected, though her hormones often overrode her common sense. Only after a death threat from Midnight did Solar cease flirting with on-duty guards at their posts. If Midnight had anypony else that she knew could do what was needed, Solar might have been a goner.

Even then, Midnight took delight in tormenting her a bit. She ordered a male bat to have fun with Solar, then after the fact advised Solar that he was gay, in a closed relationship, and only did it because Midnight would have killed him otherwise. Poor Solar was so freaked out at having accidentally raped someone that she was afraid to flirt with any of the other guards. Kamikaze wasn’t sure if the wicked trick was for fun or to calm Solar down a notch on future visits.

Midnight had also surprised Kamikaze though. The day before, Midnight dragged Kamikaze to the library upon arrival. Kamikaze realized where it was going, and Midnight looked like she was about to go for the advanced magitech books, but then stopped. She looked guilty and floated Kamikaze to the bedroom instead, where Midnight slept quietly next to her without touching her once.

Now the next morning, Kamikaze lay on the bed with Midnight next to her facing away. Midnight had her alicorn coat in front of her as if deciding if she wanted to wear it today. She’d ordered the guards out and for nopony to disturb them, and Kamikaze could only imagine what horrible things were about to happen.

Kamikaze considered herself brave, and it was true she wouldn’t run from a fight, but constant exposure to Midnight’s aura had Kamikaze constantly holding back tears. She’d gotten used to it back in the day, but it felt worse now, maybe due to her new realizations about their ‘relationship’.

Midnight looked back at her, and Kamikaze cringed. She forced a smile but Midnight only stared.

“You’re afraid of me,” Midnight said. Uncharacteristic tears rolled down her face. “And that horn necklace around your neck. Is that from my likeness?”

“Yeah, terrified,” Kamikaze didn’t want to admit it; damn directive. “And... something like that.” Luckily it let her get away with that half-lie.

“It’s unlike you to admit fear in such a situation,” chuckled Midnight bitterly, as if she didn’t know.

“I can’t not admit it, can I?” said Kamikaze. “Damn directives won’t let me.”

“What?” Midnight looked confused again, then shook her head, tears increasing. “No…”

“Besides, it’s no more unlike me than crying is for you,” Kamikaze said.

“What?” Midnight asked again and looked momentarily confused.

Midnight wiped her face with her hoof, then looked at it as if she hadn’t realized. Her face tightened as she stared at the tears she wiped away. She suddenly screamed, throwing her intimidating armor across the room as hard as she could. Kamikaze was surprised it didn’t damage the wall.

Kamikaze would have dove for cover if she could, but all she could do was writhe when Midnight lunged at her. For a moment, Kamikaze was certain that Midnight would go the ‘if I can’t have you no one can’ route. Instead, Midnight clung to Kamikaze like a foal would a favorite plush and sobbed. It was the single most awkward and terrifying thing that Kamikaze had ever experienced.

“I didn’t do that to you!” Midnight sobbed. “I didn’t reprogram you! I would never!”

“I…” Kamikaze tried to say she knew Midnight wouldn’t, but the lie directive stopped her.

“You can be honest,” whimpered Midnight. “I swear I won’t harm you or your friends for anything you say while we’re alone.”

“I don’t believe you,” Kamikaze said plainly. “I don’t care how honest your reputation is.”

“Kami,” sighed Midnight between sniffles. “You know I never developed cybernetics that advanced. Even now, I had to bring Solar in, somepony who has barely dealt with cybernetics in practice, because I didn’t have anyone that can work on you. The only ones that got as far as positronic brains was the Ministry of Magitech, because they had access to parts of the ancient database that nopony else did. I examined your brain, yes, but only from curiosity. I wouldn’t have known how to make the changes you describe!”

“The Ministry of Magitech wouldn’t program me to betray them,” Kamikaze wasn’t buying it. “Or to love you. Nothing I felt for you was real. It was all just an elaborate super-villainous plot to rape me.”

“No!” screeched Midnight. “Rainbow, surely you know by now that the whole war was a sham. Who do you think benefited the most from you defecting from Equestria? Not me in the end!”

“Who then?” asked Kamikaze.

“The changelings,” said Midnight. “They must have replaced one of the Equestrian scientists that worked on you.”

“This seems a little…” Kamikaze shook her head. “Can you please just turn off that fear aura.”

“I can’t, I wish I could,” Midnight shook her head. “Rainbow Dash. Please think about it. If I wanted you to obey me, I would program directives in secret. Why would I add an error message to inform you of what I did? Without the message, you’d just think you couldn’t bear to hurt me.”

“I…” Kamikaze blinked. That made sense. That was a mistake that someone as intelligent as Midnight would never make.

“It’s just another of her designs,” said Midnight. “Not only did she coerce you into defecting, but she wanted to make sure even if we defeated Equestria, we’d turn on one another! That's probably why they included a directive that would inevitably surface and make you hate me.”

“Who is ‘she’?” asked Kamikaze.

“Chrysalis,” Midnight said. “Queen of the Hive, now an ally of Trinity’s. My reports are that they abandoned their queen after Nightmare Moon destroyed their home, but Chrysalis must have made a deal with Trinity to force them into a hive link against their will. I'm almost sure of it.”

“But if she wants to trick us into destroying each other, then why would she join either side?” Kamikaze asked.

“Everyone knows about her now,” said Midnight. “Nightmare interrogated a changeling during the Breaking and found out. When I discovered this, I transmitted it to everyone, friend or foe. But it was too late. Now Chrysalis knows I am the only one that can bring Equestria back, and because of that, she has allied against me. Trinity likely intends to betray Chrysalis as soon as she can, but Trinity’s insanity has made her underestimate Chrysalis' ability to betray her in return.”

“How would you bring Equestria back?” Kamikaze peered. It seemed to her that even if Midnight was being honest, she was making a lot of assumptions or having outright delusions.

Midnight’s horn glowed, pulling the clasp from her armor across the room and floating it over to Kamikaze. Daybreaker’s broken soul gem.

“This isn’t Daybreaker’s gem,” said Midnight. “The real one is whole and in a safe place.”

“What?” Kamikaze stared, unable to process what she heard.

“I’m not saying my complaints against Daybreaker were unfounded,” said Midnight. “But most of the horrible things I thought she did were changelings, even her CME attacks during the Breaking. I thought she was as much a tyrant as me, but she’s not. I hate to admit it, but since I don’t have Nightmare’s soul gem, bringing Daybreaker back is Equestria’s only hope. That’s why I must find a soul recycler, not for myself, but for her.”

“But if you think you’re such a tyrant,” said Kamikaze, still sure it was a trick. “Just stop being one.”

“I can’t,” Midnight forced a laugh. “I made a deal with a devil and now I’m trapped. It’s surprising I’m allowed to keep Daybreaker’s gem at all without destroying it. I guess I’ve learned to resist at least that much, even if I still have to sate its appetite from time to time. I haven’t even heard the voice in my head since the Breaking, but somehow I still feel them, as if they’re just waiting.”

“Deal with a devil?” asked Kamikaze. “I’m the one that did that when I agreed to come back here.”

“Clever,” smirked Midnight, but didn’t stop crying. “I don’t know who they are, not really. It’s amazing what ponies like me will do for power, even betray their own heroes. Though I suppose him reprimanding my intent and me being under the influence of the amulet helped.”

“You’re insane…” Kamikaze was more certain of that than ever; Midnight may as well have been spewing word salad. “You know it’s influencing you, but you leave it on, and you made a deal with some devil without knowing who they were?”

“Yes, I am insane,” Midnight hugged Kamikaze closer, shrugging. “I guess I had ‘an idea’ who they were, but I don’t want to talk about that. Anyway, I can’t control my Likenesses without the amulet, so removing it is not an option.”

“Why not just tell everypony what you’re doing?” asked Kamikaze. “They’d help. Even Trinity might.”

“Trinity would not cooperate,” said Midnight. “She wants power for herself, and Starlight is the same. Meanwhile my subjects, worshippers of Nightmare Moon, would learn I intend to betray her memory and abandon me. No amount of fear would keep them in line if they knew this. The trade-off wouldn’t be worth it.”

“What if I told them?” Kamikaze asked, even if she shouldn’t have. “I guess my directives would stop me.”

“No, they won’t, because I give you permission to do as you will,” said Midnight. “It would foil my plans and doom Equestria, but I will never harm you. I’m sorry that your love was forced, but my love for you was and is nothing but real.”

“Wow.” That was the best response Kamikaze could manage.

Kamikaze started to consider Midnight was sincere, but then who was the real enemy of Equestria? Trinity? Chrysalis? This ‘devil’? Or maybe there wasn’t one. It was just a bunch of idiotic tyrants smashing their heads together, each believing in their own mad way that they knew best. So not much different from before Kamikaze's time jump.

She wondered if Midnight even believed Starlight. Midnight must have known Starlight realized her mistake and would help. Was Midnight only keeping Starlight alive so long as Starlight had a strong motive to aid her? It would explain the refusal to retrieve Limestone.

This was so much more complicated than Kamikaze had believed.

“Will you consent to book fun now?” Midnight asked like a hopeful foal wanting a cookie. “For old times sake?”

“Maybe,” Kamikaze blushed.